December 2020 show notes
Story 1: New breathalyzer from Texas A&M, Dallas company might detect COVID-19 in a minute or less
Source: Houston Chronicle Story by Gwendolyn Wu
Source 2: Texas A&M Today
Link: https://bit.ly/35Zar04
See video here: https://vimeo.com/478229464
Texas A&M researchers and a Dallas-based artificial intelligence company called Worlds Inc. are developing a rapid COVID-19 breathalyzer test system housed in a kiosk that could be placed anywhere.
Here’s how it works: People would step up to the kiosk and, using a disposable straw, blow into a hole on the front of the kiosk.
The system captures the user’s breath and then looks for compounds [for example, neutralizing antibodies] that a body generates when fighting COVID-19.
Users would receive the results within a minute of the test through a smartphone app.
The test is done with advanced mass spectrometry technology, which is a chemical analysis process that in this case has been made smarter by artificial intelligence software.
And the research team claims the accuracy is comparable to the best rapid COVID 19 tests available today.
Story 2: Giant lasers help re-create supernovas’ explosive, mysterious physics
Source: ScienceNews.com Story by Emily Conover
Link: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/supernova-star-death-giant-lasers-explosive-mysterious-physics
See video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=atmK2mtPWkQ&feature=emb_logo
About 10 years ago, researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California embarked on a quest to understand a fascinating and poorly understood feature of supernovas.
In specific, the shock waves that form when a dying star explodes that can boost particles, such as protons and electrons, to extreme energies.
Scientists have long puzzled over how such waves give energetic particles their massive speed boosts.
Recently the Lawrence Livermore team created a supernova-style shock wave in the lab and watched it send particles hurtling, revealing possible new hints about how that happens in the cosmos.
The team used 192 large and extremely powerful lasers aimed on a target in a huge chamber to re-create the physics seen in the aftermath of a supernova blast.
The lasers vaporize a small target, which can be made of various materials, such as plastic.
And the impact of the lasers produces an explosion of fast-moving plasma, a mixture of charged particles, that mimics the behavior of plasma erupting from supernovas.
Bringing supernova physics down to earth could help resolve other mysteries of the universe, such as the origins of cosmic magnetic fields.
Story 3: Orlando Unveils Plans for First Flying-Car Hub in U.S.
Source: The New York Times Story by Neil Vigdor
Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/11/business/flying-car-vertiport.html
See video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=mjAJWrraTKs&feature=emb_logo
Here’s a news story that immediately makes boomers, like me, think of George Jetson and his flying car in the early 60s comedy cartoon show.
The city of Orlando, Florida and Lilium [a German aviation company] recently unveiled plans to build the first hub for flying cars in the United States.
The 56,000-square-foot transportation hub, which resembles an airport terminal, is scheduled to be completed in 2025.
The all electric-powered air taxis [which carry 4 passengers and a pilot] will be capable of taking off vertically from the hub and will reach speeds up to 186 miles per hour.
The flying taxi hub will be in Lake Nona, a community next to the Orlando International Airport.
Okay, here are some reality checks:
The project and electric flying taxis will require approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.
And the aircraft are still in the developmental phase. But you can see some great videos of the aircraft in action now.
Story 4: UK air ambulance service tests paramedic using a jet suit to fly to injured hikers
Source: BusinessInsider.com Story by Brittany Chang
Link: https://bit.ly/38LEqu2
See video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtvCnZqZnxc
The Great North Air Ambulance Service of Northern England recently partnered with Gravity Industries [makers of an Iron Man-like amazing jet suit] to test the idea of having flying paramedics.
The test involved a simulated rescue location in a rugged mountain area that would take a paramedic team on foot from the nearest roadway about 25 minutes to reach.
With the jet pack, the paramedic reached the site in 90 seconds!
Here’s more on Gravity Industries’ amazing jet pack:
The exo-skeletal suit combines five body mounted miniaturized jet-engines.
By shifting body weight and arm positions the pilot can take off vertically and steer flight direction.
And the fuel capacity of the backpack tank allows one to fly at 32 mph for up to nine minutes.
Story 5: Oregon State researchers make key advance for printing circuitry on wearable fabrics
Source: OSU press release
These days there’s growing interest in electronic textiles for “smart” clothing.
That is, clothes that integrate sensors, displays, power sources and logic circuits.
The idea of smart clothes is great, but the challenge to date is that fabricating rigid electronic devices on cloth is expensive, requiring a lot of heat and energy.
Now, thanks to a key advance by Oregon State University researchers smart clothing may one day be manufactured more efficiently.
The OSU breakthrough involves a new inkjet printing process and materials with a crystal structure to facilitate embedding electronics in fabrics.
They came up with a stable, printable ink with the ability to apply circuitry directly onto cloth with precision and at low processing temperatures.
The simplicity of the team’s inkjet printing process, its scalability and performance are all promising for the future of wearable smart-textiles.
Note: I’ve super simplified this story, so for more about the science behind this, be sure to check out the OSU press release.
Story 6: Future wearable personal data devices may be made of self-healing electronic skin
Source: Sciencefocus.com Story by Sara Rigby
Link: https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/new-electronic-skin-is-a-recyclable-self-healing-wearable-device/
Picture a super thin, wrap around your wrist, second skin-like device to monitor your health, like a futuristic Fitbit that becomes part of your body.
That’s what researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder are developing – and they say it will be fully recyclable and capable of repairing [or healing] itself.
The electronic skin prototype can perform sensory tasks such as tracking a daily step count or measuring body temperature and heart rate, and it can be shaped to fit anywhere on the body.
The researchers used an innovative screen printing technique to create a network of liquid metal wires for the electronics.
They then used two thin films made of a self-healing material, known as polyimine [pol-ee-uh-meen], to cover the circuit.
The end result is “a little thicker than the adhesive strip of a Band-Aid” and can be applied to skin using heat.
It can also stretch by 60 per cent in any direction without disrupting the electronics inside.
And get this, if damaged, the electronic skin has the capability to heal itself in 13 minutes – as the bonds that hold together the polyimine [pol-ee-uh-meen], material will begin to reform.
Story 7: Harley-Davidson electric bike opens for preorders
Source: Business Insider Story by
Link: https://bit.ly/33Ovml6
The motorcycle giant recently launched 4 electric bike models under its Serial 1 Cycles Company brand.
These bikes are not budget items, they cost $3,400 to $5,000 and have a top speed of 28 mph.
Preorders are open now, and the bikes will ship in the spring and summer of 2021.
Some cool features include:
An aluminum frame, integrated battery, and a mid-mounted motor.
A range of up to 105 miles
Instead of a chain, the bikes utilize a belt drive, to cut down on maintenance.
All the bikes use a pedal-assist system, meaning that there’s no throttle. Instead, the electric motor helps out when it senses that the rider is pedaling.
Using handlebar-mounted controls, riders can switch between four levels of pedal assist: eco, tour, sport, and boost.
There’s also a walk-assist button that gives riders a little extra help when walking their bike uphill.
Hydraulic disc brakes provide the stopping power.
And starting in the spring next year, riders will be able to connect their bike to a smartphone app to see “key rider data.”
Story 8: How smart nets and scanners could keep more fish in the sea
Source: CNN Story by Giovanni Prati
Link: https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/19/business/smart-tech-fishing-spc-intl/index.html
Across the globe, large-scale commercial fishing trawlers using huge nets are catching fish faster than nature can replenish.
In fact, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization more than a third of global fish stocks were classified as overfished in 2017.
To help save as many fish as possible, the European Union is funding a project called SmartFish H2020, led by Norwegian company SINTEF Ocean [that’s S I N T E F].
SINTEF Ocean is working with fishing companies, tech suppliers and universities to design equipment to help reduce the commercial fishing industry’s impact on marine life.
Their latest innovation is a new kind of trawling net called SmartGear.
It emits sounds and uses LED lights of different colors and intensities to attract only target species to the net, encouraging other unwanted fish to swim away.
Another technology being tested is called CatchScanner.
It produces a 3D color image of fish caught, which is then analyzed using artificial intelligence to quickly estimate the weight and identify the species caught.
Story 9: Engineers Develop Self-Watering Soil That Could Transform Farming
Source: Scitechdaily.com University of Texas at Austin
Link: https://scitechdaily.com/engineers-develop-self-watering-soil-that-could-transform-farming/
A new type of soil created by engineers at The University of Texas at Austin can pull water from the air and distribute it to plants.
This breakthrough could potentially expanding the map of farmable land around the globe to previously inhospitable places and reducing water use in agriculture at a time of growing droughts.
The team’s atmospheric water irrigation system uses super-moisture-absorbent gels to capture water from the air during cooler, more humid periods at night.
Solar heat during the day activates the water-containing gels to release their contents into soil.
When the soil distributes water, some of it goes back into the air, increasing humidity and making it easier to continue the harvesting cycle.
Depending on the crops, approximately 0.1 to 1 kilogram [0.35 ounces] of the soil can provide enough water to irrigate about a square meter of farmland.
Story 10: Autonomous boats could be your next ride
Source: MIT Press release
Link: https://news.mit.edu/2020/autonomous-boats-could-be-your-next-ride-1026
See video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=OYmVwvP_pD0&feature=emb_logo
The feverish race to produce the shiniest, safest, speediest self-driving car has spilled over into our wheelchairs, scooters, and even golf carts.
Recently, there’s been movement from land to sea, as marine autonomy stands to change the canals of our cities, with the potential to deliver goods and services and collect waste across our waterways.
In an update to a five-year project from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and the Senseable City Lab, researchers have been developing the world’s first fleet of autonomous boats for the City of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
And they recently added a new, larger vessel to the group: “Roboat II.” Now sitting at 6 feet, the new robotic boat is capable of carrying passengers.
Roboat II navigates autonomously using algorithms similar to those used by self-driving cars, but now adapted for water.
The team is developing fleets of Roboats that can deliver people and goods, and connect with other Roboats to form a range of autonomous platforms to enable water activities.
Aided by powerful algorithms, Roboat II recetnly autonomously navigated the canals of Amsterdam for three hours collecting data, and returned back to its start location with an error margin of less than 7 inches.
Story 11: Remote-control cars will compete in the first-ever race on the MOON
Source: UK’s Daily Mail Story by Ryan Morrison
A pair of remote control race cars will land on the Moon next year for the first ever race across the lunar surface – and they will be driven by high school students.
Moon Mark, an entertainment and education company, is sponsoring the race that will see teams of students compete to design and drive one of two racers.
The winning teams will then work with McLaren P1 designer Frank Stephenson
to create a vehicle that will race across the low-gravity environment of the Moon.
They will be launched to the Moon on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in October 2021 and descend to the surface inside the first privately developed lunar lander.
After eight-weeks of qualifying by high-schoolers from around the world, six teams of five members will compete to become the final two that race on the Moon.
Those challenges included e-gaming, drone racing and a space commercialization entrepreneurship contest until a final two teams were confirmed.
Their adventures will be captured, produced and globally distributed by Moon Mark so people can follow their progress on the run up to the October launch.
The two racers will deploy on the Moon via the Nova-C lander by Houston-based Intuitive Machines, following a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch in late 2021.
Story 12: Europe is Launching a Giant Claw to Grab Space June
Source: Futurism.com Story by Victor Tangermann
Link: https://futurism.com/the-byte/european-space-agency-claw-space-junk
It is estimated that there is a little more than 11 million pounds of space junk orbiting the Earth.
The European Space Agency is planning to launch a massive claw-like space vehicle designed to pluck large pieces of space junk out of the sky and steer them towards the Earth’s atmosphere to be burned up.
The agency recently signed a $103 million contract with a Swiss start-up called ClearSpace SA to launch the first version of the system.
The first mission will be to remove a piece of space debris from orbit in what the scientists behind the effort say will be a world’s first.
The startup is planning to launch its mission, dubbed ClearSpace-1, in 2025. It will attempt to claw a retired Vespa payload adapter, an ESA-developed rocket part designed to deliver payloads into different orbits, and de-orbit it for disposal.
The spent rocket part, weighing in at 250 pounds, was left at an altitude of around 800 kilometers back in 2013, which is considered to be within the confines of the “graveyard orbit” where retired pieces of satellites are currently dumped.
Story 13: Waymo Is Building an Entire Fake City to Improve Its Driverless Car Testing
Source:
Link: https://gizmodo.com/waymo-is-building-an-entire-fake-city-to-improve-its-dr-1845785591
See video here: https://twitter.com/i/status/1333805201082368003
Waymo, an autonomous driving technology development company owned by Google parent company Alphabet, is building its own replica urban city to test its driverless cars in a safe environment.
The goal is to convince people to give it a shot.
Waymo will be working with the Transportation Research Center (TRC) to build the environment in East Liberty, Ohio, where it can test different types of autonomous vehicles: regular cars and Class 8 trucks alike.
Facilities for research and development will be built as well.
Ohio is a good location for all the testing Waymo wants to do on snow and ice. But the company also plans to test its driverless vehicles in more unusual and dangerous scenarios that are not commonly seen on public roads.
Waymo is also opening a second R&D facility in Menlo Park, CA where the focus will be more on Class 8 trucks rather than sedans and similarly-sized vehicles.
Story 14: A smartwatch app alerts users with hearing loss to nearby sounds
Source: Science News Story by Maria Temming
Link: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/smart-watch-app-hearing-loss-sounds
A new smartwatch app called SoundWatch alerts users who are deaf or hard of hearing of nearby sounds, such as microwave beeps or car horns.
The SoundWatch app pairs an Android smartwatch and phone.
It’s available now via the Google Play site: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wearable.sound
To work, a user must have a Google Wear OS smartwatch.
The watch records ambient noises and sends that data to the phone for processing. When the phone detects a sound of interest, the smartwatch vibrates and displays a notification.
Developed by a computer scientist at the University of Washington in Seattle, the app can identify 20 noises.
In experiments, SoundWatch correctly identified those 20 sounds 81.2 percent of the time.
When set to listen only for urgent noises — a fire alarm, door knock or alarm clock — the app was 97.6 percent accurate.
Eight deaf and hard of hearing people who used SoundWatch around a university campus gave the app broadly favorable reviews, but noted that the app misclassified some sounds in noisy outdoor settings.
The research team is now working on a version of SoundWatch that users can train to recognize new sounds, such as their own house alarm, using just a few recordings.