WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — For the first time in five decades, a NASA astronaut candidate has resigned from training, the US space agency said Tuesday. Robb Kulin resigned from NASA effective August 31 for personal reasons, spokeswoman Brandi Dean said, declining to provide further details. It’s not an easy gig to get — some 18,000 people routinely seek the 12 spots that open each year. Kulin, who joined his class sounding upbeat, is the […]
Tag: innovation
Move over, Musk: Kalashnikov unveils ‘electric supercar’
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russian arms maker Kalashnikov on Thursday presented its new electric car inspired by a rare 1970s model, saying the new technology will rival Elon Musk’s Tesla. The brand, best known for the AK-47 machine gun, presented the decidedly retro-looking pale blue prototype, the CV-1, at a defense expo outside Moscow. The look was inspired by a Soviet hatchback model developed in the 1970s called “Izh-Kombi,” a statement on the Kalashnikov website […]
Eye exam may predict Alzheimer’s
by Kerry SHERIDAN Agence France-Presse TAMPA, United States (AFP) — Advances in eye exam technology could one day help doctors diagnose people with Alzheimer’s disease long before symptoms appear, researchers said Thursday. Using equipment similar to the kind already available at most eye doctors’ offices, researchers detected signs of Alzheimer’s in a small sample of 30 people, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Opthalmology. Those enrolled in […]
Drones fly to rescue of Amazon wildlife
by Mauro Pimentel Agence France-Presse A hoarse sound abruptly wakes visitors staying at a floating house that serves as a base for environmentalists on the Jaraua river in the Amazon rainforest. During flood season, the Mamiraua Sustainable Development Reserve — located 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the Amazonas state capital Manaus — fills with water. For researchers from the Mamiraua Institute and WWF-Brazil, that means their nearest neighbor is a caiman they call Dominique. It […]
NASA poised to launch first Sun-skimming spaceship
by Kerry SHERIDAN TAMPA, Unites States (AFP) — NASA is poised to launch a $1.5 billion spacecraft on a brutally hot journey toward the Sun, offering scientists the closest-ever view of our strange and mysterious star. After the Parker Solar Probe blasts off from Cape Canaveral, Florida on August 11, it will become the first spacecraft ever to fly through the Sun’s scorching atmosphere, known as the corona. Understanding how the corona works will help […]
Nokia to help with T-Mobile superfast telecom network
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP)–Nokia will help T-Mobile deploy a superfast “5G” mobile internet network across the United States in a $3.5-billion deal, the companies announced Monday. Finland-based Nokia will provide T-Mobile its suite of 5G technology, and help build the telecommunications firm’s new-generation nationwide wireless network, the companies said. “We are all in on 5G,” T-Mobile chief technology officer Neville Ray said in a release. “And together with Sprint, we’ll be able to do […]
Cloud play on the horizon in changing video game world
by Glenn CHAPMAN Agence France-Presse LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Console makers long at the center of the video game universe are adapting to an exploding constellation of ways to play, with the cloud looming on the horizon. Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony remained stars, with rival Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch gaming hardware respectively, at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) show floor that opened in Los Angeles on Tuesday. But the premier industry gathering was […]
Innovation and style shine at London Design Festival
LONDON, England (Reuters) — Innovative design and sustainable products are some of the styles dominating this year’s London Design Festival, as designers from around the world showcase some of their most innovative and ambitious projects. The festival, which was established in 2003, is made up of hundreds of events and exhibitions scattered across the British capital, including at the iconic Victoria & Albert Museum and Somerset House. As part of the program, a special show […]
China heavy-lift carrier rocket launch fails
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China on Sunday announced the launch of a powerful rocket designed to carry communication satellites into orbit had been “unsuccessful”, in a glitch for the country’s ambitious space programme. The Long March-5 Y2, Beijing’s second heavy-lift rocket, blasted off at 7:23 pm (1123 GMT) Sunday from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in the tropical island province of Hainan “Abnormity was detected during the flight of the rocket,” the Xinhua news agency […]
Race is on to turn flying car into reality
by Tangi Quemener Agence France-Presse LE BOURGET, France (AFP) – Aeronautics giants are treating the idea of a flying car with caution, as such a project raises more questions than it answers, experts say — it’s a child’s dream, a millionaire’s toy. But is it really the next big thing in transport? At this year’s Paris Air Show, you had to search hard to find an aircraft that looked anything like an automobile: but one […]
Snake on a plane! Don’t panic, it’s probably just a (soft) robot
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Robots are big business. The industry will be worth $188 billion USD by 2020, up from $91.5 billion last year, according to the Industrial Design Consultancy (IDC). Yet there remains a lot that robots are unable to do, partly because they are made from rigid metal or plastic. If they were softer, lighter and less reliant on external power they could more safely and predictably move among and interact with humans, go […]
US : ‘Global startup’ vows autonomous car by 2020 in US
This handout illustration obtained March 10, 2017 courtesy of Nio, shows the NIO EVE autonomous vision car of the future. A “global startup” which makes electric racing vehicles unveiled plans on March 10, 2017 to sell a fully autonomous car in the US market by 2020. The company called Nio, founded by Chinese entrepreneur William Li and with offices in Silicon Valley, Europe and China, unveiled a prototype of the vehicle called Eve at the […]





