These gliding drones could deliver supplies from Air Force planes to the battlefield

These gliding drones could deliver supplies from Air Force planes to the battlefield

Post Views: 226 This contract is, formally, “Guided Bundle Derivative of Silent Arrow for Side Door and Palletized Swarm Deployment at High Speeds and Altitudes,” with the drones themselves deemed Precision Guided Bundles. That’s a mess of a program name, but it tells a story in pieces. In 2019, Silent Arrow exhibited a large version…

NASA is testing space lasers to shoot data back to Earth

NASA is testing space lasers to shoot data back to Earth

Post Views: 217 Glenn Jackson, LCRD payload project manager, says the demo could someday help wrap internet networks around the moon and even Mars. “Currently we use radio frequency to move data and video to Earth,” Jackson says. “Laser communication increases that bandwidth and allows us to get more data to Earth from astronauts and…

More people buy e-bikes than electric cars. Here’s how a bill would make them cheaper.

More people buy e-bikes than electric cars. Here’s how a bill would make them cheaper.

Post Views: 293 E-bike sales are expected to reach 130 million by 2023, according to a 2020 report from the Technology, Media, and Telecommunications group at Deloitte, generating roughly $20 billion in proceeds. In some urban spaces, the presence of e-bikes could become increasingly common as more bike lanes are added, and cities employ e-bikes…

It’s time to purge the worst people in your social media feeds

It’s time to purge the worst people in your social media feeds

Post Views: 225 Instagram has a way for you to see who you’ve interacted with least often: Tap your profile button (bottom right), then Following, and Least Interacted With. You’ll see the people you don’t often chat with or whose photos you rarely like and comment on. Simply tap Following to sever your Instagram connection…

The Air Force is testing a less awkward replacement for ‘piddle packs’

The Air Force is testing a less awkward replacement for ‘piddle packs’

Post Views: 269 Developed by Omni Defense Technologies, “Skydrate” involves a pad for women and a cup for men. Pilots put on the cup or pad beneath a special pair of underwear. When it’s time to go, the pilot connects the cup or pad with a tube leading to a pump outside the flight suit….

Avoid boring, repetitive work by getting your computer to do it instead

Avoid boring, repetitive work by getting your computer to do it instead

Post Views: 228 These actions are typically called macros, though they go by various other names as well, depending on the software you’re using. You don’t need to have any coding knowledge to set them up, and they can save you a huge amount of time at your keyboard. If you’re using a software application…

Fish sounds tell us about underwater reefs—but we need better tech to really listen

Fish sounds tell us about underwater reefs—but we need better tech to really listen

Post Views: 194 Healthy reefs have a rich soundscape. “Lots of the invertebrates and the fishes make weird and wonderful noises for all sorts of weird and wonderful reasons. When you take recordings, you hear all these pops and buzzes and trills and whoops,” says Tim Lamont, a marine biology research fellow at the University…

Play these 5 car games at home (and not while you’re driving a Tesla)

Play these 5 car games at home (and not while you’re driving a Tesla)

Post Views: 209 Please don’t play video games while driving. I realize it’s tempting, especially if you own a Tesla and have access to games through your in-dash console, even when it’s in drive. This is a classic “don’t do it just because you can” moment: On average, more than 3,000 people die per year…