DeepMind’s New AI Helps Decipher Ancient Inscriptions

Ancient texts offer rare, direct insight into the past but the meaning of each often remains elusive. As they are typically found in fragments and engraved on inorganic materials (like stone or metal) that evade carbon dating, they present challenges to archeologists who have struggled to decipher them, or even note when they were written. This is why DeepMind—an artificial intelligence company acquired by Google’s parent …

The Ionic Wind Aircraft Flies Without Moving Parts

A team of MIT engineers, led by Steven Barrett (an associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics at the academic institution), have invented the Ionic Wind Aircraft—a first-of-its-kind flying vessel that employs no moving turbines or propellers. Rather, the craft’s flight is sustained by an “ionic wind” (aka electroaerodynamic thrust) produced when a current passes between thin (positively charged) and thick (negatively charged) electrodes onboard. Lithium-polymer …

Link About It: This Week’s Picks

Real-time holograms, new multicolored fish, an infinity train, a remote restaurant and more from around the web

This Real-Time Hologram App Aims to Improve Remote Video Meetings As an alternative to Zoom or other (empowering yet exhausting) remote video meeting services, the startup Matsuko—a finalist in SXSW Pitch 2022’s Extended Reality & Immersive Technology category—is developing real-time hologram-meeting capabilities. All one needs is an iPhone and the free Matsuko app. “Our brain is wired for the third dimension, and we need a sensation …