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NASA To Use Space Age Droid Satellites
Washington (UPI) Jul 11, 2006 NASA scientists say they are ready to test "smart" satellites that can fly in precision formation and are relatively inexpensive to make and operate. David Miller, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Space Systems Laboratory, says such satellites might be used for such tasks as building giant space telescopes and closely monitoring Earth. The shuttle Discovery last week delivered the second of three satellite test "droids" that are undergoing experiments at the International Space Station. "I rented the first 'Star Wars' movie and showed (a) class the scene where Luke is practicing the use of the Force with a floating droid," Miller told the Christian Science Monitor. "I said: 'I want three of those. How do we start doing this?'" The results came in the form of 9-pound spheres the size of bowling balls, each crammed withcomputers, sensors and thrusters that allow the satellites to maneuver individually and en masse with precision. A third satellite is to arrive at the ISS in December. The project is funded by NASA and the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
Source: United Press International Related Links MIT Space Systems Laboratory
BBN Technologies Awarded DARPA Artificial Intelligence Technology Contract
Cambridge MA (SPX) Jul 12, 2006BBN Technologies has been awarded $5.5 million in funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for the first phase of the Integrated Learning Program. Over the next four years BBN will develop an artificial intelligence capability called "Integrated Learner" that will learn plans or processes after being shown a single example. The total value of the effort, if all four years of the development program are completed, could be up to $24 million. |
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