Новости за 15.10.2021

Scientists have developed a novel way of making people care about climate change: flooding their homes. Not their real homes, of course; the destruction is merely a  simulation — for now. But projecting catastrophic consequences onto familiar places could generate awareness through empathy. “Shock is not the endgame here,” said study lead author Victor Schmidt, a PhD candidate at the Mila Quebec AI Institute in Montreal, Canada. “We want to trigger and leverage emotions towards actions.” ClimateGAN... Читать дальше...

Residents of an otherwise quiet neighborhood in San Francisco have been dealing lately with a very weird affliction: the constant buzzing of several Waymo vehicles crowding a dead-end street. The self-driving taxis are flooding the end of 15th Avenue, appearing rather “confused” as they enter the area, residents told local news station KPIX. What the f is happening? “I noticed it while I was sleeping,” said resident Jennifer King to the outlet. “I awoke to a strange hum and I thought there was a... Читать дальше...

China’s Shenzhou-13 spacecraft is about to begin its voyage to the Tiangong space station. The spaceflight is set to feature a range of pioneering moments and intriguing tasks. Here are four key facts about the mission. It’s China’s longest crewed mission yet The crew is heading for Tiangong, China’s first long-term space station, which is being constructed in low Earth orbit. China aims to complete the station by December 2022. The six-month mission will be the longest time that Chinese astronauts have ever stayed in space... Читать дальше...

TLDR: The VVFly Smart Snore Eye Mask sends gentle vibrations to adjust your sleep and knock out snoring once and for all.  For decades, snoring has been played for laughs. From Popeye to Fred Flintstone, a sleeper loudly sawing logs has been a comedy staple for film, TV, cartoons, and beyond forever.  But the reality is that snoring isn’t really all that funny. Just ask anyone who snores — or those that try to live with them. Medically speaking, snoring is usually a sign of a type of sleep apnea... Читать дальше...

How will the Solar System die? It’s a hugely important question that researchers have speculated a lot about, using our knowledge of physics to create complex theoretical models. We know that the Sun will eventually become a “white dwarf”, a burnt stellar remnant whose dim light gradually fades into darkness. This transformation will involve a violent process that will destroy an unknown number of its planets. So which planets will survive the death of the Sun? One way to seek the answer is to look... Читать дальше...

Many TV shows have a scene where a customer attempts to buy a potentially embarrassing product – a pornographic magazine perhaps or a diarrhea treatment – only to have the assistant loudly check the price or ask questions for other people to hear. Situations like this do happen in pharmacies and other shops. And they tend to make people squirm. But, what if they could interact with a robot instead of a human employee? In our recent research, my colleagues and I found the use of robots, rather than people... Читать дальше...

Something seemed very wrong with the way I’d been taught to think about my career progression. Like so many of us, I’d heard professional journeys described as climbing a ladder or following a path. But as I moved forward in my work as a journalist, I wasn’t moving in a straight line. The field I was pursuing, called audience engagement, was relatively new. I certainly hadn’t taken any courses on it in college, and two of the companies I would later work for didn’t even exist when I graduated. How... Читать дальше...

HTC today announced the Vive Flow, its smallest and lightest VR headset yet. While the reflective lenses on the outside make it seem like this may be an AR headset — one that lets you see the outside world — this is strictly a VR affair. The $499 device tethers to an external power source and is more focused on lightweight immersive experiences than the high-end gaming VR headsets are normally used for. HTC says the Vive flow is “taking technology in a new direction, focusing not on what we do, but on how we feel.” To this end... Читать дальше...

New ebike companies enter the crowded market seemingly every other week. They tend to fall into one of two categories: copycats sourcing generic designs, or companies promising a myriad of gimmicky features that do little to add to the actual ride experience. Many seem more interesting in cashing in on the trend than actually building bikes meant to last, crowdfunding bikes with little support afterward. Vvolt‘s launch this year was a refreshing change of pace. While it goes without saying that you... Читать дальше...