New Atlas

US to deploy world's first sixth-gen fighter by end of decade The US Air Force has announced that it will go ahead with the production of the F-47 Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter. Expected to enter service by the end of the decade, it will replace the F-22 Raptor as America's air supremacy fighter. Friday's announcement by the Air Force and President Trump ends months of speculation about the fate of the F-47 project. In defense circles, there was uncertainty as to whether the fighter would be greenlit as part of the administration's goal of strengthening the US military or fall victim to its commitment to drastically cut federal spending. Continue reading: https://lnkd.in/gTJTaeKS #F47NextGenFighter #USAirForce #AirDominance #MilitaryStrength

Strong infrared signals could reveal alien life on "waterworld" planets Finding alien life won’t be as dramatic as a flying saucer landing on the White House lawn – it’ll be NASA scientists holding a press conference to excitedly show off a chart that’s incomprehensible to most people. Now, we’re a step closer to that boring but groundbreaking day. Astronomers from the University of California, Riverside (UCR) have identified a new potential signature to look for in the atmospheres of exoplanets, which could indicate life is present. It’s a group of gases called methyl halides, which are made up of a carbon atom and three hydrogen atoms bound to a halogen atom. Continue reading: https://lnkd.in/gDSzf7Eh #AlienLife #InfraredSignals #WaterworldPlanets #HyceanWorld

MIT's artificial muscles for soft robots flex like a human iris Engineers at MIT have devised an ingenious new way to produce artificial muscles for soft robots that can flex in more than one direction, similar to the complex muscles in the human body. The team leveraged 3D printing and muscle cells derived from humans and mice to grow an artificial structure that pulls concentrically and radially, similar to how the human iris dilates and constricts the pupil. Continue reading: https://lnkd.in/gsr4yxcr #MITArtificialMuscles #SoftRobotsFlex #HumanIrisInspired #IngeniousMuscleTechnology

Carbon-deck electric skateboard looks like it belongs in The Matrix As is the case with ebikes, there are some electric skateboards that hide their tech in a retro design, and others that absolutely revel in it. Parsec's Aero Pro is definitely among the latter, looking a bit like an e-skateboard from the future. There are actually two versions of the Aero Pro, the S and the longer-range X. Continue reading: https://lnkd.in/gQMQs2Sz #CarbonDeck #ElectricSkateboard #TheMatrix #ParsecAeroPro

Morgan Supersport: A turbocharged retro alternative to the Porsche 911 If the devil is in the detail, Morgan has just produced a devilishly good-looking car boasting heavenly lines and a gorgeous retro feel. In fact, we'd say it’s easily one of the best reincarnations of a vintage silhouette… and one that promises an equally exhilarating drive. Morgan has just revealed its Supersport, which may look like a 50s roadster but sure drives like a modern sports car thanks to the lightweight aluminum chassis, a turbocharged engine, and independent suspension. Continue reading: https://lnkd.in/gggrwXFd #MorganSupersport #RetroRacer #Porsche911Alternative #HeavenlyLines

Tiny home packs a huge punch in sustainability and flexibility Wittman Estes, an architecture studio based in Seattle, has unveiled the Whidbey Puzzle Prefab, an innovative take on sustainable modular housing. This 600-sq-ft (55.75-sqm) tiny prototype, located on Washington State’s Whidbey Island, is designed to demonstrate how prefabricated homes can not only minimize environmental impact but also provide a flexible living experience. The Whidbey Puzzle Prefab stands out with its compact modular design. Consisting of four distinct sections, the house can be reconfigured to fit a variety of environments, from remote wilderness areas to suburban neighborhoods, with little disturbance of the surrounding landscape. Furthermore, the modular design offers occupants flexibility, allowing the home to evolve with them, as their needs or desires change over time. Continue reading: https://lnkd.in/gQkPfyuH #TinyHomeSustainability #WhidbeyPuzzlePrefab #WittmanEstes #FlexibleLivingExperience

Volvo recreates unusual road incidents with AI for safer ADAS features Volvo has taken to a cutting-edge technique for reconstructing scenes in 3D virtual worlds to help its cars' safety software expect the unexpected. It's called Gaussian splatting, and it can "create a vast amount of realistic, high fidelity 3D scenes and subjects from real world visuals." Volvo is tasking its spinoff software firm Zenseact to use AI to generate a range of on-road scenarios with this method. Continue reading: https://lnkd.in/gWFnmnye #VolvoAI #3DVirtualWorlds #GaussianSplatting #Zenseact

Fujifilm aims retro medium format camera at point-and-shoot fans If you're looking to get more creative with your handheld photography and need a sensor larger than 35mm for the job, Fujifilm has a new mirrorless camera to show you. The GFX100RF is like a slightly bigger, medium format version of the X100, which it resembles closely in design. It packs a fixed 35-mm f/4 lens (equivalent to 28 mm in 35-mm format), a 102-megapixel CMOS sensor shared with the GFX 100S II from last year, and a couple of useful inclusions to make it versatile enough to use anywhere you'd want to take a camera. Continue reading: https://lnkd.in/gc2e5abi #FujifilmGFX100RF #MediumFormatMagic #HandheldCreativity #BiggerSensorBetterShots

Tiny cube camper might be the stealthiest nano-home money can buy From the outside, the new Lutz 2513 Minicamper looks like a basic utility trailer. And that's because it is, a single-axle white cargo box from German trailer and truck body specialist Humbauer. Open the large rear door, though, and you'll find a simple but homey space that invites you inside with its sofa bed, soft-touch surfaces and rustic-chic accents. Buyers can walk away with a basic trailer for under €9K or spec out a full RV floor plan with kitchen, toilet, dining area and electricity for under €15K. If we had to pick out any Humbauer trailer to make into a camper, it'd have to be plucked from the company's multi-series lineup of horse trailers. They're sleek, colorful, unique, and some already include features like LED light strips and lockable storage – no reason a "saddle room" can't become a "luggage and gear room." Continue reading: https://lnkd.in/gbc6EJ-6 #TinyCubeCamper #Lutz2513Minicamper #HumbauerTrailers #SaddleToCamper

Smart sensor pokes plants' leaves to let farmers know if they're stressed The sooner a farmer knows that their crops are suffering, the faster they can take action to prevent major crop failure. A new plant-leaf-poking sensor could soon help them do so, by sending an alert as soon as the plant gets stressed. Plants of all types continuously produce hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as part of natural processes such as photosynthesis and respiration. Continue reading: https://lnkd.in/gVkT2hNw #SmartSensor #PlantStressAlert #CropFailurePrevention #HydrogelSensor