R.E. Kearney's Blog, page 28

Drone Tracking – Increasing Safety by Regulating Airways

The number of drones being used worldwide is increasing rapidly, both for commercial and personal reasons. Businesses are making long-term investments, and the small aircrafts are quickly becoming the chosen method of delivery. With this increase in the number of drones, comes the need to develop a way of regulating the area that they will operate in. In 2017, SESAR Joint Undertaking, drafted a blueprint for a project, known as U-Space, which will regulate and monitor the airspace for drone operation. The blueprint outlines the stages in which the services will be implemented, to support the EU aviation strategy, while creating a regulatory framework for the drones. These sections will be put into effect between 2018 and 2022, and are:

U1 – Foundation services which would cover registration and identification of the drones. In addition, implementing spaces which will be inaccessible to the drones, geofencing, will also take place.

U2 – Initial services for the drone operation, which includes flight planning and approval, tracking and interfacing with air traffic control. This management system will be essential for U-Space to accomplish another one of their goals, which is introducing more drones to businesses.

U3 – Advanced services designed to support more complex operations in dense areas. This would include assistance for conflict detection and automated detect and avoid.

U4 – This final stage would include full services such as high levels of automation, connectivity and digitalization.

The benefits of the U-Space project, which is designed to increase the safety of European airspace for drones and their operators, would include:

Fair, flexible and open access to airspace, which will allow for the expansion of the drone market.
Noise and visual pollution can be monitored and limited, as well as offering new services to citizens.
Regulatory authorities would be able to maintain control over the airspace, and ensure that the privacy, safety and security of citizens, and drone users, is maintained. Registration and identification of drones will be enforced.
The project will also facilitate the development of new models, opening up the use of drones for business purposes. This will help to increase the growth of the business sector, and support the movement towards automation and digitalization.

Switzerland has recently begun implementing their U-Space strategies, via a joint effort with Skyguide, a Swiss air traffic control operator, and Airmap, the organization responsible for management platforms for drones. After the first phase (U1) has been implemented, there is the expectation that more drones will enter the Swiss airspace and market. The system is currently being used for ‘automated flight authorization and cataloging for drones,’ until further expansion can take place. The project will continue to grow, and Switzerland deserves congratulations for being one of the first countries to take the initiative to make their airspace safer for all.

Fusion Power – Possible Success in Harnessing the Energy of the Sun

The ability to successfully harness fusion power, the energy source of the stars, would change the future of the entire world. Tremendous amounts of energy are formed when lighter atoms, such as hydrogen, smash together to form heavier ones. This energy release takes place at temperatures of hundreds of millions of degrees, which would cause it to melt every material we currently have available to us on earth. In an effort to harness fusion power, researchers use magnetic fields to keep it away from the walls of any chamber in which it is being produced. These efforts have all resulted in more energy being expended, than being harvested, for our use.

[image error]MIT has collaborated with a new company, Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), in the hopes of bringing the world’s first successful fusion power plant to working order within the next 15 years. The collaboration is using a unique form of production, called SPARC, which will build smaller, more powerful field magnets using new high-temperature superconductors. The material that will be used in their creation has recently been introduced to the market, and will result in the magnets being four times stronger than any previously used in fusion experiments. Development time for these has been estimated to be within the next three years.

These superconducting electromagnets are the key component towards creating a more compact version of a fusion device, known as a tokamak. This will result in more than tenfold the amount of power the tokamak will produce. The magnets would also make it possible to build smaller plants to achieve the required amount of energy. SPARC is expected to produce, in 10 second pulses, as much power as is used by a small city. The success of the [image error]magnets would result in fusion power being used as an alternative energy source, helping to decrease climate change due to its lack of emissions.

MIT and CFS plan to carry out rapid research, which would lead to the formation of these new plants. CFS has already attracted a $50 million investment from Italian energy company, Eni, and  continues to seek further investments. The collaboration’s ultimate goal is to establish a new industry by commercializing fusion power. Eni CEO, Claudio Descalzi, pointed out that fusion is the energy source of the future as it is completely sustainable, does not release emissions or long term waste, and is potentially inexhaustible. After SPARC has proven successful, the collaboration will begin its final construction of a new power plant approximately twice the size of SPARC’s diameter. The plant would be the first true fusion power plant in the world, and would have the ability to produce a capacity of 200 MW of electricity.

The Future of the Internet – Google’s Quick-Loading AMP Pages

Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages project is designed to bring a faster web browsing experience to mobile devices. The company has been using the technology for a while, but wants to expand the number of users. The speed at which many websites load on mobiles is significantly slower than on computers, because of the design and the high number of advertisements on these pages. Google praised their solution, AMP, as an open-source [image error]website-publishing technology that will be available for all site owners to take advantage of. It will allow them to increase the speed of their pages, without losing the value of having ads on their website.

To take advantage of the product, developers would need to make an alternate version of their website using the open-source library provided by AMP. It is advertised as being compatible with most browsers, and having the ability to work across multiple platforms. In addition to being mobile friendly, some of the other advantages of AMP are: the inclusion of ads and analytics, shorter loading times, a lower bounce rate, enhanced SEO and compatibility with any browser. AMP would enable articles on all websites to load as quickly as on Facebook, which applies a similar technology.

Google is placing emphasis on the product’s benefits, in an effort to convince the company that controls the internet’s web standards to adopt this technology for the benefit of all. The tech lead for the AMP project, Malte Ubl, has written ’We now feel ready to take the next step and work to support more instant-loading content not based on AMP technology in areas of Google Search designed for this.’ The blog post in which this was addressed also noted that Google has learnt a significant amount from their research and application.

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Many people question Google’s motives, however, as there is the widespread belief that the company pushes new technology for selfish reasons, rather than in an effort to make the internet better for all users. Web developers and publishers, although excited about the product, have expressed their concern about the implications of Google leading the way with AMP technology. An open letter was written in which the company was accused of planning to use this as a method of keeping users ‘within Google’s domain’ and diverting traffic away from other websites. Arguments against the product also state that even though it is open-source, doesn’t mean it is impartial.

Google is already one of the biggest controllers of the internet, and the major fear is that this will increase their dominance. The company has denied that this is the reason behind their pushing of the product. The controversy continues as they try to find ways of proving how genuine their intention is, while many experts urge companies to increase their website’s speed by simply ‘not doing things that are slow.’

Elon Musk’s Q & A – An SW Tech Conference to Remember

Worldwide interest in the achievements being made by Elon Musk’s companies is at an all-time peak. It therefore comes as no surprise that the vast majority of his followers pay close attention to his every move. The entrepreneur recently treated them to a Q & A session at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Tech Conference, held on March 11, 2018, in Austin, Texas. The announcement had been made the night before, via email, and the audience’s questions were thrown at him by Jonathan Nolan, the co-writer of Interstellar. Musk’s answers shed light on the progress already made by his companies, and showed the direction each one would be moving in.

[image error]SpaceX, one of his companies with a shaky past, has surpassed expectations with its recent achievements. In February it achieved a successful launch of Falcon Heavy, and Musk said that their new aim was to complete the BFR in the shortest amount of time possible. The goal is for this rocket to be the first to transport humanity to Mars, which Musk believes is essential to the survival of our species. He declared that test flights are expected in 2019, even though he did acknowledge that his enthusiasm does sometimes result in unrealistic deadlines. In addition to the test next year, SpaceX is expected to conduct their first cargo journey to Mars in 2022, with crewed missions following by 2024.

Musk believes that the distance between the Earth and Mars makes it the perfect place to begin setting up a self-sustaining base, as it is more likely to survive a catastrophic event than a base on the moon. The entrepreneur insisted that we needed ‘enough of a seed of human civilization somewhere else to bring it back and shorten the length of the dark ages,’ in the event of a disaster wiping out our species. Musk believes that there are several scenarios that might cause this, including a third World War, and the irresponsible [image error]development of artificial intelligence. This led him to stress the importance of developing AI safely, a field in which he is ‘very close to the cutting edge.’ It was apparent in his manner, however, that this concept both fascinated and terrified him simultaneously. In Musk’s own words, ‘AI is much more dangerous than nukes,’ and requires a ‘regulatory oversight.’

On the other hand, Musk spoke about the same technology being applied to the advancement of autonomous cars. Within 18 months, Musk believes that self-driving technology will be applicable to all vehicles, increasing road safety between 100 and 200%. He spoke about Tesla’s autonomous driving system, Autopilot 2.0, being 2 – 3 times safer than the average human driver. Tesla is currently working towards achieving Level 5 (full) autonomy, in their vehicles. In addition to these projects, Musk has others that are changing the way technology is developing and followers look forward to his next (spontaneous) Q & A session.

Geoengineering – A Possible Solution to Global Warming

Global warming has been mainly a result of humans releasing various chemicals and gases into the atmosphere. Researchers have demonstrated that unless we drastically change the way we treat our planet, the temperature of our atmosphere will reach a ‘tipping point.’ This will result in extreme weather conditions, a disastrous rise in sea levels and massive droughts which will lead to widespread diseases and starvation. Geoengineering is a possible solution to global warming, and consists of altering the planet’s climate to ensure that we can continue to inhabit it safely.

Geoengineering methods are currently being researched, with the biggest obstacle being the inclusion of all nations. There are also questions about the safety of changing the planet’s atmosphere. Scientists are currently divided over whether geoengineering might be a solution to our problem, or may become a bigger one in itself. The high levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere show where the planet may continue to heat up, despite drastic changes being implemented to reduce emissions. In this event, geoengineering is currently the only proposed solution.

Different methods of accomplishing geoengineering have been proposed, which would also require reducing the amount of greenhouses gases being emitted. These include: [image error]

Iron fertilization – A layer of iron sulphate crystals would be placed on a large part of the Earth’s oceans, to stimulate the growth of phytoplankton. These plants absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen, which could help cool down the planet. The low cost of the materials and availability of the technology, makes this idea appealing to many researchers. On the other hand, this method has been opposed because of the bacteria that phytoplankton attract when they die. These bacteria would use up the oxygen in the surrounding area creating an oceanic ‘death zone,’ preventing any animal venturing nearby without getting sick or dying. In addition, models of iron fertilization show that the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would not decrease enough to make any difference to global warming.

Reflecting or Blocking Sunlight – In 2006, NASA funded a research effort which demonstrated that reducing the amount of sun entering the atmosphere by just 2% would cool the Earth significantly. This led to the proposition of positioning massive mirrors, or [image error]‘parasols,’ in outer space in a ring around the planet to deflect the sun’s rays. In addition to the exorbitant costs associated with setting up these mirrors, scientists believe that side effects could include: altered weather patterns, a shift in the ice coverage at the poles and a change in the ocean currents.

Stratospheric Aerosol Injection – This theory would involve releasing particles into the upper atmosphere, which would reflect sunlight upon its entry. This effect has previously been observed after volcanic eruptions, which have resulted in the planet cooling down. Scientists have predicted that this method could cause severe climate changes, depending on where the particles are released. The particles would also have to be replenished at regular intervals.

Designer Bodies – DNA Manipulation to Recreate Ourselves

Many people often wish that it was possible to recreate themselves to be ‘perfect,’ physically, mentally or both. To fulfil this desire, scientists are exploring how DNA manipulation can be used to change plants and animals, as well as redesign our human bodies and minds. DNA is the source code of all forms of life, and changes in our genetic composition may make it possible for us to survive longer, and in more extreme situations. Founding Director of the Life Sciences project at Harvard Business School, Juan Enriquez, has spoken about using gene editing to take evolution into our hands, instead of depending on nature to choose which species survive. One of the easiest ways to accomplish this is through CRISPR, a genome editing technique that can modify a specific part of a gene without harming any [image error]others.

Enriquez pointed out the evolution of science itself, which used to be about discovery but is now about creation.’ Technology has changed the pattern of our world from ‘survival of the fittest,’ to one in which humans can decide which species live and die. We can also modify the genes of plants and animals to live in conditions they would previously have been unable to survive in. Although the ability to modify the body of different species is phenomenal, an even greater achievement is the ability to recreate our minds.

DNA manipulation means humans can decide who they want to be, and which experience they want to dominate their lives at any given moment. The mind can be shaped by altering, creating and deleting memories, which are the foundation of who we are. This would allow people to change their entire identity, past experiences and personal beliefs almost instantaneously. This altering of self, with technology, raises many questions and the possibility of harmful or immoral consequences. Would justice still be served if a person had [image error]no recollection of committing a crime? Would other members of society be affected if somebody ‘created’ a relationship in their head? Would existing financial obligations be avoided by changing the circumstances in the mind?

Although the question of the morality remains, the ability to change our DNA would be frequently lifesaving. In addition to altering or removing DNA associated with genetic illnesses, the length of time taken to make vaccinations would decrease significantly. Future survival would be guaranteed, even in the event of a catastrophic planetary event, as DNA could be altered for life outside of our atmosphere. Space exploration would increase exponentially, as Enriquez believes that the human species was created for expansion. ‘As explorers at heart’ we will always be drawn to the unknown, breaking barriers, creating and recreating, with DNA manipulation being only a part of the process of expanding our beings.

Cancer Fighting Robots – Nanotechnology to Kill Tumors

The number of people that become affected with cancer has risen steadily for several decades. Throughout this time, scientists have been trying to find ways of killing tumors to prolong the lives of these individuals. Nanotechnology has already advanced the medical field significantly, as it is now used to help identify and treat disease. Researchers have been working on creating nanorobots with the ability to disintegrate cancerous tumors in the body, but many previous designs have been rejected because they harmed healthy tissues and cells surrounding the tumor. Recently, however, scientists have developed a nanorobot that can shrink cancerous cells by cutting off their blood supply, effectively ‘starving’ the tumor.

[image error]The study has been a collaboration between Arizona State University and National Centre for Nano Science and Technology of the Chinese Academy of Studies, and proves that nanorobots can effectively eliminate cancer tumors. The results were published in Nature Biotechnology, and included conclusive tests in which the blood supply to cancerous tumors in mice, had been cut off resulting in the tumors’ death. The tissue began to shrink two weeks after treatment, and the treatment effectively removed breast, ovarian, lung and other types of cancerous tumors.

The technique used to create the nanorobots is called DNA origami, derived from the Japanese art of paper folding. Scientists have found where it is possible to fold DNA to create different shapes, and modified the technique to be used on a single strand of DNA. Shorter strands of compatible DNA, called staples, and positioned along the strand causing it to fold upon itself at various intervals. The DNA cells are easily replicated in E. Coli, which makes it an accessible, cost effective and reliable source of providing the necessary raw [image error]materials. Each nanorobot is made from a flat DNA origami sheet 90 x 60 nanometers. This is 1000 times thinner than a human hair, and the system is the first capable of targeting the cancerous cells so precisely. The process’s efficiency is increased because of an enzyme that causes clots to form in the blood vessels feeding the tumor, being attached to the sheet.

Although still in its infancy stage, the results in the study with the mice have been promising and scientists are hoping to proceed to the next step. The treatment would need to be clinically tested before decisive results can be published. In addition to saving lives by destroying cancerous tumors, scientists believe that the same technique can be applied to other medical needs, such as delivering drugs to a targeted area. As testing continues, it is possible that the uses of the nanorobot will expand and it will become a widespread solution to other medical problems.

Rising Sea Levels – The Need for a Global Solution

Scientists have been monitoring the world’s sea levels for several decades, and have realized that the rate at which they are rising has significantly increased. The analysis of 25 years of satellite data shows that the height of most oceans will continue to rise by at least 4 inches each decade, if global changes aren’t implemented. This means that by the end of the century the sea levels will be over two feet above measurements taken in 2005. The 25 years of evidence was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, and demonstrated in 3D.

Although these figures don’t seem that devastating at first glance, even a small increase in sea levels causes great destruction in coastal areas. As water comes further inland, it causes erosion, loss of habitat for aquatic and coastal animals and plants, flooding and soil contamination. Higher sea levels also mean that storms will cause more damage. Flooding is currently the leading cause of death by natural disaster. Hundreds of millions of people are now living in areas that are becoming increasing susceptible to flooding. As the sea levels continue to rise many of them will be forced to relocate, and low-lying islands may be completely submerged.

There are three primary factors, all resulting from global warming, which are contributing to the rising levels of the world’s major water bodies.

Thermal Expansion – As the Earth’s atmosphere gets hotter, the oceans’ water also increases in temperature and begins to expand. This causes the sea levels to rise as the water can only expand upwards.

[image error]Ice Loss from Greenland and West Antarctica – Increased heat on the planet is also causing the ice sheets that cover these regions to melt at a faster pace. Research has shown where meltwater from above, and seawater from below, is seeping in between the sheets, causing the ice streams to move more quickly into the sea. Higher sea temperatures also result in the ice shelves, extending from Antarctica, to melt.

Melting Glaciers and Polar Ice Caps – Each summer, large ice formations melt, and are normally replaced in winter by snow. This natural balance worked to maintain sea levels for centuries. The higher temperatures, caused by global warming, means that more ice has begun to melt each summer. In addition, winter is coming later each year, and spring starts earlier, meaning that there is significantly less snowfall to replace the amount lost each summer.

The rising sea levels are already affecting countries all over the world, including the United States. The US Geological Survey recently conducted a study which shows that without human intervention, a large percentage of Southern California beaches will become completely eroded. This will both threaten one of the state’s main sources of income, and make inland communities more susceptible to flooding. The overall study shows where a global effort needs to be made to control the rising sea levels, as soon as we possibly can.

Future Pandemic – Is an Outbreak Inevitable?

Scientists, and other researchers, spend much of their time developing ways to prevent possible disasters, both natural and unnatural, from taking place. History is famous for repeating itself, and there have been several recorded pandemics that were responsible for the deaths of a large percentage of the population. The Spanish Flu outbreak, in 1918, is one of the most deadly examples. An incredibly contagious form of influenza, this virus affected everybody and spread to some of the most remote parts of the planet. It is estimated that, over the course of two years, the Spanish Flu killed between 50-100 million people worldwide.

Although our medical techniques, and pharmaceuticals, have advanced significantly since the early 20th century; The General Director of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom, has addressed the fact that we are still as unprepared for a pandemic as we were at the beginning of the 20th century. The dreaded event could begin in any country and spread quickly, before most nations were aware of its presence. Although this is a scenario we have witnessed many times in horror books, and films, the possibility of it happening in real life is much higher than most of us would like to admit.

[image error]Tedros pointed out that, ‘Universal health coverage is the greatest threat to global health.’ He went on to explain that as many as 3.5 billion people still do not have access to essential health services. Others that can attain the services are often forced into poverty, because of the high costs of this care. To avoid this problem many people neglect seeking medical treatment, even when it is necessary. This results in many illnesses progressing further than can be treated, and an unnecessary spreading of infectious diseases. This negligence could result in the earliest signs of an outbreak being overlooked.

Each country’s health organization relies on funding from their government to monitor the spread of diseases, as well as ensure the proper treatment. The (CDC) Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, in the United States, has recently announced that its budget for the epidemic prevention programs is being cut by 80%. In light of a possibly outbreak occurring at any moment, other countries are also experiencing the same difficulties. This demonstrates that governments are viewing healthcare as an unnecessary cost, instead of a necessary investment.

[image error]Tedros pointed out that healthy citizens are an advantage to the economy of any country. It has been proven that proper healthcare from children are in the womb, which is continued throughout their childhood, helps to make them stronger members of society. He also noted that at the moment a possible pandemic couldn’t be predicted, but dreads the terrible toll it would take on humanity. Despite there being no guarantee that a pandemic free world will ever be created, he is urging that we take back the control of our own lives. The best way to ensure our survival is by governments investing in proper healthcare, in every way possible, for each and every one of its citizens.

SpaceX Launches Falcon Heavy

Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX, is dedicated to advancing space exploration and development. Another step in their program was completed on February 6, 2018, when they successfully launched ‘Falcon Heavy,’ the world’s most powerful rocket. The spaceship [image error]blasted off from The Kennedy Space Center, in Florida, with a course set to take it in an elliptical orbit around the sun, before heading to Mars. In addition to being the world’s most powerful rocket, Falcon Heavy is also the largest to be launched, since NASA’s Saturn V in 1973. To demonstrate its ability to carry heavy cargo outside the Earth’s atmosphere, the rocket is transporting a limited edition Tesla Roadster (Elon Musk’s personal car) throughout its journey.

The Falcon Heavy was constructed from the cores of three Falcon 9s, SpaceX’s previous rocket model. The designers had planned for the three cores to return to Earth, after the launch, but the middle one missed its target. The two side cores landed, as planned, on twin pads at the Cape Canaveral Coast. These will be reused in the making of future rockets. Although initially designed to transport passengers, Space X has ruled this out for the future, because of how well development on their BFR (Big F*cking Rocket) has progressed. The company now intends to use the rocket to transport large national security payloads, such as satellites, that will be too heavy for small spaceships to carry. The Falcon Heavy can be launched with weight that would be equivalent to a 747 jet, full of passengers, their luggage and enough fuel for a long journey. This is more than twice the capacity of the world’s second largest rocket.

The launch has been highly publicized, to attract possible investors in the company’s future endeavors. Although NASA is developing a system to send missions to Mars, via their Space Launch System (SLS) program, they are facing severe budget restrictions and have concentrated the majority of their efforts on returning to the moon. Elon Musk has demonstrated that passenger trips outside of our planet will most likely be organized by private companies, with SpaceX being at the forefront. NASA’s SLS is anticipated to be more powerful than Falcon Heavy, and should be ready for launch by 2022. The amount that each journey would cost on SLS would be between $500 million and $1 billion, compared to $90 million aboard the Falcon Heavy. SpaceX has also estimated that this cost will decrease for further launches, emphasizing that the future of space exploration really belongs to private companies.