Latest news with #RMI
Time of India
2 days ago
- Science
- Time of India
NASA's Curiosity rover spots coral-like rock on Mars — here's what it really means
In a new image sent from Mars, NASA's Curiosity rover has captured something that immediately caught scientists' attention– a small, oddly shaped rock that closely resembles coral. According to a report by NASA, the image was taken on July 24, 2025, during the rover's 4,609th day on the Martian surface. At first glance, it may seem like a curious shape. But behind this formation lies a much older and more detailed story– one that stretches back billions of years to a time when Mars was a very different place. Ancient water and wind: The forces that shaped it According to the NASA report, this type of structure is the result of a common geological process. In the distant past, when liquid water still existed on Mars, it seeped into cracks in rocks. That water carried dissolved minerals, which settled into the cracks and stayed behind once the water dried up. — astrobiobuzz (@astrobiobuzz) Over time, the surrounding rock, which was less resistant, was worn away by continuous wind erosion– leaving the mineral deposits exposed in unusual shapes. These formations, while shaped by natural forces, are often visually complex and have been compared to floral or marine structures found on Earth, as per the NASA report. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Brain tumor has left my son feeling miserable; please help! Donate For Health Donate Now Undo Close-up Captured by ChemCam According to the report, the image of the coral-like rock was taken using the Remote Micro Imager (RMI), a component of the ChemCam instrument aboard Curiosity. ChemCam plays a key role in helping scientists study the composition and texture of rocks from a distance. Around the same period, another rock with a similar form was observed using Curiosity's Mars Hand Lens Imager, adding more detail to this ongoing study of Martian geology. According to the NASA report, the ChemCam itself is the result of an international partnership– developed by the U.S. Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory, in collaboration with the French space agency CNES, the University of Toulouse, and CNRS. A mission that keeps delivering Curiosity, which landed on Mars in 2012, continues to operate from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. The rover is part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory project and operates under the broader Mars Exploration Program, led by the agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Not just an odd shape While the rock's shape has drawn interest due to its resemblance to coral, the real significance lies in what it tells us about Mars. Formations like these offer evidence that water once played an active role in shaping the Martian surface. Wind, minerals, and erosion have combined over billions of years to create the landscapes that Curiosity continues to explore today. This latest find is another reminder of how much Mars has changed– and how much there is still to understand. Thumb image: X/@astrobiobuzz
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Automotive
- The Hindu
Why Hyderabad's roads look worse on online maps than in real life
Inside the Hyderabad Traffic Control Room, a wall of screens show vehicles moving steadily along a major corridor. Yet, on a mobile phone, Google Maps paints a different picture — the same stretch marked in deep red, signalling heavy congestion that doesn't match the live feed in the control room. Such mismatches between what is on the ground and what the navigation apps indicate have become common, particularly during the rainy season. For commuters, they can mean the difference between a quick trip and an unnecessary detour. For traffic managers, they create confusion, trigger complaints and sometimes lead to inaccurate perception of road conditions. According to a police officer, the differences stem from the way Google Maps collects and processes data. Instead of tapping directly into city surveillance feeds or counting vehicles, the platform relies heavily on crowd-sourced location data from mobile phones. If a cluster of users in the same area is stationary or moving slowly, whether due to a traffic signal, weather, or even a tea break, the system may interpret it as a traffic jam and reflect that in its colour-coded maps. Google Maps says it integrates real-time traffic information, including accident reports and road closures or diversions, from various sources and analyses historical traffic data to estimate current conditions and predict near-future speeds. Technology expert Rajeev Krishna explained that the platform measures average speeds over small stretches of about 50–100 metres, then adjusts these figures using historical data for the same day and time. 'If vehicles wait at a red light for five minutes at zero speed, then move for one minute at 10 kmph, Google's average becomes roughly 1.6 kmph. It's never truly live, it's an average,' he said, adding that in places where police manually alter signal timings, the estimates often fail. 'Google might flag deep red, but our cameras show a moving traffic,' said an official from the Hyderabad traffic control room, adding that police decisions are guided primarily by live CCTV feed and on-ground intelligence rather than app-based data. Mr. Krishna believes a formal data-sharing framework between the government and Google could make traffic predictions more reliable and enable better emergency response. The idea of closer integration has been under discussion for some time. In February 2025, Hyderabad Police and Google explored options for linking real-time Maps data with automated signal controls based on vehicle counts and using cloud-based AI to store and quickly retrieve CCTV footage for analysis. Custom traffic insights for Hyderabad Two collaborative projects are already in the pipeline — Green Signal (to suggest signal timing tweaks) and Road Management Insights (RMI). Joint Commissioner (Traffic) D. Joel Davis said these aim to tailor Google's extensive data for local needs. 'The model gives us insights into road and traffic patterns such as which corridors are busy at a given time, travel times on specific routes, types of congestion and historical trends,' he said. While Google Maps has vast amounts of raw data, Mr. Davis noted it is not in a format directly usable for law enforcement. Under the partnership, the information is being customised to suit Hyderabad's conditions, helping identify the most congested corridors and plan interventions. These insights will be available only to the police and not to the public. The department is yet to take a final decision on implementation, with financial discussions pending. Google Maps remains, for now, a tool better suited for guiding motorists than managing the city's complex and unpredictable traffic flow.
Bloomberg
11-07-2025
- Climate
- Bloomberg
10 Ways to Keep Your Home Cool This Summer
Green Heat Week To protect your home from floods and fire, you can raise the house out of harm's way or establish an ember-resistance zone around the dwelling. But how do you safeguard your home against extreme heat, an increasingly frequent climate-driven threat that now strikes historically temperate regions? 'Even here, it's definitely a leading concern,' says Chris Magwood, who's an Ontario, Canada-based sustainable construction expert for RMI, a nonprofit that promotes decarbonization.
IOL News
26-06-2025
- Automotive
- IOL News
RMI launches Project Dineo to train young South Africans for a career in the motor industry
Project Dineo aims to attract more youths to the automotive industry. Image: Supplied Youth unemployment remains a crisis of epic proportions in South Africa. The most recent figures, from the first quarter of 2025, showed that joblessness among those under 34 surged to 46.1%, from 44.6% in the previous quarter. And yet skills shortages prevail, particularly among the trades. For instance, South Africa currently trains just 13,000 artisans per year, well below the national target of 30,000, according to BluLever Education. A new initiative called Project Dineo aims to attract more youths to the automotive industry by providing a practical pathway to 100 learners per year for the next three years. The project is a partnership between the Retail Motor Industry (RMI), merSETA and the Presidency, and it will focus on empowering women, people with disabilities and youth from disadvantaged backgrounds. Launched at the MIWA Motor Mech Show at the Port Rex Technical High School in East London over the weekend, the programme will provide high-quality training through top public TVET colleges and accredited learning providers. This will be complemented by hands-on apprentices at RMI-approved employers. 'The combination of formal education and real-world exposure sets learners on a direct route to full employment in high-demand trades such as motor and diesel mechanics, panel beating, spray painting, and more,' says RMI National Training Director Louis van Huyssteen. He added that modern apprenticeships offer much more than practical training, they provide a pathway to a respected and sustainable career. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading 'In today's rapidly evolving technological world, being an artisan is about engaging with cutting-edge tools, diagnostics, and technologies. It is a future-facing profession and a real career of choice,' van Huyssteen added. Sabelo Buthelezi, special project director at the Department of Higher Education said participation by private sector employers was essential for providing today's youth with the necessary skills. 'Without workplace experience, an apprenticeship remains incomplete. Without employer mentors, apprentices lack the real-world feedback that makes learning come alive. We are not asking you to carry this burden alone. Government, through SETA grants and support systems, stands with you,' Buthelezi said. IOL
Time Magazine
25-06-2025
- General
- Time Magazine
Should I Feel Guilty About Using My AC?
Air conditioning is one of our great guilty pleasures. When your town is suffocating under a 100-degree heat dome, there's nothing like the sweet relief that comes from returning home, cranking up the AC, and leaving behind the sweltering outdoor atmosphere for the cooler, crisper indoor one. As the first major heat wave of 2025 bakes the Northeast, South, and Midwest, nearly 150 million Americans are discovering that fact anew. But air conditioning comes at a high price. The two billion units operating worldwide are responsible for 7% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the United Nations Environment Program—a figure that is expected to double by 2030 and triple by 2050, when more than five billion units are projected to be in use. This will drive a climate spiral, with increased carbon output pushing global temperatures even higher, leading to still more air conditioning use and still higher temperatures and on and on. 'Air conditioning is becoming a lifeline in this overheated world,' says Ankit Kalanki, a cooling expert at RMI, a research and public policy group originally known as the Rocky Mountain Institute. 'It's no longer a luxury. We rely on air conditioning for comfort, to feel productive, to feel safe and healthy, and this is an invisible driver of electricity demand and emissions.' That fact leaves a lot of people feeling guilty over their own AC use. Our grandparents got by with fans, light clothing, drawn shades and cold drinks; even in the face of climate change, couldn't we do the same for at least routine summer heat? 'The feeling of guilt comes from a sense of responsibility to do something,' says Fionnuala Walravens, senior campaigner at the Environmental Investigation Agency, a green advocacy group. 'We ask ourselves 'What can we change?'' AC guilt is only a piece of the larger phenomenon of climate guilt, the responsibility and even shame many people feel if they aren't recycling perfectly, composting regularly, driving minimally, and keeping energy consumption as low as possible. 'There are often a lot of emotions that are connected,' says Wendy Greenspun, a clinical psychologist who is affiliated with Climate Psychology Alliance North America, an educational nonprofit. 'There is sadness, anger, anxiety, fear—lots of different emotions that I put under the umbrella of climate distress. Guilt may be one of those.' Managing all of those emotions—and taking all of the green steps to ameliorate them—can be a considerable lift, and almost no one can claim to be a perfect climate citizen. But when it comes to air conditioning there are plenty of coping measures—ways to keep your use of cooling in check while at the same time accepting that in an increasingly sweltering world, air conditioning is a daily essential. The most significant—if most expensive—step you can take to reduce the carbon footprint of your air conditioner is to scrap any model you bought 15 years ago or earlier and upgrade to a new one. In 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) banned the sale of new AC units (either central AC or window models) that use Freon—also known as R-22—as a coolant. Freon, which can leak from home units and often has to be replaced and topped off by a service person, has a so-called global warming potential (GWP) of nearly 2,000—meaning it packs 2,000 times the planet-heating punch of an equivalent amount of carbon dioxide. New units now use Puron Advance—also known as R-454B—which has a GWP of just 465. That's still considerably more than CO2 (which, by definition, has a GWP of 1), but a whole lot less than R-22. 'Industry is transitioning to alternatives that have a much lower environmental footprint,' says Kalanki. 'There is a lot of promise when it comes to what kind of refrigerants can provide similar cooling without impacting performance.' Disposing of old units is a bit more complex than just tossing them in a town dump. Many state or local laws require that refrigerant first be drained by an EPA-certified technician, after which the AC can be recycled or carted off by local curbside pickup programs. Kalanki also recommends buying what are known as smart air conditioners, units that connect to WiFi and can monitor energy use and be controlled remotely via phone. Smart AC's make it possible to pre-cool your home, turning the unit on when you're away to lower the temperature before you return, allowing you to shut the AC off—or at least turn it down—during peak evening use when air conditioners are commonly operating at their maximum. That can make a big difference to the larger world as air conditioners currently account for 40% to 60% of peak demand on the grid in the summer. Keeping your electricity use low in those hours also saves money, as energy companies often charge more for power consumed in that window; curbing consumption at such times can also help avoid grid crashes or blackouts. 'A smartly designed unit,' says Kalanki, 'can sense and measure how much of an energy load is required to cool a space. You can really reduce energy consumption significantly.' Architects and designers of apartments and single family homes have a role to play too. Better insulation, for example, can not only keep out the cold in winter, but keep in the cool during summer. Shades and awnings to screen out the sun can help too, as can painting roofs white—instead of the common black tar seen in cities—which reflects away the heat and light that black roofs absorb. 'There are a host of these passive strategies that can be used when buildings are designed,' says Kalanki. Buying, renting, or renovating a home with a mind toward these efficiencies, as well as installing new, upgraded AC units and heat pumps can not only reduce your carbon load, but reduce your emotional load—bringing down some of the guilt that comes with gobbling too much power in the summer months when energy use spikes. A few other simple adaptations can help as well. Businesses like law firms and banks can relax their suit and tie rules during the summer, says Walravens, lightening the load on office air conditioners that have to make the environment cool enough for people wearing dark layers in triple-digit temperatures. Adjusting our own internal thermostats can help too. As of 2022, 88% of American homes had air conditioning, compared to fewer than 10% of European homes, according to MIT Technology Review. And we drive our units hard. One TIME analysis from 2022 found that U.S. residences are kept at around 74° F even when no one is home, and 70° F when the family returns. 'We have to change our mindset a little,' says Walravens. 'The reality is we can survive and be productive at higher temperatures. That may at first seem a little bit daunting, but it's going to use a lot less energy and cause a lot less guilt.' Of course, you didn't cause the climate crisis all by yourself and you can't remotely fix it alone either. The best you can do is play your small part and let go of the sense that you're to blame. 'We as individuals can be change agents,' says Michaela Barnett, a civil engineer and the owner of KnoxFill, a bulk sales business that seeks to limit the use of single-use containers. 'We can reconceptualize the way that we think about our individual actions for change and the way we're living in line with our values. But we should also give ourselves grace and patience, not bearing all of the weight either, because that's not productive.'
