Alfred Jones Talks About the Challenges of Designing Fully Self-Driving Vehicles

The leap to self-driving cars could be as game-changing as the one from horse power to engine power. If cars prove able to drive themselves better than humans do, the safety gains could be enormous: auto accidents were the #8 cause of death worldwide in 2016. And who doesn’t want …read more

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The Battle for Arecibo Has Been Lost

It is with a heavy heart that we must report the National Science Foundation (NSF) has decided to dismantle the Arecibo Observatory. Following the failure of two support cables, engineers have determined the structure is on the verge of collapse and that the necessary repairs would be too expensive and …read more

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Dual-radar tech could help self-driving cars see through fog

Self-driving cars typically use both LiDAR and radar to detect obstacles on the road ahead, yet neither system is adept at identifying vehicles through fog. Now, though, engineers have discovered that radar is good at the task if it’s “doubled up.”Cont… Continue reading Dual-radar tech could help self-driving cars see through fog→

Radar given telescope-like ability to collect data on space dust

When you look into the night sky and see a shooting star, it might look like something very big, but the odds are that it’s a meteor the size of a dust mote. A team of scientists led by Ryou Ohsawa from the Institute of Astronomy at the University of T… Continue reading Radar given telescope-like ability to collect data on space dust→

Radar-based inspection system scans food for foreign objects

No one likes the idea of biting into a cookie (or other food item) and finding a piece of glass, wood or plastic inside. An experimental new system is designed to keep that from happening, utilizing radar technology.Continue ReadingCategory: ScienceTag… Continue reading Radar-based inspection system scans food for foreign objects→

Affordable Ground-Penetrating Radar

While you might think of radar pointing toward the skies, applications for radar have found their way underground as well. Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is a tool that sends signals into the earth and measures their return to make determinations about what’s buried underground in much the same way that distant …read more

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Recognizing Activities Using Radar

Caring for the elderly and vulnerable people while preserving their privacy and independence is a challenging proposition. Reaching a panic button or calling for help may not be possible in an emergency, but constant supervision or camera surveillance is often neither practical nor considerate. Researchers from MIT CSAIL have been …read more

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Damage to Arecibo Leaves Gaping Hole in Astronomy

In the early morning hours of April 10th, a support cable at the Arecibo Observatory pulled lose from its mount and crashed through the face of the primary reflector below. Images taken from below the iconic 305 meter dish, made famous by films such as Contact and GoldenEye, show …read more

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Radar system could let cars see what’s around the corner

While today’s cars are getting increasingly good at detecting other vehicles on the road ahead, they can still be surprised by traffic that shoots out from intersecting streets. A new radar system could help, by letting those cars “see” around blind co… Continue reading Radar system could let cars see what’s around the corner→