Tag

Autonomy

All articles tagged with #autonomy

space1 hour ago•12 min saved

Mars as a Living Laboratory: Science‑First Missions to Seek Life

A NASA-backed Mars plan centers on survival and life-support first each sol, then science—drilling for biosignatures, tracing habitability, and testing in-situ resource use—within architectures like 30-Cargo-300 and 30-30-30 that include sample return; discussions include deep drilling, potential nuclear propulsion (SR‑1 Freedom) and autonomous crews due to long Earth–Mars communications delays, all aimed at answering whether life existed on Mars and how a sustainable outpost could work.

via BBC Sky at Night Magazine|

#autonomy #biosignatures #human-exploration

technology6 days ago•12 min saved

UK defence plan bets big on drones and AI for future warfare

Britain’s Defence Investment Plan (DIP) commits about £5 billion across four years to modernize the armed forces with autonomous systems: drone fleets, crewed/uncrewed hybrid ships, and an AI-enabled targeting network (Asgard) that links sensors, vehicles and long‑range weapons. The plan includes Collaborative Combat Aircraft (loyal wingmen) to accompany Typhoons and F‑35s and autonomous mine/anti-submarine efforts, aiming to multiply combat power without expanding manpower. Yet experts warn that high costs, production scale, resilient communications, cyber and EW defenses, and industrial capacity pose significant risks, making the DIP more of a cautious, long‑term shift than a rapid revolution, echoing but not duplicating the strategic tech turn envisaged by the Sandys era.

via The Conversation|

#ai #autonomy #defense

defense9 days ago•4 min saved

Pentagon Creates Unifying Autonomy Chief to Oversee Drones and UxS

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signs a memo establishing a Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for autonomy (DRPM-UxS) to centrally oversee all unmanned and autonomous systems—covering ground vehicles, all small air vehicles, and most surface vessels—reporting to the Deputy Defense Secretary. The DRPM-UxS will be the single joint integrator for UxS programs, with the Defense Innovation Unit as the primary industry interface. DAWG and JIATF 401 become deputy offices under the DRPM-UxS, and some programs remain outside its scope (e.g., MUSV and major airframes). No individual is named yet to fill the role, which aims to speed fielding of UxS capabilities and cut bureaucratic delays.

via Breaking Defense|

#autonomy #defense #drones

world12 days ago•28 min saved

Belgian PM’s World Cup stance highlights Belgium’s regional divide

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, from the Flemish nationalist N-VA, has offered hardly any public support for Belgium’s World Cup team, reflecting a long-running push for Flemish autonomy and a reluctance to project national unity. The broader World Cup coverage ties sports to geopolitics and social issues, including Iran-Egypt dynamics, Pride‑aligned activism in Seattle, and security and political maneuvering around the tournament in the U.S. and Florida, alongside Pew’s findings on global opinions of the United States.

via Politico|

#autonomy #belgium #flanders

world15 days ago•4 min saved

Ukrainian Commander Warns NATO Naval Drones Lag in Combat Readiness

A Ukrainian GUR commander says NATO is rushing to field naval drones after Kyiv's Black Sea successes, but European designs lack combat-tested experience—especially in electronics, system behavior, and autonomy. Ukraine’s drones have evolved into armed platforms capable of operating in rough seas and autonomously avoiding obstacles or selecting targets, built on combat-driven iteration. He emphasizes that wartime experience informs rapid updates in real time, a pace Western shipyards at peace may not match.

via Business Insider|

#autonomy #black-sea #nato

technology17 days ago•8 min saved

Turkey Demonstrates Live Crewed/Uncrewed Drone Teaming With Kizilelma and M-346

Turkey's Baykar and Leonardo completed the first live K-SWARM trials at Çorlu, showing autonomous taxiing and takeoff of Baykar's Kizilelma UCAV joining Leonardo's M-346 in formation, with pilots later commanding through an integrated avionics suite as the drone executes maneuvers under Smart Fleet Autonomy algorithms. The test demonstrates crewed/uncrewed teaming (CUC-T) and high-speed data exchange to enable AI-driven autonomous missions, highlighting export potential given ITAR-free Turkish tech and marking Turkey's progress in collaborative combat aircraft. Future tests are planned with greater complexity and autonomy toward swarming capabilities.

via TWZ|

#autonomy #creweduncrewed-teaming #k-swarm

technology21 days ago•3 min saved

NASA's ERNEST Rover Proves Agile Autonomy for Future Moon Missions

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is field-testing ERNEST, a compact autonomous rover designed to move faster across rugged terrain for future Moon and Mars missions. In a desert trial, ERNEST reached up to 0.6 mph and covered about 16 miles over roughly 37 hours, using mesh-wheeled propulsion, four steerable wheels, and two powered front joints to switch among gaits like squirming, wheel-walking, and obstacle-climbing. Trained with reinforcement learning, the rover can navigate autonomously and even drive sideways, aiming to reach previously inaccessible regions on upcoming missions.

via Gizmodo|

#autonomy #ernest #jpl

space22 days ago•6 min saved

NASA field-tests agile ERNEST rover to enable long-range Moon and Mars missions

NASA's JPL is field-testing ERNEST, an Exploration Rover for Navigating Extreme Sloped Terrain, to refine mobility and autonomous navigation for future long-range lunar and Mars missions. In March 2026 in the Colorado Desert, the four-wheeled prototype drove about 16 miles (37 hours) with minimal intervention, using active suspension (with a passive mode) and a gimbaled front to handle rugged terrain. The rover is being trained with reinforcement learning in a high-fidelity simulator before autonomous, longer-range lunar testing, aiming to reach speeds far beyond current rovers like Perseverance and Curiosity.

via NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) (.gov)|

#autonomy #ernest #jpl

business29 days ago•13 min saved

Rivian's R2 Test-Drive Becomes Bullish Indicator, Analyst Says TAM Expands

Needham reiterates a Buy on Rivian with a $23 target, arguing the R2 launch is TAM-expanding and could bring new buyers into Rivian’s ecosystem; catalysts include point-to-point navigation, a LiDAR-enabled hands-free variant, and cheaper R2 trims. Rivian says missing features on the initial R2 rollout were delayed for quality and will arrive via monthly OTA updates this summer. With R2 deliveries underway, the stock rose about 1% in overnight trading as investors are encouraged to test-drive the vehicle rather than rely on broad EV adoption alone, supporting a bullish longer-term view despite near-term volatility.

via Yahoo Finance|

#autonomy #business #needham

technology1 month ago•14 min saved

Rivian R2 Bets on Mass Market With Four Trims and 330-Mile Range

Rivian’s R2 is designed to move the brand into mass‑market EVs, with a four‑trim lineup planned through 2027. The launch Performance model starts at about $57,990 (roughly $59,485 with destination) delivering 656 hp, 609 lb‑ft, 0–60 in 3.6 seconds, and about 330 miles of range; the lineup later adds a Standard Long Range and a base Standard model, with a target $45k price in late 2027. Early R2s will use Gen 2 RAP1 hardware (no lidar, no Level 3 autonomy yet) but Rivian plans Gen 3 hardware later, plus a 29‑minute 10–80% charge on NACS chargers. The goal is higher sales and better cash flow, though early tech and cost‑cutting choices mean some features will arrive after launch.

via WIRED|

#autonomy #electric-vehicles #r2

health1 month ago•10 min saved

Singing a Goodbye: My First MAID Experience and a Dignified Farewell

A Toronto physician recounts witnessing his 93-year-old patient, Mrs. MacNeil, choose medical assistance in dying (MAID). Surrounded by family and caregivers, she faced the process with autonomy and calm, gifting him a wooden seagull and inviting him to sing as she peacefully died. The experience prompts reflection on what constitutes a dignified death, the primacy of patient autonomy, and the physician’s own confrontation with mortality.

via HuffPost|

#autonomy #canada #death-with-dignity

automotive1 month ago•4 min saved

Rivian R2: Early Lidar Omission Won't Hurt Short-Term Autonomy

Rivian confirms early R2s will ship without lidar and says the difference in autonomy compared with lidar-equipped models won’t be noticeable for several years; lidar’s main advantage is richer data for future generations, there’s no plan to retrofit, and point-to-point hands-free driving will be available on the lidar-less Launch Package.

via InsideEVs|

#automotive #autonomy #ev

technology1 month ago•4 min saved

Palm-Sized AI Chip Gives Spacecraft Autonomous Brainpower

NASA and JPL are developing a radiation-hardened, palm-sized system-on-a-chip that could deliver hundreds of times more computing power than current spaceflight CPUs, enabling onboard AI, real-time data analysis, and autonomous decision-making for future missions. Early tests under radiation, thermal, and shock conditions are promising, with Microchip Technology as a partner and potential Earth applications.

via SciTechDaily|

#ai #autonomy #nasa

technology1 month ago•11 min saved

Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream Reframes Life-Sim Joy Against The Sims 4

A GameSpot review argues that Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream offers a livelier, more polished life-sim experience than The Sims 4, thanks to highly customizable Miis, external personality displays, seamless autonomous interactions, and expressive dream sequences, showcasing Nintendo’s charm and suggesting EA could learn from Nintendo’s approach even as it stops short of declaring it a true ‘Sims killer.’

via GameSpot|

#autonomy #customization #miis

technology1 month ago•2 min saved

NASA's Palm-Sized AI Chip Could Put Spacecraft on Autopilot

NASA is testing a palm-sized, radiation-hardened system-on-a-chip that could deliver up to 100x the computing power of current spaceflight computers and enable onboard AI to autonomously respond to anomalies and analyze vast data, potentially speeding science and mission ops; the project, in partnership with Microchip Technology, is undergoing radiation, thermal, and landing-simulation tests at JPL before flight certification for use on Earth-orbiters, rovers, habitats, and deep-space missions. The article notes the headline claims 500x, but NASA cites testing at up to 100x.

via Gizmodo|

#ai #autonomy #nasa