Science & Technology News – Page 72

Autonomous Flying Wind Turbines Can Generate Energy at Nearly Half the Cost

October 29, 2021

Kitekraft’s flying turbine during flight tests.

Sustainable energy is taking flight.

German startup Kitekraft is developing flying wind turbines that require 10 times less materials to develop than traditional wind turbines. The company just announced successful flight tests, which it describes as a “major milestone towards our first 100kW product.”

On its website, Kitekraft explains that the reduced requirement for materials for its flying turbine — which uses a tether instead of a huge tower — means it can reduce the costs of its energy to almost half of that produced by traditional wind farms at megawatt scale. Its carbon footprint is also lower than that of standard wind turbines, the company says, partially due to the fact that large wind turbine towers are typically transported by road.

Robots, Science & Technology News

World’s first ‘human-like’ robot nurse to care for elderly: ‘Feeling of connection’

October 25, 2021

A REVOLUTIONARY new ‘robot’ nurse designed to look and act like a human being, and capable of solving complex problems, is one of the star guests at a conference on Alternative Intelligence in California.

By CIARAN MCGRATH

And one of the scientists behind the pioneering technology said the “nursing assistant” machine, named Grace, designed to provide help and companionship to elderly people – will even be able to discuss the weather with them. Grace will make just her second public appearance at the 14th Conference on Artificial General Intelligence, alongside Dr Ben Goertzel, the founder of AI research company SingularityNET.

She is described by the company as the “little sister” of Sophia, a “social humanoid robot” developed by Hong Kong-based Hanson Robotics and activated in 2016.

Janet Adams, Chief Operating Officer at SingularityNET, told Express.co.uk: “Grace’s hardware is based on the same Hanson Robotics platform as Sophia.

“However, their AI software is quite different.”

AI, Science & Technology News

Mark Cuban-backed Alethea AI is building a metaverse of NFT avatars

October 23, 2021

Owners can bring their NFTs to Alethea’s “Noah’s Ark” metaverse to give them human-like behaviors.

Just when we were getting our heads around non-fungible tokens—crypto tokens that represent a unique digital asset—they’re now gaining sentience and moving to the metaverse.

Some of the best-known NFTs are unique avatars that people buy and sell, such as those in the CyberPunks series or Bored Ape Yacht Club. But NFTs don’t do much. Now, Alethea AI, a new company backed by entrepreneur and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, is wrapping avatars in AI that animates them, giving them conversation skills and knowledge. Collectively, the company calls this the avatar’s “pod” or “soul,” Alethea CEO Arif Khan tells me. Then, these intelligent NFTs, or iNFTs, become something like chatbots that can be owned, trained, or sold. Khan says his company originally used OpenAI’s GPT-3 natural language model to give the NFTs their speech and intelligence, but now uses an AI model it developed in-house.

“It’s a way of giving not only a personality to an avatar but to apply interactivity and to make it extensible,” Cuban said in an email to Fast Company. “You can take Alethea AI and let it grow into almost anything.” One of these NFTs, called “Alice,” already sold for $478,000 on Sotheby’s Natively Digital market in June.

Science & Technology News, Trending

These are the top 10 tech trends that will shape the coming decade, according to McKinsey

October 19, 2021

According to McKinsey, these are the 10 top technologies attracting the attention and funds of investors and technologists.

By Sean Fleming

We’ll experience more technological progress in the coming decade than we did in the preceding 100 years put together, says McKinsey.
And 10 tech trends will dominate this shifting landscape.
Understanding the effects of this change can help avoid nasty shocks to the system, for both individuals and organizations.
Businesses that are making the most of advances in tech are also in a good place to make the most in terms of return on their investments.

The pace of change in the technology sector has always been brisk. As much as 10 years worth of growth in e-commerce may have been compressed into just three months in late 2019, according to McKinsey & Company, which predicts that we’ll experience more technological progress in the coming decade than we did in the preceding 100 years put together.

Any change can be unsettling and keeping pace with developments even more so. Part of the challenge is knowing which are the most significant changes and which are the ones that are less likely to bear fruit.

According to McKinsey, these are the 10 top technologies attracting the attention and funds of investors and technologists. They are also the ones most likely to feature prominently in the changing face of the modern workplace. Understanding the impact they will have on organizations and on the people whose jobs will be affected, could be key to avoiding any of the worst downsides of the disruption that may follow.

Driverless vehicles, Science & Technology News

New York-based Buffalo Automation unveils Greycraft, the world’s first fully autonomous, AI-driven water taxi concept | Tech News | Startups News

October 16, 2021

By Laurie Foti

We wrote about Buffalo Automation in November of 2019 after the New York-based tech startup was selected as one of the 19 semi-finalists to compete for the $3 million investments by New York accelerator GENIUS NY. A lot of exciting things have happened since them.

Last week, Buffalo Automation unveiled the world’s first fully autonomous, AI-driven, passenger-carrying robotaxi in Knoxville, Tennessee next week, opening the door for cities nationwide to adopt this alternative form of transportation. The official launch of the fully operational Greycraft Water Taxi is targeted for early 2021 and will initially be cost-free for residents pending proper transportation permits.

Greycraft is the only solar-powered, autonomous vessel currently capable of carrying passengers and traversing busy waterways. Using the newly released Mayday app, it can also be hailed much like Lyft or Uber. Buffalo Automation has made the possibility of using autonomous water taxis as a safe, reliable, environmentally friendly means of transport, a reality.

Founded in 2015 Thiru Vikram, Buffalo Automation is an AI startup that provides autonomous systems for commercial ships, recreational boats, ports, and waterways. Buffalo Automation’s flagship product, Automate, is a predictive boat navigation system that guides large commercial ships.

Housing, Science & Technology News

HADRIAN X ROBOT TO BUILD MULTI-UNIT DWELLINGS

October 15, 2021

Perth construction robotics company FBR has announced its has won a $500,000 contract for its first multi-home construction project as part of its Wall as a Service (WaaS) construction system.

The Hadrian X bricklaying robot will construct eight two-storey townhouses at a development site in St James, Perth, with the robot constructing the slab, footings, structural walls, second storey slab and roof trusses.

The $5 million project by Riculallo Pty Ltd will start as soon as approvals are achieved and be completed using normal manual construction systems.

Science & Technology News, Space Flight

Graphene in Space: Wonder Material Strengthens New Space Habitat Prototype

October 15, 2021

An artist’s impression of the space habitat.

By Chris Young

The material can protect against micrometeorites and space junk.An artist’s impression of the space habitat.

Since it was first isolated in 2004 at The University of Manchester, graphene has been touted as a wonder material that can massively improve the strength of buildings and machines across the globe. Now, the robust carbon allotrope is set to go to space to strengthen future astronaut habitats.

An international team led by Dr. Vivek Koncherry at The University of Manchester is developing a prototype for the graphene-enhanced space habitat. According to Koncherry, who we reached out to by email, the material will help balance the massively contrasting temperatures to which a space structure is subjected, making it safer for its future inhabitants.

Robots, Science & Technology News

Peach picking robots could be the future for Georgia growers

October 15, 2021

Robot picking peaches More than 130 million pounds of peaches are produced in Georgia per year, and the Southern staple has a total farm gate value in excess of $71 million, according to recent estimates.

By Sabrina Cupit

More than 130 million pounds of peaches are produced in Georgia per year, and the Southern staple has a total farm gate value in excess of $71 million, according to recent estimates.

But cultivating peaches is a complex and manually-intensive process that has put a strain on many farms stretched for time and workers. To solve this problem, the Georgia Tech Research Institute has developed an intelligent robot that is designed to handle the human-based tasks of thinning and pruning peach trees, which could result in significant cost savings for peach farms in Georgia.

Aviation, Science & Technology News

Autonomous High-Speed Test Vehicle Gearing up to Revolutionize Hypersonic Flight

October 11, 2021

By Otilia Drăgan

Supersonic and hypersonic aircraft are slowly but surely coming back to the forefront of aviation. NASA is in the last development stages of its supersonic research aircraft, X-59, and Stratolaunch is getting ready to operate its first hypersonic test vehicle, the Talon-A. 8 photos

Despite previous attempts, the hypersonic flight is still in its infancy and requires a lot of testing, which wouldn’t be possible without an adequate launch platform. Stratolaunch first developed Roc, the world’s largest airplane, meant to act as a multi-vehicle carrier aircraft for hypersonic test vehicles. Roc has already completed two test flights, with several others to follow.

Another recent milestone for Stratolaunch is the successful completion of the Critical Design Review (CDR) for its first hypersonic vehicle, the Talon-A, which was carried and launched by the Roc.

Robots, Science & Technology News

Honda is working on small rockets, electric aircraft and robots for the Moon

October 10, 2021

It wants to send humans to the ‘fourth dimension.’ Yeah, it’s pretty weird.

By RONAN GLON

Honda builds a surprisingly diverse selection of products that includes cars, motorcycles, generators, lawn mowers and planes. It will branch out into even more sectors over the coming years by adding robots, small rockets, and a second plane.

The expansion is part of Honda’s 2030 Vision of serving people worldwide with what it calls “the joy of expanding their life’s potential” — even if that means putting down the snowblower (built by Honda, of course) and taking a quick jaunt to outer space. The firm explained that it wants to expand the potential of mobility in the third dimension before turning its attention to the fourth dimension, which we’re told defies the constraints of time and space, and ultimately head into space.

Honda, which has made the HondaJet for years, will initially develop an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft that won’t be as electric as its name suggests. Shown in the gallery above, it will be propelled by a hybrid powertrain built around a gas turbine, and it will have enough range to carry passengers from one city to the next. On paper, it sounds a lot like the flying taxis that several other carmakers are hoping to pelt into the sky at some point in the future. Like many of its rivals, Honda plans to create an ecosystem in which its aircraft can operate while connecting it to some of its land-bound products.

Profitably building and operating an eVTOL makes autonomous driving look easy; the technology isn’t ready, the regulations are murky, and the infrastructure is nearly non-existent beyond helipads and airports. And yet, Honda’s entry into this much-hyped segment is more credible than most. It operates a successful plane-building division that makes the HondaJet, which was recently updated with more range.

Augmented Reality, Science & Technology News

Atari Founder Is Launching Augmented Reality NFTs on Ethereum

October 8, 2021

Nolan Bushnell’s NFT arcade cabinets can be viewed in 3D in your own home, plus there are some real-world perks attached.

By Andrew Hayward

ATARI’S PONG IS GETTING THE NFT TREATMENT.

In brief

Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari, will release NFTs based on classic arcade machines via MakersPlace.
All of the NFTs let owners view the arcade machine in 3D via augmented reality technology.

As the founder of legendary video game company Atari, Nolan Bushnell helped bring arcade gaming to the masses. And now with the advent of NFTs, he plans to bring some of those formative early machines into homes as digital, augmented reality collectibles.

Today, Bushnell and NFT marketplace MakersPlace announced The Arcade OG Series, a set of Ethereum-based collectibles. An NFT is a token that can be used to prove ownership of a verifiably scarce digital item—in this case, a video clip displaying a 3D rendering of an Atari “Pong” or Syzygy (Bushnell’s Atari precursor) “Computer Space” arcade game cabinet.blob:

Each Arcade OG Series collectible is more than just a simple video clip, however: it also comes with an augmented reality experience that lets you view the 3D rendering of the arcade cabinet within any real-world space. Owners will be able to drop the digital cabinet into place and then walk around it, viewing it up-close from all angles.

Aviation, Science & Technology News

Air travel’s future may include virtual cabin windows – take a look

October 1, 2021

The virtual airplane window also incorporates touchless technlogy.

by Francesca Street

Looking out the cabin window and seeing cities and oceans from above is, for many of us, one of the joys of flying.

But aviation innovators Rosen Aviation reckon this experience could be taken to the next level, rendering actual airplane windows obsolete.

The American aviation company is touting its Maverick Project airplane cabin design as the next frontier of inflight experience. A key part of the package? Virtual windows.

“The Maverick Project was born from trying to bring tomorrow’s technology into tomorrow’s plane,” says Lee Clark, Rosen’s senior VP for strategy.

Clark tells CNN Travel that while some of these features have become more common on the ground in recent years — think smart homes — airplane cabins haven’t really caught up.

“The Maverick Project originated because the industry at large is somewhat lagging behind the domestic, residential and automotive worlds,” he says.

Rosen, working in collaboration with KiPcreating and Sky-Style, wants to change this dynamic with the Maverick Project.

But while the visual renderings look flashy, Clark says the goal isn’t to go high tech simply for the sake of it.

“The critical piece is it’s about the passenger experience, it’s not about the technology,” says Clark.