Science, Space, & Robotics - Page 3

The latest and most important Science, Space, & Robotics news - Page 3.

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NVIDIA's next-gen Jetson Thor systems in 1H 2025: the 'ChatGPT' moment for physical AI, robots

Anthony Garreffa | Dec 30, 2024 2:02 AM CST

NVIDIA is betting big on robotics of the future, where it will launch its latest generation of compact computers -- Jetson Thorr -- in the first half of 2025 which is said to be the "ChatGPT moment for physical AI and robotics".

NVIDIA's next-gen Jetson Thor systems in 1H 2025: the 'ChatGPT' moment for physical AI, robots

In a new post from FT, we're learning that "the ChatGPT moment for physical AI and robotics is around the corner" according to Deepu Talla, NVIDIA's vice president of robotics in a recent chat with the Financial Times. He believes that the market has reached the elusive "tipping point" and that Jetson Thor is going to push it over the edge.

NVIDIA entering the robotics industry is going to be huge, but the shift from making all of its cheddar form data center revenue -- including its AI GPUs -- makes up around 88% of its overall sales in Q3 2024 with $35.1 billion. However, Talla says that the shift in the robotics market is driven by two technological breakthroughs: the meteoroic rise in generative AI models, and the ability to train robots on these foundational models, using simulated environments.

Continue reading: NVIDIA's next-gen Jetson Thor systems in 1H 2025: the 'ChatGPT' moment for physical AI, robots (full post)

ASUS chairman: we are working on a humanoid robot, will fight Elon Musk's Tesla Optimus robot

Anthony Garreffa | Dec 21, 2024 7:07 PM CST

ASUS chairman Jonney Shih has said that they are already in "full swing" developing its first humanoid robot, something that would compete with Elon Musk and his Tesla Optimus robot we've been hearing more and more about lately.

ASUS chairman: we are working on a humanoid robot, will fight Elon Musk's Tesla Optimus robot

Shih recently said: "we are already in full swing on this part and have launched plans internally", but ASUS already has its Zenbo robots... but its new adventure is with a humanoid robot that should better resemble the Tesla Optimus humanoid robot sometime in the future.

Elon Musk recently chatted to TSMC boss C.C. Wei asking for a massive, and stable supply of chips for his Optimus robots, but now it looks like ASUS is stepping into the next big thing for AI. The real big breakthroughs for AI are constrained for now, with artificial general intelligence (AGI) only obtained by using large language models (LLMs), and without a physical body, we are limited by the potential of these robots.

Continue reading: ASUS chairman: we are working on a humanoid robot, will fight Elon Musk's Tesla Optimus robot (full post)

SpaceX receives launch license for Starship's 7th flight

Jak Connor | Dec 19, 2024 3:02 AM CST

SpaceX is undoubtedly celebrating the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) awarding the company a launch license for its upcoming 7th test flight of Starship.

SpaceX receives launch license for Starship's 7th flight

The celebration isn't for the license itself but more so for the speed at which it was obtained, as the FAA only took about a month to evaluate the previous launch of Starship and issue the new license. This kind of timing is unheard of and has even resulted in SpaceX and company CEO Elon Musk publicly slamming the FAA and its regulatory hurdles for holding up the development of Starship. However, the license issuing for Flight 7 stands as an example of the FAA improving internal efficiencies.

SpaceX hasn't confirmed when Flight 7 will take place, but given the history of previous flights, they typically occur within weeks of the launch license being obtained. However, with Christmas around the corner, it might not be until mid-January we see Starship take flight again. As for the mission objective, while SpaceX hasn't released any details about Flight 7, it would be a reasonable guess that it will include another catch attempt of the Super Heavy booster, as unforeseen problems that emerged in Flight 6 resulted in a catch attempt having to be abandoned.

Continue reading: SpaceX receives launch license for Starship's 7th flight (full post)

NASA astronaut shares incredible video of SpaceX Dragon capsule returning to Earth

Jak Connor | Dec 18, 2024 6:35 AM CST

SpaceX's Dragon capsule was recently undocked from the International Space Station (ISS), and the moment was captured by a NASA astronaut who was situated at a peculiar angle.

NASA astronaut shares incredible video of SpaceX Dragon capsule returning to Earth

The Dragon capsule undocking from the International Space Station is simply business as usual for both NASA and SpaceX, with the recent footage capturing the 31st commercial resupply the company has performed for NASA. The launch to the ISS from SpaceX involved carrying 2,700 kilograms (5,952 lb) of supplies for the crew aboard the floating laboratory, along with experiments and other various miscellaneous items that are useful in zero gravity.

As for the undocking video, the Dragon capsule was carrying all of the "spoils from our research," according to NASA astronaut Don Pettit, who posted the video to his personal X account. The time-lapse showcases an incredible angle of the Dragon capsule departing the ISS, showcasing the trajectory of its journey back down to Earth, where it splashdowned off the coast of Florida on Tuesday, December 17.

Continue reading: NASA astronaut shares incredible video of SpaceX Dragon capsule returning to Earth (full post)

Elon Musk talks to TSMC boss, wants a (huge) stable supply of chips for Tesla's Optimus robots

Anthony Garreffa | Dec 17, 2024 10:10 PM CST

TSMC chairman C.C. Wei has said that he talked with the world's richest man -- SpaceX, Tesla, and xAI boss Elon Musk -- and that Elon said the future was robots, not cars, and that his biggest concern was the stable supply of chips for the Optimus robots.

Elon Musk talks to TSMC boss, wants a (huge) stable supply of chips for Tesla's Optimus robots

The TSMC boss was at Taiwan's 12th National Science and Technology Conference, where he talked to Elon, with Wei promising that TSMC could deliver as long as he is willing to pay. Wei told conference attendees that multi-purpose robots are the AI wave of the future, and that's it a huge opportunity for Taiwan, because making them requires precision, joining the worlds of semiconductor technology with software.

Wei also said that drones, energy conservation, reducing carbon emissions and natural resource management are also important key parts for Taiwan and its continued AI efforts. Wei also pointed out that Taiwan has excellent design companies as well as chip manufacturing and packaging + testing plans, as well as advanced semiconductors and precision machinery.

Continue reading: Elon Musk talks to TSMC boss, wants a (huge) stable supply of chips for Tesla's Optimus robots (full post)

US government accused of hiding truth about mysterious drones in fear of public's reaction

Jak Connor | Dec 16, 2024 5:08 AM CST

A US senator has laid the blame at the feet of the US government and its fear over the public's reaction to the truth about the mysterious drones emerging in the skies over New Jersey.

US government accused of hiding truth about mysterious drones in fear of public's reaction

Sen. Jon Bramnick spoke to NewsNation on Saturday and called upon the Department of Defence to "come clean with the American public" about what is really happening over New Jersey. The senator goes on to say the FBI assuring the American public they have obtained no evidence these drones are dangerous doesn't reassure the average American citizen who is seeing them from their backyard.

The drones began popping up over New Jersey and New York on November 18 but reached a boiling point on Saturday when New York Governor Kathleen Hochul announced, "This has gone too far," and requested federal authorities to authorize local police departments to shoot down drones. Senator Bramnick insinuated the US government is behind the drones, stating the US government is afraid of how the American public would react if it learned what the drones were really doing.

Continue reading: US government accused of hiding truth about mysterious drones in fear of public's reaction (full post)

NASA unveils the first aircraft accident investigation on another world

Jak Connor | Dec 12, 2024 9:13 AM CST

It was in January this year that NASA announced its helicopter living on the surface of Mars sadly died after a crash landing on its 72nd flight.

NASA unveils the first aircraft accident investigation on another world

The helicopter named Ingenuity arrived on the Red Planet in February 2021 as an engineering experiment to see if flight in Mars' extremely thin atmosphere was possible. Ingenuity became the first aircraft to conduct a powered and controlled extra-terrestrial flight, solidying its name in the space exploration history books. Ingenuity went on to serve NASA's Perseverance rover as a forward scout.

NASA sent Ingenuity ahead of Perseverance, and with the helicopter's cameras, NASA was able to plot a path of least resistance for the rover, along with evaluating any upcoming valuable scientific prospects. However, Ingenuity crashed on its 72nd flight on January 18, 2024, which resulted in its rotor blades sustaining critical damage preventing flight. Ingenuity's team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) said that Ingenuity crashed due to its navigation systems having too little information to make accurate decisions. The team attributes this to the monotone color of the Martian surface.

Continue reading: NASA unveils the first aircraft accident investigation on another world (full post)

NASA discovers seven objects that look like asteroids but act like comets

Jak Connor | Dec 12, 2024 5:33 AM CST

NASA has taken to its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) blog to announce the official discovery of seven strange celestial objects, with the findings being published on Monday, December 9, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

NASA discovers seven objects that look like asteroids but act like comets

These celestial objects are known as "dark comets," which are astronomical objects that look like asteroids but strangely move through space like a comet. These odd objects were first discovered less than two years, but according to NASA the first inkling of dark comets was a March 2016 study that found an asteroid seemingly randomly deviated from its course, changing its orbit.

NASA writes the behavior of dark comets could explain the 2016 study documentation, as the lead author of the December 9 study, Davide Farnocchia of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, explained, "When you see that kind of perturbation on a celestial object, it usually means it's a comet, with volatile material outgassing from its surface giving it a little thrust." However, when researchers looked through instruments, the object named 2003 RM appeared as an asteroid, just a single light dot on the display. By comparison, a comet typically has a long tail that is depicted as a thinning streak from a center point of light.

Continue reading: NASA discovers seven objects that look like asteroids but act like comets (full post)

Google's new breakthrough quantum computing chip says 'we live in a multiverse'

Jak Connor | Dec 11, 2024 5:03 AM CST

Quantum computing, much like the acronym AI (artificial intelligence), has been caught in the lexicon as a piece of technology we will much more widely integrate into society sometime in the future. Today, that future just took a much bigger than anticipated step closer to the present, as Google has unveiled "Willow," the company's most advanced quantum processor.

Google's new breakthrough quantum computing chip says 'we live in a multiverse'

Quantum computing has been around since the 1990s, and engineers, physicists, and scientists alike have been battling one big but tiny problem with implementing the technology: the number of errors it generates. Firstly, quantum computing is completely different than classical computers, which conduct calculations based on whether a bit is a 0 or a 1. However, quantum computing changes things, as it uses tiny pieces of information called qubits, or quantum bits, which can be on, off, or both.

Moreover, quantum computing also introduces quantum entanglement, an observable phenomenon that connects two particles together, synchronizing their states. The quantum entangled particles aren't restricted in distance, as their connection can stretch as far as the other side of the universe. But what does that all have to do with computing? Quantum computers are designed to exploit the mysteries of quantum mechanics, the study of how physical matter exhibits the properties of both particles and waves, but there are a few problems that need to be worked out first.

Continue reading: Google's new breakthrough quantum computing chip says 'we live in a multiverse' (full post)

NASA confirms cracked heatshield in Orion test won't kill the astronauts going to the Moon

Jak Connor | Dec 6, 2024 9:33 AM CST

NASA has wrapped up a two-year-long investigation into the cracked heatshield on the Artemis I Orion module that landed back on Earth after being sent on a journey around the Moon.

NASA confirms cracked heatshield in Orion test won't kill the astronauts going to the Moon

The space agency took to its website to announce the re-entry method of the Orion module during the Artemis I mission was the cause of the cracks. The re-entry method, known as a skip guidance technique, entails the spacecraft "skipping" across the atmospheric layers, analogous to how a thrown stone skips across the surface of water. NASA wrote that Orion dipped into the upper atmosphere and used atmospheric drag to reduce its speed. The spacecraft then initiated aerodynamic lift to skip the capsule back out of the atmosphere, then it re-entered for its final descent into parachutes and splashdown.

After performing more than 100 tests, NASA determined that between skips, Orion's heat shield didn't allow enough of the gasses generated inside a material called Avcoat to escape. This caused some of the material to crack and break off from the heat shield. Avcoat is designed to erode away from the heat shield as the module descends through the atmosphere, increasing in temperature due to friction.

Continue reading: NASA confirms cracked heatshield in Orion test won't kill the astronauts going to the Moon (full post)

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