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Oct 29, 2021

Low-gravity simulator design offers new avenues for space research and mission training

Posted by in category: space travel

As humanity continues its exploration of the universe, the low-gravity environment of space presents unusual challenges for scientists and engineers.

Researchers at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and the Florida State University-headquartered National High Magnetic Field Laboratory have developed a new tool to help meet that challenge—a for a low-gravity that promises to break new ground for future space research and habitation.

Their new design for a magnetic levitation-based low-gravity simulator can create an area of low gravity with a volume about 1,000 times larger than existing simulators of the same type. The work was published in the journal npj Microgravity.

Oct 29, 2021

Japanese startup test flies a one-person drone motorcycle

Posted by in category: drones

Japanese UAV startup A.L.I. Technologies test flies a prototype drone motorcycle capable of top speeds of 100 kmh for up to 40 minutes.


Why does this not sound like a necessarily great idea? A startup in Japan has unveiled a one-person drone intended to be flown like a motorcycle, hurtling through the air and around corners at top speeds of 100 kmh.

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Oct 29, 2021

Mystery of deadly US infections solved; aromatherapy spray at Walmart to blame

Posted by in category: futurism

The room sprays contain gemstones—and a deadly bacteria found in the tropics.

Oct 29, 2021

China’s New EV Truck Recharges While Driving. With a Retractable Solar Roof?

Posted by in categories: solar power, sustainability, transportation

In a press statement, EdisonFuture said the EF1-T, as well as a van version of the vehicle called the EF1-V, feature “a uniquely designed solar mosaic technology that provides a stunning visual signature while also harnessing the power of the sun to recharge the batteries, enabling work vehicles to continuously charge while in the field.”

Bizarrely, as far as we can tell, the automaker hasn’t actually released any information regarding the battery size, range, or solar charging specifications of the EF1-T, though a prototype of the vehicle is due to go on display at the LA Auto Show in mid-November, so we may learn more information then. EdisonFuture also said it will begin accepting reservations for the pickup during the show.

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Oct 29, 2021

The Verbit Model For The Future Of Work With AI

Posted by in categories: business, robotics/AI

The new world of work is also about a new kind of teamwork: humans and AI working together to achieve more than they can accomplish on their own. Regardless of its recent progress, AI is still not accurate enough to meet the enterprise-level requirements of speech-to-text in many industries. “If technology gives me 90% accuracy, humans can deal with the last mile. Human-in-the-loop is core to our product,” explains Livne. In addition to developing the required technology, Ver… See more.


Verbit is a very successful startup. The 4-year-old developer of an AI-powered transcription and captioning platform has reached unicorn status in June, raising $157 million at a valuation of over $1 billion, for a total of $319 million raised to date. It has 2,600 customers, 450 employees, and will reach $100 million in revenues by the end of the year. According to co-founder and CEO Tom Livne, Veribit enjoys Net Revenue Retention (the rate of revenue generation from existing customers) of 163%. “Our customers are growing with us,” says Livne.

This impressive performance is the result of executing on a well thought-out framework for what it will take to succeed in the future, no matter what business you are in and the market you are serving. Verbit’s technology foundation, its global community of freelancers, and its mass customization strategy are the three features of Verbit’s future of work model, the very model of a 21 st century company.

Oct 29, 2021

New Robots May Be Creepier Than The Uncanny Valley

Posted by in categories: futurism, robotics/AI

“Technological advances in robotics have already produced robots that are indistinguishable from human beings,” they write. “If humanoid robots with the same appearance are mass-produced and become commonplace, we may encounter circumstances in which people or human-like products have faces with the exact same appearance in the future.”

To test peoples’ reactions, the team asked people to look at photos of individuals with the same face (clones), with different faces, and of… See more.


The uncanny valley is the scientific explanation for why we all find clowns or corpses creepy. And just when we thought nothing could be more alarming than clowns, scientists have found an even uncannier way to freak us out.

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Oct 29, 2021

Can Future Epidemics Be Predicted?

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, climatology, sustainability

Like weather forecasting, disease forecasting needs to be statistical.

While we cannot predict in advance exactly how many hurricanes will occur this year or how bad they will be, we know with great confidence that climate change is a risk factor increasing the frequency and severity of hurricanes. Our knowledge of this and all the other risk factors for hurricanes allows us to make a statistical prediction for the coming season.

Similarly, we have known for decades that ther… See more.

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Oct 29, 2021

Facial recognition in schools: Here are the risks to children

Posted by in categories: education, robotics/AI

In conversation with my teenage daughter last week, I pointed out a news report which flagged concerns over the use of facial recognition technologies in several school canteens in North Ayrshire, Scotland. Nine schools in the area recently launched this practice as a means to take payment for lunches more quickly and minimize COVID risk, though they’ve since paused rolling out the technology.

Oct 29, 2021

NASA Employee Says SpaceX’s Starship Is About to Change Everything

Posted by in category: space travel

Starship matters.

Oct 29, 2021

New deep reinforcement learning technique helps AI to evolve

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, virtual reality

Hundreds of millions of years of evolution have produced a variety of life-forms, each intelligent in its own fashion. Each species has evolved to develop innate skills, learning capacities, and a physical form that ensures survival in its environment.

But despite being inspired by nature and evolution, the field of artificial intelligence has largely focused on creating the elements of intelligence separately and fusing them together after the development process. While this approach has yielded great results, it has also limited the flexibility of AI agents in some of the basic skills found in even the simplest life-forms.

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