Russian ‘Skynet’ to lead military robots on the battlefield with Unicum artificial intelligence (AI)
![[IMG]](https://www.yahoo.com/sy/ny/api/res/1.2/xkK6hDDnJ_Nepc__P4eWGw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9ODAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en-US/homerun/popular_mechanics_642/6d91456bddb8eb15122c756969680c21)
![[IMG]](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/kJSTaruPavkJnEQFPkQcrQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9MTAyNDtoPTY4Ng--/http://media.zenfs.com/en-US/homerun/popular_mechanics_642/53a4707c7b0edb621a6fb7a9ccf54476)
![[IMG]](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/3n_rENlA4m9HNT6BJj9FPA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9MTAyNDtoPTY4Mw--/http://media.zenfs.com/en-US/homerun/popular_mechanics_642/b29d2a59c42ab575cc0821a0f58e5b76)
In Costa Rica, near the Arenal Volcano
Most Advanced A.I. Robot Admits It Wants to Destroy Humans After Glitch During TV Interview
Russian ‘Skynet’ to lead military robots on the battlefield with Unicum artificial intelligence (AI)
A Beginner’s Guide To Flyboarding
Steph Souza. Flying six feet above a lake
About four years ago, my father returned home from a
business trip and showed me a picture he took of a person attached to
some sort of futuristic jet pack. I’m pretty aware of new gadgets thanks
to social media and websites like Popular Science, but I
hadn’t seen or heard about anything like this before—I didn’t even know
how to Google it! After several days, I gave up on my search.
Then, a year later, I stumbled upon a video and learned that these jet packs are actually called Flyboards, and they're more like snowboards with pressurized streams of water that propel them into the air. The video made Flyboarding look not only fun, but beautiful! Multiple people were Flyboarding at the same time and doing coordinated tricks. I knew I had to try it for myself.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a local company that offered Flyboarding. Since then though, it's started to gain popularity. I even found a company that offered to let customers Flyboard near my parents’ home on Long Island. However, $200 for a half hour of Flyboarding was not in my budget, so I put the dream of Flyboarding on hold.
Earlier this month, April 2016, my boyfriend and I went on a vacation to Costa Rica. While I was researching companies that offer zip-lining (which I was told is a must in Costa Rica), I found one called Sky Adventures that also offers Flyboarding for less than half the price of the Long Island company. (Spoiler alert: While a half hour doesn’t seem like a lot of time, it is plenty.) Without hesitating, I booked it!
The instructions seemed simple enough. Swim far away from
the jet ski, stand up while in the water with the Flyboard directly
under you, keep your feet level with each other and your legs locked,
and let the water pressure push you up. Once you’re in the air, pointing
your toes down will move you forward, pointing toes up will move you
backward, lifting your left knee up will move you right, and lifting
your right knee up will, you guessed it, move you left. How high you go
though is controlled by the water pressure from the jet ski, so it can
only be adjusted by the instructor (or whomever is driving the jet ski).
Once more than half of my body was out of the water, I
lost my balance and immediately fell over. It took me at least two more
tries before I was able to emerge completely from the water, and hover
one foot above the surface. Once I was comfortable at that height, the
instructor turned up the throttle…which resulted in multiple crashes
with the water.
I picked up a few tips to share with you to reduce the number of crashes you have, and make the ones you do have less painful:
Then, a year later, I stumbled upon a video and learned that these jet packs are actually called Flyboards, and they're more like snowboards with pressurized streams of water that propel them into the air. The video made Flyboarding look not only fun, but beautiful! Multiple people were Flyboarding at the same time and doing coordinated tricks. I knew I had to try it for myself.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a local company that offered Flyboarding. Since then though, it's started to gain popularity. I even found a company that offered to let customers Flyboard near my parents’ home on Long Island. However, $200 for a half hour of Flyboarding was not in my budget, so I put the dream of Flyboarding on hold.
Earlier this month, April 2016, my boyfriend and I went on a vacation to Costa Rica. While I was researching companies that offer zip-lining (which I was told is a must in Costa Rica), I found one called Sky Adventures that also offers Flyboarding for less than half the price of the Long Island company. (Spoiler alert: While a half hour doesn’t seem like a lot of time, it is plenty.) Without hesitating, I booked it!
The Experience
We met our instructor at the lake, where he was waiting for us with a jet ski and Flyboard. The Flyboard itself is roughly the size of a skateboard with two boot attachments for your feet, similar to a snowboard. The critical component of the Flyboard, though, is the hose that connects it to the jet exit of the jet ski. The water it pumps out is what provides the thrust to get the user out of the water and keep them up in the air.
(Author’s note: I admit I watched
some “How-to” videos on YouTube to prepare myself, and it was a good
thing I did. I felt much more comfortable with the board and already had
a basic understanding of what the instructor went over with us.)
I was ready as I could be. I got into a
standing position and gave the okay. Turns out, Flyboarding is a lot
harder than it looks.
I picked up a few tips to share with you to reduce the number of crashes you have, and make the ones you do have less painful:
- As you’re flying, focus on a single point. The lake I was on was near the Arenal Volcano. In addition to the great view, the volcano gave me something to concentrate on, instead of perpetually thinking “Don’t fall! Don’t fall! Don’t fall!”
- When you do crash, try your best to dive into the water. Put your arms above your head, one hand on top of the other, forming a point. This breaks the surface of the water and reduces the impact of the crash on your head. Even though you’ll be wearing a helmet, a head-first crash will still hurt.
Several launches later, I had finally gotten
the hang of Flyboarding. I even managed to get six feet above the water,
though it felt like I was twice as high as that. It was both scary and
thrilling to feel like I was flying. I even attempted to control my
directions on the Flyboard and spin around, like I’d seen in many
YouTube videos, though I ended up in the water immediately.
Final Thoughts
Flyboarding is definitely worth trying if
it’s in your budget. The price and length of your session will vary by
location, but thirty minutes seemed to be the perfect amount of time for
a beginner; it was enough time to get comfortable with the board, but I
was finished before I was too sore. If you are more coordinated than I
am, you might consider a 45-minute or an hour-long session. When my time
was up, I was pretty sore and tired of getting water up my nose, but
glad for the experience.
Discovering The Secret Behind Bermuda Triangle
Scientists at the Arctic University of Norway have apparently found that methane gas explosions can be linked to the mystery of unusual number of disappearances of ships, aircraft and, people in the Bermuda Triangle – the area of the Atlantic Ocean cornered by Bermuda, Puerto Rico and Miami, Florida, often called the “devil’s triangle”.
The scientists believe deposits of oil and methane gas buried deeper in the sea floor burst through the seabed and formed giant underwater craters – they have discovered up to half a mile wide and 150ft deep – off the coast of natural gas-rich Norway. They suggest the huge methane bursts could churn up water potentially posing a danger to ships, or escape into the atmosphere potentially posing risks to aircrafts.
“Multiple giant craters exist on the sea floor in an area in the west-central Barents Sea … and are probably a cause of enormous blowouts of gas. The crater area is likely to represent one of the largest hotspots for shallow marine methane release in the Arctic,” scientists from the Arctic University of Norway told The Sunday Times.
The mystery behind solving the mystery
Although, further details of the findings will be released in April at the annual meeting of the European Geosciences Union, the University of Norway research preliminary summary caused quite a stir forcing co-author Karin Andreassen to release a statement:
“We have discovered many large craters on the seabed in the central Barents Sea. Analyses suggest that blowout of methane gas once the ice retreated after the last Ice Age formed these craters. We have yet to publish these results, so these are preliminary. What I can say is that we are not making any links to the Bermuda Triangle.
“Craters are gigantic, up to one kilometer wide and 30 meters deep, and give evidence on blowouts of gas from the seabed. Blowouts can be linked to thawing of gas hydrates, which is methane in form of ice, beneath the seabed after the last Ice Age ended. But conditions during the last ice age cannot be compared with what we see today.”
The ”evidence”
The scientists have refrained from linking the Bermuda Triangle, but the idea is not new. The theory was initially posited in 2014 by Russian scientist Igor Yeltsov from the Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum-Gas Geology and Geophysics.
“‘There is a theory that the Bermuda Triangle is caused by gas hydrates. They start to actively decompose with methane ice turning into gas. It happens in an avalanche-like way, like a nuclear reaction, producing huge amounts of gas. That makes the ocean heat up, and ships sink in waters which are infused with huge amounts of gas. This leads to the air becoming supersaturated with methane, creating an extremely turbulent atmosphere, leading to aircraft crashes.”
National Geographic also reported in 2015 that “methane can escape into the air, making the atmosphere highly turbulent and perhaps causing aircraft to crash”.
International Business Times also notes:
The area, also known as the “Devil’s Triangle”, is a western area of the North Atlantic Ocean bounded by Bermuda, Puerto Rico and a point near Melbourne, Florida, where numerous ships and aircraft have mysteriously disappeared throughout the ages. The bedrock of these seas has many magnetic anomalies that can produce misleading compass readings. The deposits of frozen methane gas can explode in violent outbursts – methane blowouts – capable of sinking even large vessels. These waters are also prone to waterspouts, which are vortices that suck up water from the sea into the clouds. The winds of these waterspouts can reach more than 190kmph (120mph) and are common during the summer in the humid air and warm waters of Florida’s seas, where there are probably 400-500 waterspouts each year.
Blame #methane blasts for sea craters, but not for the Bermuda Triangle. Via @LiveScience https://t.co/l6L6ax1mEU pic.twitter.com/kK5R1fd2ew— EGU (@EuroGeosciences) March 18, 2016
The real mystery
There have been a number of conspiracy theories about the Bermuda Triangle, but not many are convinced. John Reilly, a historian with the US Naval Historical Foundation, told National Geographic:
“The region is highly traveled and has been a busy crossroads since the early days of European exploration. To say quite a few ships and airplanes have gone down there is like saying there are an awful lot of car accidents on the New Jersey Turnpike — surprise, surprise.”
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also notes:
Environmental considerations could explain many, if not most, of the disappearances. The majority of Atlantic tropical storms and hurricanes pass through the Bermuda Triangle, and in the days prior to improved weather forecasting, these dangerous storms claimed many ships. Also, the Gulf Stream can cause rapid, sometimes violent, changes in weather. Additionally, the large number of islands in the Caribbean Sea creates many areas of shallow water that can be treacherous to ship navigation. And there is some evidence to suggest that the Bermuda Triangle is a place where a “magnetic” compass sometimes points towards “true” north, as opposed to “magnetic” north.
The ocean has always been a mysterious place to humans, and when foul weather or poor navigation is involved, it can be a very deadly place. This is true all over the world. There is no evidence that mysterious disappearances occur with any greater frequency in the Bermuda Triangle than in any other large, well-traveled area of the ocean.
Japan's X-2 stealth fighter jet takes to the skies
Japan's
first stealth fighter jet has successfully taken to the skies as the
country joins a select group of world military powers wielding the
radar-dodging technology.
The
X-2 jet took off from Nagoya airport in central Japan on its maiden
test flight as dozens of aviation enthusiasts watching the event erupted
in applause as it lifted off.
The
single-pilot prototype safely landed at Gifu air base, north of Nagoya
airport, after a 25-minute flight with 'no particular problems,' said an
official at the defence ministry's acquisition agency.
The X-2,
developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and 200 other firms, measures
14.2 metres (47 feet) long and 9.1 metres wide and was built as a
successor to F-2 fighter jets developed jointly with the United States.
Its
delivery to the defence ministry is expected as early as next month and
the acquisition agency 'will continue analysing data and check its
stealth technology capability,' the agency official told AFP.
Japan began the project in 2009 and has reportedly spent about 39.4 billion yen ($332 million) to develop the aircraft.South Korean Air Defense
82nd Airborne Division Static Line Jump From C-17
North Korea from space, the black area between South Korea (bottom right) and China (top left)
Unmanned surface vessel (USV) concept
The system, which the company refers to as the 13 m high-speed intercept boat, features a breadth of 4 m and a draught of 0.6 m.
"This is the first time that we are showing this outside China", said Zhu Yingzi, manager of the USV programme at Poly Technologies Inc., a subsidiary of the state-owned China Poly Group Corporation - an enterprise that has been authorised by Beijing to develop and promote Chinese-made defence materiel globally. Zhu was speaking to IHS Jane's at the DSA 2016 exhibition in Kuala Lumpur on 18 April.
"The interceptor has been developed by Poly Group Corporation in conjunction with Harbin Engineering University. A prototype of the USV is still currently being tested by the [People's Liberation Army Navy, or PLAN] and we [expect to have] an export version in about one year", said Zhu, who added that the prototype is currently being deployed to patrol a naval facility that cannot be disclosed.
According to further specifications provided by the company, the interceptor can reach a speed of 80 kt in a standard configuration that includes a high-resolution video camera and datalinks. The vessel can also be configured to follow a predetermined patrol route and track surface targets autonomously.
Want to read more? For analysis on this article and access to all our insight content, please enquire about our subscription options ihs.com/contact
To read the full article, Client Login
(294 of 364 words)
http://www.janes.com/article/59582/...sv-concept-and-targets-southeast-asian-navies
Meet Jia Jia the 'robot goddess': Inventor claims AI humanoid is the most realistic ever made
You might to do a double take when you see this new interactive robot, as it 'looks very much like a real woman'.
Dubbed 'robot goddess', Jia Jia has the long flowing locks and rosy red cheeks as a human, but is being taught deep learning abilities.
This humanoid is designed with natural eye movement, speech that is syncs with its lip movements and refers to its male creators as 'lords'.
This life-like cyborg is the brain child of Chen Xiaoping and his colleagues at the University of Science and Technology of China, who unveiled the technology today in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province.
During the unveiling, Xiaoping said hello to his robot goddess, which immediately responded, 'Yes my lord, what can I do for you?'
It took the team three years to complete the robot, which can speak, show micro-expressions, move its lips and body, yet seems to hold its head in a submissive manner.
The humanoid is programmed to recognize human/machine interaction, has autonomous position, navigation and offers services based on cloud technology.
Hello everyone, I'm Jia Jia. Welcome!' the robot said as it greeted the audience at the university's multi-media center today, reports Xinhuanet.
'Don't come too close to me when you are taking a picture.
'It will make my face look fat,' Jia Jia said.
This group of researchers were also the masterminds behind the service robot 'Kejia' that took home first place at the RoboCup championship in 2014.
Compared to previous interactive robots, this humanoid has natural eye movement and its speech is in sync with its lip movement. Xiaoping explains that between researcher and development it took the team three years to complete the robot, which can speak, show micro-expressions, move its lips and body
Kejia reached a historical mark 8,555 points by showing off its skills of neatly lining up drinks.
But Xiaoping's robot goddess doesn't seem like it will be used in any competitions.
'We hope to develop the robot so it has deep learning abilities. We will add facial expression recognition and make it interact more deeply with people,' Xiaoping explained.
Hello everyone, I'm Jia Jia. Welcome!' the robot said as it greeted the audience at the university's multi-media center today, reports Xinhuanet. 'Don't come too close to me when you are taking a picture. It will make my face look fat,' Jia Jia said.
'We hope to develop the robot so it has deep learning abilities. We will add facial expression recognition and make it interact more deeply with people,' Xiaoping explained. He also revealed that Jia Jia was 'priceless' and the team would not consider mass production, yet
He also revealed that Jia Jia was 'priceless' and the team would not consider mass production, yet.
China's robot goddess isn't the first robot to look like a real woman.
Earlier this year a life-like replica of actress Scarlett Johansson made its debut – which winks and giggles when its creator tells her she looks cute.
The humanoid is programmed to recognize human/machine interaction, has autonomous position and navigation and offers services based on cloud technology
It took Ricky Ma a year-and-a-half and $50,000 to complete a female robot prototype he calls the Mark 1.
He admits it is modelled after a Hollywood star, but says he does not want to name her. She responds to a set of programmed verbal commands spoken into a microphone.
The humanoid has simple arm and leg movements, turns its head and can bow.
There is no word yet about what Jia Jia's main purpose will be, but the public shouldn't get their hopes up about owning one. The researchers have clearly stated that Jia Jia will not be massed produced. dailymail.co.uk
It also has dark blonde hair and liquid eyes, and wears a grey skirt and cropped top, can create detailed facial expressions.
In response to the compliment, 'Mark 1, you are so beautiful', its brows and the muscles around its eyes relax, and the corners of its lips lift, creating a natural-seeming smile, and it says, 'Hehe, thank you.'
Read more:
Strange Massive Stone Ball Discovered In Bosnia
It may sound like a strange movie sequel, but a Bosnian
archaeologist with a penchant for dressing like Indiana Jones has
discovered a giant stone sphere he believes proves the existence of a
lost civilization.
So far, less than half of the ball has been uncovered, but Osmanagich estimates its radius to measure between 1.2 and 1.5 meters (3.9 - 4.9ft).
If it turns out to be even heavier, it could surpass similar discoveries in Costa Rica (which are believed to be man made) and in Mexico (deemed natural formations) to be declared the biggest stone ball in the world.
Osmanagich says when the research is complete, the discovery could prove that Southern Europe was home to advanced civilizations from the “distant past” who had their own form of “high technology”.
Osmanagich has previously claimed that a series of hills in central Bosnia and Herzegovina actually contain ancient pyramids and tunnels underground. He says that the huge sphere could back up this theory by providing further evidence of an ancient highly developed civilization.
However, Osmanagich’s claims about the stone are disputed by fellow archeologists who have a different - and more natural - explanation for the large stone.
Mandy Edwards of the University of Manchester's School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences told the MailOnline the rock is likely a result of ‘concretion’, formed by the "precipitation of natural mineral cement within the spaces between sediment grains".
“But the speculation that there could be a 12,000-year-old structure beneath is a complete fantasy and anyone with basic knowledge of archaeology or history should recognise that,” he added.
Science May Have Just Opened the Gates of Hell!
World’s strongest material: Scientists create Carbyne in large amounts for the first time
 |
| The inside of a graphene molecular structure |
After
eluding scientists for more than 50 years, a team of researchers has
now found a way to not only synthesize carbyne, but to mass produce it.
This
one-dimensional form of carbon is thought to be stronger than any other
known to scientists, surpassing the stiffness of diamond by more than
40-fold.
In
the new method, the researchers have used a double-walled carbon
nanotube to grow stable carbon chains of record-breaking lengths.
Carbyne
was first proposed in 1885 by Adolf von Baeyer, who described the
existence of linear acetylenic carbon – or an infinitely long carbon
chain – known as carbyne.
But, the researcher warned it would remain elusive due to its extreme instability.
Led
by Thomas Pichler, researchers from the University of Vienna have now
developed a way to bulk produce carbon chains made up of more than 6,400
carbon atoms.
Previously, the record length for a carbon change was roughly 100 carbon atoms.
To achieve the new length, the researchers created double-walled nanotubes by rolling two layers of graphene.
The ultra-long carbon chains were then grown inside of these tubes, which create a stable environment.
This method allowed the team to form carbon chains more than 50 times longer than the previous record holder.
‘The
direct experimental proof of confined ultra-long linear carbon chains,
which are two orders of magnitude longer than the longest proven chains
so far, are a promising step toward the final goal of unravelling the
holy grail of truly 1D carbon allotropes, carbyne,’ said Lei Shi, first
author of the paper.
After eluding scientists for more than
50 years, a team of researchers has now found a way to not only
synthesize carbyne, but to mass produce it. In the novel new method, the
researchers have used a double-walled carbon nanotube to grow stable
carbon chains of record-breaking lengths
Carbyne is 40 times stiffer than diamond and twice as stiff as graphene, outperforming all other carbon materials in strength.
A material of this kind would be useful in the development of super-strong future devices, the researchers say.
‘This
work provided an example of a very efficient and fruitful collaboration
between experiments and theory in order to unravel and control the
electronic and mechanical properties of low-dimensional, carbon-based
materials,’ said Angel Rubio.
‘It
led to the synthesis and characterization of the longest-ever linear
carbon chain. These findings provide the basic testbed for experimental
studies concerning electron correlation and quantum dynamical phase
transitions in confined geometries that were not possible before.’
To confirm the existence of the chain, the researchers used different types of spectroscopy and X-ray scattering.
The
findings revealed it is not only stable in these conditions, but the
electrical properties are dependent on the length of the chain.
‘Furthermore,
the mechanical and electronic properties of carbyne are exceptional,’
Rubio said, ‘and suggest a wealth of new possibilities for the design of
nanoelectronic as well as optomechanical devices.’ dailymail.co.uk
New Stratosphere Aerostat Will Be Better than Spy Satellite
 |
| 4Q001-1 aerostat |
Modern spy satellite has great view to monitor a vast area in details but it has limited channels to pass lots of photos taken by reconnaissance drones. One satellite can only relays the photos taken by four drones.
An aerostat that can carry heavier equipment and remain geostatic in stratosphere will be much cheaper and better than a satellite for communications relay, intelligence collection, electronic suppression and aerial early warning.
Mil.eastday.com has recently report successfully tested its 4Q00I-1 aerostat in Malan, Xinjiang.
The aerostat remained entirely in control during the test and was recovered safely with all the equipment intact.
4Q001-1 aerostat had remained floating at the altitude of 19.3 km a little below the near space layer between 20 km and 100 km above earth surface. China plans to send an aerostat into that layer and have it remain there for quite a long time.
The Chinese aerostat has an Euler body structure like a flying disk in shape with a diameter of tens of meters. It uses solar energy to resist the strong wind in stratosphere and remain geostatic.
The article says so far the best aerostat in the world can only remain in the sky for about 30 hours, but the people in charge of China’s aerostat project want Chinese aerostat to remain in sky for weeks and even months with the immediate goal of having it remain in sky for a week.
Phalanx Close-In Weapon System (CIWS)
Phalanx CIWS had a full load of 20mm, M61 Vulcan cannon rips through ammo at up to 6,000 rounds per minute.
Dutch Goalkeeper
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goalkeeper_CIWS
Seven Deadliest Naval Close-In Weapon Systems (CIWS)
Dutch Goalkeeper
American SeaRAM
MK15 Phalanx
Italian Dardo
Swiss/German Millennium Gun
Russian AK-630
Russian Kashtan
Turkish Sea Zenith