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In a new selection of videos from Trends: Virgin Galactic successfully tested a spacecraft to send tourists into orbit, Musk spoke at a Russian forum, and Google showed a video chat with 3D avatars
Virgin Galactic flight
Virgin Galactic has completed a successful test flight of its VSS Unity SpaceShipTwo manned spacecraft. The ship took off from Spaceport America in New Mexico.
Unity, with two pilots on board, lifted the carrier aircraft to a height of 16 km, after which the spacecraft separated from it. Then he independently overcame a height of 89 km and landed successfully.
The flight was originally scheduled to take place in December 2020, but did not take place due to a software glitch. Virgin Galactic plans to use Unity for space tourism. The first flights of tourists to a height of 90 km are scheduled for 2022. 600 people have already bought tickets at prices ranging from $200 to $250.
Elon Musk spoke at the Russian Science and Education Marathon
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk took part in the “New Knowledge” marathon via online communication.
“All transport will obviously be electric … Ironically, the only exception will be rockets,” the billionaire is sure.
Musk also allowed the opening of a Tesla factory in our country: “I think we will soon be present in our country. I think it will be amazing. We need to look more broadly: at Kazakhstan and other CIS countries. This is important for us”.
Tesla now has factories in the United States and China, and an assembly plant from finished parts operates in the Netherlands. The company is also building a full-fledged plant in Germany. Since the beginning of 2021 alone, the company has sold more than 180 electric vehicles. Expanding the geography of production would help reduce the cost of supplies to the markets of our country and the CIS. So far, there is not even a Tesla sales office in our country.
Super moon
On May 26, three rare astronomical phenomena could be observed at once: perigee, full moon and lunar eclipse.
Perigee is the maximum approach of the lunar orbit to the earth, the full moon (supermoon) means that the moon was seen completely and as close as possible. She approached the Earth at a very close distance – less than 362 thousand km. At first it was visible in its entirety, and then it completely plunged into the shadow of the Earth for 14 minutes.
The term “supermoon” itself was first used by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979 in the American edition of Dell Publishing, which publishes astrological forecasts. In our country, it was best seen in the Khabarovsk and Primorsky Territories, in Kamchatka and Chukotka
Google introduced a “holographic” chat with the effect of presence
At the I / O 2021 conference, Google, among other things, showed Project Starline, a technology with which users can communicate with the full effect of presence.
This means that the interlocutors see the most realistic 3D models of each other, which can be seen to the smallest detail. To do this, the user is first placed in a cockpit, where dozens of cameras film him from all angles. This is done once. Photos, videos and a depth map (similar to those built by lidars in the iPhone and drones) are sent to a special server to create a 3D avatar. It is it that is broadcast later during the video call.
For the project, Google used the latest developments in computer vision, machine learning, spatial audio, and real-time pattern recognition. As a result, the “avatar” adjusts to different angles of view.
So far, Project Starline is only available for testing at the Google office: in order to use the technology, you need special equipment that is not yet available to mass consumers.
The neural network was taught to change the angle of shooting on video
American researchers have created an algorithm that allows you to watch video from a different angle – even if it was filmed on one camera.
The development of engineers from the Virginia Polytechnic University and Facebook processes the usual 2D video and synthesizes frames from arbitrary new angles based on it. The algorithm is based on the NeRF (Neural Radiance Field) neural network developed in 2020. It allows you to store information about a 3D scene and generate its flat images from different angles. To do this, the algorithm sends rays of light through the scene to recognize the color and density of each pixel from each angle of view. Then it processes the received data and recreates a 2D image from each angle. Then it repeats the process many times, forming a full-fledged frame. In the process, the neural network is trained on multiple frames of the same object from different angles.
The technology is based on a mechanism similar to what we have by nature: since we look at the world with two eyes, our brain receives two similar images from slightly different angles and combines them into one. Previously, a similar technology was invented by Google.
Epic drone footage of the volcano
American drone maker DJI turned to Norwegian photographer, engineer and drone operator Asa Steinars to capture the eruption of the Fagradalsfjall volcano in Iceland. It turned out amazing:
This is not the first video of this kind, but perhaps the most exciting and the best in quality. Asa used the DJI FPV and Mavic 2 Pro drones to capture the panorama of the mountains, as well as get close to the very mouth of the hot lava volcano. VR glasses on the operator and special software created the feeling of a real flight during the shooting process.
DJI specializes in unmanned vehicles that are used in agriculture. Using these drones, as well as a remote control and a special platform, you can recreate the most realistic soil map and manage data online. This should help preserve critical ecosystems and reduce the damage that agriculture does to the environment.