Self-driving trains could be greener, carry more stuff, and help unclog America’s congested supply chains. And making them a reality will likely be far easier than perfecting autonomous vehicles.
Circa 2020
Artificial intelligence (AI) is evolving—literally. Researchers have created software that borrows concepts from Darwinian evolution, including “survival of the fittest,” to build AI programs that improve generation after generation without human input. The program replicated decades of AI research in a matter of days, and its designers think that one day, it could discover new approaches to AI.
“While most people were taking baby steps, they took a giant leap into the unknown,” says Risto Miikkulainen, a computer scientist at the University of Texas, Austin, who was not involved with the work. “This is one of those papers that could launch a lot of future research.”
Continue reading “Artificial intelligence is evolving all by itself” »
As well as high-tech greenhouses, vertical farms, where food is grown indoors in vertically stacked beds without soil or natural light, are growing in popularity. NextOn operates a vertical farm in an abandoned tunnel beneath a mountain in South Korea. US company AeroFarms plans to build a 90,000-square-foot indoor vertical farm in Abu Dhabi, and Berlin-based Infarm has brought modular vertical farms directly to grocery stores, growing fresh produce in Tokyo stores.
AppHarvest says its greenhouse in Morehead, Kentucky, uses robotics and artificial intelligence to grow millions of tons of tomatoes, using 90% less water than in open fields.
CNBC got a rare look at Boston Dynamics’ office in Massachusetts to see two of the robots the company is working to commercialize: Spot and Stretch.
A new meteor shower may be on the way.
The new Arid meteor shower may be making itself known in early October 2021. Here’s how to see the cosmic event.
Oct 8 2021
“Abstract: In this talk, we will discuss the nuts and bolts of the novel continuous-time neural network models: Liquid Time-Constant (LTC) Networks. Instead of declaring a learning system’s dynamics by implicit nonlinearities, LTCs construct networks of linear first-order dynamical systems modulated via nonlinear interlinked gates. LTCs represent dynamical systems with varying (i.e., liquid) time-constants, with outputs being computed by numerical differential equation solvers. These neural networks exhibit stable and bounded behavior, yield superior expressivity within the family of neural ordinary differential equations, and give rise to improved performance on time-series prediction tasks compared to advance recurrent network models.”
Ramin Hasani, MIT — intro by Daniela Rus, MIT
SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic all recently had various forms of space tourism, so lets look at all the news and updates around space tourism and the inspiration 4 space launch mission.
Last Video: Why Asteroid Mining Could Save The Earth!
On Oct. 16 2021, our Lucy spacecraft will begin its journey to visit a record-breaking number of asteroids. The 12-year mission starts from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center where it’ll launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket. From there, Lucy will be the first spacecraft to visit a record number of destinations in independent orbits around the sun – one main belt asteroid and seven of Jupiter’s Trojan Asteroids. Like the mission’s namesake – the fossilized human ancestor, “Lucy,” whose skeleton provided unique insight into humanity’s evolution – Lucy will revolutionize our knowledge of planetary origins and the formation of the solar system.
Lucy’s first launch attempt in its 21-day launch window is scheduled for 5:34 a.m. EDT on Oct. 16. Launch coverage starts at 5 a.m. EDT on NASA TV, the NASA app, and @NASA social media. Be a part of Lucy’s historic launch day by using the hashtag #LucyMission!
Continue reading “Launching Lucy, NASA’s First Mission to the Trojan Asteroids” »
