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Jul 20, 2023

‘World’s largest sundial’ could generate nearly 400,000 kWh of electricity every year

Posted by in categories: solar power, sustainability

The project, called the Arch of Time, will stand 100 feet tall and generate enough solar power every year to offset 40 Texans’ home energy use.

Berlin architect Riccardo Mariano has designed an innovative new project for the city of Houston, Texas, that will generate nearly 400,000 kWh of electricity every year while acting as a public sundial.

The project, named the Arco del Tiempo (Arch of Time), will be a 100-foot-tall triumphal archway that will serve as the gateway to the city’s East End, part of the Second Ward district for the city. It will have a roof covered in photovoltaic modules to produce electricity as well.

Jul 20, 2023

New dual-resolution technique opens door for faster drone exploration

Posted by in categories: drones, mapping, robotics/AI

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University have developed a new technique that could lead to faster and more efficient drone exploration.

A team of researchers from Carnegie Mellon University has successfully developed a new dual-mapping technique that could help robots explore areas faster and more efficiently. By producing both a site’s high-and low-resolution map, this new technique enables robots to explore areas using only a fraction of the computing power typically needed for a similar task.

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Jul 20, 2023

Meta announces ‘new and improved’ LLaMa 2 in partnership with Microsoft

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Microsoft also has a collaboration with OpenAI, which mostly develops closed-source LLMs.

Meta has partnered with Microsoft to launch an open-source large language model like ChatGPT. Called LLaMa 2, it was trained on 40% more data in comparison to LLaMa 1, which Meta had launched in February.

What sets it apart from its competitors like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard is that it’s open source.

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Jul 20, 2023

Elon Musk commits $1 billion toward building Tesla’s Dojo supercomputer

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, supercomputing, sustainability, transportation

It should be ready by the end of 2024 but can we take Musk’s word at face value when it comes to deadlines?

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has committed to spending a billion dollars to build the Dojo supercomputer over the next year, Bloomberg.

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Jul 20, 2023

Stanford researchers claim ChatGPT’s performance and accuracy has decreased over time

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Researchers compared performance of OpenAI’s GPT-3.5 and GPT-4.

It seems that the honeymoon phase for large language models (LLMs), introduced in the rush to make inroads in the generative AI space, is over. According to a study by researchers at Stanford and UC Berkeley, the performance of OpenAI’s LLMs has decreased significantly over time.

The researchers wanted to determine if these LLMs were improving, as they can be updated based on data, user feedback, and design changes.

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Jul 20, 2023

A strong commercial space industry secures America’s future

Posted by in categories: economics, robotics/AI, security, space

The United States remains the only nation to have landed humans on the Moon and returned them safely to Earth. It is among the greatest achievements in human history, and it has significantly contributed to America’s leadership on the world stage. As a young man I had the opportunity of working on the Apollo program as an inspector with McDonnell Douglas. It was an exciting experience, and I am both grateful and humbled to have been a part of it.

The success of the Apollo Missions led to other significant accomplishments like building reusable Space Shuttles to test the limits of human space flight, prolonged robotic exploration of Mars, deploying a space-based telescope that can see far beyond our solar system, and conducting scientific research on the International Space Station. In more recent years we’ve seen an explosion in commercial space activity which has culminated in private companies conducting successful human space launches. This too is a significant milestone.

Our investment in space is critical to our national security, scientific discovery, technological advancement, and economic competitiveness. So much of our modern-day life is dependent on space making a bank transaction, for example, or even a phone call, these days requires using some type of space-faring technology. And while NASA’s leadership of our space efforts will continue to be indispensable, the U.S. commercial space industry’s role in space exploration will grow larger and more critical. American companies must continue to lead the way.

Jul 20, 2023

The messy morality of letting AI make life-and-death decisions

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Automation can help us make hard choices, but it can’t do it alone.

Jul 20, 2023

US Army to test improved Microsoft HoloLens 1.2 tech next month

Posted by in category: augmented reality

Microsoft has confirmed that they will deliver around 20 prototypes of its improved HoloLens technology for testing with the US Army in August.

The United States Army will test Microsoft’s HoloLens-based combat goggles again this month, Engadget.

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Jul 20, 2023

1984 Colorized Version of The 1956 Film (Full Movie)

Posted by in categories: entertainment, futurism

https://youtube.com/watch?v=1131xTaVo8A

1984 is a 1956 British black-and-white science fiction film, based on the 1948 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell, depicting a totalitarian future of a dystopian society.

This is the first film adaptation of the story, directed by Michael Anderson and starring Edmond O’Brien as protagonist Winston Smith, and featuring Donald Pleasence, Jan Sterling, and Michael Redgrave.

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Jul 20, 2023

How Apollo 11 inspired record-breaking NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson (exclusive)

Posted by in category: space

The historic moon landing had a big impact on Whitson, who was nine at the time.