Daily Archives: August 22, 2021

Brooklyn Park, Minn. Taco Bell is building a restaurant with a new drive-thru concept in Brooklyn Park, a suburb of Minneapolis. Construction is underway on the 3,000-square-foot, two-story restaurant. Completion is scheduled for summer 2022. Known as Defy, the new restaurant concept was developed in partnership with Minneapolis-based Vertical Works Inc., a design company that works with quick-serve restaurants, retailers and healthcare tenants. In 2020, Border Foods, one of the largest privately held Taco Bell franchisees in America, enlisted Vertical Works to create a new restaurant design. With Defy, Taco Bell and Border Foods will partner on their 230th restaurant and 82nd new restaurant build. The concept reimagines the traditional drive-thru experience with four lanes, three of which are dedicated to mobile or delivery order pickups. This way, customers who order via the Taco Bell app or third-party delivery services can skip the line. The drive-thru lanes are situated below the restaurant kitchen. Additionally, digital check-in screens enable mobile order customers to scan in their order via a unique QR code. Food is delivered in a contactless manner via a proprietary lift system. The Defy footprint is smaller or equal to existing Taco Bell store footprints. There will be no indoor dining.

Excerpt from:
Taco Bell to Reinvent Drive-Thru Concept With Futuristic Restaurant in Suburban Minneapolis - Shopping Center Business

A new patent filed by Tesla suggests that the Cybertrick may have some futuristic curved windows that are also durable. The patent was filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office earlier this month and covers windows with curves and feature lines. The patent filing also included a method for manufacturing them.

The production method described in the patent involves applying localized heat from a laser or heating element to a location of a substantially planar glass structure (the glass window, in essence) and bending it at the location to form the feature line. The radius of curvature is a range between 2 millimeters and 5 centimeters. Also, layers of curved or joined glass layers can be added to create a curved multi-layered glass structure.

In the description, Tesla already reminded us that this is possible, since windshields exist. However, the processes for creating windshields starts with a flat sheet of glass that is cut into specific dimensions and heated in an oven to the right temperature, at which point they can be slightly bent or curved into the desired shape. This process is limited by just how much bending or curving you can do with the glass. An example of this is that only smooth, high radius curvatures (13 meters or more) are used for automotive glass structures. With this new patent, Tesla is changing this.

Theres a chance that Tesla may use this new method of making automotive glass for some of the interior elements of the Cybertruck, such as the dash, the front portion of the interior, or in the gauges, displays, and inside panels for doors. Even the consoles could be made from this new glass.

We dont know for sure yet if Tesla will even use this glass (I think it will, but many patents are filed for things that never make it into commercial products). But its exciting to think about, and the patent gives us another clue as to how the Cybertruck may look when its finally ready.

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Will The Tesla Cybertruck Have Futuristic Curved Windows? - CleanTechnica

Taco Bell is no stranger to rolling out innovative food items (they have Loaded Nacho Fries for crying out loud!), but the new drive-thru concept they're proposing just might take the cake. While the next generation of innovations for restaurants like Panera and Pizza Hut are applaudable in their own rights, Taco Bell has a vision that just might change they way we do fast food.

Aptly titling the experience Taco Bell Defy, the new designwhich is scheduled to open in Brooklyn Park, MN, summer 2022will feature a two-story building and a much faster way to get your TB fix. The innovative restaurant will also include a four-lane drive-thru concept with three of those lanes strictly dedicated to mobile and/or delivery order pickups.

Along with the extra lanes, the new 3,000 square-foot restaurant will allow those who order on the mobile app to have a digital check-in screen and scan their order via a unique QR code. That's not the exciting part though. When customers pull forward to get their order, they'll be able to receive their meal through a proprietary lift system and interact with team members via a two-way audio and video experience. Talk about reaching new heights!

Though I'm sure we can expect to hear much more about the new restaurant closer to its opening date, we'll just have to live off the excitement that they've teased us with so far for now. Here's looking forward to seeing more Defy locations throughout the nation in the future!

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Taco Bell Previewed Its Futuristic Drive-Thru Concept And It's Absolutely Incredible - Delish

Lone Starr strikes again.Space Jam

The US Army recently unveiled plans to develop, test, and deploy high-altitude systems that can fly over other countries to surveil them and jam enemy communications from up on high.

The system doesnt quite reach space (unless you adhere to the same definition of space as Jeff Bezos or Richard Branson). Instead, the High-Altitude Extended-Range Long Endurance Intelligence Observation system (HELEIOS) would be a network of balloons or solar glide vehicles that can hover at least 60,000 feet off the ground. The upcoming electronic warfare tools dont quite broach the thorny subject of the increasing military weaponization of space but only in the most literal interpretations of what the Army has planned. Because, make no mistake: This is a weapon of a certain stripe.

HELEIOS may not be a spy satellite, but it sure operates like one. With the balloons in place, the Army would be able to monitor, intercept, and block enemy communications. We know, its not as exciting as a laser battle where potential orbital warfare is concerned. But: The ability to jam signals could be key to battle (if not devastating for some) in a future where orbital communications networks are essential for military success.

The idea is blanketing the deep area with low-cost attritable sensors to enable deep sensing and deep effects, Col. Daniel Holland, the Army capability manager for electronic warfare, explained at a Tuesday presentation attended by C4ISRNET. Essentially our question is can we get the payload light enough to fly on this penetrating, high-altitude, attributable platform, get close enough to place our effects on target, likely with a special purpose electronic attack or RF-enabled cyber.

Based on Hollands comments, it seems that technical and logistical issues like figuring out how to control a free-floating balloon are currently holding the Army back from deploying HELEIOS. Issues like is it a good idea to put cyber warfare balloons in the sky? or what will any other country think about this? dont seem to be on the list of concerns, though.

Of course, its an impressive technological feat to add a sophisticated payload to a balloon, then, use it to bring down digital communications. But if nothing else, it reinforces the idea that space (or at least: high-altitude airspace) has undeniably become militarized for the foreseeable future.

READ MORE: U.S. Army wants a high-altitude jammer [C4ISRNET]

More on the militarization of space: Air Force research Lab Says Force Fields Are on the Horizon

Read more here:
The Army Plans To Build Balloons That Can Jam Communications From Above - Futurism

Fusion energy to many, the holy grail of sustainable energy is on the edge of its next breakthrough.

Using a powerful laser at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in California, researchers managed to heat up a peppercorn-sized sample of two hydrogen isotopes well past the temperature of the Suns core, a process known as inertial confinement fusion (ICF).

ICF is one of two major branches of fusion energy research, with the other being magnetic confinement fusion, a field that has seen its own recent breakthroughs.

During the experiment carried out at the NIF earlier this month, scientists managed to harvest 70 percent of the energy about 1.35 kilojoules worth used by the powerful laser to start the fusion reaction inside the reactor, the BBC reports.

While that may not sound like much, its a big leap in the field. This is a huge advance for fusion and for the entire fusion community, Debbie Callahan, a physicist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory where the NIF is located, told the BBC.

In other words, we are slowly approaching the point where are truly achieving nuclear fusion, or generating a net-positive amount of energy the industrys holy grail that has yet to be reached despite almost a century of research.

The promise is as lucrative as it has ever been: an infinite supply of carbon neutral energy without ever running the risk of a nuclear meltdown.

Scientists at the NIF are particularly excited about their recent experiment as the fusion reaction is starting to be hot enough to lead to more fusion reactions, a process known as ignition.

Self-sustaining burn is essential to getting high yield, Callahan explained to the broadcaster. The burn wave has to propagate into the high density fuel in order to get a lot of fusion energy out.

It was a big moment for the team. Demonstration of ignition has been a major scientific grand challenge since the idea was first published almost 50 years ago, said Jeremy Chittenden, co-director of the Centre for Inertial Fusion Studies at Imperial College London which is helping analyze the data, in a statement. It was the principal reason for the construction of NIF and has been its primary objective for over a decade.

The NIF team have done an extraordinary job, Steven Rose, director of the Center for Inertial Fusion Studies at Imperial, added. This is the most significant advance in inertial fusion since its beginning in 1972.

The research could also have wider reaching implications for the world of physics. The NIF lasers already created the most extreme conditions on Earth, but the new experiment appears to have doubled the previous temperature achieved, said Brian Appelbe, Research Associate in the Centre for Inertial Fusion Studies at Imperial, in the statement. We have entered a regime weve previously never been in this is uncharted territory in our understanding of plasma.

That said, its too early to pop the champagne corks. The team is still going through the data with a fine-tooth comb to ensure that we understand the result, according to Callahan.

The scale of the NIF experiment also leaves something to be desired, despite the high praise. It only yielded about the equivalent to the energy required to boil a kettle, as Chittenden told the BBC.

Its scale may be a long, long way off. But any kind of breakthrough in this field, one thats long vexed some of the worlds greatest working scientists, where the stakes could not be higher, is nothing if not slightly astounding on its own.

READ MORE: US lab stands on threshold of key nuclear fusion goal [BBC]

More on fusion energy: Jeff Bezos Is Helping Build a Fusion Power Plant in the UK

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Scientists Are On the Edge of a Fusion Power Breakthrough - Futurism

That WHOOSH you'll feel this weekend is Earth not being obliterated.Rock On

Even though we havent had too many truly near misses, let Asteroid 2016 AJ193 (as its technically known) serve as reason to reevaluate all of your life choices this weekend.

Itll be taking a (relatively) very near fly-by of our planet, casing the place, looking mean, and then. moving on to the rest of the solar system. Even though its officially classified as potentially hazardous thanks to its close proximity to the planet, it doesnt stand a chance of obliterating us, although it will come pretty, pretty close.

Per IFL science, Asteroid 2016 AJ193 named as such for when it was first spotted (in 2016) by the Haleakala Observatorys Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) facility, located in Hawaii will cruise by on Saturday at a distance of 2.1 million miles. That may not sound like much, but the observatory team notes its the closest approach for several decades. Per the raw Jet Propulsion Lab data (which you can view here), IFL points out that AJ193 is 8.9 times the distance between the Earth and the Moon.

This on its own would be pretty fascinating, but the thing is an absoluteunit to boot. Its size has been compared to the Burj Khalifia, the Empire State Building (which its three times the size of), and the Eiffel Tower (which its four times the size of), the Pentagon, a mountain you get the idea. The thing ishuge.

Of course, every time Earth has a close encounter with a rock spiraling by our airspace, its not unreasonable to ask what the hell wed do if, in fact, one of these things cruised our way. Dont worry: There are people working on this very problem. The answer is not nuke it as they do in Michael Bays seminal astro-geology cinematic masterpiece Armageddon, but thats not entirely off-track. NASAs been cooking on a project they call DART: the Double Asteroid Redirection Test.

Basically, DART aims to see if kinetic impactor technology (or: flying a small spaceship into an asteroid to move it off course) would work. That said, a recent hypothetical had some bad news to deliver: Wed be screwed, and in the test, Europe wouldve gotten obliterated (and then, a laArmageddon, we wouldve tried to nuke it, go figure). Either way, asteroid detection and deflection tech remains relatively important: Assuming theres still a habitable planet to destroy by then, an oncoming asteroid set to roll by in 2068 thats coming uncomfortably close is all the more reason detection of these fly-bys remains crucial to developing. Also, the nukes. Apparently, we gotta keep those around, too.

READ MORE: Asteroid As Large As A Mountain Will Fly Near Earth This Weekend [IFL Science]

More on death rocks from space: Theres a Chance This Giant Asteroid Will Smash Earth in 2068

View original post here:
Massive Asteroid That Could Obliterate Earth to Fly By, Case the Joint - Futurism

Further Education News

The FE News Channel gives you the latest education news and updates on emerging education strategies and the#FutureofEducation and the #FutureofWork.

Providing trustworthy and positive Further Education news and views since 2003, we are a digital news channel with a mixture of written word articles, podcasts and videos. Our specialisation is providing you with a mixture of the latest education news, our stance is always positive, sector building and sharing different perspectives and views from thought leaders, to provide you with a think tank of new ideas and solutions to bring the education sector together and come up with new innovative solutions and ideas.

FE News publish exclusive peer to peer thought leadership articles from our feature writers, as well as user generated content across our network of over 3000 Newsrooms, offering multiple sources of the latest education news across the Education and Employability sectors.

FE News also broadcast live events, podcasts with leading experts and thought leaders, webinars, video interviews and Further Education news bulletins so you receive the latest developments inSkills Newsand across the Apprenticeship, Further Education and Employability sectors.

Every week FE News has over 200 articles and new pieces of content per week. We are a news channel providing the latest Further Education News, giving insight from multiple sources on the latest education policy developments, latest strategies, through to our thought leaders who provide blue sky thinking strategy, best practice and innovation to help look into the future developments for education and the future of work.

In Jan 2021, FE News had over 173,000 unique visitors according to Google Analytics and over 200 new pieces of news content every week, from thought leadership articles, to the latest education news via written word, podcasts, video to press releases from across the sector, putting us in the top 2,000 websites in the UK.

We thought it would be helpful to explain how we tier our latest education news content and how you can get involved and understand how you can read the latest daily Further Education news and how we structure our FE Week of content:

Our main features are exclusive and are thought leadership articles and blue sky thinking with experts writing peer to peer news articles about the future of education and the future of work. The focus is solution led thought leadership, sharing best practice, innovation and emerging strategy. These are often articles about the future of education and the future of work, they often then create future education news articles. We limit our main features to a maximum of 20 per week, as they are often about new concepts and new thought processes. Our main features are also exclusive articles responding to the latest education news, maybe an insight from an expert into a policy announcement or response to an education think tank report or a white paper.

FE Voices was originally set up as a section on FE News to give a voice back to the sector. As we now have over 3,000 newsrooms and contributors, FE Voices are usually thought leadership articles, they dont necessarily have to be exclusive, but usually are, they are slightly shorter than Main Features. FE Voices can include more mixed media with the Further Education News articles, such as embedded podcasts and videos. Our sector response articles asking for different comments and opinions to education policy announcements or responding to a report of white paper are usually held in the FE Voices section. If we have a live podcast in an evening or a radio show such as SkillsWorldLive radio show, the next morning we place the FE podcast recording in the FE Voices section.

In sector news we have a blend of content from Press Releases, education resources, reports, education research, white papers from a range of contributors. We have a lot of positive education news articles from colleges, awarding organisations and Apprenticeship Training Providers, press releases from DfE to Think Tanks giving the overview of a report, through to helpful resources to help you with delivering education strategies to your learners and students.

We have a range of education podcasts on FE News, from hour long full production FE podcasts such as SkillsWorldLive in conjunction with the Federation of Awarding Bodies, to weekly podcasts from experts and thought leaders, providing advice and guidance to leaders. FE News also record podcasts at conferences and events, giving you one on one podcasts with education and skills experts on the latest strategies and developments.

We have over 150 education podcasts on FE News, ranging from EdTech podcasts with experts discussing Education 4.0 and how technology is complimenting and transforming education, to podcasts with experts discussing education research, the future of work, how to develop skills systems for jobs of the future to interviews with the Apprenticeship and Skills Minister.

We record our own exclusive FE News podcasts, work in conjunction with sector partners such as FAB to create weekly podcasts and daily education podcasts, through to working with sector leaders creating exclusive education news podcasts.

FE News have over 700 FE Video interviews and have been recording education video interviews with experts for over 12 years. These are usually vox pop video interviews with experts across education and work, discussing blue sky thinking ideas and views about the future of education and work.

FE News has a free events calendar to check out the latest conferences, webinars and events to keep up to date with the latest education news and strategies.

The FE Newsroom is home to your content if you are a FE News contributor. It also help the audience develop relationship with either you as an individual or your organisation as they can click through and box set consume all of your previous thought leadership articles, latest education news press releases, videos and education podcasts.

Do you want to contribute, share your ideas or vision or share a press release?

If you want to write a thought leadership article, share your ideas and vision for the future of education or the future of work, write a press release sharing the latest education news or contribute to a podcast, first of all you need to set up a FE Newsroom login (which is free): once the team have approved your newsroom (all content, newsrooms are all approved by a member of the FE News team- no robots are used in this process!), you can then start adding content (again all articles, videos and podcasts are all approved by the FE News editorial team before they go live on FE News). As all newsrooms and content are approved by the FE News team, there will be a slight delay on the team being able to review and approve content.

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The Future of Education, According to the World's Top Thought Leaders and Futurists - FE News