Sofie Thyme

It sounds like the university is getting by on a technicality with its “first-ever” claims, but that doesn’t make this project any less interesting. Manufacturing of the concrete parts has begun, and it’s anticipated that bridge construction will start in September. To get to the point where the 3D printed parts were considered reliable, the team at the university first built a 1:2 scale model, which was able to hold a 2,000kg (over 4,400 pounds) load. As for why this process is an improvement over standard concrete techniques, printing a bridge will use far less concrete than pouring it into molds. There’s an environmental impact here, as well — the production of concrete cement releases CO2, so cutting down on those emissions is worth noting. There’s also more freedom of design, as a 3D-printer can fabricate shapes that are much harder to produce with a mold. Another benefit is that the steel reinforcement cables can be printed at the same time as the concrete parts, leading to p

Overall, the trend for buyers is to be quite positive about the quality and performance of their new vehicle, especially if it’s a Kia. “Autonomous Technology” was, in fact, the only category where user complaints increased between 2016 and 2017, although only by a tiny amount. The Wall Street Journal points out that of all the issues consumers raised, 34 percent of them were tied in to adaptive cruise control. If left unchecked, users may prefer to opt for cars with fewer autonomous systems, or prefer to drive with them deactivated. Issues with existing smart driving features could also sour the general public’s feeling towards our rapidly-approaching autonomous future. It’s easy for consumers to think that, if manufacturers can’t get lane assistance right, what chance do they have of building a car that can think, and drive, for itself? It’s clear that the auto industry will have to work to tackle this issue on both a technical and perception level before it becomes a problem. E

Apple Is a Step Closer to Making Its Own TV Shows David Sims, The Atlantic While the company’s television aspirations remain largely a mystery, Apple hired two big names this week to help build its slate of original shows. Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg, presidents of Sony Pictures Television, will make the move to Cupertino this summer with experience making hits like Damages , Breaking Bad , Justified and other series. The Atlantic offers a look at what this means for Apple and what we can expect from Eddy Cue & Co. in the months to come.

According to the prosecution, Carter spent the two weeks before Roy’s suicide texting him encouragement to kill himself. On July 12th, 2014, Roy drove to a remote Target parking lot and filled the cab of his truck with carbon monoxide from an external generator. He reportedly called Carter while the truck filled with fumes. At one point, Roy changed his mind about committing suicide and exited the cab but went back in at Carter’s urging. She then listened to him slowly die without calling emergency medical services for help. What’s more, the prosecution only learned of this phone conversation only from texts sent between Carter and a friend weeks after the incident. While courts have generally treated suicide as an act of free will, Judge Lawrence Moniz decided last week that Carter’s actions (and subsequent inaction) influenced Roy’s thinking enough to warrant her liability in his death. According to Massachusetts state law , involuntary manslaughter is defined as “an unlawful killi

“Time is precious on Mars,” said lead system engineer Raymond Francis in a statement. “AEGIS allows us to make use of time that otherwise wasn’t available because we were waiting for someone on Earth to make a decision.” The AEGIS software operates in two different ways: autonomous target selection and autonomous pointing refinement. Basically, these two systems allow the rover to select targets and refine its own laser targeting to analyze samples chosen according to the parameters scientists have selected beforehand. The software has performed at a very high level, exceeding 93 percent accuracy when choosing the correct materials to analyze. According to the paper, the AEGIS autonomous system has “substantially reduced lost time on the mission” and increased the speed of data collection. Before AEGIS was implemented last year, the rover carried out blind targeting, just in case it hit something worthwhile. “Half the time it would just hit soil — which was also useful, but rock meas