Three Things You Need to Know Today
The Laser-Guided Car Problem
There’s a sensor famine in the autonomous car industry. Most self-driving car firms (Tesla being a notable exception) use lidar—which maps physical space in 3-D by bouncing laser beams off objects—to enable vehicles to see their surroundings. But, as our own Tom Simonite reports, there’s a hitch: the waiting list for the expensive sensors is increasing because suppliers can’t keep up with now dizzying demand for the hardware, creating “lidar lag.” Cue massive investment into lidar manufacturers, in-house teams dedicated to building new devices, and explosive lawsuits over stolen intellectual property.
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Unprecedented Warming, Unexpected Impacts
Climate change is pushing Earth into “uncharted territory.” That’s according to a new analysis by the World Meteorological Organization, which points to “extreme and unusual” climate-related measurements from 2016 which are continuing into 2017—including record high temperatures, unprecedented sea ice lows, and the highest CO2 levels in 4 million years. Even as the effects of El Niño wane, it appears the world continues to warm. The result won’t just be sea level rises and struggling crops, though—the upheaval to the planet will also bring economic uncertainty and increased social tensions.
Don’t Complain About the Electronics Flight Ban
Some flyers may have to deal with packing their laptop differently. According to the Associated Press, the U.S. government will not allow passengers on nonstop U.S.-bound flights from 10 (mainly Middle Eastern and North African) airports to take electronic devices larger than a smartphone into the cabin. Nothing to do with self-igniting batteries—instead, the decision is based on terrorism concerns over explosives hidden inside consumer electronics. Wired notes that you shouldn’t grumble: if the concerns are founded, a smartphone-worth of explosives is a small threat, but anything larger is much safer in the hold.
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