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The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) released its official plan for rolling out a nationwide facial scanning program in lieu of traditional ID cards and boarding passes on Tuesday. The agency’s TSA Biometrics Roadmap for Aviation Security and the Passenger Experience seeks to bolster security checkpoints with a layer of biometric security. The TSA has consistently worked on the project over the last couple years, first scanning the finger prints of TSA Precheck customers at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport and the Denver International Airport in 2017....

Taking selfies with drones isn’t new, but figuring out the best way to get those drones to follow their masters is something still being explored. That’s where the Fotokite Phi comes in.The Fotokite Phi is a lightweight drone that features a handy leash attachment. The idea, of course, is that users can lead the thing around in much the same way as one might control a pet. All it takes is a twist of the wrist to manipulate the flight of the drone via hand gestures....

In 2016, Bogoslof volcano, an underwater vent in the Aleutian Islands, burped out massive bubbles of volcanic gases spanning hundreds of feet wide.Researchers gathered evidence that these gas bubbles surge up to the surface using low-frequency microphones positioned almost 60 miles away. These findings, reported in Nature Geoscience, shed light on the volcanic processes that drive these massive gas bubbles.In late 2017, a remote stretch of water in the Bering Sea turned into a bubbling cauldron....

The deep sea exploration vessel Seabed Constructor discovered another missing submarine, its second in less than a year. The civilian vessel found the remains of the French attack submarine Minerve just eight months after its discovery of the wreck of the Argentine submarine San Juan. The ship uses a combination of remotely operated sea vehicles and onboard sensors to map and discover objects on the seabed floor.The submarine Minerve, in a photo dated 1960....

Media Platforms Design TeamWaterlogged Tank WoesMy well pump goes on and off, cycling very rapidly whenever someone showers or flushes a toilet. Could there be a problem with its pressure tank? It’s a bladder type of tank that I had installed some years ago. Or, could the problem be with the well pump or the pump controls?It’s likely that the pressure tank has become waterlogged. The tank serves as a pressurized reservoir and reduces the need for the pump to constantly operate....

Not too long ago, two friends and I took part in the famed: Mongol Rally. The trip stretches almost 10,000 miles from London, U.K., to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia using only a car with an engine no bigger than one liter. While the trip can take as many days as you’d like (ours took 5 weeks), this isn’t easy highway driving. The Mongol Rally passes through some of the most challenging terrain on the planet, and we were not in a car fit for the task....

View full post on YoutubeEarlier today, a group of experts organized by the National Research Council released a long-awaited report on the United States human spaceflight program, taking on questions about whether it makes sense to send astronauts to an asteroid or to Mars, and just how NASA could plan and fund such a monumental operation. In the video above, two of the group leaders—Purdue University President Mitch Daniels, Jr., and Cornell professor Jonathan Lunine—explain the findings....

A new smart material could increase wireless signal efficiency by up to 10 times.For 5G to really be worthwhile, we have to be able to access the speed it promises.Covering materials with thousands of tiny antennas mimics how larger networks are magnified.Scientists at MIT want to blanket your next-generation smartphone in a material made of antennas. Their goal is to turn the idea of 5G into as efficient a reality as possible....

Apple Mac ProApple Mac Pro$5,999 at AppleSpend a few tens of thousands on optional upgrades, and the new Mac Pro becomes a list of superlative performance specs. A 28-core CPU. Twelve RAM slots, for up to 1.5 terabytes of DDR4 memory. Up to four GPUs. The 1.4 kW power supply. The Pro Display XDR ($4,999), is the same story. 6K resolution. 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. 1,000 nits of sustained brightness, up to a peak of 1,600—for comparison on that last number, an iPhone 11 works in direct sunlight with only 625 nits....

Media Platforms Design TeamJust prior to the collapse of the Ranza Plaza garment factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, which killed more than 400 people, officials saw obvious signs of building stress. A giant crack formed on the side of the seventh floor of the structure, for instance, prompting warnings from engineers not to let workers inside. Those warnings were later overruled. As hundreds of workers remained trapped in the rubble and the building’s owner, Sohel Rana, attempted to flee Bangladesh to India, officials and experts were left to figure out how a multistory concrete structure simply gave way....

The Candela Vibrophase is a new guitar pedal that channels some delightfully old technology. The latest design from Zachary Vex of ZVEX Effects is an intricate mechanical pedal that relies on a 200-year-old motor design driven by heat to create vibrato and phaser effects for an electric guitar. Watching the beautiful brass machine in action reveals a mesmerizing connection between the movement of the pedal and the sound effects it creates....

Researchers at Disney have developed a robot that can swtich between different styles of locomotion on the fly. They call it Snapbot, named after it slightly-unnerving ability to lose or gain legs at a moment’s notice.View full post on Youtube"The body of Snapbot houses a microcontroller and a battery for untethered operation," the researchers explain on their website. Connections between the legs mean they are constantly in communication with each other, and magnetic mechanical couplings allow for each of the legs to connect quickly and easily....

Europe is getting a new rocket, which means it’s saying goodbye to the old one.The ArianeGroup, the rocket company favored by the European Space Agency, is nearing completion of its new Ariane 6 rocket, scheduled to fly for the first time in 2020. Once that happens, it will retire the Ariane 5 with the company just receiving its final ten Ariane 5 orders.The Ariane 5 has first launched in 1996 and has flown nearly a hundred times....

Ford will launch the largest electric charging network in North America and any electric car will be able to use it.Once complete, the network will nearly triple the number of Tesla charging stations currently available in the same area.While Ford currently has no electric cars on the market, that will change the soon: the company has been spending heavily on the technology.Today Ford announced that it will be creating North America’s largest electric vehicle public charging network....

On Tuesday evening, the first orbital launch from Hawaii ended in failure when the rocket began to oscillate and broke apart about a minute after launch. The 67-foot-tall Super Strypi rocket carried 13 satellites that were lost in the incident.“The ORS-4 mission on an experimental Super Strypi launch vehicle failed in mid-flight shortly after liftoff at 5:45 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time (7:45 p.m. PST; 10:45 p.m. EST) today [Tuesday] from the Pacific Missile Range Facility off Barking Sands, Kauai, Hawaii,” the Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center said in a statement....

The Farmer’s Almanac is predicting a cold and snowy winter yet again for most of the U.S., and that prediction is predictably making its way around the Internet. But, just how accurate is the Farmer’s Almanac? There are two things you should know: First, the Farmer’s Almanac—and its competitor the Old Farmer’s Almanac—is mostly full of crap. Second, there’s a good chance it’s right anyway. Don’t miss any of our best-in-class explainers and guides....

If you’ve ever played a game of Catan, you’ve probably experienced the frustration of getting a bad roll multiple turns in a row. All you need is one brick to finish that road but the dice just refuse to give it to you. It’s the kind of experience that can lead some people to wish for a loaded die. According to Mike Izbicki, it’s actually possible to create loaded dice in a way that’s scientifically undetectable....

Media Platforms Design TeamStewart Green fell in love with rock climbing when he was 12 years old exploring the granite slabs of North Cheyenne Canyon in Colorado Springs, Colo. Nearly 50 years later, he is an authority on the sport and the author of 19 books, most of them rock-climbing guides.Green climbs around the world and loves to see new climbers develop their abilities. Just back from a climbing and photography trip to California, Green sat down with PopMech to offer these tips for getting vertical:1....

Media Platforms Design TeamPresident of HTC America Jason MacKenzie showcases the new HTC One M8 at an event in New York City.Today HTC announced its new smartphone, the HTC One. This top-tier smartphone, also punctuated with M8 to differentiate from previous models, keeps the familiar look and feel of the popular M7 while adding a couple of new features and improved performance. The M8’s screen measures to about 5 inches; it also features 1080p display, Qualcomm’s new 801 processor (also appearing in Samsung’s new Galaxy S5), and microSD slot for expandable storage....

Media Platforms Design TeamWereported last week that team JCB Dieselmax would attempt to break the diesel land speed record. Well they did it. Boy, did they do it. On August 22, Dieselmax driver Andy Green set a new FIA International record of 328.767 mph beating the 33 year-old record by over 93 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. As if that wasn’t enough they made another run on Wednesday....