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No Showmetech TRIO of the week (23/05/2022), we will talk about the new North American seaplane, conceived by DARPA, used for heavy loads; the capsule Starliner, Boeing, has successfully connected to the International Space Station, and plans for possible commercial travel; Finally, we will see a robotic hand capable of being used by mind through artificial intelligence. Check out the main news of the week with us! 286a6v
DARPA's new seaplane 1u5k22
It was revealed by DARPA, known as "The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency”, translated as “Advanced Defense Research Projects Agency” that there is a cargo seaplane project ahead. But not just any flying vehicle, this seaplane will be built to carry heavy loads, offering strategic advantages to the US military.
It is speculated that the plan was to try to be something close to the AG600, a Chinese air vehicle the size of a Boeing 737 that lies in the South China Sea. The AG600 is capable of carrying out transport at a speed of approximately 500 km/h.
This new seaplane is being planned precisely for military and strategic reasons, since air transport is faster and can even offer maritime . The development of this vehicle is also focused on being a model that does not necessarily need a runway for takeoff, as it should be easy to land and take off on the water surface, even with very heavy loads.
One of the biggest challenges in performing actions on the water's surface is of course unpredictable movements, such as fast tides and turbulence. With that in mind, DARPA has the “liberty lifter”, something like “Liberdade de Levantar”, which is working on sensors capable of identifying possible threatening waves, thus facilitating water landings and takeoffs.
Commercial travel on the EEI? 32q5s
This last Friday, May 20th, the capsule CST-100 Starliner, Boeing, made the connection to the EEI for the first time, the International Space Station. The feat gives rise to possible commercial travel, taking civilians, to the site in the future. This was only able after several attempts and failures. This was the first time a Boeing spacecraft has connected to the Space Station.
This is actually part of a test called OFT-2. The test would be carried out using a capsule built by Boeing for NASA's Group Commercial Program to transport astronauts between the Space Station and Earth. But before anyone took the test, NASA launched the capsule to see if this vehicle could fulfill what was necessary to, finally, carry people itself.
But this was not the first attempt to make a spacecraft of this size connect to the Space Station. The first test mission, the OFT, was launched in 2019 but due to a system error the capsule was unable to enter orbit, so Starliner was unable to demonstrate the vehicle's ability to connect to the Space Station. Will we see more civilians visiting the International Space Station?
Mind controlled robotic hand 3uh1s
And finally, let's check out a new technology capable of helping people who need prosthetic hands. In this case we are talking about a team of researchers from University of Minnesota (UMN) who, in the greatest sci-fi style, managed to build a robotic hand capable of being controlled by the mind.
The device is composed of artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithm , two aspects that help any device to better understand our commands. The robotic hand comes equipped with a connected nerve implant that will be attached to the peripheral nerve in a patient's arm. University neuroscientist, Edward Keefer, also shared his expectations with the project:
We are well on the way to allowing upper-limb amputees, at least, and others in the future, to have totally natural and intuitive control of their prosthetic devices.
Edward Keefer, neuroscientist at the University of Minnesota
Currently, the prostheses closest to this technology require their patients to move other parts of the body so that the movement of the muscles make the prosthesis part used, that is, if you want to move a hand, you must move the whole arm or other parts to be able to do it.
The main difference between the models is precisely the fact that this robotic hand knows how to identify nervous signals and work as a signal decoder in conjunction with artificial intelligence. The movement of the hand is carried out by a middle nerve that is in the peripheral system. When someone thinks about moving their hand, the signs are issued by this system, and with the decoder in the robotic hand, the prosthesis will be able to reproduce the patient's desire.
The device is currently wired, but plans are for the robotic hand to work completely wirelessly. Projections here are that some people can even handle smartphones with just their brains. was the age Cyberpunk in real life is coming?
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