Month: June 2021

Categories
Space Force

Space Force’s new delta organizations will help the service keep up with growing launch cadence | C4ISRNET

The US Space Force is revamping its launch organizations, and while the changes may not be noticeable right away, operators think that the new structure will better prepare the force for the day when it will be launching satellites on a constant basis. In April, the Space Force stated that it would establish a new field command called Space Systems Command to substitute the Space and Missile Systems Center, which had taken over from the US Air Force. As part of the reform, it will combine its entire launch operation and place it under the control of the SSC deputy commander, who will be recognized within the force as the Assured Access to Space leader.

Source: https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2021/06/16/space-forces-new-delta-organizations-will-help-the-service-keep-up-with-growing-launch-cadence/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=EBB%206.17.21&utm_term=Editorial%20-%20Early%20Bird%20Brief

Categories
Robots

Amazon eyes robot truck startup as it continues to hedge its bets on AV technology | The Verge

Amazon owns a robotaxi company, is testing courier robots that operate on the sidewalk, and is now looking to buy a large share in a robotic trucking venture. According to Bloomberg, Amazon recently ordered 1,000 autonomous driving systems from Plus, a California-based startup that specializes in unmanned tracking technology. Amazon is also looking to purchase a 20% stake in Plus, a move that could have major ramifications for the company’s global

distribution strategy. Hennessy Capital V, a SPAC that previously supported the public debut of EV startup Canoo, plans to merge with the company.

Source: https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/21/22544243/amazon-plus-autonomous-truck-startup-stake

Categories
Machine Learning

Machine learning enhances non-verbal communication in online classrooms | Tach Xplore

Nonverbal communication, including facial emotion and body motions, is crucial in a music classroom for keeping students on target, coordinating musical flow, and communicating improvisational concepts. Sadly, in the online world, when you don’t share the same physical area, this non-verbal part of teaching and learning is greatly hampered. To address the issue, Dubnov and Ph.D. student Ross Greer recently published a conference paper on a program that utilizes eye tracking and machine learning to enable a teacher to have ‘eye contact’ with individual students or performers in multiple places to let every learner know when he or she is the teacher’s focus of attention. When the system detects a shift in the teacher’s gaze, the algorithm calculates the student’s identification and displays their name on the monitor so that everyone knows who the lecturer is looking at.

Source: https://techxplore.com/news/2021-06-machine-non-verbal-online-classrooms.html

Categories
Information Warfare

US Air Force attempts to awaken spectrum ops after decades of waning electromagnetic warfare | C4ISRNET

The US Air Force’s electromagnetic spectrum operations have been so limited in the past few decades that the military’s top official recently acknowledged that the force has been “asleep at the wheel” when it comes to electronic warfare. The Air Force overhauled how it organizes such operations and is emphasizing easier-to-update technology to stay ahead of China, Russia, and

other highly competent nations, as part of its efforts to reverse 30 years of loss and upgrade systems dating back to the Vietnam War. At the same time, the Air Force’s plan is tightly restricted due to the service’s failure to openly publish the electromagnetic spectrum superiority strategy it finalized earlier this spring. Members of Congress have urged the agency to step up its efforts.

Source: https://www.c4isrnet.com/electronic-warfare/2021/06/17/us-air-force-attempts-to-awaken-spectrum-ops-after-decades-of-waning-electromagnetic-warfare/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=EBB%206.17.21&utm_term=Editorial%20-%20Early%20Bird%20Brief

Categories
Gaming

Microsoft will build native Xbox games for the cloud, and the woman behind Portal will lead | The Verge

According to an article with Polygon, Microsoft has hired former Google Stadia design director Kim Swift, who is renowned for Valve’s popular game Portal. According to Xbox Game Studios publishing president Peter Wyse, Kim will create a team centered on innovative cloud experiences with the goal of creating “cloud-native games.” Since her master thesis, Narbacular Drop, got her team work at Valve Software, where she headed creation on Portal, Swift has spent over a decade in the games industry already. According to her LinkedIn page, she later worked as a designer on Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2, created an unreleased game for Amazon and was a studio design director at EA.

Source: https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/21/22544018/microsoft-xbox-hire-portal-developer-kim-swift-cloud-native-games