Important Innovations Collection

Eagle Robots Down on the Farm                                             Source:  UK Farm Robot                                       Source:  Xihelm's Eagle Robot Next Generation Farming In the UK, farmers are turning to robots to help on the farm.  The robotic farming trend is accelerating because of labor shortages caused by COVID and Brexit.  One interesting startup is London based Xihelm, founded by former Google executive James Kent.  He says his Eagle robot will eventually cut the number of workers needed for harvest by 50% to 70%. Commercial Use of Robots on the Farm Xihelm and other startups are competing to bring farm robots into commercial use.  Experts say that could happen within several years.  Wh...

Most Precise Map Yet Source:  University of Warsaw Surprise Finding "Warped and Twisted", Not Flat Polish astronomers from the University of Warsaw have created the most precise and largest  map of the Milky Way to date.  By tracking thousands of blinking stars in the galaxy, they've created a 3D scale map of the system.  They discovered that it isn't flat as a pancake but twists and turns in shape much more than previously thought by astronomers. Spiral Galaxy The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy measuring 120,000 light years across.  It's a mass of stars, gas and dust about 27,000 light years from the Earth.  The Polish team found the distortions in the Milky Way are immense with some stars 60,000 light years away from the Milky Way's center. And, the galaxy's thickness is variable. Potential Causes The astronomers cited several potential causes for the variations including interaction with nearby galaxies, intergalactic gas and even dark ma...

3D Mapping Source: Diver in flooded cave stock image New Technology from Czechoslovakia  Czech speleologists have developed a new technology using 3D printing to explore flooded caves without dangerous and numerous scuba diving explorations.  The technology has been developed by Geo-CZ, a company that uses the underlying tech to map archaeological and historic sites. Computerized Modelling, 3D Imaging To do it, the cave needs to be filmed robotically or by one dive.  The film is used to convert the cave into a computer model.  Cave specialists say the 3D imaging gives them much more information about the cave as a whole and the connections among corridors within the cave.  It's an important discovery and would have been of great use in Thailand when a dozen school children were trapped in a flooded cave about a year ago.  Fortunately they were rescued but it took days.