DTN 066: Unleashing the Robot Dogs of War
Plus: Time crystal circuit boards for quantum computing, radioactive cancer drugs, AI shooting criminals with paintballs, and more.
"In the last 10 years, we've seen an increase in compute intensity and model size by 10,000-fold. The past paradigms we've relied on, like Moore's Law, have gone away and we need technology that will put us on a fundamentally different trajectory. That's what we developed: analog in-memory computing combines the concepts of analog computing for efficiency and in-memory computing to overcome the bottleneck of separating memory and compute."
The Big Picture
Let Slip the Robot Dogs of War
“In video distributed by the state-run news agency CCTV, People's Liberation Army personnel are shown operating on a testing range alongside a four-legged robot with what appears to be a variant of the standard-issue 5.8 x 42-mm QBZ-95 assault rifle mounted on it as part of China’s recent Golden Dragon 24 joint military exercises with Cambodia in the Gulf of Thailand. In one scenario, Chinese soldiers stand on either side of a doorway while the robot dog enters the building ahead of them; in another, the robot fires off a burst of bullets as it advances on a target. China’s demonstration clearly rankled international observers, prompting at least one American lawmaker to call on the US Defense Department for a report on “rifle-toting robot dogs” and their potential national security implications. But if the Chinese military is pioneering the weaponization of robot dogs, then the United States military isn’t far behind.” (Wired)
Deep Tech News
Gravitics prepares a testing gauntlet for a new generation of giant spacecraft
A new startup from Figure’s founder is licensing NASA tech in a bid to curb school shootings
Light-based chips could help slake AI’s ever-growing thirst for energy
U.S. Senate passes bill to support advanced nuclear energy deployment
US Army seeks nuclear microreactors for reliable on-site generation
House defense bill would block U.S. research collaborations with China
TDK claims insane energy density in solid state battery breakthrough
DARPA shows concepts for the future of VTOL uncrewed aerial systems
JPEG of the Week
Astroscale’s space junk inspection satellite snaps a close-up photo of a discarded rocket stage.
Japan’s Astroscale space junk observation satellite has moved within striking distance of a discarded rocket upper stage floating around Earth for nearly 20 years. The company released an image captured by the satellite from a distance of just 50 meters on June 14. In a contract announced in April, the Astroscale satellite was approved for the second stage of the Commercial Removal of Debris Demonstration Project (CRD2) project to grapple and deorbit the discarded rocket stage. (via TechCrunch)
Peer Review
Researchers develop platform to probe, control qubits in silicon for quantum networks
Controlling electronics with light: Ultrafast lasers manipulate magnetite’s structure
Physicists propose time crystal-based circuit board to reduce quantum computing errors
Researchers achieve practical 3D tracking at record-breaking speeds
'Glowing' plants could help scientists predict flash drought
Scientists develop 3D printed vacuum system that aims to trap dark matter
Improving fingerprint detection with carbon-coated nanoparticles
Funding x M&A
Micro-robots, carbon nanotubes and an underground factory: Quantum startup C12 raises €18M
PQShield secures $37M more for ‘quantum resistant’ cryptography
Princeton NuEnergy scores $30M in funding for lithium battery recycling
Bitsening raises $25M for its high-resolution radar in autonomous driving
OpenAI’s Japanese Rival Gets $1 Billion Valuation From Silicon Valley Investors
Enveda, an AI-powered drug discovery biotech, raised a $55M Series B-2
Kilimo, a startup helping farmers save water, raised a $7.5M Series A
EOS-X Space, a Spanish space exploration company, raised a $123M Series D
GrayMatter Robotics, a startup focused on warehouse and logistics, raised a $45M Series B
Ronovo Surgical, a Chinese medtech innovator, raised a $44M Series B
European small launch vehicle developer Isar Aerospace has raised more than $70M
CesiumAstro, a startup specializing in phased array communications payloads, raised $65M
Miscellanea
Could advanced nuclear reactors fuel terrorist bombs? / The return of pneumatic tubes / Noam Chomsky’s wife denies reports of death / Tsutomu Yamaguchi: The Man Who Survived Both Atomic Bombings / Only 5% of therapies tested on animals are approved for human use / Russia’s War in Ukraine Has Produced $32 Billion in Climate Damage / McDonald’s will stop testing AI to take drive-thru orders, for now / 25 years of massive fusion energy experiment data open on the ‘cloud’ and available to everyone / OpenAI Appoints Former NSA Director Paul Nakasone to Board of Directors / The State of Carbon Dioxide Removal / Flesh-Eating Bacteria That Can Kill in Two Days Spreads in Japan / New security system uses AI to shoot criminals with paintballs / Is this the end of animal testing? / Science is full of errors. Bounty hunters are here to find them / Elon Musk has another secret child with exec at his brain implant company / Lilly Alzheimer’s drug gets unanimous backing of FDA panel / Stellarium Web Online Start Map
The Deep Tech Agency.
HAUS is a strategic communications agency in NYC. We specialize in marketing and public relations for deep tech startups. Check out our website, follow us on Twitter, or say hello@hausb.io