ROBOFLY IS FIRST FLYING-INSECT MICRO-ROBOT TO GO TETHERLESS
You might remember RoboBee, an insect-sized robot that flies by flapping its wings. Unfortunately, though, it has to be hard-wired to a power source. Well, one of RoboBee’s creators has now helped develop RoboFly, which flies without a tether. Slightly heavier than a toothpick, RoboFly was designed by a team at the University of Washington – one member of that team, assistant professor Sawyer Fuller, was also part of the Harvard University team that first created RoboBee. That flying robot receives its power via a wire attached to an external power source, as an onboard battery would simply be too heavy to allow the tiny craft to fly. Instead of a wire or a battery, RoboFly is powered by a laser.
Read moreWHAT THE HISTORY OF MATH CAN TEACH US ABOUT THE FUTURE OF AI
The long history of automation in mathematics offers an even more apt parallel to how computerization, in the form of AI and robots, is likely to affect other kinds of work. If you’re worried about AI-induced mass unemployment or worse, think about this: why didn’t digital computers make mathematicians obsolete? It turns out that human intelligence is not just one trick or technique—it is many.
Read moreTHE SPACEDRIVE PROJECT – FIRST RESULTS ON EMDRIVE
Propellantless propulsion is believed to be the best option for interstellar travel. However, photon rockets or solar sails have thrusts so low that maybe only nano-scaled spacecraft may reach the next star within our lifetime using very high-power laser beams. Following into the footsteps of earlier breakthrough propulsion programs, we are investigating different concepts based on non-classical/revolutionary propulsion ideas that claim to be at least an order of magnitude more efficient in producing thrust compared to photon rockets.
Read moreNASA’S ATOMIC FRIDGE WILL MAKE THE ISS THE COLDEST KNOWN PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE
Putting NASA’s Cold Atom Lab in space will allow quantum states to last for far longer than on Earth, offering researchers unprecedented insight into the quantum realm. Later this year, a small part of the International Space Station will become 10 billion times colder than the average temperature of the vacuum of space thanks to the Cold Atom Lab (CAL). Once it’s on the space station, this atomic fridge will be the coldest known place in the universe and will allow physicists to ‘see’ into the quantum realm in a way that would never be possible on Earth.
Read moreCROSSBAR PUSHES RESISTIVE RAM INTO EMBEDDED AI
Resistive RAM technology developer Crossbar says it has inked a deal with aerospace chip maker Microsemi allowing the latter to embed Crossbar’s nonvolatile memory on future chips. The move follows selection of Crossbar’s technology by a leading foundry for advanced manufacturing nodes. Crossbar is counting on resistive RAM (ReRAM) to enable artificial intelligence systems whose neural networks are housed within the device rather than in the cloud.
Read moreIF YOU’RE RICH, YOU’RE MORE LUCKY THAN SMART. AND THERE’S MATH TO PROVE IT
Let’s back up a step. The economic inequality data are so familiar by now that they’ve lost the ability to surprise: the world’s richest 1 percent control almost half the world’s wealth; the richest eight men have wealth equal to something like 3+ billion of the world’s poorest. But why? The most common explanation is that the wealthy have earned it, whether by IQ or intelligence or talent, virtuous hard work (Horatio Alger) or sheer rapacity (The Wolf of Wall St.) Or all of the above, though it’s kind of tough to be both virtuous and rapacious. But what about good old dumb luck?
Read moreIT SEEMS SOMEONE IS PRODUCING A BANNED OZONE-DEPLETING CHEMICAL AGAIN
The Montreal Protocol—a 1987 international agreement to end production of ozone-destroying chemicals like freon—seems miraculous compared to the long struggle to achieve meaningful action on climate change. Even more astonishing is that the agreement has worked. Those chemicals (known as CFCs) take a long time to flush out of the atmosphere, but monitoring has shown that the flushing is proceeding largely according to plan.
Read moreAI AND COMPUTE
We’re releasing an analysis showing that since 2012, the amount of compute used in the largest AI training runs has been increasing exponentially with a 3.5 month-doubling time (by comparison, Moore’s Law had an 18-month doubling period). Since 2012, this metric has grown by more than 300,000x (an 18-month doubling period would yield only a 12x increase). Improvements in compute have been a key component of AI progress, so as long as this trend continues, it’s worth preparing for the implications of systems far outside today’s capabilities.
Read moreSTARTUP WANTS TO REPLACE CARS AND SUBWAYS WITH ELEVATED PODS
Self-driving cars might not solve the problem of rush-hour traffic, and in cities with some of the worst commutes now–like L.A., where each driver wasted an average of 102 hours stuck in traffic last year–most commuters still don’t choose to take public transportation. A startup called Transit X argues that we need a different form of mass transit to get people to stop driving. The company’s system, which it says will soon be deployed in the Philippines, will use networks of lightweight, automated, solar-powered pods.
Read moreIF SOLAR AND WIND ARE SO CHEAP, WHY ARE THEY MAKING ELECTRICITY SO EXPENSIVE?
A question that gives pause: If Solar And Wind Are So Cheap, Why Are They Making Electricity So Expensive? Over the last year, the media have publishedstoryafterstoryafterstoryabout the declining price of solar panels and wind turbines. People who read these stories are understandably left with the impression that the more solar and wind energy we produce, the lower electricity prices will become.
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