Microsoft is copying the soaring skills of hawks and eagles to build a glider that can stay in the air indefinitely, said Andrew Liszewski at Gizmodo. The self-piloted aircraft uses artificial intelligence to spot thermals, the rising columns of warm air that birds of prey use to stay aloft "for extended periods with minimal effort." The experimental craft — a model sailplane with a 16.5-foot wingspan — gathers data like air temperature and wind direction, to find the air columns and predict where the next one will be, keeping itself airborne without a motor.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
August 2 editorial cartoonsCartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include a tariff self-own, rough times at the Trump golf course, and more
-
5 inexcusably hilarious cartoons about Ghislaine Maxwell angling for a pardonCartoons Artists take on the circle of life, Ghislaine's Island, and more
-
Ozzy Osbourne obituary: heavy metal wildman and lovable reality TV dadIn the Spotlight For Osbourne, metal was 'not the music of hell but rather the music of Earth, not a fantasy but a survival guide'
