Space tourism balloon startup unveils ‘luxury’ capsule design

Apr11
by on April 11, 2024 at 9:00 am
Posted In: Insider


A space tourism company promising stratospheric balloon rides has unveiled the vehicle’s capsule design. Halo Space is building the balloon for zero-emission commercial flights to altitudes of up to 40km. Tickets will cost a whopping €150,000 each. On each flight, a pilot and eight passengers will enter the pressurised cabin. The helium balloon will then gradually ascend with minimal G-forces to the stratosphere. From this perch above the sky, passengers will get unique views of the curvature of Earth and the vastness of space. That’s the plan, at least. To make it a reality, Halo is currently putting the tech…

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Meta’s AI chief: LLMs will never reach human-level intelligence

Apr10
by on April 10, 2024 at 10:10 am
Posted In: Insider


There’s no escaping the hype around artificial general intelligence. Barely a day passes without a new headline about the concept, which envisions computer systems outperforming humans at various cognitive tasks. In the last month alone, a trio of tech luminaries have added fresh proclamations. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang suggested AGI would arrive within five years. Ben “father of AGI” Goertzel forecasted a mere three. Elon Musk typically made the boldest prediction for the tipping point: the end of 2025. Still, not everyone is so bullish. One notable sceptic is Yann LeCun, Meta’s chief AI scientist and a winner of the prestigious Turing…

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Finnish startup to launch ‘software-defined’ satellite with ESA

Apr09
by on April 9, 2024 at 10:15 am
Posted In: Space


Helsinki-based startup ReOrbit is preparing for the first demonstration of its “software-enabled” satellite. This marks the next phase of the ESA’s UKKO programme, which works with ReOrbit to develop and test next-gen tech for Earth observation satellites. (Fun fact: Ukko is the god of the sky, weather, harvest, and thunder in Finnish mythology). ReOrbit’s first in-orbit demonstration satellite is scheduled for launch in the second quarter of 2025. It will be a crucial test of the startup’s avionics and software stack, designed to create an internet-of-things network in space. “We aim to enable the next generation of more modular, inter-connected…

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This ‘literacy pen’ instantly teaches you to read and write

Apr05
by on April 5, 2024 at 2:55 pm
Posted In: Uncategorized


The World Literacy Foundation and Dutch marketing firm Media.Monks have teamed up to create a pen designed to help millions of people around the world grappling with illiteracy.   The device, dubbed Literacy Pen, is compatible with any standard pen or pencil. Users slip the device onto the pen and then speak their desired words into the built-in microphone. Voice dictation technology then transcribes these words, letter by letter, onto a digital screen built-in to the device. The user can then copy the words they see onto paper all using the one pen. “The device ensures an effective learning experience by…

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The race is on to commercialise fusion energy. Europe could lead the charge

Apr05
by on April 5, 2024 at 12:46 pm
Posted In: Uncategorized


The unimaginably complex task of creating, containing, and commercialising fusion energy is undoubtedly one of the greatest scientific endeavours of our time.  Since the 1950s, hoards of the world’s top scientists and engineers have toiled away trying to turn the process that powers the Sun into a clean, safe, and virtually limitless energy source for humanity.  Despite huge progress, fusion energy has always seemed to be that “20-years-away” technology. But the tides are changing.  “We have all the materials, magnets, and lasers we need to make fusion viable today,” Peter Roos, CEO at Novatron Fusion, told TNW.  “Now we need…

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