Join a Virtual Race with the Northwest Broward Road Runners Club – Parkland Talk – Parkland Talk

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Fabiola Pepe, Maida Kopet, Chuck Medcraft, Melissa Schwartz, Edna Tello, and Gineth Yibirin. (photo was taken before Covid-19)

By Jaime Vining

Running is not cancelled this year. However, while the pandemic continues through 2020, all of the World Marathon Majors in Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York City have been cancelled or gone virtual.

The same is true for the local races in Parkland and the rest of Broward County.

Everything all the 5K races, half marathons, and marathon races are going virtual, at least through November, said Maida Kopet, president of the Northwest Broward Road Runners Club (NWBRRC).

A virtual race is like a traditional race, in that it includes a starting line, running as a group, and a finish line, however, in a virtual race, runners can run, walk or treadmill their miles on their own schedule and safely at the location they choose.

Upon completion of the race, participants can upload their time and route online or through popular apps like Strava and Racejoy.

A virtual race is a healthy, body-strengthening activity and a great way to practice race day nutrition and hydration without the crowds or poor weather.

Virtual options allow participants to be a part of the race together, but run separately in different locations, said Kopet. Signing up for a virtual race motivates me to train, run on a particular day and support a great charitable cause.

Organizers for the Parkland Dash just announced that the October 5K and 5-mile races would be held virtually this year. Registration opens this Friday, August 14. The Run 4 Beigel 5K, scheduled for February 6, 2021, is also tentatively planning for a virtual option, if necessary.

The CDC recommends staying physically active as one of the best ways to keep your mind and body healthy.

There are so many members of the community outside running, walking, and biking these days, even in this heat, said Fabiola Pepe, Vice-President of NWBRRC. Pepe, who has participated in various virtual runs this year, similarly stressed the importance of following CDC guidelines while exercising.

Runners should stay at least six feet apart and wear a neck gaiter in populated areas. Plus, stay hydrated with your water bottle. Neck gaiters, running water bottles, and other necessities for virtual runs are available from Runners Depot in Coral Springs.

The NWBRRC hosts weekly club runs for both new and experienced runners and walkers in Parkland, Coral Springs and Tamarac at the Parkland Starbucks (at the corner of Coral Ridge Drive and Holmberg Road). For more information about upcoming local virtual run options and club membership, please visit the NWBRRC website.

Send your news to Parklands #1 News SourceParkland Talk.

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Join a Virtual Race with the Northwest Broward Road Runners Club - Parkland Talk - Parkland Talk

Gigabit broadband rollout milestone reached – GOV.UK – GOV.UK

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45,000 vouchers, worth more than 90m, issued to help cover the costs of delivering gigabit speeds directly to peoples homes and businesses

New taskforce launched today to encourage further take-up of gigabit broadband services

Almost 500,000 premises across the UK have been connected to gigabit-capable broadband since summer 2018. This is part of a 1 billion government funding commitment until the end of 2021, with a further 5 billion for the hardest-to-reach areas to be earmarked soon.

It means that, alongside commercial investment, more than 7.5 million premises can now access gigabit capable broadband, compared to around 1.4 million premises two years ago.

Nearly 45,000 vouchers, worth more than 90 million, have been issued to subsidise the cost of building faster, gigabit-capable broadband infrastructure to homes and businesses.

The figures are released as the government calls on companies and residents in rural towns and villages to apply for more than 70 million on offer immediately to take them out of the digital slow lane.

Digital Infrastructure Minister Matt Warman is today urging people to take advantage of the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme which is open until March next year and aims to future proof peoples internet connections for a generation.

The scheme is being targeted at rural, hard-to-reach areas that arent likely to be connected through the commercial rollout of gigabit networks soon.

Minister Warman is also today launching a new taskforce, led by consumer and business groups including Which?, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and Confederation of British Industry (CBI) to drive consumer take-up of gigabit speed internet connections.

'Its fantastic to see so many people getting access to gigabit speed broadband. This is thanks to our investment alongside the sterling work of industry.

Today I urge people in rural communities in the digital slow lane to apply for the immediate financial help available so they can seize the benefits of better connectivity - from making work easier to catching up with family and friends.

I am also launching a new drive with business and consumer champions to make more people aware of just how beneficial better, faster broadband can be.

Gigabit broadband carries speeds of a thousand megabits per second. These connections will not only underpin the use of smarter devices such as intelligent heating systems and internet-connected fridges, but they will allow people to download HD movies in seconds and stream TV and gaming content at 4K picture quality on multiple devices at the same time.

The speeds will pave the way for new and unexpected social benefits alongside jobs and economic growth, and revolutionise rural communities by giving people the freedom to live and work more flexibly.

To date, through the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme, more than 3,500 vouchers have been issued to rural homes and businesses in Somerset, nearly 2,000 in Cumbria, and more than a thousand going to Kent, Lancashire, Hampshire, West Yorkshire and Surrey.

The vouchers are worth up to 1,500 for rural homes and up to 3,500 for rural small to medium-sized businesses (SMEs) provided they come together as a collective of two or more properties.

Its really important that people across the UK, including those who are vulnerable or in hard to reach locations, have a quality broadband connection that meets their needs not just for entertainment and to stay in touch with loved ones, but also to be able to work, shop and bank.

By bringing together industry, the regulator, government as well as groups representing both consumers and businesses, this new advisory group will be able to provide recommendations on the best way to ensure everyone can take advantage of faster, more reliable internet connections as they are rolled out.

Small businesses require reliable, fast, and futureproof connectivity to operate with confidence. Gigabit-capable broadband will enable firms to connect with customers nationally and internationally with ease, develop new ways of using technology to improve their performance, and conduct more business online than ever before.

This year has forced small firms to overhaul their business models, and digital connectivity has proved to be a lifeline during this time. However, many have struggled with poor internet connections, and would be better served with a step-change in connectivity.

Thats why this task force could not have come at a more pressing time. FSB is delighted to work with the Government, along with consumer and business representatives, to accelerate the take-up of gigabit-capable broadband.

Going for gigabit on digital connectivity is more important than ever as the UK responds to the Covid crisis. Its great to be part of the Governments new advisory group ensuring that the business view is heard. Bringing in expertise from across the board will spur more households and businesses to take up faster, more reliable broadband and help put tech and innovation at the centre of our economic recovery.

Gavin Keeble and his wife Belinda, who live in Grisedale, Cumbria, run a corporate training business. They were paying 115 a month for an unreliable service which would drop out every time low-flying RAF planes went overhead. They had their broadband upgraded by using one of the governments vouchers, which contributed to the cost of installing gigabit-capable broadband.

Gavin and Belinda saw their speeds, as well as those of 121 homes and 56 businesses in the surrounding area, rocket from 8 Mbps to 1000 Mbps, which means they can successfully run their business.

Gavin said: The difference that the new service has made is completely cosmic. It has given us total peace of mind connecting to the outside world and running an international business from a beautiful and remote part of the UK and dramatically improved our businesses professionalism and capability as well as transforming our family life.

Dominic Fairman, a local councillor who runs a farm and campsite on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, has recently benefited from the scheme. He can now run digital promotion for the campsite and do his online tax returns hassle-free.

Dominic said: The difference that this has made to our lives and our neighbours lives has been incredible. My tax returns are seamless, I can upload photos and videos for the campsite to social media and I wont ever have to lose data again.

Of the 5,000 people who work for Cornwall Council, around 4,000 have been working from home during the pandemic so it has really brought it home to us how important it is to have reliable connectivity these days. I will certainly be recommending this scheme to other communities in my parishes.

Currently gigabit broadband is available to about 26 per cent of residential and business premises across the UK, but estimates show only 30 per cent of premises are taking up these services where they are available.

The new Gigabit Take-Up Advisory Group (GigaTAG) has been set up to lead a strategic review into boosting take-up as gigabit connections among consumers and businesses become more widely available.

It will be led by Which?, the FSB and CBI, with membership including Ofcom and industry representatives, to look at encouraging more consumers to engage with this new technology and to take advantage of the benefits that they will bring.

It will specifically explore increasing business take-up by promoting the benefits that gigabit broadband has brought to companies that already have it, and the role firms can play in incentivising their employees to upgrade too.

ENDS

The UK Government committed more than 1 billion on gigabit-capable broadband to the end of the financial year 20/21:

400 million through the Digital Infrastructure Investment Fund

279 million through the Local Full Fibre Networks Programme, which funded the first wave of the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme

200 million through the Rural Gigabit Connectivity Programme, which is funding the second wave of the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme

At least 200 million from the existing Superfast Broadband Programme is being transitioned to specify gigabit-capable connections for all remaining procurements / change requests

There have been 44,792 vouchers issued so far through the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme, and of these 29,142 have resulted in a live connection. And as of Q4 19/20, 464,458 premises now have access to a gigabit-capable connection through the redirected Superfast Broadband Programme. Therefore almost half a million (493,600) premises now have access to or are connected to gigabit capable broadband.

Independent figures from ThinkBroadband released this week reveal 1 in 4 premises now have access to a gigabit broadband option.

What is the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme?

The Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme is a UK-wide, supplier-led scheme offering vouchers to offset the cost of installing gigabit-capable broadband to premises, i.e., homes and businesses. Vouchers can only be used when part of a group project. Gigabit-capable broadband can provide speeds of over 1,000 Mbps or 1 Gbps but beneficiaries only pay for the speed they want to use, provided it is at least double the speed they had before and more than 30 Mbps.

Businesses and communities are encouraged to check whether they are eligible through a postcode checker on the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme website: https://gigabitvoucher.culture.gov.uk/. If they are eligible they can approach any of the suppliers who are active in their area to apply for a voucher. Registered suppliers can only use the vouchers when they are part of a group scheme that can consist of homes and businesses.

In June, the UK and Welsh governments teamed up to boost the amount available in certain areas, due the difficulty and expense of rolling out broadband infrastructure in rural Wales. This boost doubled the vouchers worth so that homes in rural Wales can now receive 3000 and SMEs 7000. In England, similar voucher top-ups are also available in Cumbria, Kent, Northumberland, Hampshire, Dorset, Warwickshire and West Sussex, to help connect some of the hardest-to-reach places.

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Gigabit broadband rollout milestone reached - GOV.UK - GOV.UK

GMB weather girl Lucy Verasamy parades mind-blowing curves in skintight top – Daily Star

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Good Morning Britain bombshell Lucy Verasamy has been thrilling fans with her Scottish holiday album.

The 39-year-old has been busy documenting her idyllic countryside trip on Instagram.

ITV weather girl Lucy couldn't resist sharing a scorching snap of herself while she posed among a field of green fern trees.

Toying with fans, she playfully stroked her brunette locks as she posed for the camera.

Enjoying her escape and taking some well needed time off of work, Lucy beamed a huge smile to camera.

Looking effortlessly stylish, she wore a skintight hiking top that showcased every curve.

She teamed her outdoor attire with grey, figure-hugging leggings with a jumped neatly knotted at her waist.

Keeping it cool, she wore an oversized pair of shades to complete her eye-popping look.

Captioning her getaway, she told her 128,000 fans: "In the fern. With no filter.

"I think green is my favourite colour."

In another snippet, she showcased beautiful scenery as she whizzed past in her vehicle trying to capture her surroundings in all its glory.

Later, she included an upload of the final setting, that included a picturesque mountain backdrop, with a stunning valley that was completely encompassed by vast amounts of green trees.

It wasn't long before her adventurous post attracted many of her followers, with This Morning host Eamonn Holmes 'hitting' the like button, showing his approval.

Although Lucy's setting was completely mesmerising, many fans seemed to be more in ore of the GMB weather reporter.

One fan joked: "Stunning, you're not looking too bad either."

Another gushed: "Super fit."

While a third said: "You're so hot Lucy."

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GMB weather girl Lucy Verasamy parades mind-blowing curves in skintight top - Daily Star

Nanotextiles Market Estimated size be driven size Innovation and Industrialization COVID-19 2024 – Chelanpress

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The global market fornanotextilesshould grow from $5.1 billion in 2019 to $14.8 billion by 2024 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23.6% for the period of 2019-2024.

Report Scope:

This report provides an updated review of nanotextile technology, including materials and production processes, and identifies current and emerging applications for this technology.

BCC Research delineates the current market status for these products, defines trends, and presents growth forecasts for the next five years. The market is analyzed based on the following segments: nanotextile type, functionality, nanostructured material, application, and region. In addition, technological issues, including key events and the latest developments, are discussed.

Request for Report Sample:https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/11697

More specifically, the market analysis conducted by BCC Research for this report is divided into five sections.

In the first section, an introduction to the topic and a historical review of nanotextiles are provided, including an outline of recent events. In this section, current and emerging applications are also identified and grouped in segments (apparel, technical, household, and other consumer products).

The second section provides a technological review of nanotextiles. This section offers a detailed description of materials used for production of nanofabrics, properties of nanotextiles, and typical fabrication methods. This section concludes with an analysis of the most important technological developments since 2016, including examples of significant patents recently issued or applied for. The chapter ends with a highlight of the most active research organizations operating in this field and their activities.

The third section entails a global market analysis for nanotextiles. Global revenues (sales data in millions of dollars) are presented for each segment (nanotextile type, functionality, nanostructured material, application, and region), with actual data referring to the years 2017 and 2018 and estimates for 2019. Dollar figures refer to sales of these products at the manufacturing level.

The analysis of current revenues for nanotextiles is followed by a detailed presentation of market growth trends, based on industry growth, technological trends, and regional trends. The third section concludes by providing projected revenues for nanotextiles within each segment, together with forecast compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) for the period 2019 through 2024. Projected and forecast revenue values are in constant U.S. dollars, unadjusted for inflation.

In the fourth section of the study, which covers global industry structure, the report offers a list of the leading manufacturers of nanotextiles, together with a description of their products. The analysis includes a description of the geographical distribution of these firms and an evaluation of other key industry players. Detailed company profiles of the top players are also provided.

The fifth and final section includes an analysis of recently issued U.S. patents, with a summary of patents related to nanotextile materials, fabrication methods, and applications. Patent analysis is performed by region, country, assignee, patent category, application, and material type.

Report Includes:

55 data tables and 29 additional tables Detailed overview and industry analysis of nanotextiles and their global market Analyses of global market trends with data from 2017, 2018, estimates for 2019 and projections of compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) through 2024

Segmentation of the global nanotextiles market by product type, fabrication technology, application, end use industry and geographical region Identification of the fastest-growing applications and technologies, and a holistic overview of the current and future market trends which will lead to increasing demand for nanotextiles production An extensive U.S. analysis of recently issued patents, with a summary of patents related to various types of nanotextiles and their fabrication methods and applications Description of the geographical distribution of manufacturers and detailed company profiles of the top industry players including Donaldson, eSpin Technologies, Finetex EnE, Nano-Textile and Parker Hannifin

Summary

Nanotextiles are a class of textiles that utilize nanotechnology during their fabrication process. In particular, the term nanotextiles applies to four categories of products: nanocoated textiles, fabrics consisting of nanofiber webs, textiles obtained from composite fibers based on nanostructures, and nanoporous textiles.

Although the origin of nanotechnology can be traced back to the 4th century, the first nanotextiles were only introduced during the 1980s in the form of nanofiber-based membranes for filtration. During the past 40 years, sales of nanotextiles have expanded steadily and are currently experiencing very strong growth, due to their increasing use in the fabrication of mass-market products within a range of sectors. This study provides an updated, comprehensive description of nanotextiles and their characteristics, highlighting the latest developments in their fabrication technology and features. It also offers a detailed market analysis for these products by segment (nanotextile type, functionality, nanostructured material, application, and region), describing technical aspects and trends that will affect future growth of this market.

As shown in the Summary Table, the global market for nanotextiles increased from nearly REDACTED in 2017 to REDACTED in 2018 and is estimated to be valued at REDACTED in 2019.

BCC Research has divided all the applications where nanotextiles have current and potential use in two main groups: consumer products and technical products.

Consumer products, which include mainly apparel and household articles, currently account for the largest share of the market, at an estimated REDACTED of the total in 2019, corresponding to REDACTED in 2019. Within this segment, nanotextiles are being used primarily for the fabrication of high-performance outerwear and stocking. Sales of these products have risen at a very healthy CAGR of REDACTED during the 2017-2019 period.

By comparison, nanofabrics for technical products represent a share of REDACTED of the total, corresponding to estimated 2019 revenues of REDACTED. This segment has been expanding at a REDACTED CAGR since 2017, mainly driven by applications in the mechanical/chemical/environmental, life science, and energy sectors.

Sales of nanotextiles are projected to continue rising at a double-digit rate during the next five years. Relevant factors that will contribute to market expansion through 2024 are the following Increasing penetration in large industry sectors such as apparel, filtration and separation, catalysis, biomedical, energy, and automotive. Greater utilization in the fabrication of products characterized by strong demand, such as membranes, photocatalysts, and tissue engineering scaffolds. Growing market penetration of nanotextiles in developing countries. Increasing use of these products in wearable electronics and wearable medical devices. High levels of related R&D activities.

As a result, the total market for nanotextiles is forecast to rise at a CAGR of REDACTED from 2019 to 2024, reaching global revenues of REDACTED in 2024.

More Info of Impact[emailprotected]https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/covid-19-analysis/11697

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Nanotextiles Market Estimated size be driven size Innovation and Industrialization COVID-19 2024 - Chelanpress

Potential Rising Income Streams and Equity Retirement Solutions – Dividend.com

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Investors typically have different needs and tolerances for risk depending on their stage of life. During the accumulation years, youre likely more comfortable with risk in order to pursue aggressive growth. As you approach distribution age, your appetite for risk often diminishes in favor of more conservative sources of income.

A rising dividend strategy could meet the needs of both risk tolerances as it can provide the potential for higher total returns to achieve growth while supplying steady income if the investor elects not to reinvest them.

For example, a growth-oriented young investor who used the Diversified Stock Income Plan with a starting portfolio value of $500,000 could generate $12,000 annually toward retirement income by reinvesting dividends. An older, conservative investor whose portfolio is in distribution might opt not to reinvest the dividends in an uncertain future feeling that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

Every individual must assess their comfort level with investment strategies and use a cost-benefit analysis to determine the approach thats right for them. Explore your options from mutual funds and ETFs to rising dividend portfolios, separately managed accounts and more but then commit to a well-thought-out, long-term plan. When it comes to investing, discipline pays dividends.

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Potential Rising Income Streams and Equity Retirement Solutions - Dividend.com

Millions of America’s working poor may lose out on key anti-poverty tax credit because of the pandemic – Chicago Reporter

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The pandemic is driving American families to the edge, with tens of millions at risk of losing their homes and over 1 in 10 U.S. adults reporting their households didnt have enough to eat in the previous week.

While Congress debates extending unemployment benefits that expired on July 31 and other additional aid, theres an important program that already exists that could help struggling Americans get through the crisis however long it lasts. Known as the earned income tax credit, or EITC, it provides aid primarily to the working poor. In a typical year, it lifts more than 8.5 million people out of poverty, while improving the health and well-being of parents and children.

Since the credit depends on earned income, many families may be at risk of losing all or some of the benefit because so many were laid off as economies in many states shut down. Even as restaurants and other businesses reopen, its likely that many of those who lost their jobs will remain unemployed or underemployed for many months or longer.

Our own research shows changes to the structure of the U.S. economy, with the sharp growth of low-wage and unstable jobs, is weakening the EITCs effectiveness at fighting poverty.

Some lawmakers are trying to reform the EITC as part of the next coronavirus bailout to ensure it helps more Americans and make it more like a basic income guarantee. We believe doing so would not only ensure low-income Americans continue to have access to this vital tax credit during the pandemic, additional changes could also strengthen the program for years to come.

The earned income tax credit, which supplements earnings for many low- and moderate-income workers, has helped buffer economic hardship for single parents and other recipients since it was created in 1975.

Eligible taxpayers receive the credit after they file their taxes. And unlike a deduction, even those who didnt pay any income tax can receive the credit, which theyll get as part of their refund. Twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia also offer their own EITCs, typically based on the federal credit.

In 2019, taxpayers received about US$63 billion in credits through the federal EITC, making it the governments largest cash safety net program for working families with children. Recipients qualify for the credit based on how much money they earn and depending on their marital status and number of children. The benefit rises with each dollar earned until reaching a peak and then phasing out.

For example, in 2019, a single person earning $13,545 a year received $392, while a typical family of four with an annual income of $22,261 received roughly $2,951 which comes out to an extra $250 a month.

Put another way, a family with one child receives an average credit of 34 cents for every dollar of earned income, which rises to 40 cents for two and 45 cents for three or more children.

The tax credit has been tremendously successful. In 2018, the latest data available, the EITC lifted about 10.6 million people out of poverty and reduced its severity for another 17.5 million. And since its inception, it has reduced child poverty by 25%.

But the benefits extend well beyond providing struggling families with more income. Research shows the credit has helped improve the mental and physical health of mothers, improves perinatal health of mothers and their children, improves child development, reduces incidents of low birth weight among infants and improves childrens cognitive function.

It also enjoys strong bipartisan support because of its focus on encouraging and supporting working.

But the EITC only helps individuals able to find work, which becomes a bigger challenge in a pandemic or severe recession.

Our unpublished calculations from a national representative survey showed that about a fifth of the 25 million EITC beneficiaries in 2019 lost their jobs from March to April and over 16% remained unemployed in June, the latest data we have available. That means over 4 million working families could lose a large portion of their benefits in 2021, depending on a variety of factors.

While these problems are most obvious in a recession, theyve worsened over the past four decades as the labor market has changed.

The share of workers doing low-skill, low-wage work has jumped from 42% in 1980 to about 54% in 2016. And an increasing number of these jobs are in the precarious gig economy that doesnt provide stable incomes. That means workers are less likely to see a steady aid from the EITC because the maximum benefits are gained when working full time at minimum wage.

The EITCs also provides very little support to those without children. A nonpartisan think tank estimates that about 5.8 million adult workers without any children as dependents are taxed into poverty or impoverished further each year because their EITC is too small to offset their federal income and payroll taxes.

House Democrats are pushing to reform the EITC in the next coronavirus relief bill. Specifically, theyd like to tweak the credits phase-in so that workers receive more benefits for fewer hours worked, allowing those who lost their jobs and remained unemployed for the remainder of 2020 to maintain benefits similar to last year. They also would lower the minimum age for receiving the credit to 18 from 25 for certain vulnerable groups like those experiencing homeless.

Wed suggest also increasing the benefit for tax filers without children and lowering the minimum age for everyone so that the millions of young people graduating from high school and college into an economic recession can get additional support.

These reforms would not only help now but could also deepen the impact of the EITC by creating an income floor for more people as the economy changes, essentially creating something very much like a basic income guarantee. A key difference, however, is that most universal basic income proposals dont require recipients to work.

While we cannot fully predict how interactions between job losses and the tax and benefit system will play out, this moment presents an opportunity to test reforms that would benefit low-income working families for years and decades to come.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Millions of America's working poor may lose out on key anti-poverty tax credit because of the pandemic - Chicago Reporter

Ive Witnessed the Decline of the Republican Party – The Atlantic

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I grew up in a family of Democrats. My maternal grandfather, who had emigrated from Russia to escape czarist pogroms, moved to Minneapolis and became a labor leader, a member of the small kitchen cabinet that convinced Hubert Humphrey to enter politics and run for mayor of the city. My idols, growing up were giants of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, including Humphrey, Orville Freeman, Walter Mondale, Art Naftalin, and Donald Fraser.

I was a young student at the University of Minnesota before I talked to a Republican at length. Thats where I met Doug Head, the state attorney general. He was a thoughtful intellectual and, like the core of the Minnesota Republican Party, a moderate conservative, far more center than right. His emphasis on public service made a lasting impression, helping me understand that I could share a common commitment with people who disagreed with me on policy.

I came to Washington in 1969 on a congressional fellowship. Although I was working for Don Fraser, William Steiger, a young Republican representative from Wisconsin, soon became another mentor. Steiger loved the House and the congressional-fellowship program, and opened his door to me regularly to come and talk about politics, governance, and careers. He seemed destined for a major leadership role, before he died of a heart ailment at 40.

When I moved to the Senate for the second half of my fellowship in 1970, I was assigned to George McGovern. He had put together an informal committee to push for a vote to end the Vietnam War. I worked closely with Republicans, including Mark Hatfield, Charles Goodell, and Jacob Javits. The task was not easy for themafter all, they were directly challenging President Nixon. The work was sometimes intense. I saw, up close, a bitter confrontation over Vietnam between McGovern and Bob Dole. But later, I would watch them develop a working relationship to combat hunger, and then forge a close friendship that lasted four decades, until McGoverns death.

William J. Burns: Polarized politics has infected American diplomacy

Plenty of the Republicans I dealt with in the past were fierce partisans, including Dole and John Rhodes. But when pushed, they put country firstthat was the basis on which they could forge bonds across the aisle. I had strong relationships in years past with a number of Republicans currently in the Senate. But none of them have, in recent years, behaved in a fashion that would meet the values of the party of Domenici, Steiger, or Dole.

The country obviously needs a major change in its politics, a purging of the status quo. It faces challenges both societal and structural that go beyond Trump and the two parties. The United States must recover from the pandemic and rebuild its economy, while confronting head-on the issue of racism. But we cannot long operate as a democracy without two problem-solving parties that aim to compete for genuine majorities in the country.

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Ive Witnessed the Decline of the Republican Party - The Atlantic

Pyxis Tankers Announces Financial Results for the Three and Six Months Ended June 30, 2020 – GlobeNewswire

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Maroussi, Greece, August 10, 2020 Pyxis Tankers Inc. (NASDAQ Cap Mkts: PXS), (the Company or Pyxis Tankers), a growth-oriented pure play product tanker company, today announced unaudited results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020.

Summary

For the three months ended June 30, 2020, our Revenues, net were $5.5 million. For the same period, our time charter equivalent (TCE) revenues were $4.5 million, a decrease of approximately $1.0 million or 17.1% over the comparable period in 2019 primarily due to the reduction in fleet size as we sold our oldest MR in early 2020. However, our net loss decreased by $0.4 million to $1.2 million, from $1.6 million in the comparable period in 2019. For the second quarter 2020, loss per share (basic and diluted) was $0.06 and our Adjusted EBITDA was $1.1 million, which represented a decrease of $0.2 million over the comparable period in 2019. Please see Non-GAAP Measures and Definitions below.

Valentios Valentis, our Chairman and CEO commented:

The chartering environment for product tankers in the second quarter of 2020 was extremely volatility. The spot market for MRs experienced a brief spike during late April to early May, which was then followed by a rapid drop in rates until the recent stabilization of rates. The period market, albeit more stable, did encounter a material decline in activity during the quarter. The initially strong charter rates at the outset of the second quarter were primarily due to demand for floating storage of crude oil and refined petroleum products, the movement of a fair number of long-range tankers into dirty or crude trades and various arbitrage opportunities. Despite the start of a gradual but uneven economic recovery worldwide from the COVID-19 pandemic during the quarter, a drawdown of high existing product inventories has resulted in lower vessel demand. Consequently, we expect the product tanker sector to continue to experience significant volatility due to the uncertain recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, we have focused our employment strategy for our MRs on shorter-term, staggered time charters which has benefited the Company. In the second quarter of 2020, the average TCE for our MRs was over $14,800/day. As of August 6, 2020, we had booked 62% of available days for the third quarter of 2020, exclusive of charterers options, at an average rate of $15,125 for our MRs.

During this challenging period, we have continued to focus on the efficiencies of our operating platform, as fleet-wide daily operating expenses declined to less than $5,500 per vessel for the quarter. Total daily operational costs, which include vessel management fees and allocable G&A expenses, for our modern eco-efficient MRs were less than $8,000. In addition, we have improved our balance sheet liquidity by selling older tonnage and refinancing some of our bank debt on attractive terms.

Overall, we maintain a positive outlook about the long-term prospects for the product tanker sector. Solid global GDP growth is expected to return with rising demand for seaborne transportation of a broad range of petroleum products. In the meantime, the supply picture looks better due to the aging global fleet, continued low ordering of new tankers and significant delays in newbuild deliveries. We look forward to taking advantage of various opportunities as they may arise in order to enhance shareholder value.

Lastly, we would like to extend our gratitude to the crews on board our vessels and onshore personnel for their continued support and professionalism to provide high quality and reliable service to our customers particularly during this difficult period of the pandemic.

Results for the three months ended June 30, 2019 and 2020

For the three months ended June 30, 2020, we reported a net loss of $1.2 million, or $0.06 basic and diluted loss per share, compared to a net loss of $1.6 million, or $0.08 basic and diluted loss per share, for the same period in 2019. The daily TCE of $11,766 during the second quarter of 2020 was 2% higher than the relevant period in 2019, due to slightly higher rates, however, our Revenues, net during the three months ended June 30, 2020, were $5.5 million or $1.0 million lower than the comparable period in 2019. The decrease is mostly attributed to fewer available days and revenue contributed, as a result of the sale of the 2006 built MR, Pyxis Delta, in the first quarter of 2020. The sale of the vessel, also resulted in less vessel operating expenses by $0.7 million, lower depreciation by $0.3 million and less interest and finance costs, net by $0.3 million, following the repayment of the loan secured by Pyxis Delta, which more than offset the decline in Revenues, net and mitigated the loss for the three months ended June 30, 2020. Our Adjusted EBITDA was $1.1 million, representing a decrease of $0.2 million from $1.3 million for the same period in 2019.

Results for the six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2020

For the six months ended June 30, 2020, we reported a net loss of $2.4 million, or $0.11 basic and diluted loss per share, compared to a loss of $3.9 million over the comparable period in 2019. Stronger daily TCE of $11,844 and higher utilization of 89.3% during the six-month period ended June 30, 2020, compared to $11,096 and 87.3%, respectively, for the first half of 2019, resulted in an improvement in operating income to $0.1 million during the first half of 2020 compared to the operating loss of $1.0 million in the comparable period of 2019. Operating expenses, depreciation, management fees and interest and finance costs were lower as a result of the sale of Pyxis Delta and the prepayment of the associated loans, mitigating the loss in the period ended June 30, 2020.

Our Adjusted EBITDA was $2.4 million, an increase of $0.6 million from $1.8 million for the same period in 2019.

1 Subject to rounding; please see Non-GAAP Measures and Definitions below2 Pyxis Delta was sold on January 13, 2020, and has been excluded from the calculation for the six months ended June 30, 2020 (the vessel had been under TC employment for approximately 2 days in January 2020 when it was redelivered from charterers in order to be sold).

Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Results for the Three Months ended June 30, 2019 and 2020 (Amounts are presented in million U.S. dollars, rounded to the nearest one hundred thousand, except as otherwise noted)

Revenues, net: Revenues, net of $5.5 million for the three months ended June 30, 2020, represented a decrease of $1.0 million, or 15.0%, from $6.5 million in the comparable period in 2019, as a result of less available days and revenue contribution following the sale of our oldest MR, Pyxis Delta, in the first quarter of 2020, partially offset by higher charter rates.

Voyage related costs and commissions: Voyage related costs and commissions of $1.0 million for the three months ended June 30, 2020 remained relatively stable over the comparable period in 2019.

Vessel operating expenses: Vessel operating expenses of $2.5 million for the three months ended June 30, 2020, represented a significant decrease of $0.7 million, or 20.6%, from $3.2 million in the comparable period in 2019 mainly attributed to the vessel sale.

General and administrative expenses: General and administrative expenses of $0.5 million for the three months ended June 30, 2020, represented a decrease of less than $0.1 million, or 12.3%, from the comparable period in 2019 due to timing of certain incurred costs.

Management fees: For the three months ended June 30, 2019, management fees paid to our ship manager, Pyxis Maritime Corp. (Maritime), an entity affiliated with our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Valentis, and to International Tanker Management Ltd. (ITM), our fleets technical manager, also decreased, as a result of one less vessel, by $0.1 million from $0.4 million in the comparable period of 2019.

Amortization of special survey costs: Amortization of special survey costs of less than $0.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2020, represented a decrease of 30.4% compared to the same period in 2019, due to the write-off of the remaining unamortized balance associated with the sale of vessel.

Depreciation: Depreciation of $1.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2020, represented a decrease of $0.3 million or 19.8% compared to the three months ended June 30, 2019, due to fewer depreciable days for a five vessel fleet during the second quarter of 2020, compared to the depreciable days for a six vessel fleet during the second quarter of 2019.

Interest and finance costs, net: Interest and finance costs, net, of $1.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2020, represented a decrease of $0.3 million, or 18.7%, from $1.5 million in the comparable period in 2019. The decrease was mainly attributed to the prepayment of the debt following the sale of Pyxis Delta and to the lower LIBOR rates paid on floating rate bank debt compared to the same period of 2019.

Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Results for the Six Months ended June 30, 2019 and 2020 (Amounts are presented in million U.S. dollars, rounded to the nearest one hundred thousand, except as otherwise noted)

Revenues, net: Revenues, net of $12.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020, represented a decrease of $1.1 million, or 8.0%, from $13.2 million in the comparable period in 2019. The decrease in revenues, net during the six-month period ended June 30, 2020 was mostly attributed to the sale of the Pyxis Delta, on January 13, 2020, which resulted in the decrease of our total available days from 1,058 days during the six months ended June 30, 2019, to 898 days during the same period in 2020. Furthermore, the decrease in our revenues, net was also a function of lower spot chartering activity of our MRs during the six-month period ended June 30, 2020, compared to the same period in 2019, partially offset by higher rates.

Voyage related costs and commissions: Voyage related costs and commissions of $2.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020, represented a decrease of $0.3 million, or 10.2%, from $2.9 million in the comparable period in 2019. For the six months ended June 30, 2020, our MRs were on spot charters for 29 days in total, compared to 48 days for the respective period in 2019. This lower spot chartering activity for our MRs contribute to less voyage costs as under spot charters, all voyage expenses are typically borne by us rather than the charterer. Furthermore, the decrease in revenues, net during the six-months ended June 30, 2020, resulted in lower broker commissions compared to the same period in 2019, contributing further to the decrease in voyage related costs and commissions.

Vessel operating expenses: Vessel operating expenses of $5.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020, represented a significant decrease of $1.2 million, or 18.3%, from $6.4 million in the comparable period in 2019. This is mainly attributed to the sale of Pyxis Delta.

General and administrative expenses: General and administrative expenses of $1.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020, represented a slight decrease of less than $0.1 million, or 6.2%, from the comparable period in 2019, due to improved cost efficiencies.

Management fees: For the six months ended June 30, 2020, management fees payable to Maritime and ITM of $0.8 million in the aggregate, represented a decrease of less than $0.1 million compared to the six months ended June 30, 2019, as a result of the vessel sale.

Amortization of special survey costs: Amortization of special survey costs of $0.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020, represented a decrease of 17.1%, compared to the same period in 2019 due to the write-off of the amortization of special survey costs for Pyxis Delta, after vessel sale.

Depreciation: Depreciation of $2.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020, represented a decrease of $0.5 million compared to the same period in 2019, due to less depreciable days for a five vessel fleet in 2020 as compared with the depreciable days for a six vessel fleet for the same period in 2019.

Interest and finance costs, net: Interest and finance costs, net, of $2.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020, represented a decrease of $0.4 million, or 13.4%, from $2.9 million in the comparable period in 2019. The decrease was attributable to lower LIBOR rates paid on floating rate bank debt compared to the same period in 2019 and the prepayment of the associated outstanding loan of Pyxis Delta upon its sale. The total borrowings outstanding decreased to $51.7 million at June 30, 2020 from $61.2 million a year earlier.

Unaudited Interim Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive LossFor the three months ended June 30, 2019 and 2020(Expressed in thousands of U.S. dollars, except for share and per share data)

Unaudited Interim Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive LossFor the six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2020(Expressed in thousands of U.S. dollars, except for share and per share data)

Consolidated Balance SheetsAs of December 31, 2019 and June 30, 2020 (unaudited)(Expressed in thousands of U.S. dollars, except for share and per share data)

Unaudited Consolidated Statements of Cash FlowsFor the six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2020(Expressed in thousands of U.S. dollars)

Liquidity, Debt and Capital Structure

Pursuant to our loan agreements, as of June 30, 2020, we were required to maintain minimum liquidity of $3.9 million including reserves for special surveys and dry dockings. Total cash and cash equivalents, including restricted cash, aggregated $3.9 million as of June 30, 2020.

Total funded debt (in thousands of U.S. dollars), net of deferred financing costs:

Our weighted average interest rate on our total funded debt for the six months ended June 30, 2020 was 8.1%.

On January 13, 2020, pursuant to the sale agreement that we entered into in late 2019, Pyxis Delta was delivered to her buyers. The total net proceeds from the sale of the vessel were approximately $13.2 million, $5.7 million of which was used to prepay the loan facility secured by Pyxis Delta and Pyxis Theta and $7.5 million for the repayment of our liabilities to Maritime and obligations to our trade creditors.

On April 3, 2020, we issued 71,007 restricted common shares to Maritime Investors Corp., a company related to Mr. Valentios Valentis, our chairman and chief executive officer, at the volume weighted average closing share price for the 10-day period immediately prior to the quarter end, related to the settlement of interest due under the second amendment to the Amended & Restated Promissory Note.

At June 30, 2020, we had a total of 21,491,475 common shares issued and outstanding of which Mr. Valentis beneficially owned 80.7%.

Non-GAAP Measures and Definitions

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) represents the sum of net income / (loss), interest and finance costs, depreciation and amortization and, if any, income taxes during a period. Adjusted EBITDA represents EBITDA before certain non-operating or non-recurring charges, such as vessel impairment charges, gain from debt extinguishment and stock compensation. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are not recognized measurements under U.S. GAAP.

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are presented in this press release as we believe that they provide investors with means of evaluating and understanding how our management evaluates operating performance. These non-GAAP measures have limitations as analytical tools, and should not be considered in isolation from, as a substitute for, or superior to financial measures prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect:

In addition, these non-GAAP measures do not have standardized meanings and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. The following table reconciles net loss, as reflected in the Unaudited Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA:

Daily TCE is a shipping industry performance measure of the average daily revenue performance of a vessel on a per voyage basis. Daily TCE is not calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We utilize daily TCE because we believe it is a meaningful measure to compare period-to-period changes in our performance despite changes in the mix of charter types (i.e. spot charters, time charters and bareboat charters) under which our vessels may be employed between the periods. Our management also utilizes daily TCE to assist them in making decisions regarding employment of the vessels. We calculate daily TCE by dividing Revenues, net after deducting Voyage related costs and commissions, by operating days for the relevant period. Voyage related costs and commissions primarily consist of brokerage commissions, port, canal and fuel costs that are unique to a particular voyage, which would otherwise be paid by the charterer under a time charter contract.

Vessel operating expenses (Opex) per day are our vessel operating expenses for a vessel, which primarily consist of crew wages and related costs, insurance, lube oils, communications, spares and consumables, tonnage taxes as well as repairs and maintenance, divided by the ownership days in the applicable period.

We calculate utilization (Utilization) by dividing the number of operating days during a period by the number of available days during the same period. We use fleet utilization to measure our efficiency in finding suitable employment for our vessels and minimizing the amount of days that our vessels are off-hire for reasons other than scheduled repairs or repairs under guarantee, vessel upgrades, special surveys and intermediate dry-dockings or vessel positioning. Ownership days are the total number of days in a period during which we owned each of the vessels in our fleet. Available days are the number of ownership days in a period, less the aggregate number of days that our vessels were off-hire due to scheduled repairs or repairs under guarantee, vessel upgrades or special surveys and intermediate dry-dockings and the aggregate number of days that we spent positioning our vessels during the respective period for such repairs, upgrades and surveys. Operating days are the number of available days in a period, less the aggregate number of days that our vessels were off-hire or out of service due to any reason, including technical breakdowns and unforeseen circumstances.

EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and daily TCE are not recognized measures under U.S. GAAP and should not be regarded as substitutes for Revenues, net and Net income. Our presentation of EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and daily TCE does not imply, and should not be construed as an inference, that our future results will be unaffected by unusual or non-recurring items and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for a measure of performance prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

Recent Daily Fleet Data:

* Pyxis Delta was sold on January 13, 2020, and has been excluded from the calculations for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020 (the vessel had been under TC employment for approximately 2 days in January when it was re-delivered from charterers in order to be sold).

Subsequent Events

On July 1, 2020, the Company issued 68,410 of common shares at the volume weighted average closing share price for the 10 day period immediately prior to the quarter end related to the settlement of interest due under the second amendment to the Amended & Restated Promissory Note.

On July 8, 2020, Seventhone (the Companys subsidiary that owns the Pyxis Theta) entered into a new five year $15.3 million secured loan agreement, for the purpose of refinancing the outstanding indebtedness under the previous loan facility. The proceeds were used to prepay the outstanding indebtedness of $11.3 million in full as well as provide for working capital.

Conference Call and Webcast

We will host a conference call to discuss our results at 4:30 p.m., Eastern Time, on Monday, August 10, 2020.

Participants should dial into the call 10 minutes before the scheduled time using the following numbers: 1 (877) 553-9962 (US Toll Free Dial In), 0(808) 238-0669 (UK Toll Free Dial In) or +44 (0) 2071 928592 (Standard International Dial In). Please quote "Pyxis Tankers".

A telephonic replay of the conference call will be available until Monday, August 17, 2020, by dialing 1(866) 331-1332 (US Toll Free Dial In), 0(808) 238-0667 (UK Toll Free Dial In) or +44 (0) 3333 009785 (Standard International Dial In). The access code required for the replay is: 5478965#.

A live webcast of the conference call will be available through our website (http://www.pyxistankers.com) under our Events & Presentations page.

Webcast participants of the live conference call should register on the website approximately 10 minutes prior to the start of the webcast and can also access it through the following link:

https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/2402820/A0A878CB6684BA4A9DE320FAD1C9E970

An archived version of the webcast will be available on the website within approximately two hours of the completion of the call.

The information discussed on the conference call, or that can be accessed through, Pyxis Tankers Inc.s website is not incorporated into, and does not constitute part of this report.

About Pyxis Tankers Inc.

We own a modern fleet of five tankers engaged in seaborne transportation of refined petroleum products and other bulk liquids. We are focused on growing our fleet of medium range product tankers, which provide operational flexibility and enhanced earnings potential due to their eco features and modifications. Pyxis Tankers is positioned to opportunistically expand and maximize the value of its fleet due to competitive cost structure, strong customer relationships and an experienced management team, whose interests are aligned with those of its shareholders. For more information, visit: http://www.pyxistankers.com. The information discussed contained in, or that can be accessed through, Pyxis Tankers Inc.s website, is not incorporated into, and does not constitute part of this report.

Pyxis Tankers Fleet (as of August 6, 2020)

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 applicable securities laws. The words expected'', estimated, scheduled, could, should, anticipated, long-term, opportunities, potential, continue, likely, may, will, positioned, possible, believe, expand and variations of these terms and similar expressions, or the negative of these terms or similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking information or statements. But the absence of such words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. All statements that are not statements of either historical or current facts, including among other things, our expected financial performance, expectations or objectives regarding future and market charter rate expectations and, in particular, the effects of COVID-19 on our financial condition and operations and the product tanker industry in general, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions, expectations and estimates of management of Pyxis Tankers Inc. (we, our or Pyxis) at the date the information is made, and is based on a number of assumptions and subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. Although we believe that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements and information are based are reasonable, those are not guarantees of our future performance and you should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information because we cannot give any assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements and information address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated or implied in such information. Factors that might cause or contribute to such discrepancy include, but are not limited to, the risk factors described in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2019 and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC). The forward-looking statements and information contained in this presentation are made as of the date hereof. We do not undertake any obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except in accordance with U.S. federal securities laws and other applicable securities laws.

Company

Pyxis Tankers Inc.59 K. Karamanli StreetMaroussi 15125 Greeceinfo@pyxistankers.com

Visit our website at http://www.pyxistankers.com

Company Contact

Henry WilliamsChief Financial OfficerTel: +30 (210) 638 0200 / +1 (516) 455-0106Email: hwilliams@pyxistankers.com

Source: Pyxis Tankers Inc.

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Pyxis Tankers Announces Financial Results for the Three and Six Months Ended June 30, 2020 - GlobeNewswire

Industrial robots are dominating but are they safe from cyber-attacks? – TechHQ

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The pandemic has repeatedly reaffirmed our needs for robots. The time has come for industrial robots to take over factory floors and showcase the suite of benefits they bring to manufacturing.

Robots are generally known to automate repetitive tasks and free up valuable time for their human colleagues to take on more complex and creative tasks; the current social distancing measures have built a stronger case as to why we need robots.

Industrial robots have a long legacy of assembling everything from heavy automobiles, airplanes, electrical appliances, and are now even bring developed for more domestic tasks such as sorting out your trash.

Globally, robots have demonstrated remarkable versatility and strength in taking over human labor with consistent speed and precision. This highly efficient employee has won over factory owners. The global industrial robot market size is predicted to hit US$66.48 billion by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 15.1% during the forecast period, statesFortune Business Insights.

Although there is a phenomenal growth in industrial robots, a new report titled Rogue Automation by Trend Micro Research found that some robots have existing flaws that make them susceptible to cyber-attacks.

Theresearch paperaims to reveal previously unknown design flaws that malicious actors could exploit to hide malicious functionalities in industrial robots and other automated, programmable manufacturing machines.

Since robots are generally connected to networks and programmed via software, they could potentially pose as entry points for bad actors. The report listed several real-life examples of flaws found in the software produced and distributed by Swiss-Swedish multinational corporation ABB, one of the worlds largest industrial robot producers. Researchers also spotted vulnerabilities in the popular open-source software named Robot Operating System Industrial or ROS-I.

Researchers discovered vulnerabilities in an app written in ABBs proprietary programming language and used to automate industrial machines. The discovered flaw is the very tool that hackers can leverage on and gain access to networks, exfiltrating valuable files, and sensitive data.

Industrial secrets are traded for very high prices in underground marketplaces and have become one of the main targets of cyberwarfare operations, the study noted.

The research also found a vulnerability that attackers can exploit to interfere with a robots movements via a network. By spoofing (an unknown source disguising as a known, trusted source to communicate) network packets, attackers can cause unintended movements or interrupt existing flows of set procedure, but adequately configured safety systems could make it challenging for hackers to succeed. This vulnerability found in a ROS-Is software component was written for Kuka and ABB robots.

The report clarified that appropriate measures were taken to deal with the discovered vulnerability. One was removed by the vendor (ABB) upon our responsible disclosure. The other vulnerabilities fostered a fruitful conversation with ROS-Industrial, which led to the development of some of the mitigation recommendations described, as written in the report.

Robotics are continuing to show their worth on the factory floors, and while theyve been a fixture in many industries such as car manufacturing for decades, they are becoming increasingly advanced and versatile. Artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), cloud, and 5G are fueling the evolution of highly automated and increasingly intelligent industrial robots.

The International Federation of Robotics estimates that by 2022, we will see close to 4 million industrial robots in factories worldwide. At the same time, the intricately connected networks between machines and systems are susceptible to the growing scale and robustness of cyberattacks.

Dr. Nicholas Patterson, a cybersecurity lecturer at Deakin University,commentedthat the security risks are not limited to industrial robots but also home-based robots such as robotic vacuum cleaners and drones.

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Industrial robots are dominating but are they safe from cyber-attacks? - TechHQ

High demand for robotics skills in post-Corona recovery – EPPM

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By 2022, an operational stock of almost four million industrial robots are expected to work in factories worldwide. These robots will play a vital role in automating production to speed up the post-Corona economy.

Robots are driving demand for skilled workers, according to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), and so educational systems must effectively adjust to this demand.

IFR President Milton Guerry said: Governments and companies around the globe now need to focus on providing the right skills necessary to work with robots and intelligent automation systems. This is important to take maximum advantage of the opportunities that these technologies offer. The post-Corona recovery will further accelerate the deployment of robotics. Policies and strategies are important to help workforces make the transition to a more automated economy.

Saadia Zahidi, Head of Education, Gender and Employment Initiatives at the World Economic Forum, agreed: Very few countries are taking the bull by the horns when it comes to adapting education systems for the age of automation. Those that are, have long had a clear focus on human capital development. Countries in northern Europe, as well as Singapore are probably running some of the most useful experiments for the future world of work.

Robot suppliers support the education of the workforce with practice-oriented training.

IFR General Secretary Dr Susanne Bieller concluded: Re-training the existing workforce is only a short-term measure. We must already start way earlier curricula for schools and undergraduate education need to match the demand of the industry for the workforce of the future. Demand for technical and digital skills is increasing, but equally important are cognitive skills like problem-solving and critical thinking. Economies must embrace automation and build the skills required to profit otherwise they will be at a competitive disadvantage.

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High demand for robotics skills in post-Corona recovery - EPPM

The Search for the Next Robotics Legend is on!!! – TechCity

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TheNext Robotics Legendis an initiative designed by Edu360, Union Banks education platform, in collaboration with Awarri, a pan-African technology company, to infuse Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the education of the Nigerian child. This stems from therealisationthat the solutions to some of our most complicated problems as a nation lie in the education of our children today.

Thisfirst-of-its-kind robotics training and competition for students aged 11 to 16will focus on identifying and nurturing young potential inventors and creators who will receive necessary training to solve some of the challenges facing the Nigerian society with the aid of robotics and AI.

To enter, take a 30 second video of your child telling us what they like about robots. Upload onwww.edu360.ngandfill the accompanying consent form. 25 of the most creative andpassionate entries will be selected to participate in the robotics training.

At the end of the free training programme, participants will be required to identify a need in their community, and apply the skills learnt to proffer a solution. The student with the best solution will be admitted for a mentorship program with Awarri, theadvanced AI and roboticscompany owned by Silas Adekunle top international robotics engineer renowned for creating the worlds first intelligent gaming robot.

Schools are not left out! To ensure the sustenance of the initiative, Edu360 will partner with four secondary schools by providing robotics toolkits and training for their teachers to enable them include robotics in their curriculum.

Entries will be received fromAugust 7th to 21st, 2020.Visitwww.edu360.ngfor more information.

Terms and conditions apply.

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The Search for the Next Robotics Legend is on!!! - TechCity

Robots to the rescue – UCI News

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The pandemics restrictions on person-to-person interaction have upended the conventional means of helping people deal with a crisis. At the same time, the situation highlights the potential benefits of socially assistive robots, according to Jeffrey Krichmar, UCI professor of cognitive sciences.

In general, I dont think the public is very aware of what these robots can do to improve our lives, he says. Theres more education that needs to be done. I hope COVID-19 will be a wakeup call to our robotics community to spur new ideas.

Socially assistive robots interact with people and can perform household chores, accomplish healthcare tasks and offer emotional support. Mobile devices with multiple sensors and manipulators, they communicate through wireless internet connectivity and can function either autonomously or via remote control. The robots are employed in education, healthcare and business, as well as disaster relief operations.

Telepresence robots, for instance, allow children or adults homebound with a chronic illness or other medical condition to engage in school or workplace activities. The units are physically located in the classroom or office, giving users mobility and a sense of being on- site.

As we begin to reopen [society], I anticipate a hybrid situation where some people can attend school or go to work, but others must stay home, Krichmar says. Being able to participate remotely through a moving robot could make that transition smoother. I can also see this technology expanding to a wider population. For example, people could visit their relatives in nursing homes or hospitals this way.

Robotic dogs, cats and baby seals can provide emotional support to those who are lonely or anxious due to shelter-in-place restrictions, along with the elderly and children with neurodevelopmental disorders similar to the comfort that a pet offers but without the care, feeding and mess. These are not yet in widespread use, however, because theyre costly and limited in their capacity.

UCIs Cognitive Anteater Robotics Laboratory, led by Krichmar, is where cutting-edge robotic systems that mimic the mammalian brain are designed. A number of its projects involve the Toyota Human Support Robot. Called CARL SR, its been programmed to perform such basic tasks as serving meals, putting away groceries and taking out the trash, as well as functions requiring higher-level cognition skills. These include anticipating a persons needs and retrieving any associated objects, as well as learning where theyre located.

Krichmar is confident that assistive robots will, in the future, play a larger role during crises like the current one. He sees parallels to Japans Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011. That accident highlighted the fact that robots were not ready to help, which led to a number of advances in rescue robotics, Krichmar says. Im hopeful that this pandemic will prompt the socially assistive robotics community to make progress so that we can be prepared to help in future health crises.

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Robots to the rescue - UCI News

For Robots, Its a Time to Shine (and Maybe Disinfect) – The New York Times

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The Neo is a four-foot-tall, 1,000-pound robot floor scrubber. The high-tech machine can cruise large commercial buildings on its own, with no human supervision required.

Since its introduction in 2016, Neos sales have roughly doubled each year, said Faizan Sheikh, the chief executive and a co-founder of Avidbots, the Canadian start-up that created the robot. This year, however, demand has shot up 100 percent just since the pandemic-induced shutdown in March. Suddenly, the need for thorough, reliable and frequent cleaning is front and center.

Before, a top executive at a big company would not really have known how their facilities got cleaned, Mr. Sheikh said. They would have outsourced it to a facilities management company, who might outsource it out again.

Now, company leaders are showing more interest, asking questions about the cleaning process and schedule, as well as safety and effectiveness. That can lead to interest in automation, he said.

Indeed, cleaning robots are having a moment in commercial real estate. Their creators are promoting the machines as cost-effective solutions to the cleaning challenges posed by the pandemic. They can be put to frequent use without requiring more paid labor hours, they are always compliant, and some can even provide the data to prove that they have scoured every inch assigned.

The autonomous robots available now are primarily for cleaning floors and carpets, but companies are busy developing other cleaning applications. Boston Dynamics, a robotics design company in Waltham, Mass., for example, is in a partnership to develop a disinfecting solution that can be mounted atop its four-legged Spot robot, a company spokeswoman said.

Robotics are also being used to relieve humans of repetitive back-office tasks like accounting, according to a 2018 report from Deloitte. As more buildings incorporate smart technology, data collection and conversion will become increasingly important.

Somatic, a start-up in New York, is working on a robot that can clean bathrooms using a spray technology, said Michael Levy, the chief executive. Removing a human cleaner from the bathroom makes the area safer because of the reduced risk of spreading germs, Mr. Levy said. And the robot will always do the job exactly as it is programmed to do.

You have to let the chemicals set to do their job, but compliance is tough in the industry, Mr. Levy said. If you tell a robot to leave the chemicals for 36 seconds, they leave the chemicals for 36 seconds every single time.

The idea of robotic cleaning is not new. The first attempts were in the 1970s, Mr. Sheikh said, but the technology was not up to the task, and the machines were extremely cost prohibitive.

The Neo is sophisticated enough to create its own maps of a facility after being walked through it a single time, he said. The customer then works with Avidbots to develop cleaning plans, which may vary depending on the day of the week.

After a human selects a cleaning plan, you press start and walk away, Mr. Sheikh said. The robot figures out its own path.

Designed for facilities of at least 80,000 square feet, Neos sell for $50,000, plus $300 a month for software that tracks cleaning performance. At that price, the break-even point for the buyer is 12 to 18 months, Mr. Sheikh said.

They can also be rented for $2,500 a month, including maintenance and software, on a minimum three-year contract.

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport deploys its Neo three or four times a day to clean the hundreds of thousands of square feet of tiled floor, said Brian Cobb, the airports chief innovation officer.

Neo has the artificial intelligence capability where, as its moving along its original path, if it sees something in its way, it will go around it, Mr. Cobb said. If the obstacle is there the next day, Neo will incorporate it into its map.

Before Neos activation in January, the airport had three workers cleaning floors every night, amounting to an average 24 labor hours per day, Mr. Cobb said. The Neo has taken over a portion of that, though workers are still needed to do heavier floor maintenance, like burnishing and recoating. It also frees cleaning staff to focus on making sure that high-touch areas of the airport are cleaned more frequently during the pandemic, he said.

SoftBank, the Japanese multinational conglomerate, introduced the Whiz autonomous carpet cleaner through its robotics unit in November, said Kass Dawson, the vice president of brand strategy and brand communications at SoftBank Robotics. Already, more than 10,000 compact Whiz robots have been deployed around the globe

They caught the attention of Jeff Tingley, the president of Sparkle Services, a cleaning company in Enfield, Conn., that works in large commercial facilities throughout Connecticut, New Jersey and New York. He said he had long been interested in robotic cleaning but had not found the technology to be advanced enough or cost effective.

Vacuuming is one of the most time-consuming processes in cleaning. With Whiz, you can essentially wipe out 90 percent of the vac time required, Mr. Tingley said. You still need humans with backpack vacs for under desks and chairs, but weve gained a lot of hours.

The Whiz leases for $500 to $550 a month, which includes maintenance and data collection that provides clients with the confirmed clean, Mr. Dawson said.

The robots software was developed by Brain Corp, a San Diego company that teams up with outside manufacturers mainly in cleaning and warehousing industries. Brain Corps autonomous technology, BrainOS, is also in robots made by Tennant, Minuteman, Krcher and others.

In the second quarter this year, retailers use of BrainOS-powered robots climbed 24 percent from a year earlier, said Chris Wright, Brain Corps vice president of sales. Median daily use rose 20 percent, to 2.58 hours from 2.15, he said.

He noted that much of the increase was during daytime hours, signaling a major shift in cleaning schedules.

Cleaning is now coming to the first shift because its becoming important to companies image, Mr. Wright said. Everyones a little tentative when they walk into buildings now. One of the things that will immediately put people at ease is when they see cleaning happening.

Mr. Tingley has seen it when the Whiz is moving around an office floor. Its a friendly machine that stops if you walk in front of it and uses a blinker to signal when its turning, and people seem to like it, he said.

During this fearful period, the folks in buildings have blank looks or even unhappy frowns, he said. When the Whiz passes by, it brings a smile to their face. Its almost like a pet everybody wants to name it.

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For Robots, Its a Time to Shine (and Maybe Disinfect) - The New York Times

BITS Pilani students’ robotics startup is working towards mind-controlled wheelchairs and prostheses – YourStory

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Siddhant Dangi and Deepansh Goyal, final year engineering students at Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Pilani, have turned entrepreneurs by launching a technology startup that can help understand the thoughts of a human mind.

Siddhant had watched a TED talk video by Greg Gage, who demonstrated the ability to control a cockroach by sending electrical impulses to its antennas. This enthused him and Deepansh to work tirelessly on a project that could lead to better interface between human beings and machines.

Nexstem Founders Siddhant Dangi (left) and Deepansh Goyal

The budding entrepreneurs strongly believe that unlike the human body, the human brain has no limits. With advancements in technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), there is better understanding on the pattern of human thoughts and how devices around us can be controlled by the mind.

Siddhant and Deepansh went about their mission to build a technology platform where the signals from the human brain could be collected, processed, and analysed to determine the pattern of thoughts.

At the core of this is electroencephalography (EEG), which is used to capture or monitor the brains electrical signals. EEG technologies have been available but it is only now that there is greater accuracy, thanks to AI and ML.

Nexstem has developed hardware and software capabilities to read electrical signals from the human brain more accurately.

It has created a headgear that captures electrical impulses of the brain and transmits them to its software platform, which analyses the data. Siddhant mentions that the cheapest EEG device that captures these signals costs around Rs 80,000.

The duo took part in various competitions and won several cash grants, including Rs 10 lakh from a leading MNC. They invested all the money into product development.

The Nexstem headgear collects and analyses impulses from the human brain

The founders of Nexstem have developed a sophisticated signal processing technology and machine learning algorithms that can capture and understand the electrical impulses in the mind to give better insights into what a person is thinking.

According to Siddhant, their signal processing and prediction technology works flawlessly, blocking all the external noise to give clean data.

The technology developed by the two young students can find applications in various sectors like healthcare, smart homes, and robotics. It can help develop a more effective bionic arm, allowing human thoughts to ensure better co-ordination with the body.

Deepansh is very clear that they will not focus on a single product or device; the founders want to create a platform that can find multiple applications. The startup aims to help companies integrate their software platform with their devices.

There is still work to be done as Nexstem's software development kit is yet to be opened to the public. The founders plan to launch it in the next four to six months.

There will be protocols on how to use their software technology platform in terms of code, controls, and functions available.

The strides made by Nexstem have already evinced interest from the investor community and technology companies. It has received funding from HostelFund, a platform that helps student entrepreneurs, and also from BITS Spark Angels, a group of angel investors who are BITS Pilani alumni.

The founders say they will reach out to individuals who can make immense value addition to the startup, in terms of technology and market access.

Siddhant and Deepansh received ample support from their institute too. Despite being sceptical about their venture initially, BITS Pilani has been very supportive.

Both the founders have kept themselves mostly free from academics to focus on their startup. They overloaded their courses in their previous semesters.

Siddhant and Deepansh will be graduating in May next year but envision their journey with the startup for the next four years. They plan to create a base in Gurugram and will target the US and India markets with their technology platform and devices.

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Cleaning robots are in vogue with COVID-19 – FierceElectronics

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Brain Corp. of San Diego, an AI company, recently reported a 24% increase in BrainOS-powered autonomous robot usage in the second quarter amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The BrainOS works in a number of robot models for floor scrubbers, vacuum sweepers, in-store delivery tugs and shelf scanners. More than 10,000 are deployed worldwide in groceries, malls, airports, hospitals and other public places.

Brain Corp. is funded by Qualcomm Ventures and SoftBank Vision Fund. SoftBank Robotics makes the Whiz, an automated vacuum sweeper with Whiz Connect software for providing data analytics to confirm its performance and improve its effectiveness. BrainOS is also used in robots from Tennant, Minuteman, Karcher and more.

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With the 24% increase in usage, Brain Corp. also noticed a median daily use increase of 20% to 2.58 hours, with much of the cleaning done during daytime hours instead of overnight. Customers are apparently put to ease when they see cleaning happening, according to one Brain Corp. sales executive.

Fierce Electronics spoke to Brain Corp.s Jean-Baptist Passot about the increased use of robots during the pandemic. He is vice president of platform and AI.

FE: How much are your autonomous cleaning robots in demand lately?

Passot: For our existing end-customers, we observed a usage increase for essential businesses that were open. Among retailers in US locations, the usage rose by 13.8% during Q1 of 2020, compared to the same period last year, and jumped by 24% during Q2 of 2020. We also observed an increase in daytime usage. Demand for robots has also increased and our partners are seeing that in their pipelines. We believe that this pandemic will have a material impact in accelerating interest and adoption of robots.

FE: How are companies being helped?

Passot: Overall, Brain-powered robots deliver over 10,000 autonomous hours of work each day. Thats allowing employees whose workload shot up to focus on the tasks that only humans can do clean high-contact surfaces, spend more time with customers, help with customer flow, and also take a much-needed break.

FE: What have you learned amid the rush to the robotics technology?

Passot: Our philosophy has always been that robots should be designed to assist humans, not replace them. We also believe robots should require little expertise to deploy and use. The rush, increase in usage, and increase in demand has reinforced these assumptions and validated our user-centric approach. Deploying a BrainOS powered robot does not require complex tools or lengthy training. Virtually, everyone can deploy or make changes to the behavior, it does not require technical knowledge, you can just train the robot by manually operating it and retrain it whenever needed.

If you think back to the beginning of the pandemic, grocery stores and big-box retailers were changing how they operated on what seemed like a daily basis. That includes enter-only, exit-only doors. Controlling flow: aisles changed to one-way only, new lines to check out. Different operating hours so they could restock everything and clean overnight. This meant the robots had to be retrained often, sometimes daily.

Since they also operate in manual mode, you could have easily seen stores choose to use the machines that way or let the machine sit if they were too hard to retrain. Instead, usage went up. Our simple teach and repeat approach meant the end-users could quickly and easily adapt the robot to the changing operating conditions. This delivered the work hours they needed to get all the tasks done. It was great for our teams to see this validation of our design and our hard work,and it was exciting to see how the technology we built could help during these unprecedented times.

Jean-Baptist Passot will appear with other panelists during Fierce AI Week on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. EST in the engineering AI track. The online event is free. An agenda and registration are online.

RELATED: Bossa Nova robots are trained to perform in sun glare

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Breakthrough A.I. Companion Robots Will Adapt to Your Personality, Help the Elderly – Observer

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This year, as coronavirus-induced panic caused public life to retreat behind closed doors, the fortunes of socially vulnerable senior citizens plummeted. For many, being forced to curtail visits from friends and family, keeping coronavirus out meant letting loneliness in.

In the not-so-distant future, however, this painful trade-off may not be necessary.

Thats thanks to advances in the realm of socially intelligent artificial intelligence, a phenomenon that a group of British scientists is on the cusp of cracking.

Our system builds a companionable relationship with you through conversation, explains Professor Oliver Lemon of Heriot-Watt University, a public research university in Edinburgh, Scotland. It learns about your interests. Whether youre really into jazz and sci-fi movies, say, or that you dont particularly like politics.

Alana, as the teams A.I. is known, is the next step in conversation-capable software, far surpassing the abilities of todays consumer offerings. Whereas Apples Siri and Amazons Alexa platforms are limited to single-person interaction and cannot hold an authentic back-and-forth conversation, Alana can speak with multiple humans (or machines) at once.

This level of sophistication has taken 20 years of machine learningwhen a system levels up automatically through the analysis of datato achieve, Lemon tells Observer.

[Alana] learns from every conversation that [it has] with somebody. We use machine learning to modify our system, to make it do the things that were successful in conversation more often.

See Also: Siri Co-Inventor: The Internet Is a Vast Psychology ExperimentAnd It Scares Me

In a COVID-19 healthcare setting, this sort of conversational ability could be a major asset, Lemon says, envisaging a hospital waiting room manned not by a living receptionist, but an Alana-suffused robot, capable of logging and interacting with arrivals unencumbered by social distancing measures.

Its in the elderly care sector that companionable tech could really shine, though. Short of alienating older people, research shows that conversation-bots can decrease stress and improve mood. With pensioners continuing to shield amid fears of a second spike in coronavirus cases, socially intelligent software could help soften the blow of isolation, Lemon believes.

[Alana] is an open domain system, so its able to talk about movies, music, books. It has the whole of Wikipedia indexed also, so it can provide you with a lot of detailed information. And it has 150 different news sources, so it can talk about current news stories.

And though Alana is not designed to replace human interactionindeed, one of its key functions is to bring like-minded individuals togetherit can, in some respects, offer a better conversational experience.

It can be available 24/7, and you dont need to worry about making it bored or annoyed, Lemon explains.

His teams work is part of a wider drive by Heriot-Watt University to find technological solutions to the problems facing older people, particularly those impacted by the pandemic.

David Weir is one such individual. Legally blind and 87-years-old, COVID-19 has confronted him with a series of challenges to which robotics may be the answer.

The biggest challenge Ive faced in recent months has been the lack of social contact, Weir tells Observer, highlighting everyday issues like struggling to make a video call to his family or set the temperature on his oven. In an effort to overcome these hurdles with new, assistive technologies, he has been invited to work remotely with researchers.

As for Alana, theres still work to be done, Professor Lemon concedes.

This is still a very active research topic. Youll probably have quite a good experience for a while, and then youll feel that the conversation sort of breaks down.

He is nonetheless optimistic. Early next year, a robot running Alana will be installed in a Paris hospital, primed to support patientsand, happily, offer a bit of social companionship into the bargain.

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Vancouver Island business using robots to bring down concrete walls – vancouverislandfreedaily.com

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Watching a hydro-demolition process is like marvelling at what water can do at an extremely high pressure.

B.C. based cleaning firm, Walco Industries, brought along a couple of specialized robots to demonstrate the efficiency of hydro-blasting at the old Elk falls mill based inside Discovery Park in Campbell River.

For hydro-demolition, robots use high volumes of water at extremely high pressure anywhere between 15,000 psi to 40,000 psi to break apart concrete while still preserving the structural integrity of the remaining concrete.

At the site of demolition, a 20 by 20 feet wall structure was brought down by robots by making two vertical incisions in the wall, using 60 gallons of water per minute at 20,000 psi.

The water for the procedure came from hydrants on site where it was filtered before going through high pressure pumps. After being used on the concrete it is collected, pumped to a settling pond or moved by vacuum truck, and filtered/treated until clean.

Hydro-demolition is 10 times more faster than traditional methods that require jack hammers and environmentally safe as it reduces noise and dust pollution.

Moreover these methods would end up creating micro fractures in the structures during the process while at the same time leaving the operator with fatigue and hand-arm vibration syndrome, said Richard Lawson, project coordinator for Walco Industries.

The use of robotics eliminates these undesirable effects, he said.

Micro-fractures are avoided through a process called concrete scarification a form of surface preparation where a concrete surface is roughened up in order to provide an appropriate surface for fresh concrete to adhere to.

This technology is used on bridge decks, dams, water treatment facilities, piers docks and nuclear power plants among others.

RELATED: Germ-killing robots to fight COVID-19 at this B.C. hospital

RELATED: Snacks on wheels: PepsiCo tests self-driving robot delivery

Hydro-demolition was a natural direction for the company as it is a highly efficient way to update any aging infrastructure. It is not just quicker but also cuts down on noise, dust and worker fatigue which allows for working in areas where noise is an issue and also where dust could be problematic, said Lawson.

There are only two firms in Western Canada that has this technology and Walco industries is one of them. The firm is the only operator on Vancouver Island that has specialized robotics to carry out hydro-blasting, said Lawson.

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Re-industrializing HK with human-machine collaborative robots EJINSIGHT – EJ Insight

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More and more local companies have participated in manufacturing surgical masks in Hong Kong amid the pandemic. However, the production still requires considerable manual work as seen on TV news. I always wonder if the production process can be sped up further by applying more advanced technologies, adding more sophisticated features, and at the same time making it easier to attain a more hygienic environment for mask production.

Maybe we can consider collaborative robot (Cobot), which can assist humans in repetitive and unsafe tasks, while humans can concentrate on work which Cobot cannot yet take over.

Cobot has a wide range of applications. A few years ago, there was an online video about a robotic arm stir-frying rice noodle with beef, a popular dish in Hong Kong. The robotic arm went smoothly from adding cooking oil to the frying pan, tossing the pan and stir-frying the rice noodle. During the process, the chef only participated by adding the ingredients to make the dish. This robotic arm is actually a Cobot. With the assistance of the robotic arm, the chef can avoid repetitive actions of tossing the frying pan, thus, reducing the strain on the hand or forearm.

The beauty of Cobots is its ease-of-use. Some have intelligent hand-guided learning ability by which the operator can simply teach a Cobot a new program by moving the robotic arm manually. Cobots developed by Japanese company Denso, for example, emphasizes no expert knowledge is required for its operation.

Whats more, compared to industrial robots, Cobot is relatively compact in size with lower upfront costs. This is particularly attractive to SMEs that are non-veteran in automation.

OECD research found that corporations that employ technology effectively or so called global productivity frontiers are ten times more productive than those that have not. No wonder the sales of cobots in recent years has increased significantly. It surged by nearly 60% year-on-year from 2017 to 2018, and expected to reach more than US$1 billion this year, according to Interact Analysis, a research company headquartered in the U.K. The annual revenues for Cobots is forecast to reach US$5.6 billion by 2027, accounting for 30 percent of the total robot market.

In Hong Kong, the popularity of Cobots has started to rise. One of the examples is showcased by the Construction Innovation and Technology Application Centre that an external pipe repair robot is specially developed for inspection and repairing pipe work. Workers only need to operate indoors, and the robot will perform tasks on polishing and painting fixed pipes on the external walls of buildings. As a result, it can reduce accidents and strains in workers arising from working at heights. Companies like Towngas have already adopted it. Another one called ZeorG Arm allows construction workers to carry and operate heavy tools as if they were weightless and still with complete freedom of motion at all angles. The robotic arm helps to avoid injury to the user's back and feet due to excessive loads.

Many people are worrying that technology may take away their jobs especially under the poor economy which has been severely hit by the pandemic. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, however, showed the opposite: Employment in the automotive industry, the largest adopter of robots, increased by 22% from 824,400 to 1,005,000 jobs between 2013 to 2018, as quoted by the International Federation of Robotics. While old jobs have been taken over by robots, new jobs for laborers are being created.

In recent years, the Hong Kong government has actively promoted re-industrialization, emphasizing the application of innovative technology to create a high value-added manufacturing industry. I hope the local business, such as mask production companies, with the assistance of Cobots, human workers can avoid repetitive work and at the same time produce products with sophisticated functions for people not only in Hong Kong but also worldwide as well.

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Adjunct Professor, Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Engineering; Department of Geography, Faculty of Social Sciences and Faculty of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong

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Drones, robots and big data: cutting-edge technology against forest fires | Innovation – Explica

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From Australia to California and Brazil. From Spain, Portugal and Greece to Sweden, Norway and Siberia. The great forest fires have become a global tragedy, closely linked to the devastating effects of climate change, which devastate lives and forests. The situation in Spain, the second southern European country that suffers the most from these claims (only surpassed in recent years by Portugal), is especially serious. Last year alone, about 11,000 fires burned almost 84,000 hectares in Spain, more than triple the number in all of 2018, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

The adverse meteorological situations, with increasingly frequent heat waves and drought, aggravate the conditions of propagation of the flames and extend the period of risk of vulnerable mountains and with insufficient forest management, environmental organizations denounce. Massive fires and fires that occur on five continents and whose virulence is increasing, with dire consequences for people, the environment and the global climate.

Beyond the use of drones or satellite images, new technologies have become an indispensable ally in the fight against flames. Robotics, 5G, big data and artificial intelligence at the service of the planet to prevent, anticipate and act effectively when the first spark is unleashed. Millions of data with accurate information to fight increasingly dangerous, fast and uncontrollable fires. In this context, innovative projects and ideas multiply. Behind many of them are Spanish engineers and startups, with world-class leading proposals and pioneering initiatives that have been exported to other countries.

This is the case, for example, of Wastmote, a wireless sensor platform developed by the Aragonese company Libelium. An electronic device detects the risk of fire by combining several measurement parameters, such as temperature, humidity, ambient pressure and solar radiation, and transmits the information via the Internet. These sensors have been installed this year in different parts of the Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park, in the Aragonese Pyrenees. In this way, it is possible to know at the moment which areas of the forest are most exposed to a possible fire. Thanks to the Internet of Things, investment in technology at the service of environmental sustainability is one of the greatest legacies that we can contribute to the conservation of natural spaces. Without forgetting that we are acting on resources of great tourist attraction that generate a favorable impact on the economy and local employment , they explain in Libelium.

A worker at the Eberswalde fire control center, Brandenburg (Germany) observes a cloud of smoke on his screen over a forest. .

The experts agree. In the field of prevention, detection and extinction, recovery of burned areas and analysis, new technologies are a treasure. Thanks to very precise mathematical models, big data and artificial intelligence allow us to develop tools and applications to anticipate time and know what is going to happen before anything happens. They also offer greater capacity for action and planning when undertaking extinction work, and are in turn of great help in the reconstruction of forest masses , points out the forestry engineer Jos Ramn Gonzlez.

This is what happens with Wildfire Analyst, a software that provides real-time analysis of the behavior of wildfires. The program simulates the spread of these claims in a few seconds and enables fast and accurate decision making. The system integrates with satellite detection every five minutes and real-time data reading from 80,000 weather stations. In addition, it monitors the vegetation and severity of the fire in collaboration with NASA and Google. In turn, it integrates drone images and uses supercomputing. Every day we simulate 380 million virtual fires in California, computing the possible impacts to people, houses and critical points. This same system is used by the largest American electricity companies to reduce their risk of fires , explains Joaqun Ramrez, CEO of Tecnosylva.

This company from Len has been working in the US for seven years and its technological developments have made it a world reference. Tecnosylva is also responsible for fiResponse, a multiplatform that allows monitoring and managing incidents related to fires. Different organizations and users can use this tool in a synchronized way and share information while the accident occurs. Eight US states already use this device, as do several autonomous communities in Spain.

Man has the last word

Despite all these advances, experts agree that new technologies can never replace the human factor. They should never be an excuse or alibi for inaction or to support the justifications for a bad decision or inadequate management of an emergency, warn Pablo Grriz and Jos Manuel Peribez, members of the Spanish Association for the Fight Against Fire (Aself ). If an automation of decisions is intended without human intervention based on elements taken into account in artificial intelligence, we will be facing a scenario of robotization of decisions and the abandonment of functions with serious consequences, even legal. What no one doubts is that learning and training procedures and techniques based on simulators, tele-training platforms, augmented reality and 3D tools have favored decision-making when dealing with a forest fire.

Here, algorithms and mathematical models are essential. The key is to make the numerically complex visually simple, which helps to quickly understand what is happening and to act more correctly. This is the basis of Wuiview, one of the most innovative projects funded by the European Commission whose aim is to create a platform that helps prevent fires at the urban-forest interface. That is, in those areas where the vegetation of the mountain is in contact with homes, industrial buildings, roads, telephone lines and electricity The end result will be a tool for fire risk analysis based on open source so that it can be used by engineers and architects.

In this kind of virtual 3D laboratory, sophisticated numerical simulation tools are used to study how the combustion of the elements that exist in the forest environment that surrounds the houses and in the buildings themselves begins and progresses. For this we have extracted a specific number of typical situations, lessons learned from fires that have already occurred and on which we have done important forensic investigation work, explains forestry engineer David Caballero. After these situations are rehearsed in the fire laboratory to observe the factors and phenomena that govern them, and finally we proceed to their numerical simulation in three dimensions. This process allows us to see in advance what can happen in the event of a fire , he illustrates. Drones and leading technology based on sensors that emit rays of light are used to build these three-dimensional models.

The list of projects and initiatives that are already underway are almost endless. Robots that see through smoke, drones that transmit maps in real time with georeferenced aerial images, robotic tanks capable of penetrating flames and withstanding high temperatures In the future, technology will increasingly help humans in this task . We will have immediate and visually more intuitive access to data that is relevant. Efficient communication in the event of a fire will allow us to quickly learn about our opportunities for evacuation or confinement. We will be able to see the safest routes, the progress that the front of flames and smoke will have and know if these elements will threaten the roads through which we are going to pass , predicts Caballero. And the means of intervention will more easily control all the elements deployed in these emergency scenarios: population and movement, threatened infrastructure, possible evolution of the weather, expected spread of the fire, possible domino effects A not so distant future in which technology will be the protagonist again.

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How can nanomedicine be applied to cannabis? – Leafly

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Imagine a world in which a tiny nanorobot could deliver a specific cannabinoid directly to your endocannabinoid (ECS) receptors. The nanorobot would be thousands of times smaller than the breadth of a human hair and could carry its small cargo inside a single droplet of liquid to deliver it directly to a target cell such as a cancer cell.

Sound far-fetched? It may be closer than you think, because researchers are making great strides in the fascinating field of nanomedicine.

The cannabis plant contains an amazing group of cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids, and scientists are only beginning to unlock the complex pharmacology and potential of these compounds. Combined with nanomedicine, cannabis has even more potential to treat disease and provide overall health benefits for people.

Scientists can manipulate substances on an atomic scale, in the range of 1-100 nanometers, or one thousand times thinner than a sheet of paper. According to the US Nanotechnology Initiative, substances on the nanoscale have very different properties than bulk substances dounique properties like better electrical conductance, higher strength, and different magnetic properties, light reflection, or chemical reactivity. Nanotechnology can be performed on solids, liquids, or gases to unlock these unique phenomena.

For these reason, nanotechnology applications in medicine offer exciting promise and possibilities, especially when applied to cannabis compounds. Many nanotechnology applications are already in usecomputer circuits made from carbon nanotubes allow for far greater computing power, and nanoparticles are already being used in pharmaceuticals to improve absorption.

Researchers work on all kinds of aspects of nanotechnology, such as finding the best substance for nanoparticles, the best shape for a nanoparticle for a specific delivery, and the best transfer mechanisms for specific drugs. Nanoparticles can generate heat, deliver stem cells, be radioactive or metallic, and so much more.

While many applications are still only imagined by scientists, at its full potential, nanotechnology could be the next medical revolution, vastly changing how diseases are detected and treated.

One of the best applications of nanomedicine is in the area of drug delivery, whereby nanoparticles deliver substances directly to specific cells, like diseased cancer cells. Researchers can engineer nanoparticles to be attracted to a diseased cell and limit the ability to bind with and therefore damage healthy cells.

Scientists at MIT and other institutions have successfully used specific nanoparticles to deliver drugs to tumors. Even more interesting is that nanoparticles are developed to work togetherwhile one locates a tumor, another can use the signal from the first to effectively carry the drug to its intended target.

In one interesting application, scientists have created a nanoparticle that looks for hydrogen peroxide present in inflamed tissue, then it releases a drug in that environment to target heart disease.

There is great promise that nanotechnology and cannabinoids can make an impact on diseases like cancer, multiple sclerosis, Parkinsons, diabetes, and a wide range of serious inflammatory diseases.

Nanotechnology can help identify a disease at an early stage, perhaps even when a single cell has gone awry, and then deliver a targeted cannabinoid to correct a cells behavior, thus stopping the disease in its tracks. It may even be possible for a nanorobot to target a specific endocannabinoid receptor to shut down the entire inflammatory process for the betterment of a patient.

Cannabinoid nanodelivery systems have entered the research mainstream, with scientists working on biologically engineered cannabinoids and other nanoparticles to be transported to cells, and by creating nanocarrier transport substances out of metallics or other substances.

Delivery system research also touches on improving bioavailabilitythe rate at which the active substance of a drug enters the bloodstreamas well as improving the physical stability of nanoparticles and optimizing routes of administration, including injection, pills, or sublingual drops.

A nanotechnology-based targeted drug delivery system can be formulated to deliver cannabinoids directly to endocannabinoid receptors, where the magic happens. Cannabinoids can be packed inside a nanoparticle and carried to its intended target without degradation and with a controlled release.

For example, nanoemulsions are already used in the food industry to deliver probiotics or other bioactive ingredients in a very controlled release. These nanoemulsions use a combination of two liquids that dont normally combinesuch as oil and waterto serve as a barrier to chemical degradation for the cannabinoid while on its journey through the body.

Other encapsulation methods can help with potency issues by increasing absorption, they can help decrease side effects, and they can help cover a substances bitter taste.

Specific cannabis strains could even have tailored therapeutic profiles, and cannabinoids could be bioengineered to produce enhanced effects.

Scientists envision a superclass of cannabinoid nanocarriers that have potential to treat a wide array of endocannabinoid insufficiency issues and thus a wide variety of diseases.

In one example, researchers are looking at novel ways to deliver substances across the difficult blood-brain barrier. This barrier is the bodys built-in defense mechanism to protect the brain, so the ability to transport substances across it directly affects a treatments efficacy.

To this end, scientists are engineering lipid nanocapsules decorated with minute cannabinoids like CBD as novel therapies for diseases of the central nervous system.

Nanotechnology has already transformed drug delivery in profound ways, and cannabinoid delivery is part of this exciting future. There are challenges, of course. Cannabinoids quickly degrade in water and are susceptible to other kinds of degradation, and that presents delivery issues.

More recent discoveries, including the decoding of the cannabis genome, discovery of the main CB1R and CB2R receptors within the human endocannabinoid system (ECS), and discovery of other receptors, are also foundational efforts that contribute to cannabinoid nanotechnology.

The latest research shows great progress in the formulation of targeted cannabinoid-nanocarrier delivery systems, and as such may provide key therapies particularly for central nervous system disorders. As scientists continue to make improvements in both bio-efficacy and bioavailability, cannabis nanotechnology represents an exciting and brave new world.

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