Lifeboat Foundation

Tech giant Google has finally unveiled its much-hyped Gemini AI, a series of generative AI models it claims are its “largest and most capable” to date.

“This new era of models represents one of the biggest science and engineering efforts we’ve undertaken as a company,” said Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

Continue reading “Google’s new Gemini AI beats GPT-4 in 30 of 32 tests” »

This cotton picking electric robot from Turkey could boost farm output by up to 20% by picking up what bigger tractors leave behind.

Stellantis was the last major automaker to commit.

A privately-owned spacecraft headed for the Moon has blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was used to launch the lunar lander, nicknamed Odysseus, with the hope that it will land on the Moon’s south pole – where scientists predict there could be a source of water. If all goes well, it will be the first time a private firm has successfully landed on the Moon. It would also be the first US mission in 51 years to complete a soft touchdown on the lunar surface. Subscribe: http://bit.ly/1rbfUog #Space #Moon #BBCNews

Although solar flares have been classified based on the amount of energy they emit at their peak, there has not been significant study into differentiating flares since slow-building flares were first discovered in the 1980s. Scientists have now shown that there is a significant amount of slower-type flares worthy of further investigation.

Solar flares occur when magnetic energy builds up in the Sun’s atmosphere and is released as electromagnetic radiation. Lasting anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours, flares usually reach temperatures around 10 million degrees Kelvin. Because of their intense electromagnetic energy, solar flares can cause disruptions in radio communications, Earth-orbiting satellites and even result in blackouts.

The width-to-decay ratio of a flare is the time it takes to reach maximum intensity to the time it takes to dissipate its energy.

Mission accomplished. Except Rober wasn’t done yet. Out of curiosity — and in preparation for the challengers to follow — he wondered if it was possible to make an even smaller blaster. One, say, three million times smaller? To answer that, he asked Pallav Kosuri, an assistant professor at the Integrative Biology Laboratory at the Salk Institute, if it was possible.

Kosuri’s reply: Sure! You just need to make it out of DNA.

Continue reading “Ex-NASA engineer Mark Rober created the world’s smallest Nerf gun — from DNA” »

More spy pictures are emerging of the as yet unnamed BYD pickup truck. Most importantly there are pictures indicating that right-hand drive models are already being tested. This means that it will almost certainly be heading to the Australian market and possibly the South African market soon.

Chinese media has been keen on talking about the RHD version of this car being spied but as you will see none of the pictures clearly show the steering wheel on the right. However, if you look at the windscreen wipers, on the near head on spy shot, these appear to be positioned for a car driven from a seat on the right.

Shocking news: some folks who cashed out the eye-watering $3,500 — before tax! — to purchase Apple’s newly released Vision Pro are already showing some buyer’s remorse.

As Business Insider reports, a tide of users who quickly snatched up Apple’s expensive new face computer are returning the pricey headsets. Specific reasons for returning the devices vary, but across the board, it seems that many users just don’t think the uncomfortable devices are worth the hefty price tag — yet, at least.

As Insider notes, one of the most-cited cons to the Apple Pro is the headset’s weight. The thing is heavy, and though Apple’s attempted to offset the weight issue with what has to be the thickest head strap we’ve ever seen, the heft is a serious problem for users.

In the realm of quantum mechanics, the ability to observe and control quantum phenomena at room temperature has long been elusive, especially on a large or “macroscopic” scale. Traditionally, such observations have been confined to environments near absolute zero, where quantum effects are easier to detect. But the requirement for extreme cold has been a major hurdle, limiting practical applications of quantum technologies.

Now, a study led by Tobias J. Kippenberg and Nils Johan Engelsen at EPFL, redefines the boundaries of what’s possible. The pioneering work blends quantum physics and mechanical engineering to achieve control of quantum phenomena at room temperature.

“Reaching the regime of room temperature quantum optomechanics has been an open challenge since decades,” says Kippenberg. “Our work realizes effectively the Heisenberg microscope—long thought to be only a theoretical toy model.”