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Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

'Amazing' performance of Mars helicopter means more will be sent to the red planet:

NASA's Perseverance rover collected its first samples from Mars a year ago and they will likely arrive on Earth in 2033 but without the help of Europe's sample-collecting Mars rovers.

[...] NASA says it's finished reviewing system requirements for its Mars Sample Return campaign, which now excludes ESA's Airbus-built Sample Fetch Rover and its associated second lander. This decision was made after a meeting between NASA and ESA officials about Mars sample returns earlier this month.   

The vehicle to bring Mars samples back to Earth is the Earth Return Orbiter, which NASA plans to launch the in fall of 2027 followed by its Sample Retrieval Lander in summer 2028. NASA released a sketch of the Sample Retrieval Lander in April. The Mars samples are expected to arrive on Earth in 2033, NASA said in a press release.

The changed rover roster means Perseverance will be the main vehicle for bringing samples to the Sample Retrieval Lander.   

The Sample Retrieval Lander will have two helicopters that collect samples. Their design is based on Ingenuity's helicopter, which has outlived its planned lifespan by a year. The new helicopters are a "secondary capability" for sample retrieval. 

[...] ESA officials say they remain committed to the its Earth Return Orbiter. 

"ESA is continuing at full speed the development of both the Earth Return Orbiter that will make the historic round-trip from Earth to Mars and back again; and the Sample Transfer Arm that will robotically place the sample tubes aboard the Orbiting Sample Container before its launch from the surface of the Red Planet," said David Parker, ESA director of Human and Robotic Exploration.

Perseverance as the primary way to deliver the samples? I'm curious what the ESA/NASA discussions have been for this.

Original Submission

hubie writes:

New social media tools help public assess viral posts, check for bots:

The Observatory on Social Media, or OSoMe, at Indiana University has launched three new or revamped no-cost research tools to give journalists, other researchers and the public a broad view of what's happening on social media.

[...] "You often hear something is going viral, but how?" said Filippo Menczer, director of OSoMe and Luddy Distinguished Professor of Computer Science and Informatics in the IU Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering. "Our tools show you what the conversation is, who the players are, what the viral messages are, and you can even visualize polarization. It provides a place for exploration of topics and how they work together."

• The Networks Tool, which has recently been updated, creates an interactive map (now in 3D) to explore how information spreads across Twitter. Users can visualize who is retweeting or mentioning whom on a particular topic, or which hashtags are being used with other hashtags, and all data can now be exported. [...]
• The Trends Tool helps users analyze the volume of tweets within a given hashtag, URL or keyword over a given period of time. This tool shows which topics are trending and what is going viral. [...]
• The new BotAmp Tool enables users to pinpoint likely bot activity for tweets filtered by a search term. [...]

[...] OSoMe's tools leverage a huge stream of data -- roughly 50 million tweets a day -- collected from Twitter. It equates to roughly 10 percent of public tweets, which are then analyzed and indexed for use through these tools.

[...] "There's always a lot of debate about what's going on online," he said. "These tools are meant to help the public study these things and see for themselves."

Original Submission

NotSanguine writes:

The Markup is reporting on the data being exfiltrated from your vehicle and who is doing the exfiltration.

A firehose of sensitive data from your vehicle is flowing to a group of companies you've probably never heard of.

Today's cars are akin to smartphones, with apps connected to the internet that collect huge amounts of data, some of which is highly personal.

Most drivers have no idea what data is being transmitted from their vehicles, let alone who exactly is collecting, analyzing, and sharing that data, and with whom. A recent survey of drivers by the Automotive Industries Association of Canada found that only 28 percent of respondents had a clear understanding of the types of data their vehicle produced, and the same percentage said they had a clear understanding of who had access to that data.

Welcome to the world of connected vehicle data, an ecosystem of dozens of businesses you never knew existed.

The Markup has identified 37 companies that are part of the rapidly growing connected vehicle data industry that seeks to monetize such data in an environment with few regulations governing its sale or use.

First they monetized your phone, then your TV. IOT devices are designed to be monetized. Now (not new, but apparently much more widespread than it used to be), your driving and in-car activities are being monetized as well.

Is that the sort of world in which you want to live?

Original Submission

https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/max-headroom-reboot-amc-matt-frewer-halt-catch-fire

AMC Networks is developing a reboot of the staple of 1980s pop culture with the help of Halt and Catch Fire co-creator Christopher Cantwell and producer Elijah Wood, whose company SpectreVision is attached to the project.

Matt Frewer, who originated the Max Headroom character in 1985, is also set to return to reprise his role, so get ready for eerily perfect hair and frequent glitching.

One of the most memorable pop culture oddities of the 1980s, Max Headroom originated with a British TV movie titled Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future. Billed as the first entirely computer-generated TV host, the supposedly artificial intelligence character immediately struck a chord with audiences thanks to his distinctive look, speaking style, and futuristic concept. He went on to pop up all over television in the ensuing years, appearing in commercials, hosting music videos programs, and even getting two seasons of his own ABC TV series in 1987. Despite being off the air for years, he remains a frequently referenced aspect of 1980s nostalgia, and gained infamy when his likeness was used as part of a legendary (and legendarily creepy) pirate broadcast in 1987.

At the moment, we don't know what form this new incarnation of Max Headroom will take, whether it'll be a deliberate throwback to the 1980s, something updated for the 2020s, or even a legacy sequel-style concept that examines what the Max of the 1980s would make of the modern world. However it takes shape, though, this'll be an interesting project to watch.

I remember Max Headroom - but I don't know how many of our community will...

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

Get ready for a wave of expensive VR headsets:

Call it a summer surprise. Meta suddenly ratcheted up the entry-level price for its 2-year-old Quest 2 VR headset, jumping from $299 to $400 starting Aug. 1. A product getting more expensive two years after its release doesn't normally happen. But these aren't really normal times, and the Quest 2 was never a normal headset.

While Meta's reasoning is that the price increase helps its investment in VR and the metaverse, the Quest 2 headset was always priced artificially lower than a device like that should have cost. It's unfortunate, but it's hardly the end of the price increases for VR tech. Based on what we know about the next wave of the most-anticipated VR headsets, things are going to get a lot more expensive soon.

Meta's next headset, the expected "Quest Pro" also called Project Cambria, should be coming this fall [and] expected to cost over $800.

Apple's long-expected VR headset, now projected for a 2023 release, could vault as high as $3,000, according to reports. [...]

The "most affordable" of the three might be the PlayStation VR 2, a headset expected by the end of this year. Signs are pointing to premium pricing, though. [...]

[...] At the same time, Sag says that he sees a return of VR toward consumer headsets, versus business-focused models. "I think the PSVR will help with that even as the Quest 2 raises in price."

Has a compelling reason for the general public to get one emerged yet, or are we still quite a ways away from that?

Original Submission

upstart writes:

FBI investigation determined Chinese-made Huawei equipment could disrupt US nuclear arsenal communications:

On paper, it looked like a fantastic deal. In 2017, the Chinese government was offering to spend $100 million to build an ornate Chinese garden at the National Arboretum in Washington DC. Complete with temples, pavilions and a 70-foot white pagoda, the project thrilled local officials, who hoped it would attract thousands of tourists every year.

But when US counterintelligence officials began digging into the details, they found numerous red flags. The pagoda, they noted, would have been strategically placed on one of the highest points in Washington DC, just two miles from the US Capitol, a perfect spot for signals intelligence collection, multiple sources familiar with the episode told CNN.

Also alarming was that Chinese officials wanted to build the pagoda with materials shipped to the US in diplomatic pouches, which US Customs officials are barred from examining, the sources said.

Federal officials quietly  killed  the project before construction was underway.    The Wall Street Journal first reported about the security concerns in 2018.

The canceled garden is part of a frenzy of counterintelligence activity  by the FBI and other federal agencies  focused on what career US security officials say has been a dramatic escalation of Chinese espionage on US soil over the past decade.

[...] Among the most alarming things the FBI uncovered pertains to Chinese-made Huawei  equipment atop cell towers near US military bases in the  rural Midwest. According to multiple sources familiar with the matter, the FBI determined the equipment was capable of capturing and disrupting highly restricted Defense Department communications, including those used by US Strategic Command, which oversees the country's nuclear weapons.

Russian Official Predicts 'Avalanche' of Failures on the International Space Station After 2024

Russian official predicts 'avalanche' of failures on the International Space Station after 2024:

The director of Russia's space program has warned that chaos in the cosmos awaits when Russia leaves the International Space Station after 2024.

That's when Roscosmos director Yuri Borisov expects an "avalanche" of technical failures aboard the ISS due to its ageing hardware, according to a statement published on the website of Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, on Friday.

"If we talk about the timing of the termination of Russia's participation in the ISS project, we announced that we intend to do this not from 2024, but after 2024," Borisov said, according to a Google translation of his statement. "Based on the opinion of our strength engineers, reliability specialists, who predict that after 2024, avalanche-like processes are possible due to the failure of various equipment in the ISS modules."

Borisov added that Russia could exit the ISS in the middle of 2024, when the nation's commitment on the station expires, or even closer to 2025.

But....

upstart writes:

TSMC to Expand Capacity for Mature and Specialty Nodes by 50%:

TSMC this afternoon has disclosed that it will expand its production capacity for mature and specialized nodes by about 50% by 2025. The plan includes building numerous new fabs in Taiwan, Japan, and China. The move will further intensify competition between TSMC and such contract makers of chips as GlobalFoundries, UMC, and SMIC.

When we talk about silicon lithography here at AnandTech, we mostly cover leading-edge nodes used produce advanced CPUs, GPUs, and mobile SoCs, as these are devices that drive progress forward. But there are hundreds of device types that are made on mature or specialized process technologies that are used alongside those sophisticated processors, or power emerging smart devices that have a significant impact on our daily lives and have gained importance in the recent years. The demand for various computing and smart devices in the recent years has exploded by so much that this has provoked a global chip supply crisis, which in turn has impacted automotive, consumer electronics, PC, and numerous adjacent industries.

Modern smartphones, smart home appliances, and PCs already use dozens of chips and sensors, and the number (and complexity) of these chips is only increasing. These parts use more advanced specialty nodes, which is one of the reason why companies like TSMC will have to expand their production capacities of otherwise "old" nodes to meet growing demand in the coming years.

An unnamed submitter writes:

Ever had a feeling that someone is watching you while you shop? That your every move is being recorded and analyzed? Your paranoia may be justified. Businesses are using intelligent software capable of tracking the location of each person's phone so closely it can determine exactly how long they spend looking at certain products on certain shelves. They are also using facial recognition to map users with profile. There are ways to combat this including disabling wifi and bluetooth, or putting your phone into airplane mode.

Businesses are using intelligent software capable of tracking the location of each person's phone so closely it can determine exactly how long they spend looking at certain products on certain shelves.

And it's not just snooping via wifi. Some stores are now using facial recognition technology too, which last week landed Kmart, Bunnings and The Good Guys in trouble with Choice.

"For any person trying to keep their personal information private, it's not fair. Every single person has a right to keep his or her privacy," Internet 2.0 security engineer Rafig Jabrayilov said.

[...] Stores, like Nordstrom in the United States – the focus of a bombshell New York Times article – can set up sensors in physical stores that return exact information on consumer behaviour.

hubie writes:

Smell and taste dynfunction after covid-19:

"It was sudden, like turning an electric switch off." This is how one patient described her abrupt loss of smell and taste following infection with covid-19. "I was eating some lunch on day three after contracting covid-19 and one moment I could still smell and taste the flavours of my soup, and the next everything vanished."

She was not alone in this. In fact, smell and taste loss are common complaints among patients with covid-19, with an estimated 50% of patients reporting these symptoms. This is thought to occur due to conductive barriers and nerve damage from the extensive inflammation in covid-19 infection.

The recovery of smell and taste is very much a gradual process for some. In our analysis of 3699 patients from 12 countries, recently published in The BMJ, we found that at the 30 day mark following the initial infection, only 74% and 79% of patients are expected to recover their smell and taste respectively. Recovery rates rise with each passing month, reaching a peak of 96% for smell and 98% for taste after six months. [...]

Besides a quantitative impairment in smell, a sizeable proportion of patients also report qualitative smell impairment following covid-19 infection, manifesting as distortion of odour (known as parosmia) or a perception of smell in the absence of an odour (known as phantosmia). These patients often struggle to tolerate everyday smells and become increasingly withdrawn. Such a phenomenon has been postulated to occur due to aberrant regeneration of the neurons in the olfactory system during recovery.

hubie writes:

People underestimate how enjoyable it is to sit and think:

People consistently underestimate how much they would enjoy spending time alone with their own thoughts, without anything to distract them, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

"Humans have a striking ability to immerse themselves in their own thinking," said study lead author Aya Hatano, PhD, of Kyoto University in Japan. "Our research suggests that individuals have difficulty appreciating just how engaging thinking can be. That could explain why people prefer keeping themselves busy with devices and other distractions, rather than taking a moment for reflection and imagination in daily life."

The researchers found that people enjoyed spending time with their thoughts significantly more than they had predicted. [...]

These results are especially important in our modern era of information overload and constant access to distractions, according to study co-author Kou Murayama, PhD, of the University of Tübingen in Germany. "It's now extremely easy to 'kill time.' On the bus on your way to work, you can check your phone rather than immerse yourself in your internal free-floating thinking, because you predict thinking will be boring," he said. "However, if that prediction is inaccurate, you are missing an opportunity to positively engage yourself without relying on such stimulation."

That missed opportunity comes at a cost because previous studies have shown that spending time letting your mind wander has some benefits, according to the researchers. It can help people solve problems, enhance their creativity and even help them find meaning in life. "By actively avoiding thinking activities, people may miss these important benefits," Murayama said.

Journal Reference:
Aya Hatano, Cansu Ogulmus, Hiroaki Shigemasu, and Kou Murayama, Thinking About Thinking: People Underestimate How Enjoyable and Engaging Just Waiting Is [pdf], J Exp Psychol Gen, 2022. DOI: 10.1037/xge0001255

Original Submission

gawdonblue writes:

Sheep farmers find large pieces of debris including serial numbers after a loud bang was heard earlier this month.

It is believed to be space junk from the first manned SpaceX mission to the International Space Station.

Story: Space junk potentially found in NSW Snowy Mountains paddocks

A large piece of debris found in the middle of a sheep paddock could be space junk from a SpaceX mission, and linked to a large bang heard across the region earlier this month.

Many of those who heard the bang on July 9 took to social media to report it across the Snowy Mountains in southern NSW, and as far away as Albury, Wagga Wagga and Canberra.

Speculation was rife that it may have been caused by the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft re-entering earth's atmosphere after it launched in November 2020.

Mick Miners, who runs a sheep farm at Numbla Vale, south of Jindabyne, stumbled across an almost three metre high object wedged into a remote part of his paddock on Monday.

[...] Australian National University College of Science astrophysicist Brad Tucker said the debris was most likely from the unpressurised crew trunk of the craft.

He said it was possibly the largest piece of documented debris in Australia since NASA's Skylab space station came plummeting back to Earth above Esperance in Western Australia in 1979.

It appears to either be a piece of space junk, or an early prototype Firstborn Monolith [hubie].

See also: Uncontrolled Rocket Descents Pose a 10% Risk of Killing One or More People Over the Next 10 Years

Original Submission

hubie writes:

Critics say it's a profession riddled with ignorance, conflict and moral hazards:

When the bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Celsius began foundering last month, Ben Armstrong was among the industry personalities leading the online charge against the firm.

"You can't possibly EVER support Celsius Network or [CEO Alex] Mashinsky in any way," Armstrong, who goes by the moniker Bitboy_Crypto, told his nearly 900,000 Twitter followers after Celsius froze all depositors' money in June.

There was only one problem: Armstrong had been central to encouraging them to deposit their money with Celsius in the first place.
Armstrong had talked up the company often on his daily YouTube show and, just two weeks earlier, even appeared with Celsius's chief executive on its weekly promotional video. ("Atlanta is famous for BitBoy, no longer for CNN," Mashinsky had said admiringly.)

Armstrong is a leading example of a crypto influencer. One-part media personality, one-part untrained investment adviser, the 39-year-old Georgia native wields significant power in the world of cryptocurrency investment, steering tip-hungry online trawlers to the latest token. [...]

BitBoy's rise — and even his recent Celsius wobble — highlights how low the threshold can be for gaining power amid the morass of gamified finance. In the land of crypto, the one-eyed man is king — and the line between carnival barker and investment guru extremely difficult to find.

Freeman writes:

Arachnophobia and Necrophobia warning:
https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/07/inflating-spider-corpse-creates-robotic-claw-game-of-nightmares/

Shortly after the Preston Innovation Lab was set up at Rice University, graduate student Faye Yap was rearranging a few things when she noticed a dead curled up spider in the hallway. Curious about why spiders curl up when they die, she did a quick search to find the answer. And that answer—essentially, internal hydraulics—led to delightfully morbid inspiration: Why not use the bodies of dead spiders as tiny air-powered grippers for picking up and maneuvering tiny electronic parts?

Yap and her colleagues—including adviser Daniel Preston—did just that. They transformed a dead wolf spider into a gripping tool with just a single assembly step—essentially launching a novel new research area they have cheekily dubbed "necrobotics." They outlined the process in detail in a new paper published in the journal Advanced Science. The authors suggest the gripper could be ideal for delicate "pick-and-place" repetitive tasks and could possibly be used one day in the assembly of microelectronics.

  https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202201174

Also At:
Dead spiders reanimated as creepy 'necrobots'

Original Submission

hubie writes:

Artificial intelligence firm DeepMind has transformed biology by predicting the structure of nearly all proteins known to science in just 18 months:

DeepMind has predicted the structure of almost every protein so far catalogued by science, cracking one of the grand challenges of biology in just 18 months thanks to an artificial intelligence called AlphaFold. Researchers say that the work has already led to advances in combating malaria, antibiotic resistance and plastic waste, and could speed up the discovery of new drugs.

Determining the crumpled shapes of proteins based on their sequences of constituent amino acids has been a persistent problem for decades in biology. Some of these amino acids are attracted to others, some are repelled by water, and the chains form intricate shapes that are hard to accurately determine.

UK-based AI company DeepMind first announced it had developed a method to accurately predict the structure of folded proteins in late 2020, and by the middle of it 2021 it had revealed that it had mapped 98.5 per cent of the proteins used within the human body.

Today, the company announced that it is publishing the structures of more than 200 million proteins – nearly all of those catalogued on the globally recognised repository of protein research, UniProt.