Lifeboat News: The Blog – Safeguarding Humanity

Get the latest international news and world events from around the world.

Oct 12
2020

‘Universal law of touch’ will enable new advances in virtual reality

Seismic waves, commonly associated with earthquakes, have been used by scientists to develop a universal scaling law for the sense of touch. A team, led by researchers at the University of Birmingham, used Rayleigh waves to create the first scaling law for touch sensitivity. The results are published in Science Advances.

The researchers are part of a European consortium (H-Reality) that are already using the theory to develop new Virtual Reality technologies that incorporate the sense of touch.

Rayleigh waves are created by impact between objects and are commonly thought to travel only along surfaces. The team discovered that, when it comes to touch, the waves also travel through layers of skin and bone and are picked up by the body’s touch receptor cells.

Oct 12
2020

Ant Group and fintech come of age

If the surge in digital finance is universal, the business models behind it are not. In Latin America look out for digital banks and e-commerce pioneers such as Nubank and MercadoLibre, owner of Mercado Pago. In South-East Asia Grab and Gojek, two ride-hailing services, are becoming “super-apps” with financial arms. Fintech firms now provide the majority of consumer loans in Sweden. In America credit-card firms such as Visa (the world’s most valuable financial firm), digital-finance giants such as PayPal (the sixth) and the big banks both co-operate and compete. Tech giants such as Apple and Alphabet are dipping their toes in, tempted by the financial industry’s $1.5trn global pool of profits.

A blockbuster listing shows how fintech is revolutionising finance.

Oct 11
2020

The Cerebellum Isn’t What We Thought

Scientists long believed its function was simply to coordinate movements. Now they suspect it could do much more.

Oct 11
2020

Tesla ‘Monster’ Cybertruck concept makes traditional monster trucks look tame

In the world of extreme auto, there are no machines that are more intimidating than monster trucks. With their massive engines and giant tires, monster trucks are associated with pure automotive mayhem and insanity. And if there is anything that’s still largely missing from the monster truck scene, it is the presence of all-electric vehicles. A Tesla Cybertruck could probably change this status quo.

Automotive 3D concept specialist shubbak.3D recently shared his take on what a “Monster Edition” of the Tesla Cybertruck could look like. The artist did pretty well in his concept, adding classic monster truck flourishes to the already domineering Cybertruck. The beast of the machine is pictured with numerous modifications such as a body kit, high suspension, and giant wheels.

Oct 11
2020

Pompeo Says China Has Deployed 60,000 Soldiers on Indian Border

China has deployed tens of thousands of soldiers on India’s Northern border, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said, in further signs that a deadly military standoff between the world’s two most populous countries is far from cooling down.

Oct 11
2020

Retractable Plasma Lightsaber Burns at 4,000 °F

;oooo.

YouTuber and engineer, the Hacksmith, has created the world’s first retractable, “plasma-based” lightsaber, and it burns at 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

Oct 11
2020

Swiss scientists fight food waste at the nano level

In Switzerland researchers are trying to help tackle the food waste challenge using nanotechnology.

Oct 11
2020

Poisonous furry caterpillars that look like wigs are popping up in Virginia

The state’s department of forestry is warning Virginians not to touch these caterpillars. Contact with the insects’ hairs causes a painful reaction.

Oct 11
2020

#SpaceWatchGL Opinion: Space Situational Awareness Together We Stand, Divided We Fall

As part of the partnership between SpaceWatch. Global and Joint Air Power Competence Centre, we have been granted permission to publish selected articles and texts. We are pleased to present “Space Situational Awareness Together We Stand, Divided We Fall”, originally published in the Joint Air Power Competence Centre Journal 30.

by Major General Juan P. Sánchez de Lara, SP AF, Commander in Chief Canary Islands Air Command

Space as an Operational Domain.

Oct 11
2020

US Army testing augmented reality goggles on dogs

The US Army is testing augmented reality goggles on its service dogs in hopes to allow troops to give orders remotely.

Pooches are commonly deployed to sniff out explosives, hazardous materials or to assist in rescues. The tech would retrofit special safety goggles military dogs already wear with live cameras and visual indicators so handlers can issue specific directions – allowing the dogs to work without putting soldiers in danger.

“Augmented reality works differently for dogs than for humans,” said Dr. Stephen Lee, an Army Research Office senior scientist in a statement. “AR will be used to provide dogs with commands and cues; it’s not for the dog to interact with it like a human does. This new technology offers us a critical tool to better communicate with military working dogs.”