This Week’s Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through October 19) – Singularity Hub

AUTOMATION

Alphabets Wing Starts Drone Deliveries to US HomesKris Holt | EngadgetAlphabets Wing has started makingdeliveries by drone to homes in the US for the first time. During a pilot program in Christiansburg, Virginia, drones will drop off packages from FedEx, Walgreens and local retailer Sugar Magnolia, which include over-the-counter medication, snacks and gifts.

The US Military Is Trying to Read MindsPaul Tullis | MIT Technology ReviewA new DARPA research program is developing brain-computer interfaces that could control swarms of drones, operating at the speed of thought. What if it succeeds?

New Alternative to Bitcoin Uses Negligible EnergyCharles Q. Choi | IEEE Spectrum[the researchers] argue that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies based on blockchains are essentially overkill. The researchers saytheir consensusless algorithmsare not only secure, but also consume negligible amounts of electricity, with transactions each requiring about as much as energy as exchanging emails.

SpaceX Looks to Rule Space With 30,000 More SatellitesJustin Jaffe | CNETThe filings come in addition to the 12,000 Starlink satellites previously approved by the FCC. Yes, you did the math right: SpaceX would like to ultimately be able to operate up to 42,000 satellites. Estimates of the total number of satellites launched by humanity come to about 8,500, which means SpaceX is aiming to nearly quintuple that figure on its own.

The UN World Food Program Is Looking for a Unicorn to End World Hunger by 2030Justin Jaffe | CNETThe magnitude of the programs audacious goaleliminating hunger by 2030is difficult to comprehend. But the WFPs startups help crystallize the specific, multifaceted challenges people are facing in the worlds poorest regionsand the incredibly meaningful implications of the technologies and solutions theyre working on.

Image Credit:Maxime Lebrun /Unsplash

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This Week's Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through October 19) - Singularity Hub