Notus robotics team is headed to 2024 FIRST Championship – KTVB.com

Notus Jr/Sr High School robotics team of five students is headed to the 2024 FIRST Championship in Houston, Texas.

BOISE, Idaho A small robotics team from Notus Jr/Sr High School is living the classic underdog story after they qualified to compete at a world championship.

The team of five students will be heading to Houston, Texas to participate in the 2024 FIRST Championship. On Friday, KTVB spoke to the team advisor, Nick Forbes, who said this is the first year the program was introduced to the Notus. But that hasn't stopped them.

In March of 2024,team 9726 received the Rookie of the Year All-Star Award after competing in Boise. A few days later, they were invited to compete on the world stage.

According to the FIRST website, with every new season the game changes, and students will need to build a robot to achieve the goal. This year's game is called 'CRESCENDO.'

While FIRST's rules recommend a team should consist of 10 students, team 9726 won with half that. But, a student told KTVB it hasn't been without some challenges.

"It was entirely made from duct tape, zip ties, and just things that we had to find around," Ezekiel said. "There were sometimes things that we had to improvise through 3-D printings and other things. We're very proud of the work we've done."

He said their robot mainly plays defense, utilizing a wall, which helped them secure a spot at worlds.

The world championships in Houston kicks off on April 16.

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Notus robotics team is headed to 2024 FIRST Championship - KTVB.com

ChatGPT Use Linked to Memory Loss, Procrastination in Students – Futurism

You won't always have an AI chatbot in your pocket... right? Brain Drain

New research has found a worrying link to memory loss and tanking grades in students who relied on ChatGPT, in an early but fascinating exploration of the swift impact that large language models have had in education.

As detailed in a new studypublished in the International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, the researchers surveyed hundreds of university students ranging from undergrads to doctoral candidates over two phases, using self-reported evaluations. They were spurred on by witnessing more and more of their own students turn to ChatGPT.

"My interest in this topic stemmed from the growing prevalence of generative artificial intelligence in academia and its potential impact on students," study co-author Muhammad Abhas at the National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences in Pakistan told PsyPost. "For the last year, I observed an increasing, uncritical, reliance on generative AI tools among my students for various assignments and projects I assigned."

In the first phase, the researchers collected responses from 165 students who used an eight-item scale to report their degree of ChatGPT reliance. The items ranged from "I use ChatGPT for my course assignments" to "ChatGPT is part of my campus life."

To validate those results, they also conducted a more rigorous "time-lagged" second phase, in which they expanded their scope to nearly 500 students, who were surveyed three times at one to two week intervals.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the researchers found that students under a heavy academic workload and "time pressure" were much more likely to use ChatGPT. They observed that those who relied on ChatGPT reported more procrastination, more memory loss, and a drop in GPA. And the reason why is quite simple: the chatbot, however good or bad its responses are, is making schoolwork too easy.

"Since ChatGPT can quickly respond to any questions asked by a user," the researchers wrote in the study, "students who excessively use ChatGPT may reduce their cognitive efforts to complete their academic tasks, resulting in poor memory."

There were a few curveballs, however.

"Contrary to expectations, students who were more sensitive to rewards were less likely to use generative AI," Abbas told PsyPost, suggesting that those seeking good grades avoided using the chatbot out of fear of getting caught.

It's possible that the relationship between ChatGPT usage and its negative effects is bidirectional, notes PsyPost. A student may turn to the chatbot because they already have bad grades, and not the other way around. It's also worth considering that the data was self-reported, which comes with its own biases.

That's not to exonerate AI, though. Based on these findings, we should be wary about ChatGPT's role in education.

"The average person should recognize the dark side of excessive generative AI usage," Abbas told Psypost. "While these tools offer convenience, they can also lead to negative consequences such as procrastination, memory loss, and compromised academic performance."

More on AI: Google's AI Search Caught Pushing Users to Download Malware

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ChatGPT Use Linked to Memory Loss, Procrastination in Students - Futurism

This Week In Space podcast: Episode 98 Inside NASA with Pam Melroy – Yahoo News

On Episode 98 of This Week In Space, Tariq and Rod discuss what NASA's up to with the agency's Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy.

This week, NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, who is also a former astronaut, commander of the space shuttle, and US Air Force test pilot, joins us for a very special episode. We discussed the recently announced delays to the Artemis lunar landing program, NASA's long-term goals on the Moon, the overall trajectory of human spaceflight, Pam's favorite memories of her time in space, and perhaps our favorite moment her "gentle" rejoinder to a male pilot who hadn't had much experience flying with "ladies"! Be sure to join us for this exclusive interview.

Download or subscribe to this show at:https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space.

Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT athttps://twit.tv/clubtwit

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Finally, did you know you can launch your own SpaceX rocket? Model rocket maker Estes' stunning scale model of a Falcon 9 rocket that you can pick up now. The launchable model is a detailed recreation of the Falcon 9 and retails for $149.99. You can save 10% by using the code IN-COLLECTSPACE at checkout, courtesy of our partners collectSPACE.com.

This Week in Spacecovers the new space age. Every Friday we take a deep dive into a fascinating topic. What's happening with the new race to the moon and other planets? When will SpaceX really send people to Mars?

Join Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik fromSpace.comas they tackle those questions and more each week on Friday afternoons. You can subscribe today on your favorite podcatcher.

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This Week In Space podcast: Episode 98 Inside NASA with Pam Melroy - Yahoo News

Starlink Mini Dish Coming Later This Year, Elon Musk Says – PCMag

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says a portable version of Starlink is set to arrive in the coming months.

Well be introducing the Starlink mini later this year, which can fit in a backpack, he said in a speech to SpaceX employees.

On Friday, SpaceX took to Twitter/X to post Musks speech, which provided an update on the companys businesses, including the progress in expanding Starlink, its satellite internet service.

Back in September, the FCC approved SpaceXs application to operate the Starlink mini dish, which is supposed to be the size of a MacBook. But the company had been quiet about the product until now.

No pricing, specs, or image were provided. But Musk said the model will be "pretty cool for anyone who wants a very portable Starlink.

In his speech, Musk also talked about the companys next-generation standard Starlink dish, which the company began inviting users to order in November. The hardware itself costs $599, the same price as the current second-generation dish. However, Musk signaled that the new Standard dish costs less for SpaceX to manufacture.

Weve now shipped our next-gen hardware. Thats version four of the user terminal. So that allows us to lower the cost of Starlink, he said.(Meanwhile, users have told PCMag the next-generation dish seems to excel at delivering more consistent higher download speeds and better upload rates.)

(Credit: SpaceX)

Previously, a single Starlink dish cost $3,000 to produce, but the company has been steadily driving down the manufacturing costs. This has involved opening a new Starlink factory in Texas, which Musk referred to in his speech.

The companys other major goal is to operate a cellular version of Starlink that can beam data to phones on the ground, giving a way for consumers to digitally communicate even in the most remote regions. On Thursday, SpaceX demonstrated that the technology works, successfully relaying text messages from a batch of newly launched Direct to Cell Starlink satellites to unmodified phones on the ground.

(Credit: SpaceX)

In his speech, Musk said the cellular Starlink system is designed to supply about 7Mbps per cell. And the cells are hundreds of square miles, kilometers in size. So its good for text messages, he said. You could technically do video if youre the only one, or if theres only a few people in that cell, like if youre in the middle of the Pacific.

The company plans on launching the cellular Starlink service through T-Mobile later this year to support text messages. Voice and data support are scheduled to arrive later in 2025. However, SpaceX is still waiting for FCC approval to operate the service commercially in the US.

As for the regular Starlink service, Musk said a major goal is to reduce the systems latency to under 20 milliseconds. To do so, the company is building more gateway stations connected to fiber networks on the ground. These ground stations can then beam the high-speed internet to Starlink satellites in orbit.

(Credit: SpaceX)

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Starlink Mini Dish Coming Later This Year, Elon Musk Says - PCMag