Author: kenmay

Google Brain super-resolution image tech makes “zoom, enhance!” real

(credit: Google Brain) Google Brain has devised some new software that can create detailed images from tiny, pixelated source images. Google’s software, in short, basically means the “zoom in… now enhance!” TV trope is actually possible. (credit: Google Brain) First, take a look at the image on the right. The left column contains the pixelated 8×8 source images, and the centre column shows the images that Google Brain’s software was able to create from those source images. For comparison, the real images are shown in the right column. As you can see, the software seemingly extracts an amazing amount of detail from just 64 source pixels. Of course, as we all know, it’s impossible to create more detail than there is in the source image—so how does Google Brain do it? With a clever combination of two neural networks. Read 9 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Google Brain super-resolution image tech makes “zoom, enhance!” real

This maglev quadcopter hints at transportation’s future

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCON4zfMzjU Hyperloop One engineers demonstrate the power of maglev using spinning arrays atop a copper plate. Despite weighing over 100 pounds, the gadget floats and could hold considerably more weight. (more…)

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This maglev quadcopter hints at transportation’s future

Scientists Have Invented Paper That You Can Print With Light, Erase With Heat, and Reuse 80 Times

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Quartz: Nearly 1% of carbon emissions annually can be attributed to paper production, even though we recycle much of the paper we produce. Yadong Yin has a solution. He and his colleagues at the University of California at Riverside have invented a type of paper that can be printed on using just light, erased by heating, and reused up to 80 times. Yin created nanoparticles, which are a million times smaller than the thickness of human hair, with the dye Prussian blue, or its chemical analogues, and titanium oxide, which is commonly used in white wall paint. This mixture is then applied to normal paper. When the coating is exposed to ultraviolet light, electrons from titanium oxide move to the dye in the nanoparticle. This addition of electrons makes the blue dye turn white. Focusing the ultraviolet light into shapes, you can print white words on a blue background — or blue words on a white background, which are easier to read. If left alone, the paper reverts to its original state in five days. That process can be accelerated by heating the paper to 120 C (250 F) for 10 minutes. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Scientists Have Invented Paper That You Can Print With Light, Erase With Heat, and Reuse 80 Times

French Politician Uses Hologram To Hold Meetings In Two Cities At the Same Time

neutrino38 writes: The French presidential election is approaching fast. One of the candidates, Jean-Luc Melanchon, used a hologram to hold two public meetings at once. With a political program that is mostly socialist and very left leaning, some people pointed out that he used private innovation to stand out from the crowd. Reuters notes that this is “not the first politician to employ such technology, ” adding that “in 2014, then-Turkish prime minister Tayyip Erdogan used a huge hologram of himself to attract wider support, while India’s Narendra Modi trounced the opposition with a campaign that included holograms of his speeches in villages across the country.” You can watch part of one of Melanchon’s virtual meetings here. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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French Politician Uses Hologram To Hold Meetings In Two Cities At the Same Time

Western Digital Unveils First-Ever 512Gb 64-Layer 3D NAND Chip

BrianFagioli quotes a report from BetaNews: As great as these solid state drives are now, they are only getting better. For example, SATA-based SSDs were once viewed as miraculous, but they are now looked at as slow — PCIe-based NVMe drives are all the rage. To highlight the steady evolution of flash storage, Western Digital today unveiled the first-ever 512 gigabit 64-layer 3D NAND chip. “The launch of the industry’s first 512Gb 64-layer 3D NAND chip is another important stride forward in the advancement of our 3D NAND technology, doubling the density from when we introduced the world’s first 64-layer architecture in July 2016. This is a great addition to our rapidly broadening 3D NAND technology portfolio. It positions us well to continue addressing the increasing demand for storage due to rapid data growth across a wide range of customer retail, mobile and data center applications, ” says Dr. Siva Sivaram, executive vice president, memory technology, Western Digital. Western Digital further explains that it did not develop this new technology on its own. The company shares, “The 512Gb 64-layer chip was developed jointly with the company’s technology and manufacturing partner Toshiba. Western Digital first introduced initial capacities of the world’s first 64-layer 3D NAND technology in July 2016 and the world’s first 48-layer 3D NAND technology in 2015; product shipments with both technologies continue to retail and OEM customers.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Western Digital Unveils First-Ever 512Gb 64-Layer 3D NAND Chip

Unprecedented: Japan’s population has declined by 1 million in 5 years

Rich countries have low birthrates (in part because they have more rights for women, and women who can control their bodies and fates choose to have fewer children on average than women who live in poor countries with fewer rights for women); Japan, one of the most xenophobic of all the rich countries, has the killer combination of a near-total ban on immigration from poor countries (where all the young people are) and a high standard of living. (more…)

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Unprecedented: Japan’s population has declined by 1 million in 5 years

Uber’s latest option is a personal chauffeur

If you’re traveling, or flitting about from one business meeting to another, it can be annoying to arrange a ride for very stop on the journey. Uber is looking to remedy the issue by launching UberHire, a service that lets you rent a car (and driver) for a day. The service is launching in a handful of Indian cities, including New Delhi, Mumbai and Pune, amongst others. Uber users in India can access the service simply by swiping across to UberHire and selecting the first part of your trip. Mashable reports that the minimum fare will set you back around $10 for two hours and 30 kilometers worth of travel. Afterward, you’ll be charged a flat fee for every minute and kilometer afterward, apparently up to a top limit of 12 hours. The company has found life in India to be complicated, and has had to tweak its business several times to better suit the market. Car rentals, for instance, was offered by local rival Ola last year, and the service had to implement cash payments in the country. In addition, users can book rides from their browsers and had to suspend surge pricing after pressure from regulators. Via: Mashable Source: Uber

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Uber’s latest option is a personal chauffeur

Scientists map every atom inside a nanoparticle

Even the smallest defects can create serious problems. It’s a good thing, then, that researchers have found a way to map nanoparticles at an “unprecedented” level of detail — they’ve located the 3D positions of all 23, 000 atoms in an iron-platinum particle. The group used an extremely high-resolution transmission electron microscope (TEAM I) to capture 2D projections of the nanoparticle’s structure, and used an algorithm to stitch those together into a 3D reconstruction. If there’s a missing or misplaced atom, you could easily spot it. The work could help spot consistent flaws in nanoparticle products, which could be vital in health care and other areas where you can’t afford a mistake. And even if it doesn’t, there are numerous other practical purposes. Scientists hope to create an internet database that illustrates atom-level material properties, and the 3D algorithm could be used for CT scans and other imaging tech. In short, this clearer look at the nano-scale world could have a tremendous effect on many fields — it may just be a matter of time. Source: Berkeley Lab , UCLA

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Scientists map every atom inside a nanoparticle

10 hours of ambient noise from an icebreaker in the frozen arctic

Imagine the horror being trapped in a hostile landscape surrounded by snowflakes that were one objects of amusement but now form a blizzard of menacing proportions. Then smile because you’re not a fascist, and are merely stuck on a polar icebreaking vessel for 10 hours. 10 hours video of Arctic ambience with frozen ocean, ice craking, snow falling, icebreaker idling and distand howling wind sound. Natural white noise sounds generated by the wind and snow falling, combined with deep low frequencies with delta waves from the powerful icebreaker idling engines, recorded at 96 kHz – 24 bit and designed for relaxation, meditation, study and sleep.

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10 hours of ambient noise from an icebreaker in the frozen arctic