Author: Zech

The U.S. Army has teamed up with startup Rydberg Technologies to create the world’s first long-distance wireless atomic quantum receiver, a breakthrough technology that could pave the way for new communications that are more resistant to jamming and hackers, the company said Thursday. What are quantum sensors? They are receivers or antennas that are far more sensitive to tiny changes in electromagnetic fields than ordinary receivers or antennas, and consume much less energy. How are they so sensitive? As Dave Anderson, CEO of Rydberg Technologies, explains in a 2018 paper, the key is Rydberg atoms. Rydberg atoms are cesium atoms…

Living and working in space requires preparations a little closer to Earth, and NASA’s Flight Opportunities program will help 14 research payloads move a step closer toward future space missions and commercial applications through a suborbital flight test with industry provider Blue Origin on Dec. 19, 2023. The technologies flown are intended to address some of the opportunities and obstacles presented by a sustained human presence in space. The payload, which launched aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard reusable ballistic rocket from the company’s Pad 1 in West Texas, reached an altitude of 351,248 ft. During the flight, the payload experienced…

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army and the Defense Innovation Unit have selected three companies to collaborate on developing heavy-duty vehicles that can navigate rough terrain under their own power and resupply soldiers on the battlefield.Three companies, Neya Systems, Robotic Research Autonomous Industries and Carnegie Robotics, beat out dozens of other competitors in the autonomous prototyping for the Ground Expeditionary Autonomous Retrofit Systems project (GEARS).The initial deal, announced earlier this month, is worth millions of dollars, with further work and payments to come in future phases.”The goal of this program is not to develop something new or novel,” Naeya’s Kurt Bruck…

A little over 40 years ago, a relatively unknown gaming startup called Atari Corp. (OTCMKTS: PONGF) developed one of the world’s first video games: Pong. By modern standards, the game itself was fairly simple: users moved two large blocks, representing ping-pong paddles, vertically across the screen, attempting to hit a virtual ball so that their opponent couldn’t return it. No one could have imagined that Pong would become such a big hit. Eventually, companies like Nintendo Co., Ltd. (OTCMKTS: NTDOY), Sega Group Co., Ltd. (OTCPK: SGAMY), and Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) jumped in and started manufacturing video games for…

Photo courtesy of HI CERT As of Monday afternoon, Dec. 18, a communications outage is affecting internet, cell phone service and landline phone service on southern Hatteras Island and Ocracoke Island. According to an update from Hyde County, the outage was caused by a downed cable, and technicians were unable to immediately access the site Monday due to flooding in the area. Repairs are expected to continue through Tuesday, December 19. Meanwhile, the Hatteras Island Community Emergency Response Team (HI CERT) has installed a mobile communications trailer equipped with the Starlink satellite system at the Hatteras Fire Station in the…

GSMA, the trade association for the global mobile communications industry, has warmly welcomed the decisions made by governments at the World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 (WRC-23) to agree new mobile low-band spectrum (sub-1GHz) and mid-band spectrum in the 3.5GHz and 6GHz ranges, shaping the future of mobile communications. The GSMA noted that these outcomes at the treaty conference, which has the power to change international agreements on the use of radio frequencies, will enable the mobile sector to plan the next wave of communications development for 5G-Advanced and beyond, adding that for mobile, known in the ITU as International Mobile Technology…

Jason: ISAM covers many capabilities, but the acronym stands for “In-Space Maintenance, Assembly and Manufacturing.” You may have heard of OSAM in orbit, but ISAM has emerged as the mainstream term. But there’s also a key unspoken task to this ISAM effort: we need to identify and track objects in space. This domain is known as space situational awareness, and we’ve been doing this since the beginning of our space foray. Going into space is a bit of a tricky business. We leave a lot of debris behind, whether it’s rocket bodies, other space objects, or man-made objects. So any…

Listen to the article 6 minutes This audio is automatically generated, please let us know if you have any feedback. Dive Overview: Automotive trade groups are calling on the U.S. Department of Transportation to propose federal regulations that would make it easier for automakers to deploy self-driving cars on U.S. roads, according to a joint letter sent Thursday by 18 groups, including the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association, the Consumer Technology Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The groups expressed support for a safety, transparency and evaluation program for vehicles equipped with self-driving systems, as…

(Illustration: iStock/Mykyta Dolmatov) Since at least the Clinton administration, the edtech sector has often been hailed as a catalyst for fundamentally transforming the global education system, with the market ballooning to over $320 billion in revenue as of 2023. Yet with global annual education spending exceeding $6 trillion, edtech’s economic contribution still seems orders of magnitude smaller. The majority of overall education spending falls into traditional cost categories. In the US, over 95% of the K-12 education budget goes to compensation, operations, and services, with only around 2% going to technology. This is significantly lower than the US corporate technology…

I’m always on the lookout for apps that are helpful, useful and fun. Here are some of my current favorite apps and their features: I always prefer cross-platform apps, i.e. apps that work on both iOS and Android. This is not always possible, so some apps are only available on iOS. For more tech tips, news, and reviews, follow tech reporter Rich DeMuro on Instagram. As seen on TV: ChatGPT – Advanced AI chatbot with voice chat capabilities. Available on both Android and iOS. Subscription required for additional features. Omnivore – Cross-platform, privacy-focused read-later app. Great for organizing articles, PDFs,…