🪸 Great Barrier Reef is ‘on fire’, tracking objects by thought, building better humanoid robots

By 2025, the US Marine Corps aims to deploy three mobile air defense systems, including a modified Iron Dome launcher. The Marines are considering adding two vehicle-based defense weapons to their arsenal: MADIS and LMADIS. Both are scheduled for operational testing, and if successful, will be deployed to the Indo-Pacific region next year.

Amidst the current drone threat, there’s an urgent demand for an expeditionary system capable of effectively countering it. The Marines assert that the LMADIS meets this need by providing a solution that can be rapidly deployed and attached to units in need of counter-UAS capabilities. For a deeper look at the details, read today’s Must-Read.

🔥Today’s job of the day as featured on jobs.interestingengineering.com:

> Delivery System Application Support and Engineer
> Director of Engineering Strategy & Operations

🎙 New podcast  Democratizing Autonomous Drone Delivery at Scale

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MUST READ

🪸 Great Barrier Reef is ‘on fire’, so are coral reefs around the world

Coral reefs across the world are faced with dire conditions. The rising global warming due to climate change is causing mass coral bleaching events. One of the major sufferers is Australia’s renowned Lady Elliot Island.

Bleaching is a scientific process which occurs when marine heatwaves induce extreme stress in corals. This stress causes corals to expel the symbiotic algae that give them their vibrant colors. Subsequently, only the white skeletons of corals remain visible.

Global sea surface temperatures have been alarmingly high this year. It has stayed above 69.8 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius) for over three consecutive months since January.

🧠 Non-invasive brain-computer interface to help control objects by thought

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University recently showed that an AI-powered, non-invasive brain-computer interface (BCI) can allow a person to track a moving object on a screen just by simply thinking about it.

The problem with conventional non-invasive BCIs is that they are not as accurate as invasive BCIs. According to the CMU researchers, AI-based deep neural networks can solve this problem. They are more advanced than artificial neural networks used for facial recognition, speech recognition, and various other simple tasks.

This can make it easier for people to interact with technology, allow scientists to study the human brain function in great detail, and improve the quality of life for individuals with amputations and disabilities.

🤖 Sanctuary AI to use Microsoft’s Azure for building better humanoid robots 

Sanctuary AI, a Vancouver-based AI and robotics company, will leverage Microsoft’s Azure cloud resources for their AI workloads. The robotics company will use Azure infrastructure for training, inference, networking, and storage.

The robotics company claims that it is on a mission to create the world’s first human-like intelligence in general-purpose robots to help us work more safely, efficiently, and sustainably, helping to address the labor challenges facing many organizations today.

Sanctuary AI has several breakthroughs in the AI and robotics industries and notably has built industry-leading robotic hands with a broad set of precision, tactile, and payload capabilities.

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