Impact Lab – Page 396 – A Laboratory of the Future Human Experience

NASA CONSIDERING REALITY TV SHOW FILMED ON SPACE STATION

April 25, 2021

WHO’S GOING TO BE AN ASTRONAUT?

by VICTOR TANGERMANN

New Deal

NASA has signed paperwork to explore the prospect of letting a company film what would be the first reality show set in space Space.com reports.

The show, titled “Space Hero,” claims to be “the world’s first ever global casting show where contestants compete for a trip to the International Space Station,” according to a statement, with flights being offered up by Axiom Space.

Despite the agreement, nothing is set in stone just yet. The document signed by NASA this week “does not authorize a private astronaut mission to the International Space Station,” as a NASA spokesperson told Space.com. Instead, it’s meant to facilitate “initial cooperation and information sharing between NAS and Space Hero.”

Robots, Science & Technology News

Chick-fil-A is testing out deliveries with a robot that can wink and transport chicken sandwiches

April 25, 2021

The newest Kiwibot.

Kiwibot

Chick-fil-A is testing out robot delivery in California.
The chicken chain is working with Kiwibot, which makes tiny, semi-autonomous delivery robots.
Several other chains are also working on robot deliveries, including Domino’s and Chipotle.

Chick-fil-A is testing out robot deliveries in California, Restaurant Business Online reported.

Small, semi-autonomous Kiwibots will be an option at checkout for Chick-fil-A customers at three locations in Santa Monica, California through a partnership between the two companies. Deliveries will use the newest version, Kiwibot 4.0, to make short deliveries.

“What we promise is to at least halve the time it takes for all orders a mile or closer, and more than half the cost” of average deliveries, Kiwibot COO Diego Varela Prada told Restaurant Business Online. The average Chick-fil-A delivery costs $1.99 and takes 30 minutes, according to Chick-fil-A.

The Kiwibots are four-wheeled, semi-autonomous rovers. They’re designed to detect obstacles including people, vehicles, and traffic lights, and they’re able to navigate terrain like sidewalks. Though the new Kiwibots have the most advanced sensors of the brand’s robots yet, they aren’t totally autonomous and still require monitoring.

Computer Security, Science & Technology News

Samsung’s new Galaxy Quantum 2 uses quantum cryptography to secure apps

April 24, 2021

Launched in South Korea, the Quantum 2 smartphone has a quantum random number generator chip built in.

By Daphne Leprince-Ringuet

Developed together with SK Telecom, the Galaxy Quantum 2 is the second quantum-equipped smartphone released by Samsung. Image: SK Telecom

Samsung is launching a new smartphone equipped with quantum cryptography technology, which promises to deliver a new level of security to consumer applications like mobile banking.

Developed together with South Korean telecoms giant SK Telecom, the Galaxy Quantum 2 device will be — at least for the foreseeable future — only available to the South Korean public, and is the second quantum-equipped smartphone released by Samsung.

With a 6.7-inch display, a 64MP main camera, and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ chipset, the Quantum 2’s feature set matches some of Samsung’s flagship smartphones, with the additional security of quantum cryptography for some of the device’s services.

The Quantum 2’s predecessor, called the Galaxy A Quantum, made its debut last year in South Korea, as the world’s first 5G smartphone with integrated quantum cryptography technology. Like the new Quantum 2, the Galaxy A includes a quantum random number generator (QRNG) that’s designed to secure sensitive transactions against the most sophisticated attacks.

Science & Technology News, Space

New laser to help clear the sky of space debris

April 24, 2021

by James Giggacher , Australian National University

Researchers at the Australian National University (ANU) have harnessed a technique that helps telescopes see objects in the night sky more clearly to fight against dangerous and costly space debris.

The researchers’ work on adaptive optics—which removes the haziness caused by turbulence in the atmosphere—has been applied to a new ‘guide star’ laser for better identifying, tracking and safely moving space debris.

Space debris is a major threat to the $US700 billion of space infrastructure delivering vital services around the globe each day. With laser guide star adaptive optics, this infrastructure now has a new line of defense.

The optics that focus and direct the guide star laser have been developed by the ANU researchers with colleagues from Electro Optic Systems (EOS), RMIT University, Japan and the U.S. as part of the Space Environment Research Centre (SERC).

Science & Technology News, Space Flight

The US plans to put a nuclear-powered rocket in orbit by 2025

April 24, 2021

Nuclear thermal rockets could be more manoeuvrable in space

By David Hambling

The US is taking steps to put a nuclear-powered rocket in orbit by 2025, paving the way for navigation in space to become much easier.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) plans to turn the long-studied concept of a nuclear thermal rocket into a reality. The technology isn’t powerful enough to launch a rocket from Earth, but could give a spacecraft propulsion for an extended period once in space. This would make it ideal for prolonged manoeuvring in orbit or in deep-space missions requiring acceleration and deceleration.

Via NewScientist.org

Driverless vehicles, Science & Technology News

Domino’s, Nuro to begin autonomous pizza deliveries in Houston

April 23, 2021

By Rebecca Bellan

Starting this week, some Domino’s customers in Houston can have a pizza delivered without ever interacting with a human.

The pizza delivery giant said Monday it has partnered with autonomous delivery vehicle startup Nuro to allow select customers to have their pizzas dropped at their door via Nuro’s R2 robot.

“There is still so much for our brand to learn about the autonomous delivery space,” Dennis Maloney, Domino’s senior vice president and chief innovation officer said in a statement. “This program will allow us to better understand how customers respond to the deliveries, how they interact with the robot and how it affects store operations.”

On certain days and times, customers ordering from the Woodland Heights store on the Domino’s website can request R2, which uses radar, 360-degree cameras and thermal imaging to direct its movement. They’ll get texts to let them know where the robot is and what PIN they’ll need to access their pizza via the bot’s touchscreen.

Over the course of the pandemic, the contactless, autonomous food delivery industry has accelerated quickly, and Nuro is currently poised to become a leader in this space.

“Nuro’s mission is to better everyday life through robotics,” Dave Ferguson, Nuro co-founder and president, said in a statement. “We’re excited to introduce our autonomous delivery bots to a select set of Domino’s customers in Houston. We can’t wait to see what they think.”

Robots, Science & Technology News

‘Wearable Robot’ Exoskeletons Could Reduce Factory Injuries

April 23, 2021

SuitX’s Iron Man-like exoskeleton prevents injuries in a variety of jobs that involve heavy lifting.

By Chris Young

Much has been said about the rising need for warehouse robots to meet the recent surge in demand for e-commerce products.

One company, SuitX has a different plan altogether. By using mechanical exoskeletons, the company, founded by the University of California, Berkeley’s Human Engineering Lab, is improving the efficiency of warehouse workers as well as preventing injuries.

3D Printer, Science & Technology News

This ceramic ink can 3D-print bones directly into a patient’s body. Here’s how

April 23, 2021

A newly discovered 3D-printing method could be revolutionary for bone cancer treatment.

By Douglas Broom

How can patients recover from surgery that removes parts of their bones?
Up to now the answer has been to build a ceramic replica in a laboratory.
But now scientists have invented a way to 3D-print bone tissue inside the body.
Ceramic material that mimics bone structure is mixed with living cells.
Its inventors say it will reduce suffering and speed up recovery.

A new 3D printing process which can be used inside the human body is offering hope to trauma and cancer patients who need bone replacements, reducing pain and speeding up recovery time.

The treatment of bone cancers can lead to sections of bone being removed and accident victims may require extensive bone repairs. Up to now, 3D bone printing has involved producing material outside the patient’s body.

But now a new technique developed at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, offers the prospect of doctors being able to create new bone tissue exactly where it is needed during a surgical operation.

Electric Vehicles, Science & Technology News

How To Electrify Entire US Federal Vehicle Fleet

April 22, 2021

By U.S. Department of Energy

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Federal Fleet Project Leader Cabell Hodge has a lot to think about these days. With the Biden administration announcing a push to electrify the entire federal fleet, NREL’s work supporting energy-savvy fleet management is more critical and timely than ever. The president’s ambitious new goal requires a considered plan: Which fleets and vehicles should go electric first — and when, and how — among the more-than-614,000-vehicle domestic fleet of federal cars, vans, and trucks, including 225,000 Postal Service vehicles, across the United States?

Electric Vehicles, Science & Technology News

VW will switch to mass-producing electric vehicles with bidirectional charging next year

April 22, 2021

By Fred Lambert

Volkswagen has confirmed that it will switch all of its MEB-based electric vehicles to support bidirectional charging starting next year.

It could give a big boost to vehicle-to-grid technologies.

Driverless cars, Science & Technology News

The Good People Of Phoenix Are Egging The Self-Driving Google Cars

April 22, 2021

One of Waymo’s Chrysler Pacificas in the Phoenix area.

By Raphael Orlove

As the day when our robot overlords take control of Earth away from humans approaches, it remains unwise to taunt, provoke, or anger the robots of today. It is with this in mind that I salute the brave residents of Phoenix, AZ, for egging the self-driving Google-backed Waymo minivans testing on their roads.

Self-driving cars seem like an evolutionary step up from regular cars. Cruise control becomes adaptive cruise control becomes Super Cruise becomes driverless cars. Once you make the transition to full autonomy, though, self-driving cars become something more like giant robots that can pick your kids up from school, or help you get from your distant exurb to your downtown cube farm, or whatever other distopia awaits us.

Do we choose to bow prematurely to these robots, our future overlords? The people of Phoenix do not, as the Phoenix New Times reports. The Google-backed startup Waymo has been using the sunny streets of Phoenix to test its self-driving tech, in part because the government of Arizona is significantly less strict than neighboring California and because driving in Phoenix has got to be easy for a robot. There’s no rain to get on your sensors. There are no confusing off-the-grid old town streets. There’s just endless urban/suburban thoroughfares designed with cars in mind.

The people of Phoenix have been egging these Google cars:

Augmented Reality, Science & Technology News

The Metaverse Is Coming And It’s A Very Big Deal

April 21, 2021

By Cathy Hackl

Imagine walking down the street. Suddenly, you think of a product you need. Immediately next to you, a vending machine appears, filled with the product and variations you were thinking of. You stop, pick an item from the vending machine, it’s shipped to your house, and then continue on your way.

Next, imagine a husband and wife. The husband offers to go to the store but the wife can’t remember the name and type of product she needs. Her brain-computer interface device recognizes it for her and transmits a link to her husband’s device, along with what stores and aisles it’s located in.

Welcome to the metaverse, alternate digital realities where people work, play, and socialize. You can call it the metaverse, the mirror world, the AR Cloud, the Magicverse, the Spatial internet, or Live Maps, but one thing is for certain, it’s coming and it’s a big deal.