Sometimes, even the most advanced technology can stumble, and when it does, the consequences can be felt across the globe. This week's Hackaday Links highlights a series of unfortunate events, starting with a critical setback for NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN). But here's where it gets controversial...
It seems that the 70-meter dish antenna at Goldstone, California, part of the DSN, suffered damage due to over-rotation. This network is crucial for communicating with satellites and probes from the Moon to the edge of our solar system, relying on massive antennas at three strategic locations: Goldstone, Madrid, and Canberra. These sites, spaced approximately 120 degrees apart, ensure continuous sky coverage. The damage to DSS-14, informally known as the "Mars Antenna," is a significant blow. The antenna's azimuth travel range is ±265 degrees, and the over-rotation likely caused cables and hoses to wrap tightly, leading to the damage.
Moving on to a different kind of technological mishap, let's take pity on the Russian engineers behind the country's first AI-powered humanoid robot. The bot, named AIdol, experienced a rather public and embarrassing "demo hell." The robot's performance was far from smooth, stumbling and eventually face-planting on stage. The choice of walk-out music, the iconic "Gonna Fly Now" from Rocky, only amplified the awkwardness of the situation.
Continuing the theme of "bad days at work," we encounter a truly disgusting GPU restoration. A computer technician tackled a graphics card, an Asus 9800GT Matrix from 2008, that had spent years in a smoker's home, accumulating layers of tar, nicotine, and other unsavory substances. The images are not for the faint of heart!
Finally, we have the story of those tasked with generating training data for AI-powered domestic robots. Naveen Kumar spends his days performing mundane chores like folding towels, all while wearing a GoPro to capture every movement. These videos are then used to train humanoid robots to mimic these surprisingly complex actions. And this is the part most people miss... An AI startup is partnering with a real estate company to use video footage from home "walk-through" videos to train these robots. So, if your house has recently been on the market, it might be contributing to the training of the next generation of domestic helpers.
And to wrap up this week's collection of unfortunate events, imagine being a European astronaut who may one day consume protein powder made from their own urine! The product, called Solein, is created through a gas fermentation process using microbes, electricity, and air. On Earth, ammonia is used as a nitrogen source, but in space, urea harvested from astronaut pee would be used instead. The taste remains a mystery, but given the source, it's hard not to be a bit skeptical.
What do you think about these technological mishaps? Do you find the idea of training domestic robots with your home footage unsettling? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
