Author: mshahazad3916

Renowned roboticist Rodney Brooks has a wake-up call for investors pouring billions into humanoid robot startups: you’re wasting your money. Brooks, who co-founded iRobot and spent decades at MIT, is particularly skeptical of companies like Tesla and Figure trying to teach robots dexterity by showing them videos of humans doing tasks. In a new essay, he calls this approach “pure fantasy thinking.” The problem? Human hands are incredibly sophisticated, packed with about 17,000 specialized touch receptors that no robot comes close to matching. While machine learning transformed speech recognition and image processing, those breakthroughs built on decades of existing technology…

Layoffs have hit Access Hollywood as a result of the E! News linear TV show ending, The Hollywood Reporter is told. It’s a bit complicated, but we’ll explain. As THR previously reported, E! News was canceled in July after 34 years; the show’s final episode aired on Thursday. Going forward, Terrace Studios will be home to two TV shows, Access Hollywood and Access Daily. Today’s layoffs come as a result of the E! News cancellation. As a result of three shows now being two, several members of the stage and technical crew who worked across all three programs have been…

Spada’s is one of the hardest projects to tune the beam for. “The beam is way over-powered to run my samples, at baseline,” Spada said, comparing the amount of power he needs to a couple drops of water, “but the beam, it’s like Niagara Falls.”The technique Spada relies on, particle-induced x-ray emission (PIXE), is a focused stream of protons to knock electrons out of atoms embedded in the sample. As those atoms stabilize, they emit x-rays—and each element gives off a signature energy. “It’s like a fingerprint,” Spada said. “Every metal shows up in a different color of x-ray.”Because PIXE…

Two good things have come from the 2023 bankruptcy of VanMoof. The first is the all-new VanMoof S6 e-bike that recently launched under new ownership. The second is a new commuter e-bike developed for Raleigh by VanMoof’s departed founders, Ties and Taco Carlier.Like a VanMoof, the Raleigh One e-bike comes with anti-theft features like GPS tracking and an alarm, cables routed through the aluminum frame, wide tires, mudguards, integrated lighting, and hauling options needed for daily commutes across a city. It also comes packed with lessons learned about reduced complexity and serviceability, including a bevy of off-the-shelf parts and a…

Psychological suspense drama “Lex Julia” has unveiled its international cast.  The film stars Sweden’s Christian Hillborg (“The Last Kingdom,” “Fleabag,” “Young Royals”) and Finland’s Jessica Grabowsky (“Tom of Finland,” “Where Once We Walked,” “Icebreaker”). Estonian actor Rea Lest, known for “The Manslayer/The Virgin/The Shadow” and Rainer Sarnet’s “November,” takes on the titular role of Julia.  Laura Hyppönen’s film sees a perfect island holiday spiraling out of control when Julia, a music producer in her early 30s, travels to her new friend Anna’s isolated villa. When Anna introduces her husband JP, Julia instantly recognizes him from her past.  “It’s a story of…

The WRU insists no decisions have been made and that it is willing for plans to be shaped after discussions with the professional clubs, players and supporters.But the plans have sparked an unfavourable reaction towards the WRU’s preferred two-team solution from many quarters, including former bosses Gareth Davies and David Moffett.Dragons have been the most vocal side, stating Welsh rugby “deserves better”, claiming no compelling case had been made for cutting two regions and the structures proposed were unacceptable.”We are extremely disappointed in the initial proposals – they simply don’t add up,” said Dragons chairman David Wright.”There is no way…

Sometimes, you just want to be able to arrive in a place with the least amount of hassle and instantly switch off and relax. Wouldn’t it be nice not to have to think about potential traffic snarl-ups en route or missing connections? Just jump on a direct train and arrive fresh.That’s what these brilliantly accessible boltholes in the UK deliver – they’re all within easy reach of a train station and with everything you might need for a stress-free break on the doorstep.A wild swimming cabin in EssexFfion Francis and Ollie Speck quit their jobs in London to renovate a…

new video loaded: U.K. Court Dismisses Kneecap Rapper Terrorism ChargetranscriptBacktranscriptU.K. Court Dismisses Kneecap Rapper Terrorism ChargeA U.K. court dismissed a terrorism charge against the rapper Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, also known as Mo Chara, from the Irish-speaking group Kneecap. Prosecutors had accused him of displaying a Hezbollah flag.“Free, free —” Crowd: “Palestine.” “This entire process was never about me. Never about any threat to the public. Never about terrorism. It was always about Gaza. About what happens if you dare to speak up.”A U.K. court dismissed a terrorism charge against the rapper Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, also known as Mo…

Mexico dominates U.S. imports of heavy-duty trucks, accounting for 82.31% of the total this year. The United States also has its second-largest deficit with Mexico.ustradenumbers.comAdd heavy trucks and pharmaceuticals to the long list of imports President Trump has targeted for tariffs in his quixotic battle to rid the nation of its $1 trillion annual trade deficit.Trump announced on Thursday he was imposing 100% tariffs on branded or patented pharmaceutical products – essentially an embargo – and 25% tariffs on commercial trucks, effective Oct. 1.Terrible? With pharmaceuticals, maybe not, since about 90% of all prescriptions filled in the United States are…

In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s killing, the Republican policy apparatus went immediately to work. The Heritage Foundation, which published Project 2025, and its spinoff, the Oversight Project, issued a call for the Federal Bureau of Investigation to designate “Transgender Ideology-Inspired Violent Extremism,” or TIVE, as a domestic terrorism threat category. The push comes as President Donald Trump just signed an executive order that seeks to mobilize federal law enforcement against vaguely defined domestic terror networks.The Heritage Foundation and Oversight Project document, which defines “transgender ideology” as “a belief that wholly or partially rejects fundamental science about human sex being…