Washington DC (UPI) Nov 22, 2021
An autonomous excavator developed by researchers at the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland, has successfully constructed 19.6-foot-tall and 130-foot-long wall. The excavator, named HEAP, scans rocks to determine their size, shape and center of gravity. An algorithm then determines the best location to place each rock. "Using sensors, the excavator can au

San Francisco (AFP) Nov 22, 2023
Sam Altman's shock return as chief executive of OpenAI late Tuesday - days after being sacked - caps a chaotic period that highlighted deep tensions at the heart of the Artificial Intelligence community. The board that fired Altman from his role as CEO of the ChatGPT creator has been almost entirely replaced following a rebellion by employees, cementing his position at the helm of the firm

Washington DC (UPI) Nov 22, 2021
SpaceX lofted 23 Starlink internet satellites into orbit from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Wednesday morning after pushing the launch back twice. This was the third Falcon 9 launch in just over 4 days and the latest in a series of Starlink launches for the company. The Falcon 9 rocket rumbled into motion from the Cape's Space Complex 40 and lifted off at 2:47 a.m. EST amid a brilliant fie

Pasadena CA (JPL) Nov 23, 2023
Finding and studying Earth-like planets orbiting nearby stars is critical to understand whether we are alone in the universe. To study such planets and assess if they can sustain life, it is necessary to directly image them. However, these planets are difficult to observe, since light from the host star hides them with its glare. A coronagraph instrument can be used to remove the glare light fro

Miami FL (UPI) Nov 23, 2023
A group of California lawmakers on Wednesday asked NASA and Administrator Bill Nelson to rethink the space agency's budget cuts that they believe will cost jobs and scientific advances. In a letter to NASA, California's Democratic Sens. Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler; Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff and Judy Chu and Republican Reps. Mike Garcia and Young Kim warned the proposed funding cuts

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Nov 21, 2023
Framatome, a leader in nuclear energy solutions, recently announced a significant breakthrough in nuclear plant maintenance technology. The company has successfully completed a two-year test program for what is being hailed as the industry's first spray-in-place liner system designed for rehabilitating buried piping. This development marks a pivotal moment in addressing the long-standing challen

San Francisco (AFP) Nov 22, 2023
After 25 years of keeping the internet strong and stable, the nonprofit ICANN - responsible for its technical infrastructure - is warning that increasingly polarized geopolitics could start cracking the foundations of the online world. "It's super important to differentiate between what countries decide to do with controlling content, as opposed to the technical infrastructure," the Intern

Hachioji, Japan (SPX) Nov 21, 2023
Researchers in Japan and Mongolia have carried out the world's first instance of incorporating satellite-based CO2 emission estimates into a GHG emission report as the verification on the Second Biennial Update Report (BUR2) of Mongolia submitted to the UNFCCC on 15 November 2023, resulting in high accuracy match with actual reported values, reports a new study published online in Scientific Rep