Archive for February, 2017
Inside Amazon’s Robot-Run Supermarket that Needs Just 3 Human Workers
February 6th, 2017Via: New York Post: The ground level of the futuristic prototype — a supermarket-sized version of its recently unveiled “Amazon Go” convenience store, with a bigger layout that could span anywhere between 10,000 and 40,000 square feet — would be devoted to goods that shoppers typically like to touch, sources briefed on the plans told […]
“Uber Hires Veteran NASA Engineer to Develop Flying Cars”
February 6th, 2017Via: Bloomberg: In 2010, an advanced aircraft engineer at NASA’s Langley Research Center named Mark Moore published a white paper outlining the feasibility of electric aircrafts that could take off and land like helicopters but were smaller and quieter. The vehicles would be capable of providing a speedy alternative to the dreary morning commute. Moore’s […]
Pentagon Hasn’t Disclosed Thousands of Air Strikes by U.S. Army Helicopters and Drones
February 6th, 2017Via: Military Times: The American military has failed to publicly disclose potentially thousands of lethal airstrikes conducted over several years in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, a Military Times investigation has revealed. The enormous data gap raises serious doubts about transparency in reported progress against the Islamic State, al-Qaida and the Taliban, and calls into question […]
FedEx Bets on Automation as It Prepares to Fend Off Uber and Amazon
February 5th, 2017Via: MIT Technology Review: When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight, your FedEx package might someday be delivered by a robot. Rob Carter, FedEx’s chief information officer, says the shipping giant is considering small vehicles that could drive around neighborhoods and make deliveries without human drivers. … FedEx is also researching ways it […]
Europe: Vegetable Shortages Due to Weather
February 4th, 2017Via: Reuters: British supermarkets have taken to rationing shoppers to three iceberg lettuces per visit after bad weather hit growing conditions in Spain, leading to a shortage in supplies that is set to continue through to March. Tesco (TSCO.L), Morrisons (MRW.L) and Sainsbury’s (SBRY.L) have all imposed restrictions on bulk purchases after production in Spain […]
Fukushima Reactor Radiation Levels Soaring Unexpectedly
February 4th, 2017Via: ScienceAlert: The radiation levels inside Japan’s damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor No. 2 have soared in recent weeks, reaching a maximum of 530 sieverts per hour, a number experts have called “unimaginable”. Radiation is now by far the highest it has been since the reactor was struck by a tsunami in March 2011 – […]
The Surgeon Giving His Patients VR Instead of Sedatives
February 3rd, 2017Via: BBC: The surgeon makes his first cut and blood spills down Ana’s leg. She’s surrounded by medical equipment – stools, trolleys, swabs, syringes – with super-bright surgical lamps suspended above the bed. Her vital signs are displayed on monitors just behind. But Ana is oblivious. She’s immersed in a three-dimensional re-creation of Machu Picchu. […]
The End of Employees
February 3rd, 2017Via: Wall Street Journal: Never before have American companies tried so hard to employ so few people. The outsourcing wave that moved apparel-making jobs to China and call-center operations to India is now just as likely to happen inside companies across the U.S. and in almost every industry.
SNOLAB: Inside the Dark Matter Lab Buried Over a Mile Underground
February 2nd, 2017Via: Vice: SNOLAB, one of the world’s premier laboratories, searches for dark matter, supernovas, and neutrinos 6,800 feet underground.
Yemen: Al-Qaeda Knew SEALs Were Coming
February 1st, 2017Via: ABC: Al-Qaeda fighters seemed ready for Sunday’s deadly Navy SEAL raid in Yemen, a source familiar with the action told ABC News, almost as though they knew the Americans were coming. … Accompanying the SEALs on the raid were dozens of special operations forces from a partner nation in the region, the source familiar […]
