Scientists Test Drone Reaction Speed with Basketball

A Ghost drone by Ehang flies at the 2015 International CES outside the Las Vegas Convention Center on January 8, 2015, in Las Vegas | AFP
A Ghost drone by Ehang flies at the 2015 International CES outside the Las Vegas Convention Center on January 8, 2015, in Las Vegas | AFP
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Scientists Test Drone Reaction Speed with Basketball

A Ghost drone by Ehang flies at the 2015 International CES outside the Las Vegas Convention Center on January 8, 2015, in Las Vegas | AFP
A Ghost drone by Ehang flies at the 2015 International CES outside the Las Vegas Convention Center on January 8, 2015, in Las Vegas | AFP

Researchers at the University of Zurich have developed a new quadcopter drone equipped with a new camera and customized algorithms that cut the reaction time down to just a few milliseconds- enough to avoid a ball thrown at it from a short distance.

Drones can do many things, but avoiding obstacles is not their strongest suit yet, especially when they move quickly.

Although many flying robots are equipped with cameras that can detect obstacles, it typically takes from 20 to 40 milliseconds for the drone to process the image and react. But, this research has addressed this challenge by developing a drone capable of avoiding objects from a three-meter distance and traveling at 10 meters per second.

In their tests, the researchers used a basketball to measure the efficiency of the new drone. They throw the ball from a short distance at the drone, which managed to avoid it. The results of the experiments were announced in the Science Robotics journal.

According to a report released by the University's website on March 19, the new drone will use the so-called "event cameras" after the researchers invented new algorithms that work with it.

Traditional video cameras, such as the ones found in every smartphone, work by regularly taking snapshots of the whole scene. This is done by exposing the pixels of the image all at the same time. This way, a moving object can only be detected after all the pixels have been analyzed by the on-board computer.

Event cameras, on the other hand, have smart pixels that work independently of each other. The pixels that detect no changes remain silent, while the ones that see a change in light intensity immediately send out the information. This means that only a tiny fraction of all pixels of the image will need to be processed by the onboard computer, therefore speeding up the computation a lot.



Meta to Introduce Teen Accounts for Facebook

Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of Facebook logo in this illustration taken, February 19, 2024. (Reuters)
Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of Facebook logo in this illustration taken, February 19, 2024. (Reuters)
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Meta to Introduce Teen Accounts for Facebook

Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of Facebook logo in this illustration taken, February 19, 2024. (Reuters)
Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of Facebook logo in this illustration taken, February 19, 2024. (Reuters)

Meta on Tuesday announced that it was extending its teen accounts to its social network Facebook, after recently introducing restrictions on Instagram.

The accounts were brought in for 13- to 15-year-old users of the company's popular photo-sharing app last September as part of moves to shield vulnerable underage internet users from online harms.

Teens are immediately placed in such accounts, with those under 16 unable to change settings without parental permission.

In a statement, Meta said it was expanding the restrictions in the coming months to stop teens from going live or turning off protections for unwanted images in direct messages on their own.

"Teen Accounts on Facebook and Messenger will offer similar, automatic protections to limit inappropriate content and unwanted contact, as well as ways to ensure teens' time is well spent," it added.

The accounts will initially be available in the United States, Britain, Australia and Canada, then other countries at a later date.

At least 54 million teenagers currently have a teen account, which also limits overnight notifications and have reminders to leave the app after an hour.

Users can only be messaged by people they follow or are already connected to.

Adolescent use of social networks has prompted concern in recent years, notably about the amount of screentime and lack of moderation on some platforms.

In November last year, Australia's parliament voted in favor of a ban on under 16s from using social networks.

TikTok recently launched a function in the European Union allowing parents to limit the amount of time that teenagers spend on the app.