Michael Franco, New Atlas, Nov 13, 2024

The depth and detail in this paper (8 page PDF) are daunting, but the gist, as summarized in this post, is straightforward: provided only with observations of a human cleaning (" using a so-called instrumented tool, which is a standard tool equipped with additional sensors") the front of an ordinary sink, a robot arm learn to clean entire sinks with varying surface topology. "The model implicitly learned the correct
tool orientation and position w.r.t. the freeform 3D surface." Michael Franco speculates, "a fleet of robots could learn the basic moves from each other through what's known as 'federated learning' and then they could apply those moves to their individual, specified tasks."

Paul Sawers, TechCrunch, Nov 13, 2024

According to this article, "Meta has launched a new partnership with a slew of universities in the U.S. and U.K., as it looks to ingrain VR across the education system." I guess it's a big deal (per Mixed, Upload, Social Media Today, Technopedia, ReadWrite, etc etc) but it's hard for me to stifle a yawn. It's not simply that I was here for the Second Life hype, it's that their product is a "digital twin" of the university - "environments that directly replicate their real-world campus counterparts" - the least imaginative use of any media ever. I think there's a lot of room for VR in education, but this announcement isn't it.

Digital Education Council, Nov 13, 2024

Members of the Digital Education Council (mostly from business and management schools) have signed this short declaration (5 page PDF) following their inaugural meeting this week. Most interesting is their desire to "commit to developing strategies to maintain curricula relevance, at speed with the rapidly-evolving pace of industry."

Read to the end for a tiny yet extremely majestic lion. In today’s edition: The truth behind the classic “average person eats 3 spiders per year” factoid. Tips that’ll make organizing your taxonomies a little less, uh… taxing. America’s finest news source, The Onion, is now powered by our old friend WP. Hot Off The […]

Read to the end to see a Halloween costume that’ll make you break down into the giggles. In today’s edition: Quoth the fake plugin malware, “Aw, Snap!” The Monster’s Award party has begun, and it’s gonna be a graveyard smash. Some practical tips for hunting zombie pages on your WordPress site. Hot Off The Presses: […]

Great news for agencies, developers and freelancers! We’ve heard that while many of you love our Webmail service, the 5GB storage limit is getting tight. That’s why we’re introducing our new range of expanded Webmail plans to help take your email capabilities to the next level. More Space, More Flexibility, More Power We’re expanding our […]

The US Department of Defense is pursuing next-generation geothermal energy systems that can produce zero emission electricity and green hydrogen, too.

The post US Air Force Pursues Green Hydrogen Via Geothermal Energy appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The installed solar capacity of the global PV industry is poised for another round of rapid growth, with or without an assist from the US.

The post Global Installed Solar Capacity To Blow Past 2 Terawatts, USA Or Not appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Today, CleanTechnica’s Tesla Ethicist columnist answers a question about the tensions among being true to one’s morals, Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s absolutist tendencies, and personal Tesla stock portfolios increases. Dear Tesla Ethicist: I’ve always prided myself on my personal wherewithal. I self-financed my own college education by working and extending ... [continued]

The post The Tesla Ethicist: How Can I Reconcile My Tesla Stock Gains With Musk’s Skewed Self-Interest? appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Weird things are happening in the Australian auto market at the moment. In recent weeks, we have seen the launch of several new electric vehicles: the BYD Shark EREV ute (see here), the fully electric Jeep Avenger, and the Deepal SO7 SUV made by Changan from China. Not only that, ... [continued]

The post Something Weird in the Neighbourhood — Australian & New Zealand EV Market October Update appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Following Hurricane Helene, I had difficulty getting a dual-motor e-bike shipped to me in Asheville that I so wanted to review. So, as it went back to the company after more than a week of not being able to be delivered in devastated Western North Carolina, they shipped me another ... [continued]

The post The Extraordinary Traction & Torque of LANKELEISI MG740PLUS Dual-Motor Electric Bike — CleanTechnica Tested appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Waymo is growing its ridership by leaps and bounds, and opening up to more and more riders almost every week it seems. It’s also working on its PR, looking to score brownie points for helping different disadvantaged groups. Or maybe it’s just trying to do good in the world — ... [continued]

The post Waymo Supporting Single Mothers & Vulnerable Road Users appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The timing on this one is pretty good. At a time when a barrage of overly macho yet lame middle-aged white manosphere “leaders” are bouncing off of the trampoline towards us, Hyundai is reminding us what an advanced democracy not overtaken by cancer is like. Well, maybe I’m going a ... [continued]

The post Hyundai Votes for Women, Diversity, and Inclusion appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) put out a story yesterday that caught my attention. The title of the organization’s article was “America’s New Role at COP29: Global Solar Champion.” My first thought was, “Great, the US is doing something good on solar at COP29.” My next thought was, “Wait, ... [continued]

The post USA a Solar Champion at COP29? appeared first on CleanTechnica.

2024年10月24日、英国においてリテラシーの改善運動を実施している団体National Literacy Trust（NLT）が、2024年の英国の子ども及び若者の読書に関する報告書“Children and young people’s reading in 2024”を公開しました。

報告書は、NLTの2024年の年次識字調査（Annual Literacy Survey）に対する5歳から18歳までの子どもと若者からの7万6,131件の回答に基づき作成されました。

主な調査結果として、以下のようなものが挙げられています。

・ 余暇に読書を楽しんでいると答えたのは、8～18歳では3人に1人（34.6％）であった。2023年から8.8ポイント減少しており、2005年の調査開始以来の最低水準であった。
・ 毎日余暇に何かしらの読書をしていると答えたのは、8～18歳では5人に1人（20.5％）であった。2023年から7.5ポイント減少しており、2005年の調査開始以来の最低水準であった。
・ 8～14歳では、読書を楽しんでいる子どもや若者は、読書を楽しんでいない子どもや若者よりも、読解力が高かった。

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