Low altitude space race
One of Elon Musk’s ambitious technology plans is to eventually launch 42,000 Starlink satellites into low orbit, bringing internet to the world’s most remote places. As of April this year, the company has launched about 5,900 Starlink satellites into space. But a Chinese company is catching up with Musk. Shanghai Lanjiang Hongqing Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of rocket manufacturer Landscape, applied to the International Telecommunication Union for a 10,000-satellite network on May 24. No timeline for launching the satellites has been announced.
Source: Interesting Engineering
50,000
That’s the number of paid rides robot taxi company Waymo currently offers each week in Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Waymo attributes its success to its “safe and cautious approach” to growing ridership. “People from all walks of life use our service for carefree travel, independence and access to commute,” the company said in a press release. But that doesn’t mean driverless taxis are free of negative headlines. In April, six Waymo taxis blocked traffic at a freeway entrance in San Francisco, and in early 2024, two of the company’s vehicles crashed due to a software glitch.
Source: Engadget
FaceTime
It turns out parrots may be able to improve their social lives with technology. A study from the University of Glasgow and Northeastern University looked at parrots’ responses to recorded videos and live video chats of other birds and found that the highly social animals preferred real-time conversations. Parrot breeders reported that their parrots were more actively involved in conversations during FaceTime chats than during pre-recorded sessions. Parrots spent a total of 561 minutes on live video chats, but only 142 minutes watching recordings.
Source: Engadget
$250 billion
Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that U.S. investments in renewable energy are paying off: By displacing fossil fuel use, wind and solar power are saving more than $100 per megawatt-hour produced in health and climate benefits, totaling $250 billion over the past four years — far more than the cost of government subsidies used to build the renewable energy infrastructure.
Source: Ars Technica
