An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Humanoid robots are getting a new gig as baggage handlers and cargo loaders at Tokyo's Haneda Airport -- part of a Japan Airlines experiment to address a human labor shortage as airport visitor numbers have surged in recent years. The demonstration, set to launch in May 2026, could eventually test humanoid robots in a wide range of airport tasks, including cleaning aircraft cabins and possibly handling ground support equipment such as baggage carts, according to a Japan Airlines press release. The trials are scheduled to run until 2028, which suggests that travelers flying into or out of Tokyo may spot some of the robots at work.

[...] Japan Airlines is interested in testing whether humanoid robots powered by some of the latest AI models can adapt more readily to human work environments -- such as airports -- without requiring dedicated work stations or other significant workplace modifications. The airline's subsidiary, JAL Ground Service, has teamed up with GMO AI & Robotics Corporation to oversee the demonstration. The Japanese companies will test the G1 robot and Walker E robot from Chinese companies Unitree Robotics and UBTECH Robotics, according to The Asia Business Daily. Humanoid robots still typically cost tens of thousands of dollars per unit despite Chinese robotics manufacturers scaling up mass production, although the Unitree G1 robot costs as low as $13,500 for the baseline model.

A new video from an apparently staged demonstration in an aircraft hangar shows one of the humanoid robots tottering up to a large, metal cargo container and making a vague pushing gesture. But the cargo container only begins to move once a human worker starts the conveyor belt to move the container toward the aircraft. Presumably, the robots will need to put in much more effective work if they're to prove as productive as human airport workers. Having robots working directly alongside humans will also introduce new safety considerations for airports like Haneda Airport, which is Japan's second-largest airport, with flights arriving approximately every two minutes. The first step in the pilot program will involve identifying which airport areas will be safest for humanoid robots.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Despite looming science cuts, Isaacman finds resources to poke the planetary hornet nest

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman delivered some potentially good news at a Senate hearing this week, as well as some slightly odd news: in an environment of constrained budgets, the space agency was somehow finding resources to contest the decision to relegate Pluto from planet status.…

GrassMarlin leaks sensitive information, provided your targeting phishing skills are sharp enough

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is warning anyone who uses GrassMarlin, a tool developed by the National Security Agency (NSA), about a new vulnerability that attackers can use to snoop on sensitive information.…

Eleven up, ten down

On Tuesday in San Francisco at an event called "What's Next with AWS," CEO Matt Garman took the stage to announce that AWS is (for what, depending on how you count, is the seventh, eighth, or ninth time) moving up the stack and entering the applications business.…

De modesatire van weleer maakt in vervolgdeel ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ plaats voor een feestelijke reünie die influencers en tech bro’s aanpakt en het opneemt voor de pers. Maar er staat niet echt iets op het spel.

Het gehackte softwarebedrijf laat weten dat de daders „alle gestolen patiëntdata hebben vernietigd”. Maar cyber-securityexperts nuanceren die uitspraak. „Je kúnt niet bewijzen dat iets helemaal is verdwenen.”

Ze stond als eerste vrouw, zonder de traditionele ‘blauwe ervaring’, acht jaar aan het roer van de grootste politievakbond, NPB. Nu wordt ze vicevoorzitter bij FNV. „Vrouwen in de politieorganisatie moeten zich dubbel bewijzen.”

De Iran-oorlog zet een al langer sluimerend conflict binnen oliekartel OPEC op scherp, met het vertrek van de Verenigde Arabische Emiraten tot gevolg. Wat is de OPEC, hoe werkt het kartel en wie hebben er de touwtjes in handen?

Volgende week start de prestigieuze Biënnale van Venetië, en nu al wordt deze editie als een uitzonderlijk beladen editie gezien. Maar waarom is dat eigenlijk zo?

Vanaf station Ermelo, twintig minuten sporen vanaf ’t Harde, zijn de rookwolken van de natuurbrand die woensdag is ontstaan al goed te zien.

In Almere, in Bussum, op de A4 tussen de Amsterdam en Den Haag: op verschillende plekken in het land zijn omvangrijke, donkere rookwolken zichtbaar.

Op de A12 bij het Gelderse Babberich houdt de Duitse politie sinds de zomer van 2024 weer grenscontroles. De burgemeesters van de grensregio zien de gevolgen: lange files en verkeersongelukken. „Deze symboolpolitiek moet op een gegeven moment stoppen.”

Massive Attack

UNKLE

Best gek natuurlijk dat onze overheden op alle fronten bezig zijn om zich digitaal los te maken van ome Amerika, maar de regering op het punt staat om DigiD (beheerd door IT-bedrijf Solvinity) gewoon doodleuk uit handen te geven. Dat vrijwel de hele Tweede Kamer dat helemaal niet wil maar dat de regering daar niets mee doet is ook best gek. Jetten en z'n douchemuntjes gaan namelijk 6 mei tekenen bij het kruisje, TENZIJ ze natuurlijk voor die tijd van gedachten veranderen. Er is enige haast bij gemoeid, maar om voorafgaand aan die Deadline des Privacydoods de druk nog wat op te voeren kunt u er nu voor kiezen om deze PETITIE te tekenen. De petitie roept op om "A. Uiterlijk zondag 2 mei afstand te nemen van de inhoudelijke standpunten van de staatssecretaris van BZK. B. De beleidskeuzes voor DigiD en MijnOverheid per direct over te hevelen naar staatssecretaris Aerdts van EZK. C. De regie terug te pakken en in onderhandeling met partijen het bedrijf Solvinity blijvend over te zetten naar Nederland. D. Interne maatregelen te nemen binnen het kabinet en een extern onderzoek te gelasten." Klokkenluider Pieter van Oordt, IT-securityman Ronald Prins tekenden al. Voor uw privacy, voor onze privacy! Red onze digitale soevereiniteit!

This is my 5th collection of my personal artwork. Hope you like it!

europeanspaceagency posted a photo:

Team placing Space Rider’s reentry module parts inside the plasma wind tunnel at the Italian Aerospace Research Centre (CIRA) in Capua, Italy.

The drop-test model was built in Craiova, Romania, at Romania’s National Institute for Aerospace Research ‘Elie Carafoli’ (INCAS) before being shipped to CIRA. CIRA is responsible for the design, integration, and implementation of the drop test.

Space Rider is ESA’s reuseable spacecraft in development. It will be about the size of two minivans and will allow for many kinds of missions, ranging from pharmaceutical research to in-orbit manufacturing, visiting orbital platforms and more. After staying in Earth orbit for up to three months, Space Rider will return through our atmosphere to precision-land on skids after a paraglider descent.

Spacecraft that return to Earth – such as Space Rider – have to protect themselves from these intense temperatures, and Space Rider uses reusable ceramic tiles on its belly and nose to insulate from the heat.

The Space Rider reentry module has two flaps to steer the spacecraft during reentry, weighing just 10 kg and at just 90 x 70 cm they steer the 3000 kg module as it flies into Earth’s atmosphere at hypersonic speeds. To test the flaps as if they were in flight, CIRA subjected them to their plasma wind tunnel, the world’s largest. The flaps were hit with an arc jet of gas bombarding them at ten times the speed of sound.

Credits: ESA

europeanspaceagency posted a photo:

To mark the first anniversary of the European Space Agency’s Biomass satellite, we present a selection of striking images captured over the past 12 months, revealing Earth’s forests, and much more, in new detail. In just one year, this pioneering mission has begun transforming our understanding of forest dynamics and advancing how scientists monitor the critical role forests play in regulating the global carbon cycle.

This image, captured over Bolivia on 19 June 2025, captures the transition in northeastern Bolivia where meandering rivers and flooded wetlands meet the sharply folded ridges of the Andean foothills, with distinct geometric patterns revealing areas of human-driven deforestation within the rainforest.

Read full story

Credits: ESA/DLR; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

europeanspaceagency posted a photo:

Team working on Space Rider’s reentry module at the Italian Aerospace Research Centre (CIRA) in Capua, Italy.

The drop-test model was built in Craiova, Romania, at Romania’s National Institute for Aerospace Research ‘Elie Carafoli’ (INCAS) before being shipped to CIRA. CIRA is responsible for the design, integration, and implementation of the drop test.

Space Rider is ESA’s reuseable spacecraft in development. It will be about the size of two minivans and will allow for many kinds of missions, ranging from pharmaceutical research to in-orbit manufacturing, visiting orbital platforms and more. After staying in Earth orbit for up to three months, Space Rider will return through our atmosphere to precision-land on skids after a paraglider descent.

Roughly the size of a mini-van, the drop-test model is a full-size stand-in for the 4.6-m long reentry module, Space Rider lands on skis with the landing gear permanently open on this model as the mechanism is not part of the drop test.

Credits: ESA

europeanspaceagency posted a photo:

Team preparing the plasma wind tunnel at the Italian Aerospace Research Centre (CIRA) in Capua, Italy.

The drop-test model was built in Craiova, Romania, at Romania’s National Institute for Aerospace Research ‘Elie Carafoli’ (INCAS) before being shipped to CIRA. CIRA is responsible for the design, integration, and implementation of the drop test.

Space Rider is ESA’s reuseable spacecraft in development. It will be about the size of two minivans and will allow for many kinds of missions, ranging from pharmaceutical research to in-orbit manufacturing, visiting orbital platforms and more. After staying in Earth orbit for up to three months, Space Rider will return through our atmosphere to precision-land on skids after a paraglider descent.

Spacecraft that return to Earth – such as Space Rider – have to protect themselves from these intense temperatures, and Space Rider uses reusable ceramic tiles on its belly and nose to insulate from the heat.

The Space Rider reentry module has two flaps to steer the spacecraft during reentry, weighing just 10 kg and at just 90 x 70 cm they steer the 3000 kg module as it flies into Earth’s atmosphere at hypersonic speeds. To test the flaps as if they were in flight, CIRA subjected them to their plasma wind tunnel, the world’s largest. The flaps were hit with an arc jet of gas bombarding them at ten times the speed of sound.

Credits: ESA