🚁 World’s 1st fully automated takeoff with the swipe of a finger, new study blows dark energy theory to bits, top 7 must-read science stories of 2024

The Los Angeles-based firm Skyryse just reached a breakthrough in aviation by completing the world’s first fully automated hover with the swipe of a finger.

It took rigorous testing with test aircraft to reach this groundbreaking goal with a helicopter: achieving take-off on a full-conforming, triply redundant production unit without any backup conventional controls in the cockpit.

For the past 85 years, helicopters have used the same mechanical controls, so the world’s first finger-powered engine start will allow any pilot, regardless of experience level, to achieve a perfect takeoff every time. Must-Read.

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

> Software Engineer (NYC)
> Associate Director of Generative AI Platform Engineering 

Reading Time: 4 mins

Did a friend forward this e-mail to you? Subscribe here.

MUST-READ

🚁 World’s 1st fully automated takeoff with swipe of a finger completed by Skyryse chopper

The new and improved flight system Skyryse One is built on a Rolls Royce-powered Robinson R66 platform. The cockpit design was completely reimagined to create the most capable, integrated, and simplified aircraft in the world.

It provides pilots with a triply redundant, fly-by-wire system controlled by a single control stick and two touchscreens. It powers on with a single swipe of a finger, and the fly-by-wire technology keeps pilots in control at all times.

Furthermore, Skyryse One has fully automated autorotation, dynamic envelope protection, 3D synthetic vision with TAWS automated, continuous engine and rotor system protection, and inherent hands-free stability.

👨‍🚀 New study blows dark energy theory to bits, says universe expansion is lumpy

Dark energy, one of the universe's biggest mysteries, is believed to be accelerating the expansion of the cosmos. But it turns out that dark energy might not be needed.  

In a new study, researchers refined the analysis of supernovae curves to propose that the universe’s expansion is lumpy, not uniform. They explored the “timescape model” that challenges the standard cosmological model because it doesn’t rely on dark energy.

Scientists originally concluded that the universe’s expansion was accelerating based on these supernova observations, but recent research shows that the expansion rate might not be happening as fast as we previously believed.

⭐ Top 7 must-read science stories of 2024 — Interesting Engineering

As 2024 rapidly comes to a close, we compiled the top 7 must-read science stories of the year.

For the first time, a mathematical framework proved that Einstein’s theory of general relativity is in alignment with quantum physics. Gravitational wave research shed new light on a 2,000-year-old computer. Infrared spectroscopy reached further into the past, discovering live microbes in two-billion-year-old rock.

In short, 2024 will be a year to remember, which proves that we can never learn enough from the past.

Love what you're reading, but too many emails? Sign up to IE+ to get Blueprint Weekly, our exclusive weekly premium newsletter that gives all the insights you love in a more digestible weekly format– plus, enjoy an Ad-Free experience on our website. Try IE+ today for just $1 in the first month. Subscribe here

HOT TOPICS OF THE DAY

SCIENCE

> Lightning-inspired reactor turns air and water into ammonia for fertilizer. (More)

> Researchers at Northwestern University in the US have successfully demonstrated quantum entanglement using fiber optic cables that were carrying internet traffic. (More)

> WWI aircraft-inspired tech could transform cell therapy, tissue engineering. (More)

ENERGY

> Tata Chemicals North America’s soda ash subsidiary is planning to transform its Green River mining site into a hub for nuclear power generation. (More)

> US scientists boost nuclear fusion plasma heating efficiency with metal screens. (More)

> Green hydrogen from waste: ‘Zero-Gap’ tech breakthrough boosts clean fuel production. (More)

INNOVATION

> Moore’s Law at 60: get the Intel on the next few decades. (More)

> Supercomputer Summit powers study of 635,000 US army veterans’ genes for disease links. (More)

> Watch: China firm unveils powerful humanoid robot with human-like dexterity. (More)

VIDEO

> The RQ-4 Global Hawk: The Largest, Most Advanced, and Most Expensive UAV Ever Built. (More)

> Will Long-Range ATACMS Help Ukraine Hold Kursk? (More)

FROM THE WEB

> Strange ‘alien plant’ doesn’t belong to any known species.

> Eyelashes structure and curved shape help wick water away from eyes.

> A man silenced by paralysis got his ‘voice’ back, thanks to AI.

> SpaceX calls off launch of 'MicroGEO' satellites at last second.

> Here’s a look at NASA Armstrong's accomplishments throughout 2024.

> Stem cells head to the clinic: treatments for cancer, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease could soon be here.