Impact Lab – Page 321 – A Laboratory of the Future Human Experience

Ex-SpaceX Engineers Create Self-Driving Trains To Aid Trucker Shortage

February 18, 2022

The Parallel Systems self-driving train prototype looks like its waiting to go for a walk.

It’s a tough time to be a trucker. If you aren’t caught for days alone on the road, then you’re left with few benefits and low wages. It’s no wonder, then, that the U.S. is currently facing a shortage of long-haul truckers. But now, one firm thinks its self-driving freight trains could be here to save the day. Whether or not it actually works, though, will remain to be seen.

In order to try to combat the shortage of truckers around the world, a group of ex-SpaceX engineers has founded Parallel Systems. The firm is currently developing fleets of small, autonomous trains that could transport freight across the US.

The company has raised $US49.55 ($69) million in funding to develop its swarm of miniature trains. The autonomous crafts travel in pairs to carry shipping containers across the country.

The company says it hopes the autonomous trains will be able to alleviate the strains places on long-haul truckers as its devices can transport large loads between cities or other transit hubs. Once at their final destinations, the loads can be transferred to trucks, where freight drivers will complete the last mile of the journey.

This way, the firm says truck drivers will be able to retain their jobs while working closer to home.

Elon Musk

Elon Musk’s Starlink Begins To “Reconnect Tonga To The World”

February 18, 2022

BY TYLER DURDEN

After a massive volcanic eruption that severed Tonga’s internet connection to the world, a Fiji official tweeted Monday that a team of SpaceX engineers are in the process of establishing Starlink internet for the devastated island.

Last month, an undersea volcano about 40 miles north of Tonga’s main island unleashed a massive shockwave that severed undersea internet communication lines with nearby Fiji. The volcanic eruption is believed to be the largest in three decades.

Fiji’s Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum tweeted that a SpaceX team has arrived in Fiji and is working to “establish a Starlink Gateway station to reconnect Tonga to the world.”

Space

Firm planning 100,000 satellites claims it will “clean space” by capturing debris

February 17, 2022

E-Space claims its satellites will “capture debris… to prevent further collisions.”

By JON BRODKIN

A company led by satellite-industry veteran Greg Wyler says it plans to launch about 100,000 small communication satellites into low Earth orbit. The company, E-Space, yesterday announced that it received a $50 million investment and that it will launch its first test satellites next month, with “mass production… slated for 2023.”

E-Space said it has “filings in hand for potentially over 100,000 secure communication satellites,” but there are suggestions that the company wants to launch over 300,000 satellites. Prime Movers Lab, which led the $50 million investment round, said that E-Space’s network will have “up to hundreds of thousands of secure communication satellites” and described the devices as “micro-satellites.”

E-Space said its platform will “help governments and large companies build space-based applications in a capital-light manner” for uses “ranging from secure communications to managing remote infrastructure.” E-Space says its satellites will use a peer-to-peer communication model, and the company’s website describes the plan as a “multi-application cloud server in space… powered by E-Space’s rapidly scalable optical 5G mesh network.”

E-Space’s announcement said the $50 million investment fully funds a “‘Beta 1’ launch of its first test satellites in March 2022 as well as its second ‘Beta 2’ launch later this year.” E-Space “is composed of two independent entities” based in France and the US. Wyler, E-Space’s founder and chairman, previously founded OneWeb and O3b Networks. OneWeb exited bankruptcy in November 2020 and is launching broadband satellites, but Wyler is no longer involved with the company.

AI

PUBG CREATORS TO BUILD AI-POWERED VIRTUAL HUMANS

February 17, 2022

Krafton CEO CH Kim has said the company will actively leverage new technologies to offer unique experiences to gamers and creators.

Krafton, creator of PUBG Mobile and Battlegrounds Mobile India, said it will leverage hyperrealism character production technology to create digital avatars of humans and also tap AI, text-to-speech, speech-to-text, and voice-to-face to improve their communication skills

South Korean gaming company Krafton, known for games such as PUBG Mobile and Battlegrounds Mobile India, has jumped on to the Metaverse bandwagon with a virtual human modelling business, which will focus on building realistic virtual avatars that will be used inside games, eSports and as virtual influencers and singers.

Krafton said it will leverage hyperrealism character production technology to create digital avatars of humans and also tap into artificial intelligence (AI), text-to-speech, speech-to-text, and voice-to-face to improve their communication skills.

Green Friendly, Science & Technology News

‘Game-changing’ tech can extract 99% of carbon dioxide directly from the air

February 17, 2022

The fuel cell could be a ‘game changer’, researchers believe.

By Rob Waugh

A new system powered by hydrogen can capture 99% of carbon dioxide (CO2) from air, according to scientists.

Researchers at University of Delaware said the breakthrough, in a device the size of a soft drink can, could be a “significant advance” for CO2 capture.

It could also lead to more efficient fuel cells for use in cars.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is one of the new technologies that scientists hope will play an important role in tackling the climate crisis.

It involves the capture of CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels in power generation, which is then stored underground.

The Delaware research team, led by Professor Yushan Yan, reported its method in Nature Energy.

Fuel cells work by converting fuel chemical energy directly into electricity and are used in hybrid or zero-emission vehicles.

Farming

Carbon Robotics unveils new farm tech that kills weeds by zapping them with a laser

February 16, 2022

BY MARK ALLINSON

Carbon Robotics, an agricultural robotics company, today unveiled its 2022 LaserWeeder implement, an autonomous, laserweeding pull-behind robot that seamlessly attaches to the back of tractors.

The new LaserWeeder is a precise, organic, and cost-effective weed control solution for large-scale specialty row crops.

In addition to an updated build, the 2022 LaserWeeder features 30 industrial CO2 lasers, more than 3X the lasers in Carbon Robotics’ self-driving Autonomous LaserWeeder, creating an average weeding capacity of two acres per hour.

Growers who use Carbon Robotics’ implements are seeing up to 80 percent savings in weed management costs, with a break-even period of 2-3 years.

Paul Mikesell, Carbon Robotics CEO and founder, says: “We’ve proven the effectiveness of our laserweeding technology and the immense benefits it offers farmers, including healthier crops and soil, decreased herbicide use, and reduced chemical and labor costs.

3D Printer

LIVE HUMAN TENDON 3D PRINTED BY SCIENTISTS WITH NEW ‘CRYO-BIOPRINTING’

February 16, 2022

A diagram showing the team’s 3D bioprinted muscle-tendon up-close.

By PAUL HANAPHY

Researchers at Harvard Medical School and Sichuan University have developed a novel means of 3D bioprinting live human muscle-tendon tissues.

As opposed to normal extrusion bioprinting, which involves depositing cells along X and Y axes, the team’s ‘cryo-bioprinting’ process sees them frozen and stacked vertically, in a way that allows for the creation of freestanding, mixed-cell tissues.

According to the scientists, their technique also yields tissues that are more robust and versatile than those produced via conventional bioprinting, particularly when it comes to those anisotropic in nature, thus they say it could now find regenerative medicine, drug discovery, or personalized therapeutic applications.

Camping

Solar-powered camper from Airstream is a two-wheeled electric car

February 16, 2022

The camper can be driven and parked without the use of a car, is integrated with solar, and optimized for the electric vehicle revolution.

By RYAN KENNEDY

Airstream, builders of iconic travel trailers known for their rounded shape and aluminum exterior, announced the release of eStream, a camper built for the electric vehicle revolution.

The eStream takes Airstream’s famous design features and adds integrated solar PV in the roof, as well as an electric motor that can be used to drive and park the trailer. The electric motors within can also be used while towing the trailer, taking load off the towing vehicle. It’s estimated that the F-150 Lightning truck may reduce its range to less than 100 miles of range when towing at its maximum capacity, so the eStream helps to keep drivers going longer distances.

The roof has 900W of solar built-in, which Airstream said is about one-fifth the average power draw of an American home. In addition to solar, the system has a fast plug-in charging port and an 80kW battery. Airstream said the battery can reach full charge in about 30-45 minutes at a fast-charging station.

Virtual Reality

Scientists are developing interactive holograms you can touch and feel

February 15, 2022

21st century, holograms are already being used in a variety of ways.

The TV show “Star Trek: The Next Generation” introduced millions of people to the idea of a holodeck: an immersive, realistic 3D holographic projection of a complete environment that you could interact with and even touch.

In the 21st century, holograms are already being used in a variety of ways such as medical systems, education, art, security and defense. Scientists are still developing ways to use lasers, modern digital processors, and motion-sensing technologies to create several different types of holograms which could change the way we interact.

My colleagues and I working in the University of Glasgow’s bendable electronics and sensing technologies research group have now developed a system of holograms of people using “aerohaptics,” creating feelings of touch with jets of air. Those jets of air deliver a sensation of touch on people’s fingers, hands and wrists.

In time, this could be developed to allow you to meet a virtual avatar of a colleague on the other side of the world and really feel their handshake. It could even be the first steps towards building something like a holodeck.

To create this feeling of touch we use affordable, commercially available parts to pair computer-generated graphics with carefully directed and controlled jets of air.

Medical Breakthrough

THIS LITTLE PILL CAMERA COULD BE THE END OF COLONOSCOPIES

February 15, 2022

by Alex Baker

A tiny camera that fits inside a pill-sized capsule has revolutionised cancer screening in Scotland.

Over two thousand patients have now used the PillCam rather than the more traditional invasive method of having a colonoscopy.

The PillCam has reduced waiting times for bowel cancer screening and allowed faster diagnoses, an important factor in battling the disease.

The procedure itself is technically called a colon capsule endoscopy (CCE). The tiny camera is swallowed like a pill and then travels through the digestive system, recording 50,000 images along its journey.

New Inventions

MIT researchers create new material as strong as steel and light as plastic

February 15, 2022

By MICHELLE SHEN

MIT researchers have developed a new material that’s as strong as steel but as light as plastic.

It can be easily manufactured in large quantities, and the use cases range from lightweight coatings for cars and phones to building blocks for massive structures such as bridges, according to Michael Strano, the Carbon P. Dubbs Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT and the senior author of a new study.

“We don’t usually think of plastics as being something that you could use to support a building, but with this material, you can enable new things,” he said in a statement from MIT. “It has very unusual properties and we’re very excited about that.”

The material is several times stronger than bulletproof glass, and the amount of force needed to break it is twice that of steel, despite the fact that the material has only about one-sixth the density of steel, according to MIT.

Health & Fitness, Science & Technology News

Chemicals in everyday plastic items may lead to weight gain

February 14, 2022

New research explores the effect of chemicals in everyday plastic items on mouse fat cells.

Changes in diet and exercise do not fully explain the steep rise in overweight and obesity over recent decades.
One theory claims that chemicals in everyday plastic products promote weight gain by changing human metabolism.
A new study found that a range of plastic household items contain thousands of chemicals, many of them unknown.
One-third of the items contained chemicals that, after extraction, caused the growth and proliferation of mouse fat cells in the lab.

Chemicals in plastic household items such as drinks bottles, yogurt pots, and freezer bags may be contributing to the global epidemicTrusted Source of obesity, a new study suggests.

The chemicals may alter human metabolism by promoting the growth of fat cells, or adipocytes.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO)Trusted Source, the number of people with obesity has nearly tripled globally since 1975.

The WHO estimates that in 2016, more than 1.9 billion adults were overweight. Of these individuals, more than 650 million had obesity.

Having excess body weight increases a person’s risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, non-alcohol-related fatty liver disease, stroke, and certain types of cancer.

Research suggests that factors such as changes in diet are insufficient to explain the scale of the obesity epidemic and the speed with which it has spread around the world.

One possible culprit is the effect of synthetic chemicals in our environment called endocrine disruptors. These influence the endocrine system, which includes the hormones that regulate appetite, metabolism, and weight, among other bodily functions.