The Boring Company’s work in Las Vegas is starting to take shape. On Twitter, the company shared a short clip showing off one of the underground stations it’s building as part of the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) loop. As you can see from the video, there’s still work to be done. There aren’t any markings or lines on the floor of the station, and the mood lighting is likely for show — though if it’s there to stay, it would be very on-brand for Vegas. Still, what’s on display is very close to the render Elon Musk shared in July.
The last time we got a major update from the Boring Company, it had completed excavating the first of two planned tunnels for the LVCC loop. In September, Musk said the first fully operational tunnel under the city was almost complete. The Boring Company and Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) hope to complete the initial phase of the project by January 2021. The idea being that it would be open in time for CES 2021. At least that was the plan before the trade show went online only due to the pandemic.
With the LVCC’s $52.5 million price tag, the Boring Company has a lot to prove. Elon Musk claims tunnels filled with self-driving electric cars will be revolutionary, but a recent report by TechCrunch suggests the company may have oversold the reality of its vision.
Early on Sunday morning, the skies above a secluded military complex in central Australia will be brightened by a fireball plummeting to Earth. It will be a flamboyant homecoming for the sample return capsule from Hayabusa2, a Japanese spacecraft launched almost exactly six years ago on a mission to shoot an ancient asteroid and steal some of its dirt. If the capsule survives its fiery descent, its payload of pristine space rock will help scientists understand the earliest days of our solar system, shed light on the mysterious origins of meteorites, and may even provide clues about the emergence of life on Earth.
By the time it lands under parachute in the Australian outback, the sample will have traveled more than 180 million miles from Ryugu, a diamond-shaped asteroid orbiting the sun between Earth and Mars. Scientists believe that Ryugu broke off from a larger parent body only a few million years ago, but the rocks that compose it are closer to 4 billion years old. Hayabusa2 camped out around Ryugu for more than a year and a half, studying the asteroid from a distance and sending robotic scouts to its surface to prepare for a sample collection. It’s main mission was to collect just a few grams of dust and pebbles from this cosmic time capsule that has been preserved for eons in the frigid vacuum of space.
“We’re hoping to learn a lot about how a giant cloud of gas and dust turned into planets 4.5 billion years ago in our solar system,” says Larry Nittler, a cosmochemist at the Carnegie Institution for Science and one of nine American scientists selected by NASA to participate in the Japanese mission. “Ryugu and other asteroids like it are basically the leftover building blocks that didn’t grow into planets and have been floating around ever since.”
Ryugu looks like a piece of charcoal the size of several city blocks, and it spins like a top once every eight hours. It is one of the darkest asteroids ever discovered, its inky complexion a result of all the carbon trapped in organic compounds smeared across its surface. Some of these prebiotic compounds, such as amino acids, are the building blocks of life, and it may very well have been asteroids like Ryugu that seeded Earth with the molecular grist that kicked evolution into gear.
Carbonaceous asteroids like Ryugu are abundant in our solar system, but they mostly hang out around the outer planets. Every now and then, they bump into each other, break apart, and the pieces are sent on a trajectory toward the sun’s inner sanctum. If those pieces happen to collide with Earth, we call them meteorites. Almost everything we know about them is from the bits and pieces that make it to the surface. But by the time these stones have crash-landed on Earth, they have been cooked to a crisp and have been corrupted by terrestrial chemistry. Sending a probe to a still-orbiting asteroid is the best way to collect a clean sample. As the first spacecraft to visit a carbonaceous asteroid, Hayabusa2 can help determine the provenance of meteorites discovered on Earth and shed some light on the processes that formed the organic compounds in the early solar system.
“Are there samples of the organics that we don’t have in our collection because they didn’t survive going through the atmosphere? We don’t know,” says Harold Connolly, a geologist at Rowan University and a member of the sample analysis team for Hayabusa2 and NASA’s own asteroid sample return mission, OSIRIS-REx. But he hopes Hayabusa2 can help solve the mystery.
The glass-free organic Thin Film Transistor (oTFT) displays are lightweight and ultra low-power. E Ink claims they’re more durable, thinner and lighter than glass-based TFTs. That, according to the company, makes oTFT displays “ideal” for wearables. For instance, designers could build the Legio-branded displays into smart clothing and jewelry. Until now, ACeP displays have mainly been used for signage, which of course doesn’t require panels to be flexible.
The first Legio panel is a 2.1-inch, 240 x 146-pixel display with support for six colors, including black and white. It’s powered by an Ultrachip UC8156 single-chip controller.
While ePaper might not be as much of a big deal as it used to, the Legio displays certainly have some potential, especially if they start making their way onto wearables and smart clothing.
X-rays are taken for granted in the western world, but the World Health Organization believes that close to two-thirds of the global population do not have reliable access to diagnostic imaging. The cost of the equipment alone is prohibitive in many developing countries, as well as the cost of maintaining and powering the hardware, which can run into several million dollars. Nanox claims that its “digital” X-ray machine, a Star Trek-inspired biobed called the Nanox Arc, is cheaper to use, easier to maintain and doesn’t require installation in a hefty hospital facility.
The company gave its first live demonstration of the technology earlier this week. The presentation came from its Israel HQ, broadcast to the (online-only, thanks to COVID) Radiological Society of North America’s annual conference. During the show, CEO Ran Poliakine had his X-ray taken with a device carrying the firm’s custom hardware. He then demonstrated the beds, which scanned a leg of lamb and some medical dummies for analysis.
During the presentation, a pair of “independent” radiologists eulogized the work Nanox was doing. They commented on both the speed and accuracy of the images taken, especially when examining a 3D image of a chest X-ray. The pair said that the greater number of tubes — the Nanox Arc has six independent X-ray tubes which can be used at different amplitudes — could make spotting small lesions and tumors easier.
These tubes are the source of Nanox’s innovation; 10-centimeter cylinders that use “cold cathode” technology. A sextet of these tubes sits inside the ring, while a mechanical bed draws patients through it, enabling the machine to scan their whole body. Nanox says that the system could offer skeletal X-rays, as well as computerized tomography (CT) scans, at the same time. After a minute of processing, the data is used to create a scrollable 3D model of a person’s body, allowing professionals to see both the soft tissue and skeleton.
Shay Azulay / Nanox
Nanox’s story begins in the wreckage of Sony’s doomed Field Emission Display project, which started in 1998. Sony was looking to build higher-definition TVs that avoided the (then common) problems of dead pixels, flickering and burn-in that came with LCD and Plasma Screen TVs. Its solution took the basic concept of an old Cathode Ray TV — an electron gun firing at a phosphorescent display — and update it. Rather than a single electron gun firing at a screen, Sony built a MEMS chip that packed millions of tiny electron guns into a silicon wafer.
Early demonstrations of the technology, which offered high definition and a reduced risk of dead pixels, were promising. But Sony’s pricey but potentially superior tech was usurped by advances in (increasingly cheaper) LCD/LED TVs. In 2009, Sony killed the project after reportedly spending close to a billion dollars in R&D, and then sold the technology (and the team) to Japanese businessman Hitoshi Masuya. He recruited Powermat founder Poliakine to join and run the company, which has been working on adapting the technology for medical imaging.
Shay Azulay / Nanox
A traditional “hot cathode” X-ray works by passing an electric current through a filament, which heats up. The filament, trapped in a vacuum, shoots electrons toward an anode, and when they collide, high-energy photons (X-rays) are released. The tube itself is lead-lined, apart from a single aperture, and this is how these photons are directed at a person. Some parts of the human body are more permeable to X-rays than others, so capturing what gets through on photographic film allows a radiographer to see what’s going on inside the person. One downside is that heating the filament takes plenty of energy and time, and the tube requires regular replacement.
Creating a “cold cathode” system, without the need for heating, has been the goal for a number of companies for years. (The earliest X-rays used cold cathodes, known as Crookes Tubes, but they proved unreliable). Recently, researchers have tried building cold cathodes with carbon-nanotube-based field emitters which act like an electron gun. But no company has yet to get these systems to market — we found a 2019 press release from a company called Meiden but the trail then stops cold. This is where Sony’s “billion-dollar” Field Emission Display technology comes in, as it relies upon existing technology. It already acts as a basic electron gun, and can be activated and deactivated at the flick of a switch, without the need for heating.
Not everyone is as enthusiastic about the company as some of its most vocal cheerleaders are right now. In the wake of the company’s decision to make its Initial Public Offering (IPO) back in August, analyst and short-selling specialist Andrew Left got involved. The figure behind Citron Research, also a longstanding critic of Tesla, said Nanox was a “complete farce.” Left added that the company was another Theranos and that its claimed customer list was “fake.”
Poliakine described Left’s claims as “bullshit,” and “a lie,” adding that his focus is on delivering the finished product. It’s clear, however, that a demonstration of the technology in front of a group of prominent radiologists would help dismiss these claims. (Engadget contacted Andrew Left for comment, and at the time of publication had not received a response). It won’t be until Nanox’s hardware is being used, or at least tested, in the real world by independent assessors, that we’ll have a clear picture of its efficacy and reliability.
Nanox isn’t planning to target hospitals and big healthcare companies, instead, it’s looking to get its wares to under-served areas. The business model is a little different, too. It won’t charge for the beds, which Poliakine says cost just $14,000 to build and ship, compared to around $300,000 for a basic CT scanner. Instead, it’ll loan them to remote clinics, much in the same way you can loan an office printer from a big corporation, and charge $14 for every scan taken. That fee would also cover cloud storage and the option to use an AI medical analysis service. A number of companies are working on AI that will help doctors find abnormalities in X-ray scans.
Nanox is now turning its attention towards the first rollout of hardware, which is planned for the start of 2021. The company expects to install a handful of beds in the first few months, but plans to reach a goal of 15,000 units in the next few years. Once clinics have judged the value of the technology, we’ll see if Nanox’s aim is ambitious or not.
Razer, a company that styles itself as ‘by gamers, for gamers’, has today unveiled its latest product, a modular NUC dubbed the Tomahawk. Available as both a barebones package and a high-tier gaming solution, the Razer Tomahawk looks to offer a ‘cutting edge’ mixture of functionality, performance, and graphics card compatibility, all within a NUC inspired chassis. Some of the key specifications include an Intel 9th generation Core i9 processor, with a 512 GB PCIe 3.0 x4 SSD, 2 TB of HDD storage, 16 GB of DDR4-2667 memory, and an optional RTX 3080.
The term NUC (Next Unit of Computing) gets thrown around a lot when it comes to super small form factor desktop computers, even when NUC is technically an Intel term. Going all the way back to 2014, when Razer’s CEO unveiled a conceptual design for a modular PC dubbed ‘Project Christine,’ Intel looked to have taken the idea a step forward with what it called Element. We’ve seen many Intel NUCs hit the market this year, including the NUC 9 Extreme (NUC9i9QNX), which we reviewed back in April. Razer being Razer has gone one step further on this idea and created its own version of the NUC, with the Razer Tomahawk.
What sets the Razer Tomahawk apart from other NUCs on the market is its full-scale capability to install a full-sized graphics card with a maximum length of up to 320 mm, with a maximum height of 140 mm. This moves away from common small form factor systems, which generally have to opt for smaller alternatives such as the NVIDIA GTX 1650. The Razer Tomahawk features a tool-less sled that allows users access to the system, which could be to upgrade the storage or even install a new graphics card.
While this is a ‘modular’ system, it is essentially a PCIe backplane with two PCIe slots. In one slot goes the graphics card, and in the other is ‘the rest of the PC’. That rest of the PC includes a 45 W overclockable mobile processor (unupgradable), memory (upgradeable), and storage (upgradeable). Despite there being a barebones option, Razer pre-populates all models with a 512 GB NVMe SSD, a 2 TB HDD, and 16 GB of DDR4-2667 (Razer doesn’t say if this is 1×16 or 2×8). On both models there is a spare M.2 NVMe slot, and the barebones simply lacks the discrete GPU, but the integrated GPU can be used if there is not a discrete GPU present.
It wouldn’t be a Razer product if it didn’t have RGB LEDs. It includes an illuminated green Razer logo on the front panel, with addressable RGB LEDs on the underneath of the chassis to provide a bit of flair. Focusing on the size, the Tomahawk chassis is 19.23 x 24.15 x 1.60 inches (HxWxD), so it is svelte, and it also weighs in at 16.2 lbs. In terms of volume, the chassis itself is 10 L, which is big enough to fit all of the components in when designed efficiently.
Razer Tomahawk Gaming NUC Desktop
Component
Barebones
Full System
CPU
Intel Core i9-9980HK (Coffee Lake)
8 Core / 16 Thread
2.4 GHz Base
5.0 GHz Turbo
45 W TDP
512 GB NVMe PCIe 3.0 x4
2 TB 5400 RPM Hard Drive
1 x M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 (open)
Networking
2 x Gigabit LAN
Wireless
Intel AX200 (Wi-Fi 6/BT 5.0)
I/O
2 x USB 3.2 G2 Type-C (Thunderbolt 3)
4 x USB 3.2 G2 Type-A
1 x 3.5 mm audio jack
2 x Gigabit RJ45
1 x HDMI 2.0a
Audio
3.5 mm TOSLINK combo port
Power
750 W SFX Power Supply
Dimensions
19.23 x 24.15 x 1.60 inches (HxWxD)
Weight
16.2 lb/7.35 kg
18.3 lb/8.3 kg
Pricing
$2400
$3200
Availability
???
Given the nature of the hardware installed, Razer has opted to cool the processor actively and includes two top-mounted 120 mm chassis fans, with ventilation on both side panels and the top panel. Powering the Tomahawk is a preinstalled 750W SFX power supply, although Razer hasn’t specified the exact model.
In terms of connectivity, the Tomahawk includes four USB 3.2 G2 Type-A ports, with two Thunderbolt 3 USB Type-C ports, and a single HDMI 2.0a video output. Users opting for the full package, including an NVIDIA RTX 3080 Founders Edition graphics card, adds three DisplayPort 1.4b and a single HDMI 2.1 video output. Networking includes two Gigabit Ethernet ports driven by unspecified controllers, while there’s also an Intel AX200 Wi-Fi 6 interface, which includes support for BT 5.0 devices. Nestled in between the motherboard and graphics, I/O is a single 3.5mm audio jack that can accommodate speakers or act as a TOSLINK combo port.
A few possible use case scenarios for those with bottomless pockets or shallow desks could find this an ideal system to take to LAN, to and from work, or even for an on the go content creator. While Razer did unveil its own chassis called the Tomahawk Elite back at CES 2019, the Tomahawk Gaming System is a higher-grade and RGB infused version of Intel’s NUC 9 Extreme.
As previously mentioned, the Razer Tomahawk gaming desktop will be available as barebones without a graphics card for a base price of $2400, while the full model equipped with an RTX 3080 Founders Edition will cost $3200. It’s not a cheap outlay, especially for an Intel system featuring an RTX 3080, but the latter hasn’t been easy to source of late.
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