NEUROSCIENCE
This is a map of half a million connections in a small mouse brain
Tatyana Woodall | MIT Technology Review
“Neuroscientists have published the most detailed 3D map of the mammalian brain ever created, created from an animal that has a brain architecture very similar to ours: the mouse. The map and the underlying dataset, which are now available free of charge to the public, they represent more than 200,000 neurons and half a billion neural connections contained within a mouse brain cube that is no larger than a grain of sand. ”
SPACE
SpaceX brings together for the first time the complete launch system of the spacecraft, with a height of about 400 feet
Darrell Etherington | TechCrunch
“SpaceX has achieved another important milestone in its fully reusable Starship launch system: it stacked the same Starship spacecraft on a prototype of its Super Heavy booster, which is loaded with a full complement of 29 Raptor rocket engines, and the “Starship at the top has six. The stacked spaceship now represents the tallest assembled rocket ever developed in history.”
ROBOTICS
A new generation of robots powered by artificial intelligence is taking over the warehouses
Karen Hao | MIT Technology Review
“In the months leading up to the first reports of covid-19, a new type of robot went to work. Built from years of advances in deep learning, it could pick up all sorts of objects with remarkable accuracy, making it an ideal place for jobs like sorting products into packages in warehouses. … In a few years, any task that previously required hands to be able to be partially or fully automated. “
FUTURE
The Pentagon uses AI to predict events days into the future
Eric Mack | CNET
“The Pentagon hasn’t released many specific details on what exactly GIDE involves, but it certainly doesn’t include any precogs bathing in creepy opaque white liquids. Rather, the idea seems to combine data with machine learning and other forms of intelligence. artificial to get enough informational benefits that allow for the proactive approach. [commander of NORAD Gen. Glen D.] Van Herck describes it “.
AUTOMATION
China is targeting the Robotaxi industry
Craig S. Smith | IEEE Spectrum
“China’s autonomous vehicle market is advancing faster than the United States thanks to government regulatory support. Last year, Baidu and AV AutoX competitor, with the support of e-commerce giant Alibaba, announced a series of steps in the race towards what promises to be a massive market.
VIRTUAL REALITY
Facebook can project its eyes on virtual reality headsets and it’s as weird as it sounds
Adi Robertson | The Verge
“Facebook Reality Labs wants to help people see your eyes while you are in virtual reality, even if the results are between a little disturbing and a nightmare. Earlier this week, FRL released a paper on “Reverse VR Passsthrough,” a recipe for making VR headsets less physically insulating. The researchers devised a method to move your face to the front of a headset, although they emphasize that it is still firmly experimental.
ENERGY
China says it is shutting down a thorium nuclear reactor
Prachi Patel | IEEE Spectrum
“There is no denying the need for nuclear energy in a world that is hungry for clean, carbon-free energy. At the same time, safer technologies are needed that have less risk of proliferation. Fused salt nuclear reactors (MSRs) are adapting to the bill, and according to at least one source, China may be on track to develop MSR technology.
SECURITY
Watch a hacker hijack the lights, fans and beds of a Capsule hotel
Andy Greenberg | With cable
“The hacker, who is French but asked to be called Kyasupā, said he found half a dozen hackable vulnerabilities in the Internet systems of the things that were used in a capsule hotel where he stayed in 2019 They allowed him to hijack the controls of any hotel room to wrap himself in the lights, ventilation and even the beds in each room that turn into a sofa, all designed to be managed by systems connected to an iPod. Touch on the net given to all guests. ”
Image credit: NASA / Unsplash