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Move over, Hollywood—science fiction is getting ready to leap off the big screen and enter the real world. While recent science fiction movies have demonstrated the power of artificially intelligent computer programs, such as the fictional character J.A.R.V.I.S. in the Avenger film series, to make independent decisions to carry out a set of actions, these imagined movie scenarios could now be closer to becoming a reality.

In a recent study published in Nature Communications, a journal of Nature, researchers at the University of Missouri and University of Chicago have developed an , called a metamaterial, which can respond to its environment, independently make a decision, and perform an action not directed by a human being. For example, a drone making a delivery might evaluate its environment including , speed or wildlife, and automatically change course in order to complete the delivery safely.

Guoliang Huang, Huber and Helen Croft Chair in Engineering, and co-author on the study, said the mechanical design of their new artificial material incorporates three main functions also displayed by materials found in nature—sensing; information processing; and actuation, or movement.

Get ready for the ‘White Bat’.

What’s the best way to counter gossip? Coming out with the truth. That seems to be the idea behind a new video released by the U.S. Air Force’s Profession of Arms Center of Excellence (PACE).

The video that was released earlier this month recounts the ways intelligence gathering, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) have improved over the decades. The U.S. has moved far ahead from the days when balloons were sent up in the air to understand what was happening behind enemy lines. Adversaries of the U.S. are now a world away and the military still has the ability to “find the unfindable.”

TOKYO, Oct 26 (Reuters) — A Japanese startup backed by soccer player Keisuke Honda hopes to persuade wealthy consumers to swap their supercar for a 77.7 million yen ($680,000) hoverbike which went on sale on Tuesday.

The “XTurismo Limited Edition” from Tokyo-based drone startup A.L.I. Technologies is equipped with a conventional engine and four battery-powered motors and promises to fly for 40 minutes at up to 100 kph (62 mph).

“Until now the choice has been to move on the ground or at scale in the sky. We hope to offer a new method of movement,” Chief Executive Daisuke Katano told Reuters.

OrCam’s reading device, ElectReon’s ‘smart road’ tech, a sensor for farming and security drones all make the list.


1. OrCam Read, a smart reading support device developed by OrCam Technologies, the maker of artificial intelligence-based wearable devices to help the blind and visually impaired read texts via audio feedback. The company launched OrCam Read in 2,020 a handheld digital reader meant to help people with language processing challenges, including dyslexia. The device (priced at $1,990) captures and reads out full pages of text and digital screens, and follows voice commands.

After a series of delays for bad weather, the ill-health of an astronaut and then a wait for the splashdown of the previous mission this morning the world’s only re-usable orbital rocket take four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) as SpaceX and NASA launch the Crew-3 mission.

Originally due to launch on October 27 2021 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA has now confirmed that its SpaceX Crew-3 mission will take-off no earlier than 9:03 p.m. EST on Wednesday, November 10 2021.

After the night launch the Falcon 9 rocket will attempt to land on a drone-ship in the Atlantic.

It will be SpaceX’s fourth NASA flight with astronauts, though last month it also successfully launched and landed the first all-civilian private astronaut crewed mission to orbit Earth.

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A milestone achievement for the army.

After multiple attempts, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency — commonly known as DARPA — has confirmed that it has successfully completed a mid-air recovery of the X-61 drone, Gremlins. While details of the test were not revealed, DARPA said that the mission was accomplished last month at the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah.

The Gremlins drone is a semi-autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) designed to carry a wide variety of payloads, including those for electronic warfare while being operated remotely. Launched from a mothership, such as the modified Hercules C-130 cargo aircraft, these drones are built to operate in swarms, offering the military a low-cost way of engaging its adversaries, without getting close to enemy lines. Therefore, the mid-air recovery of these drones is vital for them to enter service.