Science & Technology News – Page 226

AI, Artificial Intelligence, Google, Science & Technology News

The 10 best examples of how AI is already used in our everyday life

December 23, 2019

When you hear news about artificial intelligence (AI), it might be easy to assume it has nothing to do with you. You might imagine that artificial intelligence is only something the big tech giants are focused on, and that AI doesn’t impact your everyday life. In reality, artificial intelligence is encountered by most people from morning until night. Here are 10 of the best examples of how AI is already used in our everyday lives.

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Aviation, cutting edge, NASA, Science & Technology News

NASA’s X-59 supersonic jet is cleared for final assembly

December 23, 2019

NASA’s experimental X-59 jet, which could make supersonic commercial travel a reality, has been cleared for final assembly. The X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) aircraft, designed by Lockheed Martin, could take its first flight as soon as 2021.

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Higher Education, Latest Trend, New Viewpoints, Science & Technology News

Fewer students are going to college. Here’s why that matters

December 22, 2019

This fall, there were nearly 250,000 fewer students enrolled in college than a year ago, according to new numbers out Monday from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, which tracks college enrollment by student.

“That’s a lot of students that we’re losing,” says Doug Shapiro, who leads the research center at the Clearinghouse.

And this year isn’t the first time this has happened. Over the past eight years, college enrollment nationwide has fallen about 11%. Every sector — public state schools, community colleges, for-profits and private liberal arts schools — has felt the decline, though it has been especially painful for small private colleges, where, in some cases, institutions have been forced to close.

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China, cutting edge, Science & Technology News

China plans ‘paradise for physicists’ with particle colliders that will test the strongest forces in the universe

December 22, 2019

Guangdong becomes focus as China races the US to build bigger particle accelerators

Scientist says the competition between the two countries will ultimately be for the good of the human race.

Scientists in southern China are planning to create machines that will be used to unravel the mysteries of the building blocks of the universe.

They said two ring-shaped electron-ion colliders – one 2km (1.2 miles) long – will be built in Huizhou, a city in Guangdong province, beginning in 2025 and they will be designed to accelerate electrons to close to the speed of light.

The project – known as the Electron-Ion Collider of China, or EICC – will see electrons being fired at the nuclei of heavy elements such as iron or uranium at high speeds.

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Housing, Money Talk, Science & Technology News

Startup plans to allow consumers to purchase homes without a mortgage. Innovative, or risky?

December 22, 2019

Innovative, or risky?

One new Los Angeles-based investor-backed startup is claiming it will get Americans into homes without requiring a mortgage.

Fleq will launch next month in Pittsburgh, and instead of originating mortgages, its plan is to simply buy the home a purchaser wants and sell it back to them, bit by bit, in shares. The buyer can choose the length of time that they want to pay for the home.

“We didn’t think that [mortgages] were the appropriate and fair approach to homeownership, and we didn’t think it resonated with Millennials and Gen Zers, who saw their parents wiped out by the financial crisis,” said founder and CEO Todd Sherer, whose background is in real estate finance.

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Automation, Driverless vehicles, Science & Technology News

A self-driving truck delivered butter from California to Pennsylvania in three days

December 20, 2019

A Silicon Valley startup has completed what appears to be the first commercial freight cross-country trip by an autonomous truck, which finished a 2,800-mile-run from Tulare, California to Quakertown, Pennsylvania for Land O’Lakes in under three days. The trip was smooth like butter, 40,000 pounds of it.

Plus.ai, a 3-year-old company in Cupertino, announced the milestone, recently. A safety driver was aboard the autonomous semi, ready to take the wheel if needed, along with a safety engineer who observed how things were going.

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Engineering, Nanotechnology, new technology, Science & Technology News

A nanotube material conducts heat in just one direction

December 19, 2019

Photograph of nanotubes being created

Asymmetric conductors could revolutionize cooling systems for computers and other devices.

Heat is something of a nuisance for electrical engineers. It reduces the reliability of electronic devices and even causes them to fail completely. That’s why computer components are liberally smeared with thermal paste and connected to heat pipes, fans, and even water cooling systems.

The goal is to channel the heat away from sensitive components so that it can dissipate into the environment. But as devices get smaller, the challenge becomes more acute—and modern transistors, for example, are measured in nanometers.

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Automation, Electric Vehicles, Science & Technology News

Coca-Cola test-drives Einride’s autonomous truck in Sweden

December 19, 2019

An Einride vehicle will ferry goods between warehouses operated by Coca-Cola European Partners and Axfood, one of Sweden’s largest food retailers.

Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP), the brand’s local bottling partner, will deploy the Einride autonomous electric transport system to its Swedish distribution network, according to a news release.

As part of a commercial pilot, an Einride vehicle will ferry goods between warehouses operated by CCEP and Axfood, one of Sweden’s leading food retailers, an Einride spokesperson told FreightWaves.

The warehouses are located in Jordbro outside Stockholm, some in fenced areas and others situated along public roads.

The partnership with CCEP will run over the next few years and explore opportunities to improve sustainability and efficiency in warehouse transport, the release said.

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Electric Vehicles, Green Friendly, Science & Technology News, United Parcel Service

Heavy-duty trucks and buses must go electric, says new report

December 20, 2019

The electrification of trucks and buses needs to be accelerated, says a new report released yesterday by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).

The UCS report, titled “Ready for Work: Now Is the Time for Heavy-Duty Electric Vehicles,” states that there are currently about 28 million trucks and buses in the US, or 10% of all vehicles. They are responsible for 28% of total carbon emissions in the transportation sector.

Electric trucks, on the other hand, emit 44% to 79% less emissions than diesel trucks, depending on the type of vehicle. They have zero tailpipe emissions. Further, the ownership costs can be cheaper.

Fuel and maintenance savings can offset the higher upfront costs of heavy-duty electric vehicles, making them cheaper than a diesel or natural gas vehicle over the life of a vehicle.

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drones, military drones, Science & Technology News, Weapons

Turkey is getting military drones armed with machine guns

December 19, 2019

The Songar drone can accurately hit targets from hundreds of metres away, according to its manufacturer

A drone with a machine gun attached can hit targets with high precision, according to its makers. Turkey is set to become the first country to have the drone, when it gets a delivery this month.

The 25-kilogram drone has eight rotating blades to get it in the air. Its machine gun carries 200 rounds of ammunition and can fire single shots or 15-round bursts.

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Computer Security, IBM, Science & Technology News

Successful deployment of CQC’s Iron Bridge Quantum Photonic Cryptography Device into IBM Key Protect

December 22, 2019

The IronBridge 4 qubit cryptographic device, which can generate quantum secure keys for your applications, successfully integrates with IBM Key Protect for IBM Cloud.

Cambridge Quantum Computing has integrated its IronBridge quantum photonic cryptographic device with IBM Key Protect and can demonstrate the generation of post-quantum secure keys.

This solution requires minimal changes to existing infrastructure and interfaces natively with the IBM Cloud platform. This project was achieved through Cambridge Quantum Computing working with the IBM Key Protect team. Technically, this provides the IBM Cloud with various forms of post-quantum encryption keys and enhanced security around existing cryptography, as classical AES keys benefit from being generated from a quantum source of entropy. The keys are generated through NIST pre-approved algorithms and are uploaded and stored ready for use as Key Protect Standard Keys.

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3D Printer, Housing, People Making a Difference, Science & Technology News

World’s first 3D-printed neighborhood unveiled in Mexico

December 19, 2019

The project, which was created in partnership with Icon and Échale, is located in Tabasco, southeastern Mexico

We’ve followed New Story’s efforts to create affordable 3D-printed homes for a while, including its first prototype model and ambitious plan to build a community in Latin America. That plan has now been put into action and the non-profit has revealed what it calls the world’s first 3D-printed community, which is currently under construction in rural Mexico.

The project, which was created in partnership with Icon and Échale, is located in Tabasco, southeastern Mexico. The team aims to produce 50 homes for families in the area who are living in extreme poverty, often in dangerous and rickety makeshift shelters. So far, two homes have been completed and the families chosen will receive them at a zero interest, zero profit mortgage costing around 400 Mexican Pesos (about US$20 per month), which will run for seven years.

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