Impact Lab – Page 292 – A Laboratory of the Future Human Experience

Space Coin Project Launches ‘Space Travel for Everyone’

June 10, 2022

After several months of refinement and thorough smart contract auditing, Space Coin Project has announced the official launch of its ERC-20 token, SPJ.

If you’ve ever looked into booking a space flight, you can immediately recognize the challenges. From extremely expensive flight tickets to limited seats on spaceships to bureaucracy, the barriers to entry are clearly high. With today’s stipulations, almost 99% of the world isn’t able to experience the thrill of space travel.

These limitations birthed the idea of the Space Coin Project. Mr. Jason Chang (CEO, Space Coin Project), when asked about the motivation behind the creation of the all-new governance token said, “Our mission is to create a social movement with a decentralized organization at its core to represent the community of space enthusiasts around the world.” He further stated that the Space Coin Project aims to solve most of the major challenges associated with space travel by creating a decentralized system that gives everyone in the community a chance to purchase a ticket on a space flight.

Aviation

“Three-way race set for Korea’s flying car commercialization in 2025” – Korea Herald

June 10, 2022

The Korea Herald reports on the “race for leadership of South Korea’s flying car market, with SK Telecom, Hyundai Motor Group and Kakao Mobility announcing their bids by forging consortiums with local companies and submitting their business proposals to join the K-UAM Grand Challenge, a government-led program to select an urban air mobility business operator.”

The newspaper reports:

“They are vying for the lucrative sector that is expected to surpass 1,800 trillion won (USD1.4 trillion) in value by 2040. They aim to work with the government on UAM demonstration tests and to launch their own respective commercial services in 2025” says Mr Da-sol.

Futurati Podcast, Science & Technology News

Ep. 88 with Jeremy Clark

June 9, 2022

Watch our interview with Jeremy Clark on Youtube or listen at the Futurati Podcast website.

If you’re like me, you’ve watched the blockchain space with growing interest in recent years. But you can be forgiven for not really understanding what exactly the technology is good for outside of cryptocurrency. If so, you’ll want to tune in to this episode. Tonight we’re joined on the Futurati Podcast by Jeremy Clark. Jeremy is an associate professor at the Concordia Institute for Information Systems Engineering, where he holds the Catallaxy Industrial Research Chair in Blockchain Technologies. He obtained his PhD from the University of Waterloo, where his gold medal dissertation was on designing and deploying secure voting systems including Scantegrity—the first cryptographically verifiable system used in a public sector election. He wrote one of the earliest academic papers on Bitcoin, completed several research projects in the area, and contributed to the first textbook. Beyond research, he has worked with several municipalities on voting technology and testified to both the Canadian Senate and House finance committees on Bitcoin.

Driverless vehicles

Self-Driving Truck Navigates Maze of China Vases

June 9, 2022

A Swedish freight technology company has demonstrated the precision of its self-driving electric truck by having a pair of them navigate a maze of China vases.

Einride said they made this video, which shows their Pod model, on May 18.

The company said the Pod “currently operates on public roads and at customer sites in Sweden with remote oversight and drive capability.”

Robots

New York trials robot companions for 800 elderly people to combat loneliness

June 9, 2022

New York trials robot companions for 800 elderly people to combat loneliness

Officials in the US state of New York are offering robot companions to more than 800 senior citizens in a bid to combat social isolation.

The New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA) will work with local partners to identify older adults who would most benefit from the technology – a voice-operated smart device known as ElliQ.

The device, which consists of an interactive robot paired with a tablet, will help “foster independence and provide support for older adults,” NYSOFA said.

For example, it can carry out daily check-ins, suggest health and wellness tasks such as sleep relaxation and physical exercises, remind users to take their medication, and help them stay in touch with family and friends.

It also “proactively suggests” activities and initiates conversations, using artificial intelligence (AI) to foster a sense of relationship, NYSOFA added.

“Despite misconceptions and generalisations, older adults embrace new technology, especially when they see it is designed by older adults to meet their needs,” NYSOFA Director Greg Olsen said in a statement.

“For those who experience some form of isolation and wish to age in place, ElliQ is a powerful complement to traditional forms of social interaction and support from professional or family caregivers”.

brains

Scientists Have Established a Key Biological Difference Between Psychopaths and Normal People

June 8, 2022

The research found that the striatum region of the brain was on average ten percent larger in psychopathic individuals compared to a control group of individuals that had low or no psychopathic traits.

A new study has shown that psychopathic people have a bigger striatum area in their brain.

Neuroscientists using MRI scans discovered that psychopathic people have a 10% larger striatum, a cluster of neurons in the subcortical basal ganglia of the forebrain, than regular people. This represents a clear biological distinction between psychopaths and non-psychopathic people.

Neuroscientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore), the University of Pennsylvania, and California State University have discovered a biological distinction between psychopaths and non-psychopaths. Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, scientists discovered that the striatum, an area of the forebrain, was 10% bigger in psychopathic people compared to a control group of individuals with low or no psychopathic traits.

Psychopaths, or those with psychopathic qualities, are people who have an egotistical and antisocial disposition. This is often characterized by a lack of guilt for their actions, a lack of empathy for others, and, in some cases, criminal tendencies.

The striatum, which is part of the forebrain, the subcortical region of the brain that encompasses the whole cerebrum, coordinates numerous elements of cognition, including motor and action planning, decision-making, motivation, reinforcement, and reward perception.

Previous research has shown that psychopaths have overactive striatum, but the influence of its size on behavior has yet to be confirmed. The new research demonstrates a significant biological difference between people who exhibit psychopathic tendencies and those who do not. While not all people with psychopathic qualities end up violating the law, and not all criminals satisfy the criteria for psychopathy, there is a strong association. There is also significant evidence that psychopathy is associated with more aggressive behavior.

City Planning

Saudi Arabia Is Planning the Largest Buildings Ever Constructed

June 8, 2022

Mohammed bin Salman presents ‘The Line’ in 2021.Source: Neom

Parallel skyscrapers would make up linear city in Neom project
Prince’s mega-projects could be destination for oil windfall

B Vivian Nereim

Saudi Arabia is planning the world’s largest buildings in a mostly unpopulated part of the country as part of an entirely new $500 billion development called Neom, according to people familiar with the matter.

Neom, the brainchild of Saudi Crown Prince and de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman, aims to build twin skyscrapers about 500 meters (1,640 feet) tall that stretch horizontally for dozens of miles, the people said.

The skyscrapers would house a mix of residential, retail and office space running from the Red Sea coast into the desert, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. The plan is a shift from the concept announced last year of building a string of developments linked by underground hyper-speed rail, into a long continuous structure, the people said.h

Designers were instructed to work on a half mile-long prototype, current and former Neom employees said. If it goes forward in full, each structure would be larger than the world’s current biggest buildings, most of which are factories or malls rather than residential communities.

AI

Artificial ‘inventors’ are pushing patent law to its limits

June 8, 2022

It was the veritable search for a needle in a haystack. With drug-resistant bacteria on the rise, researchers at MIT were sifting through a database of more than 100 million molecules to identify a few that might have antibacterial properties.

Fortunately, the search proved successful. But it wasn’t a human who found the promising molecules. It was a machine learning program.

One compound has been patented under the name Halicin in homage to HAL, the artificial intelligence (AI) in Arthur C Clarke’s classic 2001: A Space Odyssey. Halicin works differently from existing antibiotics, disrupting the bacteria’s ability to access energy, and researchers hope bacteria may struggle to develop resistance to it.

Halicin might be the first antibiotic discovered using AI, but AI programs have played an important role in other patented inventions from electrical circuits, through meta-materials and drugs, to consumer products such as toothbrushes. As we argue in a recent article in Nature, society urgently needs to consider the impact of AI on the innovation system, particularly on laws regarding intellectual property and patents.

Aviation, Science & Technology News

Inside the Government Fiasco That Nearly Closed the U.S. Air System

June 7, 2022

THE UPGRADE TO 5G WAS SUPPOSED TO BRING A PARADISE OF SPEEDY WIRELESS. BUT A CHAOTIC PROCESS UNDER THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION, ALLOWED TO FESTER BY THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION, TURNED IT INTO AN EPIC DISASTER. THE PROBLEMS HAVEN’T BEEN SOLVED.

by Peter Elkind

The prospect sounded terrifying. A nationwide rollout of new wireless technology was set for January, but the aviation industry was warning it would cause mass calamity: 5G signals over new C-band networks could interfere with aircraft safety equipment, causing jetliners to tumble from the sky or speed off the end of runways. Aviation experts warned of “catastrophic failures leading to multiple fatalities.”

To stave off potential disaster, the Federal Aviation Administration prepared drastic preventive measures that would cancel thousands of flights, stranding passengers from coast to coast and grounding cargo shipments. “The nation’s commerce will grind to a halt,” the airlines’ trade group predicted.

On Jan. 18, following nail-biting negotiations involving CEOs, a Cabinet secretary and White House aides, an eleventh-hour agreement averted these threats of aviation armageddon. Verizon and AT&T agreed not to turn on more than 600 5G transmission towers near the runways of 87 airports and to reduce the power of others.

Disaster was averted. But the fact that it was such a close call was shocking nonetheless. How did a long-planned technology upgrade result in a standoff that seemed to threaten public safety and one of the nation’s largest industries? The reasons are numerous, but it’s undeniable that the new 5G deployment represents an epic debacle by multiple federal agencies, the regulatory equivalent of a series of 300-pound football players awkwardly fumbling the ball as it bounces crazily into and out of their arms.

More than anything, a deep examination of the fiasco reveals profound failures in two federal agencies — the Federal Communications Commission and the FAA — that are supposed to serve the public. In the case of the FCC, the agency not only advocated for the interests of the telecommunications industry but adopted its worldview, scorning evidence of risk and making cooperation and compromise nearly impossible. In the case of the FAA, the agency inexplicably stayed silent and passively watched preparations for 5G proceed over a period of years even as the aviation industry sounded ever more dire warnings that the new networks could put air safety at risk.

Hyperloop

30-Second Deliveries? This Startup Wants to Build a Hyperloop for Packages

June 7, 2022

By Vanessa Bates Ramirez

Elon Musk’s Boring Company has long been trying to build underground tunnels for hyperloop transit, and reportedly finished digging said tunnels under the Las Vegas convention center in 2020. The company also won a contract to build a high-speed transit system between Chicago’s O’Hare airport and the city center, which are 16 miles apart. That trip would allegedly take 12 minutes at speeds up to 150mph.

Now an Austin-based startup wants to do the same thing, except to transport packages instead of people. Pipedream Labs’ goal is to enable what it calls “hyperlogistics” this decade, making it possible to deliver packages in 30 seconds.

The idea is to use a network of underground pipes to get packages from a centralized hub to neighborhoods, where drivers would pick them up for last-mile delivery or customers would pick them up directly.

Medical Breakthrough

Scientists grow cells on a robot skeleton (but don’t know what to do with them yet)

June 7, 2022

The cells were placed in a replica shoulder joint that was moved around to stimulate growth.

By James Vincent

A new method of tissue engineering is only a proof of concept for now.

The science of tissue engineering — or growing human cells for use in medicine — is very much in its infancy, with only the simplest lab-grown cells able to be used in experimental treatments today. But researchers say a new method of tissue engineering could potentially improve the quality of this work: growing the cells on a moving robot skeleton.

Typically, cells used in this sort of regenerative medicine are grown in static environments. Think: petri dishes and miniature 3D scaffolds. A few experiments in the past have shown that cells can be grown on moving structures like hinges, but these have only stretched or bent the tissue in a single direction. But researchers from the University of Oxford and robotics firm Devanthro thought that, if you want to grow matter designed to move and flex like tendons or muscles, it’d be better to recreate their natural growing environment as accurately as possible. So they decided to approximate a mobile human body. THE THEORY IS THAT MOVING CELLS AS THEY WOULD IN YOUR BODY WILL HELP THEM GROW

Growing cells in an actual person creates all sorts of difficulties, of course, so the cross-disciplinary team decided to approximate the human musculoskeletal system as best they could using a robot. As described in a paper published in Communications Engineering, they adapted an open-source robot skeleton designed by the engineers at Devanthro and created a custom growing environment for the cells that can be fitted into the skeleton to bend and flex as required. (Such growing environments are known as bioreactors.)

The site they choose for this tissue agriculture was the robot’s shoulder joint, which had to be upgraded to more accurately approximate our own movements. Then, they created a bioreactor that could be fitted into the robot’s shoulder, consisting of strings of biodegradable filaments stretched between two anchor points, like a hank of hair, with the entire structure enclosed within a balloon-like outer membrane.

Robots

Tiny robotic crabs: Engineers invent the world’s smallest remote-controlled walking robots

June 6, 2022

Engineers at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, invented the world’s smallest remote-controlled walking robot. The robotic crab can balance on the side of a penny. (Northwestern University)

By Megan Marples

EVANSTON, Ill. — For these tiny robotic crabs, being small is a virtue.

Engineers at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, invented the world’s smallest remote-controlled walking robot, according to research published in the journal Science Robotics.

Each one is about half a millimeter wide, which is smaller than the thickness of a United States penny.

It took a year and a half to create the miniscule metal creatures, said coauthor John A. Rogers, the Louis Simpson and Kimberly Querrey Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University.

His team was comprised of students across varying academic levels who combined critical- and creative-thinking skills to design robots that looked like crabs as well as other animals like inchworms and crickets, he said.

Some students found the sideways motion of crabs to be amusing, which was the inspiration behind the crab robot, Rogers said. The tiny robot can also twist, turn and jump, he added.