Lifeboat Foundation

The State of the Edge report is based on analysis of the potential growth of edge infrastructure from the bottom up across multiple sectors modeled by Tolaga Research. The forecast evaluates 43 use cases spanning 11 vertical industries.

The one thing these use cases have in common is a growing need to process and analyze data at the point where it is being created and consumed. Historically, IT organizations have deployed applications that process data in batch mode overnight. As organizations embrace digital business transformation initiatives, it’s becoming more apparent that data needs to be processed and analyzed at the edge in near real time.

Of course, there are multiple classes of edge computing platforms, ranging from smartphones and internet of things (IoT) gateways to complete hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) platforms that are being employed to process data at scale at the edge of a telecommunications network.

Technology paves way for intelligent solar cells, other highly efficient devices programmed at the macro and nano scale.

Researchers at Tufts University School of Engineering have created light-activated composite devices able to execute precise, visible movements and form complex three-dimensional shapes without the need for wires or other actuating materials or energy sources. The design combines programmable photonic crystals with an elastomeric composite that can be engineered at the macro and nano scale to respond to illumination.

Continue reading “‘Photonic Sunflower’ – Controlled by Light Alone, New Smart Materials Twist, Bend and Move” »

Physicists exploring the quantum world watched the birth of a quasiparticle, shedding light on the strange behavior of these strange “fake particles.”

According to a NASA blog post, the M91 is one of over a thousand galaxies that make up the Virgo cluster — a group of galaxies that are gravitationally bound to one another.

Earth is destined for disaster. This is a good insurance policy.

In 2013, a cataclysmic meteor the size of a six-story building broke apart above Chelyabinsk, Russia, and the resulting blast was stronger than a nuclear explosion. In 2068, astronomers believe a potentially hazardous “God of Chaos” asteroid could slam into Earth. Both events suggest humans—and every other animal and plant on Earth—are much more susceptible to total annihilation than we think.

Continue reading “Scientists Are Planning to Build Noah’s Ark on the Moon” »

Fascinating new episode with NASA astrophysicist Sten Odenwald; we discuss several of his 100 objects in his book on the history of space exploration. Please listen.

Award-winning NASA astrophysicist and author Sten Odenwald discusses several of the 100 objects featured in his 2019 book: “Space Exploration: A History in 100 Objects.” I pick a few of the lesser known and underappreciated objects, which run the gamut in their differing ages. In this compelling episode, it’s amazing to hear and understand just how far humanity has come in its technological quest to understand the cosmos.

Continue reading “Episode 41 --- The History Of Space Exploration In 100 Objects” »

Preclinical research demonstrates that combining the oncolytic virus CF33 with an immune checkpoint inhibitor results in lasting resistance to certain tumors such as colon cancer. City of Hope surgical oncologist Susanne Warner, M.D., senior author of the study, said the virus could be a “gamechanger.”

Three species of shark that inhabit the twilit depths of the ocean just turned out to have been bioluminescent this whole time.

The kitefin shark, the blackbelly lanternshark, and the southern lanternshark have all been discovered to have softly glowing blue patterns on their skin, a first for sharks found in New Zealand waters.

Of those three, the kitefin shark, which grows up to 180 centimetres (5 feet 11 inches) long, is now the largest known bioluminescent shark in the world.

Facebook has announced a new AI project called Learn From Video, which will use public Facebook videos to train its machine learning models. The company is vague about future applications, but it says such models could be used to improve captions, search functions, and much more.