The Cross Heads

Teaching a drone to fly without a vertical rudder

Most airplanes in the world have vertical tails or rudders to prevent Dutch roll instabilities, a combination of yawing and sideways motions with rolling that looks a bit like the movements of a skater. Unfortunately, a vertical tail adds weight and generates drag, which reduces fuel efficiency in passenger airliners. It also increases the radar […]

November 27, 2024 | Biomechanics, birds, drones, engineering, flight, mechanical engineering, Science | No comments

FCC approves Starlink plan for cellular phone service, with some limits

Eliminating cellular dead zones Starlink says it will offer texting service this year as well as voice and data services in 2025. Starlink does not yet have FCC approval to exceed certain emissions limits, which the company has said will be detrimental for real-time voice and video communications. For the operations approved yesterday, Starlink is […]

November 27, 2024 | Policy, starlink | No comments

Smart gadgets’ failure to commit to software support could be illegal, FTC warns

Makers of smart devices that fail to disclose how long they will support their products with software updates may be breaking the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warned this week. The FTC released its statement after examining 184 smart products across 64 product categories, including soundbars, video doorbells, breast pumps, smartphones, home […]

November 27, 2024 | Smart Home, Tech | No comments

OpenAI is at war with its own Sora video testers following brief public leak

“We are not against the use of AI technology as a tool for the arts (if we were, we probably wouldn’t have been invited to this program),” PR Puppets writes. “What we don’t agree with is how this artist program has been rolled out and how the tool is shaping up ahead of a possible […]

November 27, 2024 | AI | No comments

Google’s plan to keep AI out of search trial remedies isn’t going very well

Additionally, the DOJ wants Mehta to stop Google from any potential self-preferencing, such as making an AI product mandatory on Android devices Google controls or preventing a rival from distribution on Android devices. The government seems very concerned that Google may use its ownership of Android to play games in the emerging AI sector. They’ve […]

November 27, 2024 | AI, ai search, Antitrust law, copilot, generative ai, Google, google search, google search monopoly, microsoft, Policy, search engines | No comments

Biased AI in health care faces crackdown in sweeping Biden admin proposals

Prior authorization Elsewhere in the over 700-page proposal, the administration lays out policy that would bar Medicare Advantage plan providers from reopening and reneging on paying claims for inpatient hospital admission if those claims had already been granted approval through prior authorization. The proposal also wants to make criteria for coverage clearer and help ensure […]

November 27, 2024 | GLP-1, Health, healthcare, Policy, weight loss | No comments

After telling Cadillac to pound sand, F1 does 180, grants entry for 2026

The United States will have a second team competing in Formula 1 from 2026, when Cadillac Formula 1 will join the sport as its 11th team. The result is a complete 180 for the sport’s owner, which was highly resistant to the initial bid, first announced at the beginning of 2023. “As the pinnacle of […]

November 27, 2024 | Andretti, Andretti Global, cadillac, Cadillac F1, Cars, Formula 1 | No comments

Player 456 is back for revenge in Squid Game S2 trailer

Lee Jung-Jae returns as Player 456 in the second season of Squid Game. The 2021 Korean series Squid Game was a massive hit for Netflix, racking up 1.65 billion viewing hours in its first four weeks and snagging 14 Emmy nominations. Fans have been longing for a second season ever since, and we’re finally getting […]

November 27, 2024 | Culture, entertainment, Netflix, Squid Game, streaming television, Trailers | No comments

ISPs say their “excellent customer service” is why users don’t switch providers

If the FCC leadership wasn’t changing hands, the Notice of Inquiry could be the first step toward a rulemaking. “We cannot ignore these complaints, especially not when we know that it is possible to do better… We want to help improve the customer experience, understand what tools we have to do so, and what gaps […]

November 26, 2024 | broadband, federal communications commission, Policy | No comments

Licking this “lollipop” will let you taste virtual flavors

Demonstrating lollipop user interface to simulate taste in virtual and augmented reality environments. Credit: Lu et al, 2024/PNAS Demonstrating lollipop user interface to simulate taste in virtual and augmented reality environments. Credit: Lu et al, 2024/PNAS Virtual reality (VR) technology has long sought to incorporate the human senses into virtual and mixed-reality environments. In addition […]

November 26, 2024 | augmented reality, extended reality, haptic interfaces, Human-computer interface, Science, virtual reality | No comments

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