Architect studio Carlo Ratti Associati (CRA) is fitting out an office building with sensors so that its lighting and heating will be automatically adjusted in real-time according to the needs of its occupants. Not only will “Office 3.0” provide a convenient approach to comfort, but it could significantly reduce energy use.
via Gizmag</ … Read More → "Personal heating and lighting zones will follow workers around the office"

Astronauts aboard the ISS entered the station’s first inflatable habitat today. At 4:47AM ET this morning, NASA astronaut Jeff Williams and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka opened the hatch to the expanded habitat and ventured inside to collect air samples and data from the various sensors embedded in the module. That data will ultimately tell NASA and … Read More → "Astronauts entered the inflated BEAM habitat for the first time today"

There are basically two types of drivers: those who get worked up about people driving slowly in the left lane, and those who do it all the time and have no idea they’re upsetting everyone else.

In case you’re in the second group, some background: Every state has some sort of law that discourages people from traveling … Read More → "Why you shouldn’t drive slowly in the left lane"

“Autoencoding” is a process that reduces complex information to a small subset that the neural net believes to be most significant; in Broad’s dissertation, he reduced each frame of Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner to a 200 digit number, then invoked the net to reconstruct the image just using that data.

… Read More → "Deep learning AI “autoencodes” Blade Runner, recreates it so faithfully it gets a takedown notice"

U.S. track cyclists training for the 2016 Olympic Games are equipped with a new high-tech wearable: the Solos smart cycling glasses. The shades display in real-time performance metrics culled from the athletes’ bike sensors, heart rate monitors, and other self-tracking devices, enabling riders to view their critical stats without taking their eyes off the road. 
via Read More → "U.S. track cycling team training for Rio Olympics with smart sunglasses"

The fastest toddler in Lithuania is really curious about keys, Reuters reports. Lithuania’s annual fastest toddler competition was held yesterday, pitting 25 crawling youngsters against each other on a plush red-carpeted track.

A 10-month-old named Kamilis Dambrauskas darted across the finish line after just 11 seconds, spurred on by the sight of his mother jangling her keys. Other … Read More → "Lithuania crowns its fastest toddler"

Apparently it bugged the young Newton that the meanings of words were determined haphazardly. He thought it would be a vast improvement if there was a more orderly formula that would let people know what a given word meant just by hearing it. As Newton put it: “[L]et the names of the same sorte … Read More → "Isaac Newton once tried to invent his own language"

In New York state, legislators are worried a law from 1971 could be a roadblock for autonomous vehicles in the near future. As the New York Daily News reports, the state is the only one in the country that requires drivers to keep at least one hand on the steering wheel while driving. Obviously, this could be a … Read More → "A 45-year-old New York law is holding up autonomous vehicles"

Scientists have discovered the largest and, quite possibly, oldest sea sponge on Earth. The enormous sea sponge is estimated to be several hundred to several thousand years old, though it is impossible to know for sure.And at 11.5 feet (3.5 meters) in length, New Scientist reports, it’s as big … Read More → "Enormous sea sponge may be the oldest animal on Earth"

With the help of two nonprofit partners and funding from the Ian Potter Foundation, Wong has crafted a prototype for a detection system that uses a camera paired with lasers to spot potholes and other potential surface hazards. It combines image processing with machine learning to analyze a user’s surroundings and provide auditory cues as he or she approaches … Read More → "Pothole detection for the visually impaired"