Lifeboat Foundation

Would you trust AI that has been trained on synthetic data, as opposed to real-world data? You may not know it, but you probably already do — and that’s fine, according to the findings of a newly released survey.

The scarcity of high-quality, domain-specific datasets for testing and training AI applications has left teams scrambling for alternatives. Most in-house approaches require teams to collect, compile, and annotate their own DIY data — further compounding the potential for biases, inadequate edge-case performance (i.e. poor generalization), and privacy violations.

Continue reading “Taking the world” »

It seems Tesla has already produced at least a few Model Ys in Germany, though they may have been shipped there. Some reports say Tesla has produced many more.

Danish energy firm Orsted has announced that its Hornsea 2 offshore wind farm generated its first power, representing a significant milestone in the facility’s development.

When fully operational, Hornsea 2’s wind turbines will be capable of generating 1.32 GW of clean electricity – taking the title of ‘world’s largest operating offshore wind farm‘from its sibling project, Hornsea 1. Together, the two projects will be capable of providing enough power for well over 2.3 million homes.

Located 89 km off the UK’s east coast, the Hornsea 2 achieved its first power after its offshore substation (OSS), the world’s largest offshore AC substation, and reactive compensation station (RCS), were installed in late October 2021. Since that time, Ørsted and its partner companies have been working hard to commission and energize the wind farm in preparation for its anticipated operational date next year.

Traditional robots can have difficulty grasping and manipulating soft objects if their manipulators are not flexible in the way elephant trunks, octopus tentacles, or human fingers can be.

In Applied Physics Reviews, investigators from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China developed a type of multiple-segment soft manipulator inspired by these biological systems. The soft manipulators are based on pneu-nets, which are pneumatically actuated elastomeric structures.

These structures have a tentaclelike shape and consist of a series of connected internal chambers which can be inflated pneumatically, blowing them up like a balloon. One side of the tentacle is highly flexible while the other is stiffer. Increasing air pressure to the chambers causes the structure to bend toward the stiff side.

as well as the defense industrial base, called the Joint University Microelectronics Program 2.0 or JUMP 2.0. The program will support high-risk, high-payoff research that addresses existing and emerging challenges in information and communication technologies (ICT). JUMP 2.0 builds on the agency’s history of supporting long-term, pathfinding university research through public-private partnerships that drive disruption in #microelectronics. https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2021-12-22

Tesla uses LFP battery cells in models across the globe, and just recently started using them in the US, though there’s no LFP cell production on our shores.

Japan and U.S have agreed to Tokyo’s contribution for hosting U.S. military forces to 9.2 Billion dollars over the five-year period from fiscal 2022, which starts in April, government sources said.

Roughly 5% increase in so-called host nation support came in response to calls from the administration of U.S president Joe Biden for the Japanese government to foot more of the cost, given the need for U.S. forces to deal with China.

The two sides have agreed to reduce Tokyo’s financial contribution for utility costs, with the increased amount to be allocated to funding expenses such as maintenance of facilities used by both Japan’s self-Defence Forces and the U.S. military as well as their joint exercise.

Quantum effects in superconductors could give semiconductor technology a new twist. Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI and Cornell University in New York State have identified a composite material that could integrate quantum devices into semiconductor technology, making electronic components significantly more powerful. They publish their findings today in the journal Science Advances.

Our current electronic infrastructure is based primarily on semiconductors. This class of materials emerged around the middle of the 20th century and has been improving ever since. Currently, the most important challenges in semiconductor electronics include further improvements that would increase the bandwidth of data transmission, energy efficiency and information security. Exploiting quantum effects is likely to be a breakthrough.

Quantum effects that can occur in superconducting materials are particularly worthy of consideration. Superconductors are materials in which the electrical resistance disappears when they are cooled below a certain temperature. The fact that quantum effects in superconductors can be utilized has already been demonstrated in first quantum computers.

It overcame three significant challenges.

A team of researchers from the University of Technology Sydney’s Faculty of Engineering and IT has created a biosensor that clings to the skin of the face and head to detect electrical signals transmitted by the brain. Then, these signals are translated into commands to control autonomous robotic systems.

The novel biosensor has overcome three major challenges of graphene-based biosensing: corrosion, durability, and skin contact re… See more.