“The world has changed. I feel it in the water, I feel it in the ground, I feel it in the air…”. Andriy Avramchuk from MTS Digital will tell me what exactly happened in September.

We live in a world of news, but sometimes it’s more interesting to try to understand what’s behind it. To do this, I divided the news into several groups. Below you will find out what’s up with space exploration by private companies, how AI recognizes whale singing and how fast (not) Linux runs on the Intel 4004 processor, released in 1971. Let’s go!

Mankind continues to explore space

The world’s first spacewalk by a private astronaut

We already illuminated this is an event, and its significance in the development of cosmonautics is enormous. On September 12, 2024, an ordinary person, not a professional astronaut, went into space as part of the Polaris Dawn mission. Another record was set — the achievement of an orbital height of 1,400 km. No one has climbed this far (or high) since 1966. The previous record for the apogee of the orbit, 1373 km, was set by the Gemini-11 manned ship.

The key importance of the Polaris Dawn mission not in records. And in the fact that it is an exit into space in the first extravehicular spacesuit in history. It was created by a private company for ordinary people. NASA, with its strict agency standards, would never approve such a suit. Now it is a matter of other missions — we would like to hope not only for the orbit of the Earth, but also for the Moon and Mars. And maybe further.

Launching of several dozen satellites into Earth orbit by the Sitronics Space company

This is, so to speak, news from the future. Sitronics Space is planning put the satellites into orbit by the end of 2024, the CEO of the company Pavlo Cherenkov said. Currently, there are less than 30 AIS satellites in space, and by the end of the year their number will reach 62.

“Several dozen satellites are now under contract with us for launches until the end of the year. And first of all, these are AIS satellites for monitoring sea vessels and satellites for remote sensing of the Earth (DZZ)”– Cherenkov said.

Satellites bring considerable benefits to the economy

The US has calculated the economic effect of using Landsat images. As it turned outThe direct effect is very large – 25 billion dollars (about 2.5 trillion rubles at an exchange rate of 100 rubles per dollar). Savings from the use of satellite images – $ 674 million, including $ 400 million in insurance premiums for American farmers. The indirect effect amounted to $800 million, including $583 million from scientific publications, $278 million from the discovery of mineral deposits, and another $41 million from patents.

Calculations were also carried out in the Russian Federation, and an express assessment of the economic effect of the implementation of the results of space activities among the end users of DZZ and communication services within the framework of the SPHERE 2026 project showed the following. The direct effect is 15 trillion rubles. The main beneficiaries are agriculture, transport and construction. The forecast of revenue from the creation of satellite groups is 120 billion rubles per year.

Artificial intelligence is increasingly helping people

AI helps film businesses get low-cost content

Apparently, in the near future, the film industry will increasingly use AI. Now the studio Lionsgate (it is behind “The Hunger Games” and “John Wick”) concluded contract with Runaway. The essence of the contract is the development of the II-model for film and television production. As far as we know, this is the first such partnership, and it could be the start of active cooperation between film studios and the largest AI developers.

According to representatives of Lionsgate, the studio will “save millions and millions of dollars” thanks to the development of the partner. At the same time, people will not lose their jobs: the company will focus on optimizing processes and reducing costs in current projects. Lionsgate VP Michael Burns believes the new tools will allow the studio to efficiently create content with lower costs.

A satellite system with II functions will help to identify fires in the early stages

Due to climate change and global warming, forest fires are becoming more frequent. Existing surveillance methods, such as low-resolution satellite imagery, cannot quickly detect the start of a fire, making it difficult to respond quickly. To solve this problem, Google Research together with fire safety experts developed satellite system FireSat. It can track fires as small as 5×5 meters, which will significantly speed up the detection process and prevent devastating consequences. Google allocated 13 million dollars.

FireSat is a unique satellite system that will provide high-quality images updated every 20 minutes. Special infrared receptors will allow to fix outbreaks in the early stages. Artificial intelligence will analyze the data taking into account the surrounding infrastructure and weather conditions. The first satellite is planned to be launched in 2025, and the entire network will be deployed in the next few years.

Cytodetector on neural networks

Google Research presented a new AI model for recognizing whale vocalizations that can identify eight species based on the sounds they make. This technology makes it possible to track whale populations and their migrations using acoustic data collected in the ocean. The project expands the possibilities of monitoring marine animals and contributes to the protection of marine ecosystems. The model is available for download and analysis via Kaggle, opening new opportunities for bioacoustics and environmental research.

AI was taught to recognize whale whistles and songs. The model now even knows “biotwang” (Biotwang) – a unique type of sound produced by Bryde’s rays. It differs from ordinary whale songs in its low, vibrating and sharp character. It resembles a combination of whistling and mechanical noise.

The Open Buildings dataset helps monitor and plan building density

Google Research launched a new project called Open Buildings 2.5D aimed at tracking changes in buildings in countries of the Global South. The dataset covers buildings in Africa and Asia, providing accurate information on the size, shape and height of buildings. This will help urban planners, researchers and humanitarian organizations better understand urban change and make more informed decisions.

The project provides important data for improving infrastructure, emergency planning and climate change adaptation in developing countries.

Gamedev actively defends the right to be yourself

The failure of the long-term construction of Concord

Concord is an ambitious online first-person shooter that took Sony eight years to develop and cost $200 million. The game offered team battles using characters with unique abilities, but two weeks after launch server has been stopped. The reasons for the failure were outdated graphics, high cost to the user ($40), lack of a free demo version, and insufficient advertising support.

In addition, technical problems and an excess of competitors in the shooter market did not allow Concord to attract the attention of players.

Saber Interactive received “significant investment” following the success of W40K

Aleph Capital Partners and Crestview Partners announced about a major investment in Saber Interactive, one of the leading independent video game developers. The funds are aimed at supporting the company’s long-term growth and expanding its presence on the global market. Saber Interactive is known for such popular games as World War Z and SnowRunner, and plans to use the new funding to create even more innovative and successful projects.

The strategic collaboration is expected to allow Saber Interactive to strengthen its position in the video game industry and accelerate the development of new games, ensuring the company’s further growth.

Unity has removed the commission for the number of game installs

Unity company canceled the scandalous decision to introduce a commission for the number of installed games after massive criticism from developers and the gaming industry. The initial model involved charging partners for each install of their games, which angered the company’s partners.

“Over the past 20 years, we’ve partnered with great designers and developers, artists and engineers, publishers and platforms to build a world where everyone can make games for everyone. We call this approach “democratization of game development” and it remains our main task today. However, we cannot solve it by conflicting with customers. It should be a partnership based on trust.”– Matt Bromberg, head of Unity, said.

The introduction of the Runtime commission dealt a serious blow to the reputation of the company, which is trying to restore the trust of developers after a high-profile scandal.

Just for lulz motivation is still trending

Minecraft enthusiast spent several years to reach “Far Lands”

A player with the nickname Celestialgaze reached the Far Lands in Minecraft, spending almost seven years on it. The successful attempt took 3.5 years and 941 hours of game time. The Far Lands are more than 12 million meters from the center of the map, where the game starts to break down: the textures and physics of the world work with errors.

This place is so far from the central part of the world that many bugs and problems appear in the game algorithm even when trying to perform a simple action with the environment. For example, to take something or go somewhere.

Linux was launched on the Intel 4004 processor, released 50 years ago

Programmer Dmytro Grinberg successfully launched the Debian Linux operating system on an Intel 4004 processor released in 1971. Due to the extremely limited capabilities of the Intel 4004, the initial launch of the OS took almost 9 days. Actually, what did you want – half a century of chips.

After optimizing the Linux kernel to 2.5MB, the time dropped to 4.76 days, but it’s still very slow. The experiment demonstrates how much technology has advanced in the 20 years since the release of the Intel 4004.

Doom was launched on a three-dimensional voxel display

James Brown, a graphic engineer at Weta Workshop, created a device that resembles a crystal ball. It rotates and shows 3D images during operation. The enthusiast was able to run Doom and even play a little.

The screen itself is not three-dimensional. “It’s like a holographic fan, but instead of rotating a 1D strip to produce a 2D image, it rotates a 2D panel to produce a 3D image”– explained author of the project.

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That’s all for today, but if you have something to add, write in the comments, add to the selection. See you in October!