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The X-37B is a reusable robotic space plane operated by the US Space Force. It resembles a miniature space shuttle at just under 9 metres long with a 4.5 metre wingspan and is an uncrewed vehicle designed for long-duration missions in low Earth orbit.

The craft launches vertically atop a rocket, lands horizontally like a conventional aircraft and serves as a testbed for new technologies and experiments that can be returned to Earth for analysis.

It’s development was a collaborative effort between NASA, Boeing, and the US Department of Defence. It was originally conceived by NASA in the late 1990s to explore reusable spaceplane technologies but transitioned to the US Air Force in 2004 for military purposes.

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In a scene toward the end of the 2006 film, “X-Men: The Last Stand,” a character claps and sends a shock wave that knocks out an opposing army. Sunny Jung, professor of biological and environmental engineering in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, was intrigued. “It made me curious about how the wave propagates when we clap our hands,” Jung said.

Jung is senior author of a study, published in Physical Review Research, that elucidates the complex physical mechanisms and involved in a handclap, with potential applications in bioacoustics and personal identification, whereby a handclap could be used to identify someone.

“Clapping hands is a daily, human activity and form of communication,” Jung said. “We use it in religious rituals, or to express appreciation: to resonate ourselves and excite ourselves. We wanted to explore how we generate the sound depending on how we clap our hands.”

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Crewless tanks.

As the newest generation platform within the RIPSAW family of vehicles, the M3 inherits the proven functionality and reliability of its predecessor in a more modular, mission-capable system, enhancing both soldier safety and mission success, according to the company.

The vehicle incorporates the familiar large, open deck area from the RIPSAW M5 robotic vehicle, and 10kW of offload power provides the flexibility to support multiple lethality, RSTA, combat engineering, and logistics payloads. With a powerful hybrid electric drivetrain and novel suspension, the RIPSAW M3 provides unmatched mobility with over 180 miles of range.

The company has completed over 2,500 miles of pre-delivery durability testing and refinement to ensure a rugged, reliable platform.

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In today’s AI news, Investor interest in AI coding assistants is exploding. Anysphere, the developer of AI-powered coding assistant Cursor, is in talks with venture capitalists to raise capital at a valuation of nearly $10 billion, Bloomberg reported. The round, if it transpires, would come about three months after Anysphere completed its previous fundraise of $100 million at a pre-money valuation of $2.5 billion.

And, there’s a new voice model in town, and it’s called Sesame. As he so often does, John Werner got a lot of information on this new technology from Nathaniel Whittemore at AI Daily Brief, where he covered interest in this conversational AI. Quoting Deedy Das of Menlo Ventures calling Sesame “the GPT-3 moment for voice,” Whittemore talked about what he called an “incredible explosion” of voice-based models happening now.

In other advancements, along with the new M4 MacBook Pro series Apple is releasing, the company is also quite proud of the new Mac mini. The Mac mini is arguably the more radical of the two. Apple’s diminutive computer has now received its first major design overhaul in 13 years. And this new tiny computer is the perfect machine for experimenting with and learning AI.

S biggest defense tech startups by valuation, raising $240 million at a $5.3 billion valuation in its latest round. Shield AI, the San Diego defense tech startup that builds drones and other AI-powered military systems, has raised a $240 million round at a $5.3 billion valuation, it announced today.” + In videos, while he hardly needs an introduction, few leaders have shaped the future of technology quite like Satya Nadella. He stepped into Microsoft’s top job at a catalytic moment—making bold bets on the cloud, embedding AI into the fabric of computing, all while staying true to Microsoft’s vision of becoming a “software factory.”

T just think, it delivers results. Manus excels at various tasks in work and life, getting everything done while you rest. + Then, join Boris Starkov and Anton Pidkuiko, the developers behind GibberLink, for a fireside chat with Luke Harries from ElevenLabs. On February 24, Georgi Gerganov, the creator of the GGwave protocol, showcased their demo at the ElevenLabs London hackathon on X, garnering attention from around the world—including Forbes, TechCrunch, and the entire developer community.

We close out with, Sam Witteveen looking at the latest release from Mistral AI, which is their Mistral OCR model. He looks at how it works and how it compares to other models, as well as how you can get started using it with code.

Thats all for today, but AI is moving fast — subscribe and follow for more Neural News.

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The U.S. military’s classified mini space shuttle returned to Earth on Friday after circling the world for 434 days.

The blasted into from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in December 2023 on a secret mission. Launched by SpaceX, the X-37B vehicle carried no people, just military experiments.

Its predawn touchdown at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California was not announced until hours after the fact. Photos showed the white-and-black space plane parked on the runway in darkness.

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What is faster than the fastest hypersonic missile?, well a beam of light, microwaves or subatomic particles but they are impossibly small and have almost no mass compared to a projectile. However, if you have enough energy you can make a weapon that works at the speed of light and in theory can shoot down anything projectile weapon we have now.
So why don’t we have phasers like in Star Trek?, in this video we look at Directed Energy Weapons and what they can do now and in the future.

This video is sponsored by Brilliant.org :
https://brilliant.org/CuriousDroid.

Written, researched and presented by paul shillito.

Images and footage : Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Google, US Navy, Marine Forces Reserve, IPG Photonics, EngineerguyFederico Dios, MicrowaveMeShow, PyroGadgets, laserpointersafety.com.
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Science fiction writer and historian HG Wells spoke of heat ray in war of the world’s.

The US-China rivalry has brought the future into today and weapons that were impossible to build before have become a reality — all in a bid to destroy each other. Laser weapons and hypersonic missiles — weapons only seen in sci-fi movies, are now fitting up to be the weapons of choice in a future conflict that could destroy the world as we know it. Which weapon will come out on top? In this video, we’ll find out — as it could be the single greatest indicator of which country would win in the race for world dominance between the US and China.

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The future of warfare starts in your mind. Understand how Neuroscience, Technology/AI and the OODA loop affects your flow. The world is changing, and cognitive warfare is at the forefront. In our latest podcast episode, we sit down with James Giordano, PhD, a Navy veteran and an expert in neurocognitive science, to delve into the world of cognitive warfare.
Stay in the Loop: https://www.aglx.com/newsletter-signup-north-america.
From the impact of emotions on decision-making to the integration of artificial intelligence and human cognition, this episode challenges your perspective on the battlefield. Join us as we explore the ethical implications of genetic modifications, the transformative effects of psychedelics, and the complexities of data usage in the digital age. Get ready to reimagine the relationship between technology, culture, and language. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to gain valuable insights from our thought-provoking conversation with Dr. Giordano. Tune in now to stay ahead of the curve on the evolving landscape of warfare!

00:00 — Understanding the OODA loop: A Neuroscience Perspective.
09:11 — Exploring Fifth Generation Warfare and Liminal Warfare.
16:06 — The Long Game: China’s Strategic Plan.
22:19 — Understanding Cognitive Warfare and Human-Machine Teaming.
25:52 — The Evolution of Human-Machine Teaming.
29:11 — Human Involvement in AI Decision Making.
36:01 — The Ethics of Paternalistic AI Systems.
40:43 — Technology’s Impact on Cognitive Engagement.
45:13 — Exploring Technologies for Human Performance Enhancement.
55:59 — Diving Into Attacking Mode and Ethics.
56:24 — Hacking the Human Genome.
59:37 — Epigenetic Modification and Phenotypic Shift.
1:04:54 — The Psychedelic Revolution.
1:11:18 — Revisiting Alcohol and Caffeine: Benefits and Burdens.
1:19:18 — Impact of Technology on Cognitive Capacity.
1:23:33 — Information Overload and Burdens.
1:27:02 — Ownership and Security of Personal Data.
1:31:56 — Identifying Predispositional Traits.
1:33:49 — Data Manipulation and Biometrics.
1:40:13 — Cultural Impact of Technology.
1:48:55 — The Role of Education in Integrating Science, Technology, Ethics, and Policy.
1:54:30 — Major Threats and Concerns in Today’s World.

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