#Robotic Antarctic Explorer

[lifenconcepts]

I MADE A COMIC OF MY LOVELY OC!

press “Keep reading” to have it sectioned off into individual frames and the description for those who can’t understand from the mere pictures alone :3

My robot Oc, RAE, which stands for Robotic Arctic/Antarctic Explorer, and their origin story.

It all begins with the casual shipment of them to the continent, which soon after is put into action to test all the years of planning and developing that was put into them. their soul purpose is to wander the cold and harsh icy desert and chart the status of a spot in the wasteland every half an hour, at an approximately equal distance to one another both vertically, horizontally, and diagonally.

They place their hand down to the ground to feel the vibrations and sounds present, sending it to base every so often. It helps with finding running water, anything suspicious, and keeping track of the large uninhabited plane. Sending updates both on the environment and also itself. Once the workers were sure of its capability to stay on track and fulfill its purpose without any problems, they turned on its autonomy, basically an artificial intelligence which makes sure they stay on course but also have all the sufficient knowledge to survive and thrive safely.

Everything seemed to be going well and dandy, they spent hours chatting the place and mapping all sorts of spectrums of wavelengths and details, but upon gazing onto the sun (which they make their eyes go black to protect their sensitive camera from breaking) they were slightly stumped. An intense gaze to the beauties of the natural world caused them to go deviant and gain sentience as they struggled with their new found emotions for a quick moment, despite their new found fear and joy - they found grounding amongst gazing at a group of penguins, and their wide range of knowledge yet little range of human understanding caused them to come to the conclusion they are a large penguin themselves.

The last panel shows them balancing the two aspects perfectly, on one side - doing their intended job, scanning the ground for a little while to get extra information, and the other side - trying to befriend the creatures around. also, fun fact, the higher their antenna the more work-focused they are as it helps get a better connection with the base! Their biology allows them to shorten it to protect it from strong winds and yet they often shorten it to avoid having control issues of their own body - to focus on the more complex and important parts of their experience rather than simply scanning thing.

yet they do enjoy their work, I assure you!

[ltwilliammowett]

Today we're heading into the eternal ice of Antarctica and keeping a special lady company. The beautiful Endurance is waiting for us in door no. 7

More about her here:

The three-masted schooner barque designed by Ole Aanderud Larsen (1884-1964) was built by the Framnæs shipyard in Sandefjord, Norway. When she was launched on 17 December 1912, she was named Polaris. She was 43.8 m long, 7.62 m wide and weighed 350 tonnes. In addition to square sails on the foremast and gaff sails on the main and mizzen masts, she had a 260 kW steam engine, which allowed a maximum speed of 10 knots (19 km/h). The ship was designed for polar conditions and constructed to minimise the pressure of the ice masses. With a thickness of 28 cm, the frames were made of greenheart wood, a particularly stable type of tropical wood, and were twice as thick as on conventional sailing ships of this size. The hull of the Endurance was designed to be relatively straight-sided, as it was only intended to sail in loose pack ice. She was therefore calmer in the sea than ships with a spherical hull, such as the Fram; however, this came at the cost of not being lifted significantly out of the pressure line in ice pressures and was therefore unsuitable for encasements in pack ice.

The ship was commissioned by the Belgian polar explorer Adrien de Gerlache and the Norwegian whaling magnate Lars Christensen, who actually wanted to use it for polar cruises of a more touristic nature. However, due to financial problems, Christensen was happy to sell his ship to Shackleton for 11,600 pounds sterling (approx. 934,000 euros, as of 2010) - an amount that was less than the original construction costs. Shackleton renamed her Endurance after his family's motto ‘Fortitudine vincimus’ (‘Through endurance we shall conquer’).

The Endurance left the port of Plymouth on 8 August 1914, around a week after Great Britain's entry into the First World War, and completed the journey to Antarctica with a stopover in Buenos Aires without any problems.

Before the crew of the Endurance could cross to the Antarctic mainland to cross the Antarctic as planned, the ship was trapped by the pack ice of the Weddell Sea in January 1915 like ‘an almond in a piece of chocolate’ - as the much-used comparison goes. After resisting the force of the pack ice for 281 days, the Endurance was crushed by the ice on 21 November 1915. The expedition team had previously saved themselves on a safe ice floe. Thanks to a masterly feat of seamanship and navigation, Shackleton and his crew managed to get out of this desolate situation without any losses with the help of three lifeboats that were salvaged from the Endurance.

Initially continuing with the pack ice and later on ice floes, the castaways drifted northwards in their camps along the Antarctic Peninsula until the floes broke into small pieces. They finally reached Elephant Island in their lifeboats. There, one of the boats was converted and set off for South Georgia with 6 men to fetch help, which was successful. Months later, the remaining men who were still stuck on Elephant Island were rescued by a Chilean navy guard boat.

In 2019, a private expedition attempted to locate the wreck of the Endurance, but was unsuccessful.

In January 2022, the Endurance 22 expedition began the search. The S. A. Agulhas II brought the expedition, in which marine physicist Stefanie Arndt from the Alfred Wegener Institute took part,[3] to the last coordinates of the Endurance mentioned. From the historical records, the expedition members knew that the ship must have sunk at ♁68° 39′ 30″ S, 52° 26′ 30″ W. According to the rules of the Antarctic Treaty, the wreck is a protected historical site that may not be touched.

On 5 March 2022, the expedition found the ship with a diving robot at a depth of 3008 m, 7.7 km from the recorded position. Photographs showed the wreck standing upright in excellent condition.

[cinerins]

Another Road – Expedition Overview

This is a general look at the direction and structure of the Atlantis expedition in my AU "Another Road" — I thought I might as well share my own ideas and concepts for a slightly different SGA setting here!

The team embarks on their journey about a year later, August 2005, after a 16 month period of training and preparation, following the discovery of Atlantis.

With an initial count of 200 volunteers, the expedition is comprised of several researchers previously stationed at the antarctic outpost, as well as additional candidates and military personnel approved by the IOA and HWC.

Expectations

Given what they have thus far learned about the Ancients and the experiences gained in the Stargate program, there are a number of potential points of interest and expected risks to consider, before stepping foot into another galaxy.

As an international scientific project, the primary focus of the expedition is the gathering of information pertaining to the Ancients and research of their technological advancements. However, due to the unknown nature of the Pegasus galaxy, the research of any extraterrestrial life and technology is a general goal.

Peaceful, undisruptive exploration may be the ideal direction of such an undertaking, but the International Committee and Homeworld Command have come to agree, that a military component would be necessary as a precaution. Should they find it unwarranted, the selected personnel could simply aid in emergencies and the overall operations of the group.

The 16 month buffer serves to prepare for anything the team might find on the other side of the event horizon — be that a thriving society, or another abandoned outpost left to sleep in a wasteland. All members would've been required to learn the Ancient language (Alteran) and the basics of Gate travel, if they weren't familiar already.

Since the Ancients are genetic cousins, originating from Earth in this setting and have left a grand network of habitable locations throughout the Milky Way, it gives our team the hope of establishing a reliable base, even if they don't find anything alive.

The possibility of no return is a risk they are well aware of.

Composition

Each and every volunteer has been selected and vetted by the agencies involved, either with Weir's recommendation or approval.

Key factors are an extensive understanding of relevant fields (particularly regarding the Stargate and Ancients) and/or the possession of the ATA gene. There is much overlap of expertise among expedition members, the idea being to employ a wide array of knowledge and skills in as few people as possible.

Senior staff manages the overall decisions and is comprised of the representative leader of their given division, with Dr. Weir as head of the expedition as a whole.

The team features seven divisions, color-coded for convenience and each with departments as subsections, covering specific fields.

Cultural Division (red)

Head: Elizabeth Weir

Departments / Fields

Anthropology

Archaeology

Philosophy

Politics

Linguistics

-> Initial numbers: 15

Technical Division (purple)

Head: Peter Grodin

Departments / Fields

Technology & Engineering

Stargate Operations

Computer Science

Robotics

Electronics

-> Initial numbers: 31

Physical Science Division (blue)

Head: Rodney McKay

Departments / Fields

Astrophysics

Quantum Physics

Wormhole Physics

Astronomy

Chemistry

Thermodynamics

-> Initial numbers: 20

Life Science Division (green)

Head: Veronica Weaver*

Departments / Fields

Astrobiology

Microbiology

Biochemistry

Botany & Agriculture

Zoology

Ecology

Genetics

-> Initial numbers: 24

Environmental Division (yellow)

Head: Mercedes Torres*

Departments / Fields

Geology

Hydrology

Geography

Oceanography

Atmospheric Science

-> Initial numbers: 12

Medical Division (white)

CMO: Carson Beckett

Handle primary medical treatment and care, ensuring the overall well-being of all expedition members in the following points:

Medicine

Surgery

Physical Therapy

Anesthesiology

Dentistry

Pathology

Psychiatry

-> Initial numbers: 14

Military Division (black)

CO: Marshall Sumner / John Sheppard (later)

Offer assistance to the other divisions and the expedition as a whole, cover following responsibilities:

Security

Logistics

Emergency Management

Emergency Medical Treatment

Decontamination

Military Operations

-> Initial numbers: 84

*unoffical characters added to fill these positions.

Management

The team is provided with enough supplies to cover each division's general needs, both work-related and personal, for about a year. If necessary, their use of equipment and gear can easily be extended, but water and food production would depend on the environment and resources they're met with.

Complete, long-term self-sufficiency should be possible, with access to the needed materials, but is not the intended goal of this expedition.

An emergency transmitter would've been used to send a signal to Earth, in case they cannot dial back and have found themselves trapped, with no means to support themselves beyond what they brought along. It would've taken a while to be received, but by then the Daedalus should've been fully operational and able to retrieve them, before their supplies run out.

If they are not heard from in any way within their first year (taking communications delay into account, given their distance) Earth would've presumed them dead and the mission a failure. However, if the mission was at least partially a success and they have access to safe food and water, but still no way to return, a number of satellites would've been launched to act as relay stations between the galaxies.

Sending a ship to and fro would be off the table, unless it was really worth the cost of such a long trip — say, if it was to rescue the group, or to transport artifacts and materials of significant value. The IOA would be reluctant to send off one of Earth's limited number of interstellar vessels, while they have more pressing uses among our own stars.

Either way, unless they found more convenient alternatives, the expedition would've expected to rely mostly on themselves.

[albertonykus]

Ranking the Doraemon Movies (Updated 2024)

Having watched (or rewatched) and reviewed every Doraemon movie released up to this point, the temptation to rank them is hard to resist. I’ll stress that the following ranking is of course based on my own opinions and I can’t pretend to represent any sort of consensus viewpoint. The Doraemon films have played with such a wide variety of settings and story genres that it’d only be natural for different viewers’ rankings to differ dramatically based on personal taste.

It’s striking to me that even after over 40 installments, there are very few Doraemon movies that I’d outright consider “not worth watching”. Not only that, but each cinematic storyline manages to do something that sets itself apart from the others (excluding remakes, that’s a total of 38 unique narratives to date). Considering how easy it would be for the nearly annual releases of such a long-running, popular franchise to descend into staleness and mediocrity, that is quite an achievement. No, not every Doraemon film is a winner, and I’m not going to claim that even my favorite movies in the franchise are the pinnacle of animated entertainment. However, if you enjoy family-friendly science fiction about adventure and friendship, there are certainly worse ways to spend an evening than with a Doraemon movie that has an enticing premise.

Full ranking (with links to individual reviews) below the break...

Note that for reasons given in my review, the original Nobita and the Haunts of Evil (1982) is disqualified from ranking.

From highest to lowest rated:

Nobita and the Birth of Japan (2016)

Nobita’s Great Adventure into the Underworld (1984)

Nobita and the Kingdom of Clouds (1992)

New Nobita’s Great Demon (2014)

Nobita’s Little Star Wars 2021 (2022)

Nobita’s Little Star Wars (1985)

Nobita’s Three Visionary Swordsmen (1994)

Nobita and the Steel Troops (1986)

Nobita’s New Dinosaur (2020)

Nobita’s Sky Utopia (2023)

Nobita and the Windmasters (2003)

Nobita and the Legend of the Sun King (2000)

Nobita’s Chronicle of the Moon Exploration (2019)

Nobita’s Earth Symphony (2024)

Nobita’s Diary on the Creation of the World (1995)

Nobita in the Robot Kingdom (2002)

Nobita and the Tin Labyrinth (1993)

Nobita’s Dinosaur (1980)

Nobita’s Dinosaur (2006)

Nobita and the Castle of the Undersea Devil (1983)

Nobita and the Galaxy Super-express (1996)

Nobita in the Wan-Nyan Spacetime Odyssey (2004)

Nobita and the Winged Braves (2001)

Nobita’s Treasure Island (2018)

Nobita’s Secret Gadget Museum (2013)

Nobita and the Animal Planet (1990)

Nobita’s Great Adventure in the Antarctic Kachi Kochi (2017)

The Records of Nobita, Spaceblazer (1981)

Nobita and the Birth of Japan (1989)

Stand by Me Doraemon 2 (2020)

Nobita and the Knights on Dinosaurs (1987)

The Record of Nobita’s Parallel Visit to the West (1988)

Nobita and the New Steel Troops (2011)

Nobita and the Green Giant Legend (2008)

Nobita’s New Great Adventure into the Underworld (2007)  

Nobita and the Spiral City (1997)

Nobita’s Great Adventure in the South Seas (1998)

Nobita’s Space Heroes (2015)  

Nobita Drifts in the Universe (1999)

The New Record of Nobita’s Spaceblazer (2009)

Nobita’s Dorabian Nights (1991)

Stand by Me Doraemon (2014)

Nobita and the Island of Miracles (2012)

Nobita’s Great Battle of the Mermaid King (2010)

Also, because I have to be a dork about this, I made a graph of this ranking with the movies ordered by release date. Each film is assigned a score based on its ranking, with the highest-rated having a score of 44 and the lowest-rated having a score of 1. The green line on the left separates the entries produced within the manga author Fujiko F. Fujio’s lifetime from those that came afterward, whereas the green line on the right marks the beginning of the 2005 anime reboot.

It’s interesting to see where the rises and dips are (or so I think). Looks like I’m not a fan of most movies that came out during the first decade of the anime reboot! More recent Doraemon films, however, have generally done pretty well in the rankings. I look forward to seeing what this franchise brings next!

[andronetalks]

NASA is developing robots that will swim beneath Antarctic ice and measure how quickly it's melting

BBC – Sky at Night By Iain Todd Published: August 31, 2024 at 4:45 am  NASA is developing a fleet of robots that will swim beneath the Antarctic ice shelves to reveal how quickly they are melting, and how quickly that might cause global sea levels to rise. Called IceNode, the mission will send robots to explore regions of Antarctica that humans can’t reach and satellites can’t see, providing…

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

NASA JPL Developing Underwater Robots to Venture Deep Below Polar Ice

Called IceNode, the project envisions a fleet of autonomous robots that would help determine the melt rate of ice shelves.

On a remote patch of the windy, frozen Beaufort Sea north of Alaska, engineers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California huddled together, peering down a narrow hole in a thick layer of sea ice. Below them, a cylindrical robot gathered test science data in the frigid ocean, connected by a tether to the tripod that had lowered it through the borehole.

This test gave engineers a chance to operate their prototype robot in the Arctic. It was also a step toward the ultimate vision for their project, called IceNode: a fleet of autonomous robots that would venture beneath Antarctic ice shelves to help scientists calculate how rapidly the frozen continent is losing ice — and how fast that melting could cause global sea levels to rise.

Warming Waters, Treacherous Terrain

If melted completely, Antarctica’s ice sheet would raise global sea levels by an estimated 200 feet (60 meters). Its fate represents one of the greatest uncertainties in projections of sea level rise. Just as warming air temperatures cause melting at the surface, ice also melts when in contact with warm ocean water circulating below. To improve computer models predicting sea level rise, scientists need more accurate melt rates, particularly beneath ice shelves — miles-long slabs of floating ice that extend from land. Although they don’t add to sea level rise directly, ice shelves crucially slow the flow of ice sheets toward the ocean.

The challenge: The places where scientists want to measure melting are among Earth’s most inaccessible. Specifically, scientists want to target the underwater area known as the “grounding zone,” where floating ice shelves, ocean, and land meet — and to peer deep inside unmapped cavities where ice may be melting the fastest. The treacherous, ever-shifting landscape above is dangerous for humans, and satellites can’t see into these cavities, which are sometimes beneath a mile of ice. IceNode is designed to solve this problem.

“We’ve been pondering how to surmount these technological and logistical challenges for years, and we think we’ve found a way,” said Ian Fenty, a JPL climate scientist and IceNode’s science lead. “The goal is getting data directly at the ice-ocean melting interface, beneath the ice shelf.”

Floating Fleet

Harnessing their expertise in designing robots for space exploration, IceNode’s engineers are developing vehicles about 8 feet (2.4 meters) long and 10 inches (25 centimeters) in diameter, with three-legged “landing gear” that springs out from one end to attach the robot to the underside of the ice. The robots don’t feature any form of propulsion; instead, they would position themselves autonomously with the help of novel software that uses information from models of ocean currents.

Released from a borehole or a vessel in the open ocean, the robots would ride those currents on a long journey beneath an ice shelf. Upon reaching their targets, the robots would each drop their ballast and rise to affix themselves to the bottom of the ice. Their sensors would measure how fast warm, salty ocean water is circulating up to melt the ice, and how quickly colder, fresher meltwater is sinking.

The IceNode fleet would operate for up to a year, continuously capturing data, including seasonal fluctuations. Then the robots would detach themselves from the ice, drift back to the open ocean, and transmit their data via satellite.

“These robots are a platform to bring science instruments to the hardest-to-reach locations on Earth,” said Paul Glick, a JPL robotics engineer and IceNode’s principal investigator. “It’s meant to be a safe, comparatively low-cost solution to a difficult problem.”

Arctic Field Test

While there is additional development and testing ahead for IceNode, the work so far has been promising. After previous deployments in California’s Monterey Bay and below the frozen winter surface of Lake Superior, the Beaufort Sea trip in March 2024 offered the first polar test. Air temperatures of minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 45 Celsius) challenged humans and robotic hardware alike.

The test was conducted through the U.S. Navy Arctic Submarine Laboratory’s biennial Ice Camp, a three-week operation that provides researchers a temporary base camp from which to conduct field work in the Arctic environment.

As the prototype descended about 330 feet (100 meters) into the ocean, its instruments gathered salinity, temperature, and flow data. The team also conducted tests to determine adjustments needed to take the robot off-tether in future.

“We’re happy with the progress. The hope is to continue developing prototypes, get them back up to the Arctic for future tests below the sea ice, and eventually see the full fleet deployed underneath Antarctic ice shelves,” Glick said. “This is valuable data that scientists need. Anything that gets us closer to accomplishing that goal is exciting.”

IceNode has been funded through JPL’s internal research and technology development program and its Earth Science and Technology Directorate. JPL is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California.

TOP IMAGE: A prototype of a robot built to access underwater areas where Antarctic ice shelves meet land is lowered through the ice during a field test north of Alaska in March. JPL is developing the concept, called IceNode, to take melt-rate measurements that w… Credit: U.S. Navy/Scott Barnes

CENTRE IMAGE: Conducted through the U.S. Navy Arctic Submarine Laboratory’s biennial Ice Camp, this field test marked IceNode’s first in a polar environment. The team hopes to one day deploy a fleet of the autonomous robots beneath Antarctic ice shelves. Credit: U.S. Navy/Scott Barnes

LOWER IMAGE: A remote camera captured an IceNode prototype deployed below the frozen surface of Lake Superior, off Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, during a field test in 2022. The three thin legs of the robot’s “landing gear” affix the prototype to the icy ceiling. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

[sunaleisocial]

NASA JPL Developing Underwater Robots to Venture Deep Below Polar Ice - NASA

New Post has been published on https://sunalei.org/news/nasa-jpl-developing-underwater-robots-to-venture-deep-below-polar-ice-nasa/

NASA JPL Developing Underwater Robots to Venture Deep Below Polar Ice - NASA

Called IceNode, the project envisions a fleet of autonomous robots that would help determine the melt rate of ice shelves.

On a remote patch of the windy, frozen Beaufort Sea north of Alaska, engineers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California huddled together, peering down a narrow hole in a thick layer of sea ice. Below them, a cylindrical robot gathered test science data in the frigid ocean, connected by a tether to the tripod that had lowered it through the borehole.

This test gave engineers a chance to operate their prototype robot in the Arctic. It was also a step toward the ultimate vision for their project, called IceNode: a fleet of autonomous robots that would venture beneath Antarctic ice shelves to help scientists calculate how rapidly the frozen continent is losing ice — and how fast that melting could cause global sea levels to rise.

Warming Waters, Treacherous Terrain

If melted completely, Antarctica’s ice sheet would raise global sea levels by an estimated 200 feet (60 meters). Its fate represents one of the greatest uncertainties in projections of sea level rise. Just as warming air temperatures cause melting at the surface, ice also melts when in contact with warm ocean water circulating below. To improve computer models predicting sea level rise, scientists need more accurate melt rates, particularly beneath ice shelves — miles-long slabs of floating ice that extend from land. Although they don’t add to sea level rise directly, ice shelves crucially slow the flow of ice sheets toward the ocean.

The challenge: The places where scientists want to measure melting are among Earth’s most inaccessible. Specifically, scientists want to target the underwater area known as the “grounding zone,” where floating ice shelves, ocean, and land meet — and to peer deep inside unmapped cavities where ice may be melting the fastest. The treacherous, ever-shifting landscape above is dangerous for humans, and satellites can’t see into these cavities, which are sometimes beneath a mile of ice. IceNode is designed to solve this problem.

“We’ve been pondering how to surmount these technological and logistical challenges for years, and we think we’ve found a way,” said Ian Fenty, a JPL climate scientist and IceNode’s science lead. “The goal is getting data directly at the ice-ocean melting interface, beneath the ice shelf.”

Floating Fleet

Harnessing their expertise in designing robots for space exploration, IceNode’s engineers are developing vehicles about 8 feet (2.4 meters) long and 10 inches (25 centimeters) in diameter, with three-legged “landing gear” that springs out from one end to attach the robot to the underside of the ice. The robots don’t feature any form of propulsion; instead, they would position themselves autonomously with the help of novel software that uses information from models of ocean currents.

[embedded content]

JPL’s IceNode project is designed for one of Earth’s most inaccessible locations: underwater cavities deep beneath Antarctic ice shelves. The goal is getting melt-rate data directly at the ice-ocean interface in areas where ice may be melting the fastest. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Released from a borehole or a vessel in the open ocean, the robots would ride those currents on a long journey beneath an ice shelf. Upon reaching their targets, the robots would each drop their ballast and rise to affix themselves to the bottom of the ice. Their sensors would measure how fast warm, salty ocean water is circulating up to melt the ice, and how quickly colder, fresher meltwater is sinking.

The IceNode fleet would operate for up to a year, continuously capturing data, including seasonal fluctuations. Then the robots would detach themselves from the ice, drift back to the open ocean, and transmit their data via satellite.

“These robots are a platform to bring science instruments to the hardest-to-reach locations on Earth,” said Paul Glick, a JPL robotics engineer and IceNode’s principal investigator. “It’s meant to be a safe, comparatively low-cost solution to a difficult problem.”

Arctic Field Test

While there is additional development and testing ahead for IceNode, the work so far has been promising. After previous deployments in California’s Monterey Bay and below the frozen winter surface of Lake Superior, the Beaufort Sea trip in March 2024 offered the first polar test. Air temperatures of minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 45 Celsius) challenged humans and robotic hardware alike.

The test was conducted through the U.S. Navy Arctic Submarine Laboratory’s biennial Ice Camp, a three-week operation that provides researchers a temporary base camp from which to conduct field work in the Arctic environment.

As the prototype descended about 330 feet (100 meters) into the ocean, its instruments gathered salinity, temperature, and flow data. The team also conducted tests to determine adjustments needed to take the robot off-tether in future.

“We’re happy with the progress. The hope is to continue developing prototypes, get them back up to the Arctic for future tests below the sea ice, and eventually see the full fleet deployed underneath Antarctic ice shelves,” Glick said. “This is valuable data that scientists need. Anything that gets us closer to accomplishing that goal is exciting.”

IceNode has been funded through JPL’s internal research and technology development program and its Earth Science and Technology Directorate. JPL is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California.

News Media Contact

Melissa Pamer Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 626-314-4928 melissa.pamer@jpl.nasa.gov

2024-115

[tmmfmp]

Investigating Puzzle Games with Different Perspectives - First Person

Portal 2 (Because IGN is mean and decided to only do a review on the second one and The Orange Box.)

Portal 2 is a highly rated puzzle game that uses a special gun referred to as The Device. The Device allows the player to create two portals, one blue and one orange which they use to solve many puzzles. In the story you get betrayed by the sphere-shaped robot you meet at the start called Wheatley who you team up with the enemy robot from the first game called GLaDOS to get rid of Wheatley. I love the puzzles and story of this game and I also like the co-op mode. I do not like the momentum puzzles.

The Witness

The Witness is a puzzle-adventure game also developed by Jonathan Blow and released in 2016. Set on a mysterious island, players wake up with no memory and must explore its life-filled lands packed with intricate puzzles. The game's core mechanic revolves around solving increasingly difficult line puzzles spread throughout the environment, each designed to challenge players' logic, perception, and understanding of the game's mechanics. As players progress, they discover clues about the island's history and purpose, gradually piecing together the story through environmental storytelling and audio recordings. With its simple yet beautiful design, brain poking puzzles and engaging atmosphere, The Witness offers players a unique and thoughtful gaming experience. I like the puzzles in this game as I am very fond of patterns. I do not like how I got stuck not even halfway through the game.

We Were Here Forever (WHY DOES IGN NEVER DO THE FIRST ONES OF ANYTHING WHEN IT'S A SERIES)

We Were Here Together is a two-player puzzle-adventure game developed by Total Mayhem Games. Players take on the roles of Antarctic explorers who become separated inside a mysterious castle. Using walkie-talkies to communicate, they must work together to solve detailed puzzles, find their way through the castle's challenging environments and unravel the secrets hidden inside. The game encourages teamwork and communication as players rely on each other to progress and escape the castle's grasp. With its immersive atmosphere and challenging puzzles, We Were Here Together offers a unique and engaging cooperative gaming experience. I have only played the first one but the second one seems to have more puzzles to offer and I like that idea. I do not like some of the puzzles as they are scary.

[jcmarchi]

Underwater robot updates understanding of ice shelf crevasses - Technology Org

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/underwater-robot-updates-understanding-of-ice-shelf-crevasses-technology-org/

Underwater robot updates understanding of ice shelf crevasses - Technology Org

More than merely cracks in the ice, crevasses play an important role in circulating seawater beneath Antarctic ice shelves, potentially influencing their stability, finds Cornell-led research based on first-of-its-kind exploration by an underwater robot.

The Icefin underwater vehicle has sonar, chemical and biological sensors that help researchers characterize sub-ice environments. Image credit: Icefin/NASA PSTAR RISE UP/Schmidt/Lawrence

The remotely operated Icefin robot’s climb up and down a crevasse in the base of the Ross Ice Shelf produced the first 3D measurements of ocean conditions near where it meets the coastline, a critical juncture known as the grounding zone.

The robotic survey revealed a new circulation pattern – a jet funneling water sideways through the crevasse – in addition to rising and sinking currents, and diverse ice formations shaped by shifting flows and temperatures. Those details will improve modeling of ice shelf melting and freezing rates at grounding zones, where few direct observations exist, and of their potential contribution to global sea-level rise.

“Crevasses move water along the coastline of an ice shelf to an extent previously unknown, and in a way models did not predict,” said Peter Washam, a polar oceanographer and research scientist in the Department of Astronomy in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S). “The ocean takes advantage of these features, and you can ventilate the ice shelf cavity through them.”

Washam is the lead author of “Direct Observations of Melting, Freezing and Ocean Circulation in an Ice Shelf Basal Crevasse,” published in Science Advances. Co-authors include members of the Icefin team led by Britney Schmidt, associate professor of astronomy and earth and atmospheric sciences in A&S and Cornell Engineering, and director of the Planetary Habitability and Technology Lab; and members of a New Zealand-based research team led by Christina Hulbe, professor at the University of Otago, and colleagues.

The partners in late 2019 deployed the Icefin vehicle – roughly 12 feet long and less than 10 inches around – on a tether down a 1,900-foot borehole drilled with hot water, near where Antarctica’s largest ice shelf meets the Kamb Ice Stream. Such so-called grounding zones are key to controlling the balance of ice sheets, and the places where changing ocean conditions can have the most impact.

Below the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf in West Antarctica, for example, where seawater is comparatively warmer, a separate Icefin expedition detailed melting rates 10 times higher along sloping crevasse walls than along the shelf’s flat base, contributing to the grounding line’s rapid retreat.

The water cavity beneath the Ross shelf is colder and the Kamb Ice Stream has long been stagnant, making it an ideal place to study the long-term effects of underwater conditions more representative of the continent’s largest ice shelves, the researchers said.

On the team’s last of three dives, Matthew Meister, a senior research engineer (A&S), drove Icefin into one of five crevasses found near the borehole. Equipped with thrusters, cameras, sonar and sensors for measuring water temperature, pressure and salinity, the vehicle climbed nearly 150 feet up one slope and descended the other.

The survey detailed changing ice patterns as the crevasse narrowed, with scalloped indentations giving way to vertical runnels, then green-tinted marine ice and stalactites. Melting at the crevasse base and salt rejection from freezing near the top moved water up and down around the horizontal jet, driving uneven melting and freezing on the two sides, with more melting along the lower downstream wall.

“Each feature reveals a different type of circulation or relationship of the ocean temperature to freezing,” Washam said. “Seeing so many different features within a crevasse, so many changes in the circulation, was surprising.”

The researchers said similar currents likely ran through adjacent crevasses. And with Icefin finding similar patterns beneath Thwaites, they said the findings highlight crevasses’ potential to transport changing ocean conditions – warmer or colder – through an ice shelf’s most vulnerable region.

“If water heats up or cools off, it can move around in the back of the ice shelf quite vigorously, and crevasses are one of how that happens,” Washam said. “When it comes to projecting sea-level rise, that’s important to have in the models.”

Source: Cornell University

You can offer your link to a page which is relevant to the topic of this post.

[wayti-blog]

"More than merely cracks in the ice, crevasses play an important role in circulating seawater beneath Antarctic ice shelves, potentially influencing their stability, finds Cornell University-led research based on a first-of-its-kind exploration by an underwater robot."

"The robotic survey revealed a new circulation pattern—a jet funneling water sideways through the crevasse—in addition to rising and sinking currents, and diverse ice formations shaped by shifting flows and temperatures."

article

[captainmdhridoyhossain-blog]

[ad_1] Photograph: Falklands Maritime Heritage Believe/Nationwide GeographicSabertooth’s tether makes it in contrast to other Antarctic ocean robots, which have a tendency to be absolutely independent; scientists give them orders to discover a definite space on their very own. (It’s very similar to the explanation why Mars rovers are autonomous. Alerts take manner too lengthy to get from side to side from the Purple Planet, and radar communications don’t penetrate seawater.) However Sabertooth is a hybrid robotic, which means that whilst it may possibly autonomously roam the Antarctic seafloor, its operators can think keep an eye on as wanted. That tether can’t supply energy to the robotic, since that will thicken the road and make it extra liable to getting driven round by means of currents. The researchers knew kind of the place to appear as a result of Staying power’s captain had logged the send's closing location. However he did so with early Twentieth-century strategies, that have been much less exact than these days’s GPS. So the explorers programmed Sabertooth to wander, scanning the ground of the Weddell Sea whilst a sonar analyst aboard the icebreaker parsed the information in actual time. After which it arrived: the unmistakable type of a shipwreck. (Unmistakable, no less than, to a educated sonar analyst.) “You can not believe the faces of the folks once we noticed the Staying power for the primary time,” says Vincent. However as unhealthy good fortune would have it, there was once just a minute left at the robotic’s battery. “In an instant, we interrupted the dive to come back again to the skin and recharge,” he says. Regardless of—the scientists had in any case positioned certainly one of historical past’s maximum mythical shipwrecks. After they returned with the recharged Sabertooth to get extra photos, they discovered an astonishingly well-preserved picket send. The Antarctic Treaty protects this shipwreck as a ancient web site and monument, so the explorers may best glance, now not contact. However the photographs discuss volumes. Within the video above, you'll obviously see the send’s title splayed around the stern, one of the most damaged masts, or even the wheel. Paradoxically sufficient, the harshness of the Antarctic seas each sank Staying power and preserved it like no different shipwreck. A vessel fabricated from picket is meant to temporarily rot, due to microbes and critters referred to as shipworms, which develop as much as 5 feet long as they chew through wood. However Antarctica is devoid of bushes, because of this there aren’t organisms in its surrounding waters that experience advanced to damage picket down for vitamins. Vincent has been at this sort of paintings for many years and has noticed masses of shipwrecks, however none reasonably like this. “The extent of preservation of this destroy is admittedly, completely stunning. It is like she sunk the previous day,” says Vincent. “That is one thing that we see one time in a lifestyles—just one time. Implausible.”Video courtesy of Falklands Martime Heritage BelieveExtra Nice WIRED Tales [ad_2] Source link #Plucky #Robotic #Shackletons #Staying power #Shipwreck

[smashingveteransandnewcomers]

Dr. Light smiled before showing them the rest. Which included.

Guts Man, a robot built for construction work.

Ice Man, who would have aided in exploration of the Antarctic had it not been done by other robots, and would find a new job with a local Cold Storage Warehouse.

Bomb Man, who's Hyper Bombs would aid in both the destruction of old buildings and clearing an are for construction work.

Fire Man, who would aid in the reduction of litter and pollution as a Waste Disposal Robot.

And finally, there was Elec Man, who would work at the power plant as a Power Management Robot.

The Origins and Adventures of the Super Fighting Robot: Mega Man

@smashingveteransandnewcomers

We're all familiar with the Blue Bomber, Mega Man (aka Rock Light) around here. And we know about his adventures with his friends from other worlds, like a certain blue hedgehog and a certain cosmic hero of the stars. But what exactly happened with Rock to make him become the hero he is today? Well, let's go back in time to even before he and Roll were created where we see Dr. Thomas Light and an old friend of his from his early years, a man from Russia named Dr. Mikhail Sergeyevich Cossack (Or just Dr. Cossack for short). He was visiting his friend while he was working on a brand new project

"So Thomas, what exactly have you come up with here?"

[albertonykus]

Doraemon Movie Review: Nobita's Great Adventure in the Antarctic Kachi Kochi (2017)

What is Doraemon? The title character of the Doraemon manga and anime is a blue robotic cat from the 22nd Century who keeps an array of high-tech gadgets in a portable pocket dimension on his belly, and has traveled from the future to improve the fortunes of a hapless schoolboy named Nobita. Although relatively obscure in the English-speaking world, Doraemon is a Mickey-Mouse-level cultural icon in East Asia (and some other regions, too). The Doraemon franchise was a big part of my childhood, and there are still elements of it that I enjoy now.

Doraemon has released theatrical films almost annually since 1980, most of which involve Nobita and his friends (kind Shizuka, brash Gian, and crafty Suneo) getting swept into adventures thanks to Doraemon's gadgets. Despite being of potentially broad appeal to fans of science fiction and animated films, there are very few English reviews of the Doraemon movies, so I'm embarking on a project to write about all the films that have come out so far. Good luck to me…

Movie premise: Nobita and Doraemon build an amusement park on an iceberg for their friends, but then discover a mysterious artifact from Antarctica.

My spoiler-free take: A visual treat that has its merits, but makes a few puzzling decisions in the use of its setting and story.

POTENTIAL SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT

Review: I have mixed feelings about this one. I found several story elements here to be odd: for example, Dorami makes a voiced cameo telling Doraemon that she’s been fortune-telling and her readings indicate that he should stay away from ice, a prediction that Doraemon dismisses. Although intended as foreshadowing, I thought that this interaction was strange, because Dorami doesn’t usually come across as the superstitious type. Even as a means of foreshadowing, the scene seemed unnecessary, because after all, the title of the movie already indicates that the protagonists will be visiting Antarctica, so ice being involved is a given.

Then there’s the imposter situation that occurs partway through the adventure, in which a shapeshifting robot pretends to be Doraemon while leading the other main characters into an obvious death trap. Why there is a shapeshifting robot guarding the particular abandoned tower they’re exploring is never explained, so the whole thing felt as though it were inserted just for the sake of creating a mid-story conflict. The imposter conundrum isn’t resolved in a particularly clever or heartfelt way either; instead, Nobita “just knows” which one is the real Doraemon without much supporting evidence. I get that it is supposed to show the close bond between Nobita and Doraemon, but I would have preferred if this had been represented in a more subtle way—perhaps Nobita could have picked up on some telltale body language from the real Doraemon, for example. At the very least, the main characters could have tried quizzing the imposter on some harder questions than just Gian and Suneo’s names.

On the bright side, some of the visuals in this film are really pretty. In addition, though most of the protagonists don’t receive much characterization here, I thought that this was actually quite a good movie for Doraemon himself. Not only does he come up with a clever solution to help the others save himself when they get separated from each other in time (probably the best-executed subplot in this film), but he also plays a key role during the final battle. Furthermore, his gigantic, flying, ice-drilling vehicle might be one of the most impressive gadgets he’s ever pulled straight from his pocket.

I also appreciated that there are a fair few references to Earth science in this film: Snowball Earth, the Cambrian explosion, and the history of Antarctic glaciation are all mentioned. (Just don’t write down the part about aliens being the cause of Snowball Earth if you’re taking an Earth science exam...) Something I’m surprised that this movie does not explicitly address, however, is anthropogenic climate change. Considering that the film begins with reports of record high temperatures in Tokyo, I was fully expecting that climate change would play some role in the plot, especially given that environmentalism is a recurring theme in Doraemon.

In fact, I even have to wonder whether this movie might give some young or impressionable viewers the wrong idea about ongoing climate change. The main threat in the story poses the risk of freezing the entire world, with similar entities having already frozen other planets, so when the protagonists’ movie-exclusive allies are shown to have successfully melted the ice on their own home planet in the end, this is portrayed as a positive outcome (and in the context of the narrative, it certainly is one)... yet would this imply that the melting of polar ice in the real world is a good thing? Maybe I’m overthinking it, but it seems to me that a plot emphasizing the importance of ice caps to maintaining current Earth systems would have been a more appropriate use of the setting and premise of this movie.

Star rating: ★★★☆☆

[verofax]

Verofax Partners with Twin Science, Sponsoring Scientific Research on Sustainability

Verofax, a Smart serialization and traceability solution provider recently joined forces with children’s STEM app Twin Science & Robotics, in sponsoring a scientific expedition to Antarctica to research the effects of microplastics on life, the environment and the melting of ice caps.

Verofax, Twin Science & Robotics, and LikeToBe share a common aim of providing “Tech for humanity” and partnered in support of the scientific expedition to Antarctica. Polar Explorer Antony Jinman, the twelfth Briton to have skied to the geographic North Pole and ski solo to the geographic South Pole led the expedition in December 2021 and spent 2 months in Antarctica gathering data on how microplastics are affecting the environment and wildlife.

The aim of this tri-partite collaboration is meant to inspire young children to act responsibly by educating them on responsible consumption, in line with UNSDG goal #12, through gamification and turning children into advocates of sustainability for influencing older generations.

Antony Jinman documented the expedition and answered children’s questions in a series of interactive videos via the Twin Science app for children aged 7-12, hoping to encourage them to seek answers to questions such as “What are Microplastics, where do they come from and how does it affect life and the environment?”, “What would happen to the Antarctic habitat if all the ice caps melted” and “What can we all do as responsible individuals?”.

Antony Jinman stated: “This expedition to Antarctica is really promising and aims to provide insights on microplastics’ impact on life and the environment. We are happy to be partnering with Twin Science and Verofax to engage children on the expedition and the many challenges we faced to collect scientific evidence. Twin science in-app education and Verofax sustainable lifestyle tracker are great vehicles to drive awareness on how to act responsibly and opt for greener choices”.

Wassim Merheby, CEO of Verofax, explained, “Verofax solution enables transparency and auditability on consumer goods’ sustainable credentials. Sustainable brands can now engage with consumers and retailers and upsell their certified “Green” range of products. With the use of our Blockchain traceability solution, retailers and consumers are empowered to check and validate product lifecycle assessment before purchasing, interact with the product and advocate sustainable brands among peers. We believe that sustainable education for youth, as influencers of change, is of paramount importance and Twin science’s education through gamification is a very powerful medium”.

Aside Altintas, CEO and co-founder of Twin Science, says “This is a new approach to education. First, it excites us immensely to bring young ‘Twinners’ through our Twinscience app, along for this incredible journey to Antarctica and have them overcome challenges with Antony in real-time. Secondly, with Verofax, we want to not just tell but show children how real climate change is and that they themselves can take action to combat this. In the Twin app, all our content aims to show children how to use STEM for good, and we believe this is a great opportunity to do so. To this date, we have had over 500,000 children use our STEM kits and STEM apps or attend our STEM workshops, and we have seen them use their know-how to invent earthquake detectors, reforestation robots, or ocean cleaning ships. We hope that what they experience on this journey will inspire them to revert the effects of climate change one day.”

Prof Ger Graus OBE, the Project and Education Advisor of this partnership, explained: “As someone who is a firm believer in introducing children to the wonderful role models who provide inspiration and aspiration, I am confident in this partnership’s ability to have true social, environmental, and sustainable impact.”

Research shows that 60% of consumers are willing to pay a premium for products that are validated sustainable. Verofax lifestyle tracker, via unique identifiers applied on product labels, offers a digital link to access sustainable Lifecycle assessment stored on an immutable blockchain. Brands that have their products certified by leading auditors, are benchmarked against the respective industry average, and rated accordingly. Verofax enables retailers to take an active role on sustainability by setting green criteria for products to range in store and consumers are empowered to sort products based on sustainable ratings and vote green with their wallets.

Contact Information

info@verofax.com

About Verofax

Founded in 2018, Verofax’s blockchain-powered ‘Traceability as a Service’ solution enables brands to validate their sustainability claims with a repository of credentials, while bringing their products to life with unique digital IDs offering immersive customer experiences. Verofax helps brands to upsell their sustainable product range based on sustainable rating metrics, which includes 6 data points in line with UNSDG Goal No.12.

Verofax Limited has received investment from global investors such as Benson Oak Ventures, Wami Capital and 500 Startups, totalling $3.0M. Verofax is a Microsoft Gold partner, co-selling on enterprise solution platforms Microsoft AppSource, Amazon AWS and Alibaba’s AntChain.

For more information, visit https://www.verofax.com/industries/sustainability/

About Twin

Twin Science & Robotics is a new-generation edtech startup that empowers children with 21st-century skills and provides STEM education with a humanitarian perspective through its physical and digital products. The company started within the scope of YGA’s World Science Movement, a social responsibility project that organized science workshops throughout Anatolia. Twin was incorporated in October 2017 and raised $2.5M seed-round investment to-date. Staying loyal to its NGO roots, Twin donates part of its revenue to social responsibility projects. For more information, visit https://www.twinscience.com/en/what-is-climate-change-for-kids/

  Blog source: https://verofax.com/news/verofax-partners-with-twin-science-sponsoring-scientific-research-on-sustainability

[nasa]

Pioneering with Perseverance: More Technology Firsts

From launching the largest, heaviest, most sophisticated vehicle we have ever sent to Mars, to its elegant landing at Jezero Crater – a treacherous yet promising location for finding signs of ancient life – the journey of our Perseverance rover has already been and continues to be a bold one.

But let’s not forget, building new tools and instruments or designing ways to study other worlds is not easy. Before engineers even dreamt of sending their hardware for a spin on Mars, they spent years doing all they could to validate tech on Earth – modeling in labs, flying experiments on suborbital rockets or high-altitude balloons, or testing in various facilities to simulate the harsh conditions of space.

We know that technology demonstrations – that test a new capability in space – can be risky, but trying new things is how we forge ahead, learn for future missions, and reach new heights in space.

Perseverance has already accomplished some amazing “firsts” but there are more to come. Here are four more trailblazing technologies on the Mars 2020 mission.

1. First Powered Flight on Another World

This week, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, a small, autonomous rotorcraft originally stowed beneath the rover, will make the first-ever attempt at powered, controlled flight of an aircraft on another planet.

In the last few weeks, Ingenuity safely deployed from Perseverance, charged up its solar panel, survived its first bone-chilling Martian night and firmly planted four legs on the ground. Once the team on Earth confirms that the rover drove about 16 feet (about 5 meters) away, and that both helicopter and rover are communicating via their onboard radios, preflight checks will begin, and Ingenuity will be on its way skyward.

Perseverance will receive and relay the final flight instructions from mission controllers at our Jet Propulsion Laboratory to Ingenuity. Ingenuity will run its rotors to 2,537 rpm and, if all final self-checks look good, lift off. After climbing at a rate of about 3 feet per second (1 meter per second), the helicopter will hover at 10 feet (3 meters) above the surface for up to 30 seconds. Then, the Mars Helicopter will descend and touch back down on the Martian surface. With a smooth landing and continued operability, up to four more flights could be attempted, each one building on the success of the last.

Ingenuity could pave the way for other advanced robotic flying vehicles. Possible uses of next-generation rotorcraft on Mars include:

A unique viewpoint not provided by current orbiters, rovers or landers

High-definition images and reconnaissance for robots or humans

Access to terrain that is difficult for rovers to reach

Could even carry light but vital payloads from one site to another

Here’s how to follow along as this flight makes history.

2. First Production of Oxygen from Martian Atmosphere

The Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment, better known as MOXIE, is preparing us for human exploration of Mars by demonstrating a way to extract oxygen directly from the Martian atmosphere. That could mean access to air for breathing, but also the ability to produce vast quantities of rocket fuel to return astronauts to Earth.

Located inside the body of Perseverance, the car battery-sized instrument works like a miniature electronic tree on the rover, inhaling carbon dioxide, separating the molecule, and exhaling carbon monoxide and oxygen.

MOXIE is the first demonstration of its kind on another planet – the first test of an in-situ resource utilization technology, meaning it generates a usable product from local materials. The farther humans go into deep space, the more important this will be, due to the limited immediate access to supplies.

MOXIE will give a go at its first operations soon, a huge first step in proving it’s feasible to make oxygen, in situ, on Mars. Future, larger versions of MOXIE (something about the size of a washing machine) could produce oxygen 200 times faster by operating continuously.

3. First Weather Reporter at Jezero Crater

The Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) system makes weather measurements including wind speed and direction, temperature and humidity, and also measures the amount and size of dust particles in the Martian atmosphere.

Using MEDA data, engineers on Earth recently pieced together the first weather report from Jezero Crater. Measurements from MEDA sensors are even helping to determine the optimal time for Ingenuity’s first flight.

The weather instrument aboard the Curiosity rover – currently located a good 2,300 miles away from Perseverance on Mars – provides similar daily weather and atmospheric data. But MEDA can record the temperature at three atmospheric heights in addition to the surface temperature. It also records the radiation budget near the surface, which will help prepare for future human exploration missions on Mars.

MEDA’s weather reports, coupled with data gathered by Curiosity and NASA’s Insight lander, will enable a deeper understanding of Martian weather patterns, events, and atmospheric turbulence that could influence planning for future endeavors like the landing or launch of the proposed Mars Sample Return mission.

4. First Radar Tool to Probe Under the Martian Surface

On Earth, scientists use radar to look for things under the ground. They use it to study Mars-like glacial regions in the Arctic and Antarctic. Ground-penetrating radar helps us locate land mines; spot underground cables, wires, and pipes; or reveal ancient human artifacts and even buried treasure! On Mars, the "buried treasure" may be ice, which helps scientists understand the possibilities for Martian life and also identifies natural resources for future human explorers.

Perseverance's Radar Imager for Mars' Subsurface Experiment (RIMFAX) uses radar waves to probe the ground and reveal the unexplored world that lies beneath the Martian surface.

It’s the first ground-penetrating radar on the surface of Mars. RIMFAX will provide a highly detailed view of subsurface structures down to at least 30 feet (10 meters). With those measurements, the instrument will reveal hidden layers of geology and help find clues to past environments on Mars, especially those with conditions necessary for supporting life.

Stay tuned in to the latest Perseverance updates on the mission website and follow NASA Technology on Twitter and Facebook.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com