2020 – Page 36 – Impact Lab

Automobiles, Driverless vehicles, Inventions, new technology, Science & Technology News

Long-range 4D imaging radar on a chip unveiled

August 13, 2020

Developer of affordable imaging radars for the automotive industry, RFISee is unveiling the first Phased Array 4D imaging radar on a chip. RFISee’s all weather radar has proven its ability to detect cars from 500 meters and pedestrians from 200 meters, with an angular resolution greater than 1°.

The company’s engineers have adapted Phased Array antenna technology, used in military systems including the F-35 fighter jet and in air defence systems, while at the same time reducing the price to the current level of automotive sensors. Prototypes of RFISee’s radar are under evaluation by top automotive OEMs and Tier-1s.

Unlike many traditional and new types of radar, RFISee’s patented 4D imaging radar uses a powerful focused beam based on proprietary Phased Array radar technology. The focused beam created by dozens of transmitters rapidly scans the field of view. The receivers ensure a much-improved radar image, a better signal to noise ratio, and a detection range of obstacles such as cars and pedestrians that is six times broader when compared to existing radars. The competitive edge of RFISee’s radar prototype has already been proven in extensive testing.

Continue reading… “Long-range 4D imaging radar on a chip unveiled”

Biotech, brain-computer interfaces, Engineering, Medical Breakthrough, Science & Technology News

Scientists inspired by Star Wars develop artificial skin capable of recreating sense of touch

August 13, 2020

A researcher at the NUS demonstrates the self-healing abilities of an artificial, transparent skin

ACES, or Asynchronous Coded Electronic Skin, comprises up to 100 small sensors to replicate a sense of feeling.

Researchers say it can process information faster than the nervous system
The skin is able to recognise 20 to 30 different textures
The technology is still in the experimental stage

Singapore researchers have developed “electronic skin” capable of recreating a sense of touch, an innovation they hope will allow people with prosthetic limbs to detect objects, as well as feel texture, or even temperature and pain.

Continue reading… “Scientists inspired by Star Wars develop artificial skin capable of recreating sense of touch”

Automobiles, Electric Vehicles, Energy, Science & Technology News

What the future of fuel cell EVs looks like…

August 13, 2020

Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs) and Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) are considered by the most, as two competing technologies. Although both technologies power an electric motor, they have different properties and each of them is well suited for some uses more than others.

BEVs market is increasing, with the major automotive companies, like BMW, and Mercedes, starting to introduce into the market an increasing number of electric battery vehicles, in parallel to the main BEVs company like Tesla, and Toyota. FCEVs on the other hand are still at the demonstration stage.

In April 2019 Daimler stepped back from the development of the GLC F-Cell, after many years of investigation of fuel cells technologies. Besides this decision, Daimler did not completely abandon the hydrogen powertrain, but mostly shifted its focus to a different application. In fact, a collaboration with Volvo to develop fuel cell heavy-duty vehicles will possibly begin in September 2020, which will define a new chapter for the hydrogen technologies.

Continue reading… “What the future of fuel cell EVs looks like…”

Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Science & Technology News, Solar Energy, Solar Power

In a world-first, Australian University builds its own solar farm to offset 100% of its electricity use

August 13, 2020

LIMITING GLOBAL WARMING to well below 2℃ this century requires carbon emissions to reach net-zero by around 2050. Australian households have done much to support the transition via rooftop solar investments. Now it’s time for organizations to take a more serious role.

The University of Queensland’s efforts to reduce its electricity emissions provides one blueprint. Last week UQ opened a 64-megawatt solar farm at Warwick in the state’s southeast. It’s the first major university in the world to offset 100% of its electricity use with renewable power produced from its own assets. In fact, UQ will generate more renewable electricity than it uses.

The Warwick Solar farm shows businesses and other organizations that the renewables transition is doable, and makes economic sense.

Continue reading… “In a world-first, Australian University builds its own solar farm to offset 100% of its electricity use”

Battery, drones, Electric Vehicles, Science & Technology News

New drone technology promises a 5-minute recharge

August 12, 2020

A FlashBattery-packin’ drone lifts off from the StoreDot charging stationStoreDot

Most multicopter drones can only fly for about 30 minutes, after which their battery has to be recharged for one to two hours – this limits their practical use. According to Israeli company StoreDot, though, its FlashBattery tech delivers a full charge in just five minutes.

We last heard from StoreDot three years ago. At that time, the startup reportedly used a higher-capacity version of the FlashBattery system to recharge an electric car’s battery pack in five minutes.

Continue reading… “New drone technology promises a 5-minute recharge”

AI, Automation, Driverless vehicles, Machine Learning, Science & Technology News

Helm.ai pioneers breakthrough…. “Deep Teaching” of neural networks

August 12, 2020

Helm.ai today announced a breakthrough in unsupervised learning technology. This new methodology, called Deep Teaching, enables Helm.ai to train neural networks without human annotation or simulation for the purpose of advancing AI systems. Deep Teaching offers far-reaching implications for the future of computer vision and autonomous driving, as well as industries including aviation, robotics, manufacturing and even retail.

Artificial intelligence, or AI, is commonly understood as the science of simulating human intelligence processed by machines. Supervised learning refers to the process of training neural networks to perform certain tasks using training examples, typically provided by a human annotator or synthetic simulator to machines to perform certain tasks, while unsupervised learning is the process of enabling AI systems to learn from unlabelled information, infer inputs and produce solutions without the assistance of pre-established input and output patterns.

Continue reading… “Helm.ai pioneers breakthrough…. “Deep Teaching” of neural networks”

Automation, CES 2018, Clothing, Great New Product, Science & Technology News

Samsung’s automatic dry cleaning wardrobe removes 99% bacteria and is finally on sale!

August 11, 2020

What is your most hated chore in quarantine? I think its a tie between doing the dishes and laundry. For me, it is definitely laundry just because it takes longer and is so much more tedious! And while folding my clothes I think about Samsung’s AirDresser – an innovative wardrobe designed to steam, deodorize and sanitize clothes without putting them through a washer-dryer cycle.

Traditional laundry machine cycles can potentially damage clothes (how many of us even know the right settings for our loads?) and ever since the pandemic took over our lives we are doing laundry more often to stay safe – this is bound to wear them out 5x faster than usual. The Samsung AirDresser is here to save the day! Its sleek build is similar to a tall, thin fridge and can seamlessly blend in any room. The AirDresser uses a combination of steaming and heat-pump powered drying, and you won’t even have to plumb it in says Samsung. “That’s because, rather than a water connection like a traditional washer would require, the AirDresser relies on a refillable water tank at the bottom of the cabinet. It means it can be installed pretty much anywhere with a regular 120V outlet,” explains the team.

The wardrobe has space for six hanging garments and includes a set of weighted hangers for helping pull the wrinkles out of pants. The AirDresser is safe to use for suits, woolen clothes, knits, down, fur, leather, and denim making it super versatile and functional. Samsung also mentions that it is good to be used to clean babywear (definitely a lot of cycles there!), toys, and even bedding. I think the bedding bit is so important because traditional washer-dryer ties my bedsheet into such knots and we all know ‘entanglements’ aren’t good (right, Smiths?). It also saves water and makes it easier for the elderly to do their laundry!

Continue reading… “Samsung’s automatic dry cleaning wardrobe removes 99% bacteria and is finally on sale!”

Aviation, Engineering, Record Breaker, Science & Technology News, Transportation

Virgin Galactic debuts design of future Mach 3 high-speed aircraft, signs deal with Rolls-Royce

August 11, 2020

Virgin Galactic is making strides toward its goal of creating high-speed commercial aircraft that operates a little closer to Earth than its existing passenger spacecraft. The company revealed the initial design of the commercial passenger airplane it’s creating that’s designed to fly at speeds in excess of Mach 3 — faster than the average cruising speed of around Mach 2 that the original Concorde achieved.

This concept design comes alongside a new partnership for Virgin Galactic, by way of a memorandum of understanding that the company signed with Rolls-Royce, one of the world’s leading aircraft engine makers. Rolls-Royce is also responsible for the engine of the Concorde, one of the only supersonic commercial aircraft ever used for passenger travel.

Continue reading… “Virgin Galactic debuts design of future Mach 3 high-speed aircraft, signs deal with Rolls-Royce”

Coronavirus, Healthcare, Medical Breakthrough, Science & Technology News

Has the Summit Supercomputer cracked COVID’s code?

August 11, 2020

A supercomputer-powered genetic study of COVID-19 patients has spawned a possible breakthrough into how the novel coronavirus causes disease—and points toward new potential therapies to treat its worst symptoms.

The genetic data mining research uncovered a common pattern of gene activity in the lungs of symptomatic COVID-19 patients, which when compared to gene activity in healthy control populations revealed a mechanism that appears to be a key weapon in the coronavirus’s arsenal.

The good news is there are already drugs—a few of which are already FDA-approved—aimed at some of these very same pathologies.

“We think we have a core mechanism that explains a lot of the symptoms where the virus ends up residing,” said Daniel Jacobson, chief scientist for computational systems biology at Oak Ridge National Labs in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

Continue reading… “Has the Summit Supercomputer cracked COVID’s code?”

Coronavirus, Science & Technology News, Shopping, Trending

Resale is thriving in the pandemic

August 10, 2020

Since the pandemic began, the fashion industry has taken a hit. Retail giants have filed for bankruptcy, independent brands have closed, and brick-and-mortar stores, if they haven’t shut their doors, are still financially recovering from the months they were forced to stay closed during the lockdown. One of the few areas that has seen growth during this time, though, is the resale industry.

Online consignment platforms and secondhand retailers had already been seeing promising signs in the last few years. According to thredUP’s 2020 Resale Report, resale grew 25 times faster than retail in 2019, with 62M women buying secondhand products in 2019, compared to 56M in 2018 and 44M in 2017. The pandemic did not slow this growth.

Continue reading… “Resale is thriving in the pandemic”

Coding, Computer Security, quantum computing, Science & Technology News

The quest for quantum-proof encryption just made a leap forward

August 10, 2020

Quantum computers could make encryption a thing of the past, but 15 contenders are trying to prove they have what it takes to safeguard your data.

Many of the things you do online every day are protected by encryption so that no one else can spy on it. Your online banking and messages to your friends are likely encrypted, for example—as are government secrets. But that protection is under threat from the development of quantum computers, which threaten to render modern encryption methods useless.

Quantum machines work in a fundamentally different way from the classical computers we use today. Instead of using traditional binary code, which represents information with 0s and 1s, they use quantum bits, or qubits. The unusual properties of qubits make quantum computers far more powerful for some kinds of calculations, including the mathematical problems that underpin much of modern encryption.

Continue reading… “The quest for quantum-proof encryption just made a leap forward”

AI, Automobiles, Driverless vehicles, Science & Technology News

Exploring the three elephants in the autonomous vehicle room

August 10, 2020

The expression “elephant in the room” refers to an important question that everyone knows about but no one wants to discuss because it makes them uncomfortable.

Today, in the area of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs), there are three elephants in the room which are worth exploring.

Let’s get started.

Continue reading… “Exploring the three elephants in the autonomous vehicle room”