Evolving Science

Waymo, the self-driving technology company which started as the Google self-driving car project, has just announced at the Web Summit 2017, taking place in Lisbon (Portugal), that its autonomous cars are operated on the public roads in Arizona without any human assistance (e.g. no safety driver) since mid-October. John Krafcik, the chief executive officer at Waymo, literally announced “Fully self-driving cars are here.”

Stephen Hawking has made a surprise appearance at the opening night of the Web Summit tech conference in Lisbon, Portugal. Paddy Cosgrave, the CEO of Web Summit, opened the conference last night and invited a number of speakers to join him on stage.

Many of us already enjoy VR for gaming and recreational activities. However, Microsoft would also be happy if you expanded that use to interfacing with your computer desktop, connecting with colleagues far away in the same virtual space, and… yet more immersive gaming. They have partnered with Samsung to deliver a new generation of computing in hybrid real-life/virtual spaces. They call it Mixed Reality, and have premiered it in an event earlier this month. Microsoft claim that their Mixed Reality – which will require a new form of headset to run it – will help individuals and companies to enjoy new dimensions of creativity, collaboration and competition.

Would you board a plane knowing that one of the flight crew wasn’t human? This may be a valid concern for those working in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) ALIAS program. ALIAS, in this case, stands for Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System – a robot designed to take part in the control of a plane along human pilots. ALIAS takes the form of a mechanical arm that can control a conventional flight ‘stick’ while monitoring the aircraft’s gauges and sensors, just as a real pilot would do.

The Great Pyramid of Giza, an Ancient Wonder of the World, is considered an engineering marvel built as a tomb for the pharaoh Khufu. This largest and oldest of the three pyramids is estimated to be about 140 meters tall and 230 meters in width. A structure that attracts millions of tourists per year also surrounds itself with theories and many unanswered questions regarding its age and architecture.

The AIDS virus, HIV, continues to threaten communities globally, affecting more than 35 million people each year. Although there have been attempts to develop vaccines for this life-threatening syndrome, it is the virus’ genetic diversity that has posed challenges in the past.

Scientists have just released details of the discovery of ten planets, all of which show promise as potentially habitable worlds. So who knows, perhaps future missions to visit other planets will take us much further afield than Mars in our own solar system.

You may have heard of advanced Bayesian calculations (ABCs), perhaps in the context of how computers are used to study climate patterns and how these will change in the near future.

There is an emerging trend these days for new hardware materials, designs and standards that seek to defy Moore’s Law and the predicted slowdown in computing evolution and, eventually, the capabilities it represents. It’s a necessary move, particularly in the face of the extensive requirements involved in running some artificial intelligence (AI) platforms. Some AI applications need to process hundreds of thousands of data points for the purposes of deep learning; and some others need to apply algorithms to thousands or even millions of the same.

The rare Golden Wonder salamander was first found in the Cuchumatanes Mountains of Guatemala in 1975, by two students named Paul Elias and Jeremy Jackson.

Scientists and engineers are working on new metallic alloys all the time. This is due to modern-day industrial design, and the consistent intensity in demands for materials that are lightweight, yet…

Quantum computers are hailed as the new wave in the use and processing of big data. They are perceived as much more powerful in terms of decision-making, transfer speeds and complexity of computing…

If you’re looking for the perfect soundtrack to your Halloween party, look no further than NASA’s newly released collection of mysterious noises recorded by spacecraft travelling within our solar system.