NASA’s newest International Space Station crew members are creating quite the buzz.
The agency is sending three Astrobee robots to the orbiting outpost.
The cube-shaped devices will stay “as busy as a bee” flying around the station, assisting with routine tasks like maintenance and inventory tracking.
Continue reading “New NASA Robots Will Be ‘Busy As a Bee’ Aboard ISS” »
The following is a guest post by talented author and self-described nerd Ryan LaDue.
The Latest Wave of Sensor Tech Could be a Game-Changer for LiDAR-Equipped UAVs
Avalanche photodiode sensors are semiconductors capable of converting photons into electrons with an extremely high level of precision. The technology isn’t as new as you might think, but accessible units used for laser range finders (as part of LiDAR systems) have only been making their way into consumer markets in recent years.
What goes into making plants taste good? For scientists in MIT’s Media Lab, it takes a combination of botany, machine-learning algorithms, and some good old-fashioned chemistry.
Using all of the above, researchers in the Media Lab’s Open Agriculture Initiative report that they have created basil plants that are likely more delicious than any you have ever tasted. No genetic modification is involved: The researchers used computer algorithms to determine the optimal growing conditions to maximize the concentration of flavorful molecules known as volatile compounds.
But that is just the beginning for the new field of “cyber agriculture,” says Caleb Harper, a principal research scientist in MIT’s Media Lab and director of the OpenAg group. His group is now working on enhancing the human disease-fighting properties of herbs, and they also hope to help growers adapt to changing climates by studying how crops grow under different conditions.
Switzerland-based energy tech startup Innolith AG announces that it is developing world’s first 1000 Wh/kg rechargeable battery.
Under development in the company’s German laboratory, the new Innolith Energy Battery would be capable of powering an electric vehicle for over 1000 km (over 620 miles) on a single charge. The Innolith Energy Battery would also radically reduce costs due to the avoidance of exotic and expensive materials combined with the very high energy density of the system.
In addition to its range and cost advantages, the Innolith Energy Battery will be the first non-flammable lithium-based battery for use in EVs. The Innolith battery uses a non-flammable inorganic electrolyte, unlike conventional EV batteries that use a flammable organic electrolyte. The switch to non-flammable batteries removes the primary cause of battery fires that have beset the manufacturers of EVs.
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Computers were once considered high-end technology, only accessible to scientists and trained professionals. But there was a seismic shift in the history of computing during the second half of the 1970s. It wasn’t just that machines became much smaller and more powerful—though, of course, they did. It was the shift in who would use computers and where: they became available to everyone to use in their own home.
Today, quantum computing is in its infancy. Quantum computation incorporates some of the most mind-bending concepts from 20th-century physics. In the US, Google, IBM, and NASA are experimenting and building the first quantum computers. China is also investing heavily in quantum technology.
As the author of Quantum Computing for Everyone, published in March, I believe that there will be an analogous shift toward quantum computing, where enthusiasts will be able to play with quantum computers from their homes. This shift will occur much sooner than most people realize.
Continue reading “Quantum Computers Could Go Mainstream Sooner than We Think” »
Suppose you throw some object near the surface of the Earth. If the only significant force on the object is the constant downward gravitational force, we call this “projectile motion.” Yes, that tennis ball you loft across the room is projectile motion. Flipping a coin—the center of mass is projectile motion. As you can probably guess, a dude jumping on a moving trampoline is also an example of projectile motion.
For these kinds of motions, the following must be true:
Scientists researching the microbial life on volcanic vents uncovered more incredible ocean landscapes from the seafloor off the coast of California. Just check this out:
An international team, led by University of Georgia associate professor Samantha Joye, set out to explore sites in both the northern and southern Gulf of California, analyzing how microorganisms live in the hot waters by the vents. These images come from the ROV SuBastian, a remotely operated sub that can take samples and image the area around these vents, operated from the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel, Falkor.
Continue reading “New Mirror-Like Pools Discovered Deep in the Pacific Ocean” »
