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- Valhalla's Wasp | Autumnation | Toyota Drift - The Convo Kit #34
Valhalla's Wasp | Autumnation | Toyota Drift - The Convo Kit #34
Something new for you: “1 More Thing” will bring you to a fun, brief experience related to one of the week’s stories. It could be an image, video, or something interactive, but it’ll always be quick and fun. Oh, and it’s a surprise!
Check out 1 More Thing at the end of this issue.
-Steve
Join The Convo for weekly briefings on tech, space, and science news!
New Wasp, Who Dis?
Valhalla, home to Norse war heroes and Rice University grad students, now shares its name with a new wasp species. Neuroterus valhalla was discovered by Rice researchers in a tree next to their local pub.
Spends most of their life inside a host plant (the wasp, not the students)
Only leaves home for 2 days to reproduce and die
Generations alternate between asexual and sexual reproduction
N. valhalla was discovered accidentally while researchers studied a related wasp species living in the same tree. Tens of millions of these wasps emerge together from their host every year. Whenever Marvel runs out of plotlines, we literally have a Thor x Wasp origin story in Houston.
Autumnation
Tevel Aerobatics’ apple picking drone aims to alleviate hiring shortages. FAR units, four drones escorting a wheeled carrier, browse apple orchards to drop the best Granny Smiths on QR-coded platforms.
FAR = Flying Autonomous Robot
Drones scan for ripe fruit before plucking and placing on the wheeled carrier
Farmers track and manage progress 24/7 via Tevel’s app
FAR units will be rented instead of purchased; similar to seasonal staff from an accounting perspective. Plus, four drones running 24/7 is far more productive than even the best human pickers. Some orchards may still prefer the tried and true tradition of charging customers more for apples they pick.
Fast and Autonomous: Toyota Drift
Toyota Research Institute (TRI) taught a car how to drift like a pro. A customized Supra self-navigated a test course in style. (Read: sideways, screeching tires, and dope beats)
Self-driving on steroids, including individual wheel braking
Goal: Train self-driving tech to correct extreme situations, like icy roads
Drifting data collected from professional drivers was fed into self-driving algorithms
Most of us will never need to counter-steer while debating the pros and cons of throttle vs. e-brake, but Toyota thinks cars should be ready to take the wheel just in case. Finally, the track is set for Vin Diesel to voice the main car-acter in a Cars live-action reboot.
Orbit Buddies
Astronomers in Hawaii located Earth’s second known Trojan asteroid, 2020 XL5. Though it sounds like a luxury SUV, it’s currently leading us in our journey around the sun.
Trojan asteroid = orbits a star along the same path as a planet.
Orbits Lagrange point 4 (L4), ahead of Earth
Size: 0.73 miles long and 0.25 miles wide
If orbits were streets, earth now shares the road with at least two cyclists. Many more Earth trojans likely exist, but finding them in the vastness of space is difficult. Studying 2020 XL5 will improve our search for larger trojans. Given their orbit, they may be cheaper homes for future space-ports than our moon.
Cargo Drone
The last two years have left us knowing more than we’d like to about supply chain issues. Natilus wants to change that by increasing air-shipping efficiency by 60% with its N3.8T cargo drone.
Range: 1,035 miles
Cargo weight limit: 8,500 lb
50% lower emissions per pound than traditional aircraft
N3.8T’s blended wing design provides extra storage space between the body and wings. Natilus expects multiple commercial models to take flight in 2025. So your recent Etsy order may actually be delivered by one!
More info and images available here
1 More Thing
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