Lifeboat Foundation

Elon Musk’s Boring Company is doubling down on its Vegas bet, with a proposal that would expand its underground transport system to 65 miles of tunnels below the streets of Sin City.

The proposed network map, which was recently filed with the city of Las Vegas and not previously reported, depicts dozens of tunnels criss-crossing the city to reach more casinos, retail zones, the University of Nevada Las Vegas campus and, for the first time, even residential areas. The proposed transit system is comprised of 69 stations and 65 miles of tunnels, according to planning documents, plus an unknown number of Tesla vehicles.

If successful, a Loop station would be located within a few blocks of almost anywhere in central Las Vegas. Five stations would serve the University of Nevada; and Allegiant Stadium — home to the Raiders NFL team — would get extra links to the west of the city. Harry Reid International Airport would have several stations surrounding it, although none actually serving the passenger terminal.

One of the oldest tools in computational physics — a 200-year-old mathematical technique known as Fourier analysis — can reveal crucial information about how a form of artificial intelligence called a deep neural network learns to perform tasks involving complex physics like climate and turbulence modeling, according to a new study.

The discovery by mechanical engineering researchers at Rice University is described in an open-access study published in the journal PNAS Nexus, a sister publication of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“This is the first rigorous framework to explain and guide the use of deep neural networks for complex dynamical systems such as climate,” said study corresponding author Pedram Hassanzadeh. “It could substantially accelerate the use of scientific deep learning in climate science, and lead to much more reliable climate change projections.”

A biological method that produces metal nanoclusters using the electroactive bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens could provide a cheap and sustainable solution to high-performance catalyst synthesis for various applications such as water splitting.

Metal nanoclusters contain fewer than one hundred atoms and are much smaller than nanoparticles. They have unique electronic properties but also feature numerous active sites available for catalysis on their surface. There are several synthetic methods for making metal nanoclusters, but most require multiple steps involving toxic substances and harsh temperature and pressure conditions.

Continue reading “Electroactive bacterium generates well-defined nanosized metal catalysts with remarkable water-splitting performance” »

The Swiss startup’s pilot project will focus on the Western public rail system and cost around $437,240.

European startup Sun-Ways has devised a mechanical device to deploy removable solar panels along railway tracks.

Continue reading “World’s first solar panel ‘carpet’ on railway tracks may generate electricity” »

Scientists have invented a sustainable glass that could revolutionize the industry.

At any given moment, if you just look around you, you will see something made of glass. Indeed, glass is everywhere, and it is essential to human life.

It’s also, however, non-biodegradable, which causes long-term environmental hazards and social burdens.

A system of robots that harvest and transport crops on their own without human assistance has been developed for use in agricultural facilities such as smart farms.

The research team under Choi Tae-yong, principal researcher at the AI Robot Research Division’s Department of Robotics and Mechatronics of the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, an institution under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Science and ICT, has developed a multiple-robot system for harvesting crops.

Continue reading “Team develops a system of robots that use teamwork to pick fruit and transport it autonomously” »

Before joining Twitter, Omead Afshar once led the company’s Gigafactory in Texas, the Financial Times reported.

A newly developed electric vehicle battery not only can store up to four times more energy than current batteries but is also a safer alternative.

“The goal is for community groups or individual citizens anywhere to be able to measure local air pollution.”

As per an estimation by WHO, air pollution causes around 4 million annual premature deaths all over the globe. Considering this issue, an MIT research team launched an open-source version of an economical, mobile pollution detector through which individuals can track the air-quality more broadly.

The detector, named Flatburn, can be fabricated through 3D printing or by ordering cheap parts. The researchers have now conducted tests and calibrated the detector concerning existing ultra-modern machines and are making people aware of how to assemble, use, and interpret the data.

Continue reading “Low-cost device can measure air pollution anywhere” »