Technology

If you were wondering whether Marvel could make a super team-up bigger than The Avengers , the new trailer for Avengers: Infinity War suggests that the answer is a firm yes. Virtually every hero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe makes an appearance. Seriously: If you’re watching and you haven’t seen your favorite character yet, just give it another few seconds. The trailer also highlights Thanos (Josh Brolin), the purple villain who made his first appearance in an Avengers post-credits sequence — it looks like he’s finally getting out of his big, dumb space chair. A recent cover story in Vanity Fair suggests that the next two Avengers films will serve as the last hurrah for many of the mega-franchise’s current stars, with Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige saying that the still-untitled Avengers 4 will “bring things you’ve never seen in superhero films: a finale.” Avengers: Infinity War is directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, the brothers who previously helmed Capt...

Microsoft has announced a massive expansion plan aimed at modernizing its headquarters in Redmond, Washington. Unlike fellow Washington-based tech giant Amazon, which is seeking a second HQ in a new location , Microsoft is building on existing ground in order to “grow right here at home.” Its current Redmond Campus includes 125 buildings that house a workforce of around 48,000, but its expansion will add capacity for an additional 8,000 staff and introduce more scenic elements to the site. “Next fall, we will break ground on a multi-year campus refresh project that will include 18 new buildings, 6.7 million square feet of renovated workspace, $150 million in transportation infrastructure improvements, public spaces, sports fields and green space,” the company said. The work, which is scheduled to take five to seven years and will reportedly cost billions , will see 12 buildings knocked down and replaced with larger structures in addition to new ones. ...

SIEMENS, ROLLS-ROYCE AND AIRBUS COLLABORATES TO PRODUCE HYBRID-ELECTRIC AIR CRAFTS The partnership between Airbus, Rolls-Royce, and Siemens aims at developing a near-term flight demonstrator with the future potential to move regional travel from rail to air at cruising speeds that match current aircraft. The three companies announced the collaboration today, 28 November 2017, at the Royal Aeronautical Society in London. The E-Fan X hybrid-electric technology demonstrator is anticipated to fly in 2020 following ground tests, provisionally on a BAe 146, with one of the aircraft’s four gas turbine engines replaced by a 2MW electric motor.  Provisions will be made to replace a second gas turbine with an electric motor once system maturity has been proven. “The E-Fan X is an important next step in our goal of making electric flight a reality in the foreseeable future. The lessons we learned from a long history of electric flight demonstrators, starting with the...

FACEBOOK DEVELOPS A SOFTWARE THAT COULD DETECT SUICIDAL POST This is software to save lives. Facebook’s new “proactive detection” artificial intelligence technology will scan all posts for patterns of suicidal thoughts, and when necessary send mental health resources to the user at risk or their friends, or contact local first-responders. By using AI to flag worrisome posts to human moderators instead of waiting for user reports, Facebook can decrease how long it takes to send help. Facebook previously tested using AI to detect troubling posts and more prominently surface suicide reporting options to friends in the U.S. Now Facebook is will scour all types of content around the world with this AI, except in the European Union, where General Data Protection Regulation privacy laws on profiling users based on sensitive information complicate the use of this tech. Facebook also will use AI to prioritize particularly risky or urgent user reports so...

MIT and Harvard create cheap artificial muscles with super strength for soft robots MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory has teamed up with Harvard’s Wyss Institute to create a super strong, affordable artificial muscle that could be used to create soft robots with “superpowers,” including the ability to lift up to 1000 times their weight. The new soft robotic artificial muscles are inspired by origami, and can be constructed in as little as 10 minutes with materials generally available that can be acquired for less than $1. The technology uses ‘skeletons’ or basic structural scaffolding which are surrounded by a sealed bag that can then change its motion by creating a vacuum within the bag itself. The internal skeleton component can be made from a variety of materials, and how it’s constructed (and how it folds) will determine the motion, meaning they can be “programmed” simply and manually by changing how they bend when the skin membrane c...

Senators introduce revenge porn bill Senators Kamala D. Harris (D-CA), Richard Burr (R-NC) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), as well as Rep. Jackie Speier introduced a bill today to address revenge porn. The bill, Ending Nonconsenual Online User Graphic Harassment (ENOUGH) Act of 2017, is designed to address the unwanted sharing of private, explicit images. The ENOUGH Act would specifically ensure the Department of Justice has tools in place to address revenge porn, and establish federal criminal liability for those who share revenge porn and other consensual images. In order to prosecute someone under the ENOUGH Act, there would need to be proof that the person knew the victim expected the image to remain private, and that sharing the image would harm the victim. “A prosecution would also have to prove that no reasonable person would consider the shared image to touch on a matter of public concern,” the release states. This bill comes after Rep. Speier introduced...

Mars 2020 supersonic parachute undergoes first NASA tests NASA has released video footage of the supersonic parachute that will hopefully ease the descent of the Mars 2020 rover to the surface of the Red Planet.   The first test of the Advanced Supersonic Parachute Inflation Research Experiment (ASPIRE) took place on October 4 at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. A 17.7m Black Brant IX sounding rocket  carried the payload to a maximum altitude of over 50km. Less than a minute later, at an altitude of 42km and a velocity of 1.8 times the speed of sound, the test conditions were met and the parachute was successfully deployed. Made from a combination of nylon, Technora and Kevlar, ASPIRE was launched from the vehicle at almost 100mph, inflating in about half a second and generating roughly 16 tons of drag force. “It is quite a ride,” said Ian Clark, the test’s technical lead from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in ...

UK government launches Year of Engineering campaign to inspire next generation of engineers 19th November 2017   The UK government has pledged to work with hundreds of industry partners throughout 2018 to encourage young people and their parents to take a closer look at engineering. Launched in response to an estimated shortfall of  20,000 engineering graduates a year, and growing reports from industry that the skills shortage is having a significant impact on productivity and growth the so-called “Year of Engineering” hopes to galvanise industry, MPs, parents and teachers in a national push to inspire the next generation of engineers. Activities will include large-sale outreach programmes, such as a £1 million investment from Shell in the interactive Tomorrow’s Engineers Energy Quest programme for thousands of schoolchildren, a children’s book on engineering from publisher Usborne, and behind the scenes tours for families. The campaign – which aims t...

New technology makes artificial intelligence more private and portable Date: November 19, 2017 Source: University of Waterloo Summary: Technology is paving the way for artificial intelligence (AI) to break free of the internet and cloud computing. Technology developed at the University of Waterloo is paving the way for artificial intelligence (AI) to break free of the internet and cloud computing. New deep-learning AI software produced with that technology is compact enough to fit on mobile computer chips for use in everything from smartphones to industrial robots. That would allow devices to operate independent of the internet while using AI that performs almost as well as tethered neural networks. "We feel this has enormous potential," said Alexander Wong, a systems design engineering professor and Waterloo and co-creator of the technology. "This could be an enabler in many fields where people are struggling to get deep-lear...

  A NEW PLANET DISCOVERED   Forget Mars, scientists have discovered a new Earth-sized, possibly habitable, planet just 11 light years away. Known as Ross 128b, the newly discovered planet orbits a life-friendly red dwarf star that is an estimated seven billion years old. Red dwarfs are the most common stars in the galaxy, making up about 70 percent of all known stars, and tend to hold water-friendly planets in their orbit. What this means is these planets are likely to have an atmosphere and possibly support life. There’s been an explosion in the discovery of potentially habitable worlds in the last few years orbiting these red dwarf stars — in fact, a recent study suggests there may be as many as 60 billion planets in the habitable zone of these red dwarf solar systems out there. The exciting thing about Ross 128b is just how close it is to our own world. Some readers may recall there’s an even closer Earth-sized planet to us that is a mere 4....

Tesla is set to take the lid off its electric truck tomorrow for the first time, after months of teasing the big rig. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is still doing some teasing of his own, posting to his Instagram account a short video clip of the truck all draped in shadow — but we’re still going to learn a lot tomorrow. Here’s a quick breakdown of what we know, what we think we know and what gaps we hope Tesla will fill at its big unveiling. A truck Easy ones first — we’re going to see a huge truck at 8 PM PT tomorrow, and it’ll look recognizably truck-like. We know this much because Tesla has told us so directly, and we’ve seen the teaser images that are going around, which include a barely concealed silhouette that’s definitely a truck with a trailer. We’ve also potentially seen the full thing unobscured, too. A Reddit post revealed a spy shot taken by a passerby that shows what looks like it could very well be the Tesla semi truck. It bears more than a passing re...

10th November 2017 11:37 pm A new study has claimed that a global electricity network powered exclusively by renewables is possible by 2050, and will be cheaper than today’s system. (Credit: Jürgen via flickr) The report was carried out by Finland’s Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) and the Energy Watch Group (EWG), an international non-profit that includes scientists and politicians. Presenting their results on the sidelines of the COP23 climate conference in Bonn, the researchers said that existing renewables potential, coupled with storage, could meet global demand by the middle of the century. By that point, the planet’s increased population is predicted to consume around 48,800TWh of electricity per annum, roughly double what is used currently. However, the authors of the study estimate the total levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) from 100 per cent renewables in 2050 will be €52/MWh (including curtailment, storage and some grid costs), com...

UK researchers have used bacteria as a solar-harvesting ink to print paper-based disposable biosensors. (Credit: Imperial College London) The biosensors are powered by Cyanobacteria, photosynthetic micro-organisms that produce small amounts of energy over a period of around 100 hours. Using an inkjet printer, the researchers created precise patterns of the bacteria on to paper, alongside patterns of electrically conductive carbon nanotubes. The resulting paper sensors could be used to create wallpaper for short-term environmental monitoring or disposable medical devices for patients with conditions such as diabetes. Published in the journal Nature Communications , the work was carried out by a multidisciplinary team from Imperial College London, the University of Cambridge and Central Saint Martins. “Imagine a paper-based, disposable environmental sensor disguised as wallpaper, which could monitor air quality in the home,” said Dr Marin Sawa...