VR experiments manipulate how people feel about coffee
A new study looks at how images of coffee's origins affect the perception of its premiumness and quality.
11 April, 2021
Credit: Escobar / Petit / Velasco, Frontiers in Psychology
- Images can affect how people perceive the quality of a product.
- In a new study, researchers show using virtual reality that images of farms positively influence the subjects' experience of coffee.
- The results provide insights on the psychology and power of marketing.
<p>Are coffee consumers influenced by the imagery and story around the production of the drink? Such was one of the central questions of a new <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.586983/full" target="_blank">study</a> that explored the power of marketing on how "premium" aficionados consider coffee to be. </p><p>The researchers set out to explore whether the origins of the coffee can affect the perception of its quality in the minds of the drinkers. In particular, they focused on the concept of terroir, the special characteristics conferred upon the coffee by the specific terrain in which it was grown. </p><p>"Terroir is more than a mere geographical link between product and land," write the authors. "It relates to the idea that products are a unique expression of different environmental and sociocultural characteristics of a specific place." Thus, focusing a customer's attention on the environment in which the coffee was grown might make the product seem more authentic and of better quality.</p><p>Therefore, the researchers examined the effect of images on the coffee-drinking experience in three experiments. The study was carried out by the food scientist Francisco Barbosa Escobar from Aarhus University in Denmark and marketing experts Olivia Petit from the Kedge Business School in Marseille, France, and Carlos Velasco from the BI Norwegian Business School in Oslo, Norway. Incidentally, Norwegians are among the world's top coffee consumers, with an average Norwegian adult consuming around 4 cups of coffee a day, reports<a href="https://www.ssb.no/utenriksokonomi/artikler-og-publikasjoner/kaffeavhengige-nordmenn" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Statistics Norway</a>.</p><p>The first experiment involved 770 non-expert participants from the UK. They were shown online images and descriptions of four different specialty coffees, traded by a Norwegian coffee company. The researchers found that coffees with pictures of farms were rated higher in premiumness by the subjects than coffees with pictures of cities.</p><p>For the second and third experiments, the study used virtual reality environments of Times Square in New York City and a farm in Kenya as well as a control setting of a white room. The second experiment engaged 143 non-expert participants recruited via a behavioral studies platform at the BI Norwegian Business School in Oslo, Norway. The participants were asked to smell a sample of quality ground coffee from Kenya while at the same time traversing a virtual reality atmosphere. The subjects were then asked to rate the coffee. </p><p><br></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-lazyloadable-image rm-shortcode" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNjAzOTYxMC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMzM1OTM3Mn0.Bo8fM6zWiMO6cz0q8sgWy94OKPq48Q18W3gKnvB3cd0/img.jpg?width=980" id="ef190" width="660" height="1339" data-rm-shortcode-id="0ee1c7ccc92b9b1ec616aebb7fa00ff7" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption..."> Image (A) shows the instruments used in Experiment 2: Oculus GO virtual reality (VR) headset and sample coffee bag. The other panels show the VR environments used in the study - (B) farm, (C) city, and (D) control.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Credit: Escobar / Petit / Velasco, Frontiers in Psychology</small></p><p><br></p><p>Compared to the control (white room), subjects in the farm VR atmosphere rated the coffee as more acidic. Conversely, subjects rated coffee as sweeter when inside the control VR atmosphere compared to the city VR atmosphere. Furthermore, coffee was considered more premium when subjects were in the farm VR atmosphere compared to the control, but there was no difference in premiumness score between farm and city.</p><p>For the third experiment, the research team involved 34 people who were professionals in the coffee industry. They were asked to taste and score Kenyan coffee while being in the same city and farm VR environments used in the previous experiment. The results revealed a strong effect of atmosphere on how much the experts enjoyed their experience, with a much greater preference for the farm setting versus the control environment of a white room. </p><p>But the different VR atmospheres had little effect on how the experts rated the premiumness of the coffee. The researchers believe that "given their specialized knowledge, coffee professionals examined more objective attributes of the coffee and could discriminate intrinsic factors relevant for the assessment of the coffee from irrelevant extrinsic cues."</p><p>The researchers think their results can lead to developing more immersive marketing experiences in virtual reality, which could be groundbreaking in many industries. A premium experience can lead to customers paying premium prices.</p>
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How do you tell reality from a deepfake?
The more you see them, the better you get at spotting the signs.
10 April, 2021
ROB LEVER/AFP via Getty Images
<ul class="ee-ul"></ul><div></div><ul class="ee-ul"></ul><div><p>When Donald Trump belatedly <a href="https://www.cleveland.com/politics/2021/01/trump-admits-defeat-after-congress-confirms-electoral-vote.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">acknowledged</a> defeat two months after last year's US presidential election, some news reports zeroed in on a fundamental question: whether his speech had <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-trump-consession-video-deep/fact-check-donald-trump-concession-video-not-a-confirmed-deepfake-idUSKBN29G2NL" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">actually happened</a> at all.</p><p>The dramatic <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/robtoews/2020/05/25/deepfakes-are-going-to-wreak-havoc-on-society-we-are-not-prepared/?sh=213d62df7494" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">proliferation</a> of deepfakes – online imagery that can make anybody appear to do or say anything within the limits of one's imagination, cruelty, or cunning – has begun to undermine faith in our ability to discern reality.</p><p>Recent advances in the technology have <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/03/25/deepfake-video-apps/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">shocked</a> even seasoned technology observers, and made anyone with a phone and access to an app like <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/avatarify-ai-face-animator/id1512669147" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Avatarify</a> capable of an adequate version.</p><p>According to <a href="https://thesentinel.ai/" target="_blank">one</a> startup's estimate, the number of deepfake videos online jumped from 14,678 in 2019 to 145,277 by June of the following year. Last month, the FBI <a href="https://www.lawfareblog.com/fbi-warns-deepfakes-will-be-used-increasingly-foreign-influence-operations" target="_blank">warned</a> that "malicious actors" will likely deploy deepfakes in the US for foreign influence operations and criminal activity in the near future. Around the world, there are concerns the technology will increasingly become a source of <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2056305120903408" target="_blank">disinformation</a>, <a href="https://www.ibanet.org/Article/NewDetail.aspx?ArticleUid=432E7100-35BE-44B4-B6AB-AD55758411F4" target="_blank">division</a>, <a href="https://carnegieendowment.org/2020/07/08/deepfakes-and-synthetic-media-in-financial-system-assessing-threat-scenarios-pub-82237" target="_blank">fraud and extortion</a>.</p><p>When Myanmar's ruling junta recently posted a video of someone incriminating the country's detained civilian leader, it was widely <a href="https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-junta-accused-using-deepfake-technology-prove-graft-case-daw-aung-san-suu-kyi.html" target="_blank">dismissed</a> as a deepfake. Last year, the Belgian prime minister's remarks <a href="https://www.brusselstimes.com/news/belgium-all-news/politics/106320/xr-belgium-posts-deepfake-of-belgian-premier-linking-covid-19-with-climate-crisis/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">linking</a> COVID-19 to climate change turned out to be a deepfake, and Indian politician Manoj Tiwari's use of the technology for campaigning <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/02/19/868173/an-indian-politician-is-using-deepfakes-to-try-and-win-voters/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">caused alarm</a>. In Gabon, belief that a video of the country's ailing president was a deepfake <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/03/deepfake-gabon-ali-bongo/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">triggered</a> a national <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/02/13/how-sick-president-suspect-video-helped-sparked-an-attempted-coup-gabon/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">crisis</a> in early 2019.</p><p>Manipulating images to alter public perception for political reasons dates back at least as far as <a href="http://history.com/news/josef-stalin-great-purge-photo-retouching" target="_blank">Stalin</a> – who famously <a href="https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/stalin-photo-manipulation-1922-1953/" target="_blank">deleted</a> purged comrades from official photos.</p><p>However, some say a more pressing issue is the increased vulnerability of non-public figures to online <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/14/us/raffaela-spone-victory-vipers-deepfake.html?searchResultPosition=4" target="_blank">assault</a>. Indian journalist Rana Ayyub has <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/deepfake-porn_uk_5bf2c126e4b0f32bd58ba316" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">detailed</a> attempts to silence her using deepfake pornography, for example.</p><p>Some <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/tech-news/.premium-the-deep-fake-scare-is-more-dangerous-than-ai-tech-behind-it-1.9279014" target="_blank">argue</a> the threat of the technology itself is overhyped – and that the <a href="https://gvu.gatech.edu/research/projects/liars-dividend-impact-deepfakes-and-fake-news-politician-support-and-trust-media" target="_blank">real problem</a> is that bad actors can now dismiss video evidence of wrongdoing by crying "deepfake" in the same way they might dismiss media reports that they dislike as "fake news."</p><p>Still, according to one <a href="https://cset.georgetown.edu/research/deepfakes-a-grounded-threat-assessment/" target="_blank">report</a>, technically-sophisticated, "tailored" deepfakes present a significant threat; these may be held in reserve for a key moment, like an election, to maximize impact. As of 2020 the estimated cost for the technology necessary to churn out a "state-of-the-art" deepfake was less than $30,000, according to the report.</p><p>The popularizing of the term "deepfakes" had a <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/nekqmd/deepfake-porn-origins-sexism-reddit-v25n2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">sordid</a> origin in 2018. Calls to regulate or ban them have grown since then; related legislation has been <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/6088" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">proposed</a> in the US, and in 2019 China <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/29/20988363/china-deepfakes-ban-internet-rules-fake-news-disclosure-virtual-reality" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">made it</a> a criminal offense to publish a deepfake without disclosure. Facebook <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2020/01/enforcing-against-manipulated-media/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">said</a> last year it would ban deepfakes that aren't parody or satire, and Twitter <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/2/4/21122653/twitter-policy-deepfakes-nancy-pelosi-biden-trump" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">said</a> it would ban deepfakes likely to cause harm.</p><p>It's been <a href="https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/deepfakes-explained" target="_blank">suggested</a> that the best way to inoculate people against the danger of deepfakes is through exposure. A variety of efforts have been made to help the public understand what's at stake.</p><p>Last year, the creators of the popular American cartoon series "South Park" posted the viral video "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=sassy+justice" target="_blank">Sassy Justice</a>," which features deepfaked versions of Trump and Mark Zuckerberg. They <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/arts/television/sassy-justice-south-park-deepfake.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">explained</a> in an interview that anxiety about deepfakes may have taken a back seat to pandemic-related fears, but the topic nonetheless merits demystifying.</p><p>For more context, here are links to further reading from <a href="https://www.weforum.org/strategic-intelligence/" target="_blank">the World Economic Forum's Strategic Intelligence platform</a>:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>A growing awareness of deepfakes meant people were quickly able to spot bogus online profiles of "Amazon employees" bashing unions, according to this report – though a hyper-awareness of the technology could also lead people to stop believing in real media. <em>(<a href="https://intelligence.weforum.org/monitor/latest-knowledge/85cfa3bef7844886a68901bd3a139fc9" target="_blank">MIT Technology Review</a>)</em></li></ul><ul class="ee-ul"><li>The systems designed to help us detect deepfakes can be deceived, according to a recently-published study – by inserting "adversarial examples" into every video frame and tripping up machine learning models. <em>(<a href="https://intelligence.weforum.org/monitor/latest-knowledge/487c48bcfc074e0baa02d79ff50c21b8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Science Daily</a>)</em></li></ul><ul class="ee-ul"><li>Authoritarian regimes can exploit cries of "deepfake." According to this opinion piece, claims of deepfakery and video manipulation are increasingly being used by the powerful to claim plausible deniability when incriminating footage surfaces. <em>(<a href="https://intelligence.weforum.org/monitor/latest-knowledge/a5b302a0a922409db4c7ea5b675ca65a" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Wired</a>)</em></li></ul><ul class="ee-ul"><li>It's easy to blame deepfakes for the proliferation of misinformation, but according to this opinion piece the technology is no more effective than more traditional means of lying creatively – like simply slapping a made-up quote onto someone's image and sharing it. <em>(<a href="https://intelligence.weforum.org/monitor/latest-knowledge/aafadcb9912647cca06080b215f8eb5d" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NiemanLab</a>)</em></li></ul><ul class="ee-ul"><li>A recently-published study found that one in three Singaporeans aware of deepfakes believe they've circulated deepfake content on social media, which they later learned was part of a hoax. <em>(<a href="https://intelligence.weforum.org/monitor/latest-knowledge/4e46230f864c4afab637a7f5b39b4175" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Science Daily</a>)</em></li></ul><ul class="ee-ul"><li>"It really makes you feel powerless." Deepfake pornography is ruining women's lives, according to this report, though a legal solution may be forthcoming. <em>(<a href="https://intelligence.weforum.org/monitor/latest-knowledge/d5d085ba98234b538625df1b90c3cb9d" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">MIT Technology Review</a>)</em></li></ul><ul class="ee-ul"><li>"A propaganda Pandora's box in the palm of every hand." Deepfake efforts remain relatively easily detected, according to this piece – but soon the same effects that once required hundreds of technicians and millions of dollars will be possible with a mobile phone. <em>(<a href="https://intelligence.weforum.org/monitor/latest-knowledge/a8f4b11144dc47caa6c307dcfce2ef1b" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Australian Strategic Policy Institute</a>)</em></li></ul><p>On the <a href="https://intelligence.weforum.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Strategic Intelligence</a> platform, you can find feeds of expert analysis related to <a href="https://intelligence.weforum.org/topics/a1Gb0000000pTDREA2?tab=publications" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Artificial Intelligence</a>, <a href="https://intelligence.weforum.org/topics/a1G0X000005JJGcUAO?tab=publications" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Digital Identity</a> and hundreds of additional topics. You'll need to register to view.</p><p>Reprinted with permission of the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>. Read the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/04/are-we-at-a-tipping-point-on-the-use-of-deepfakes/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">original article</a>.</p><p><br></p></div>
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Lessons from the Roman Empire about the danger of luxury
Are we enslaved by the finer things in life?
09 April, 2021
Credit: Public domain via Wikipedia
- The Roman writer, Tacitus, argued that the Roman Empire was built by enslaving conquered people who became accustomed to fine living and luxury.
- Technology today has become so essential to our daily lives that it seems impossible to break free of it. It's as much a cage as a luxury.
- Being dependent on a thing gives it power over you. To need something or someone is, for better or worse, to limit yourself.
<p><span></span>Philippa has decided she wants to quit social media. She's worried about how addictive it is and thinks it's not doing her any good at all. But then, how will she speak to her aunt in South Africa? What will happen to all of her photos? And how can she organize that party?</p><p>Trevor wants to leave the country. He distrusts the government, dislikes the people, and hates the weather. But, then, he does get good healthcare. And he does like the TV. The roads are pretty good, too.</p><p>Philippa and Trevor are two examples of how luxury, technology, and easy-living can ensnare us or box us in. In many ways, it's a modern and relatable phenomenon, but it goes back at least to the Roman writer, Tacitus. It's the idea that the trappings of civilization <em>enslave</em> us. How is it that, without even knowing it, those things we thought were helpful and time-saving became indispensable essentials?</p><h2>The hidden danger of luxury</h2><p>The Roman army was one of the most militarily effective and successful forces the world has ever known. On open land, their legions were pretty much unbeatable. But the Roman Empire was not built on the back of military genius and short, stabbing swords alone. The legions might have beaten a people, but they did not <em>subdue</em> them. It was the love of luxury and easy living that did that.</p><p>The Britons, Tacitus noted, were enslaved, not by chains, but by their desire for good wine and elegant dinner parties. In fact, the governor of Britain, Agricola, deliberately sought to pacify this tribal warrior society by the "delightful distractions" of warm baths, togas, and education. As Tacitus wrote, "The naïve Britons described these things as 'civilization,' when in fact they were simply part of their enslavement." </p><p>Comfort and convenience had morphed painted, screaming warriors into genteel, pacified civilians. (It should be noted that Tacitus likely over-exaggerated all this. Britain was never as compliant as France or Spain in the Roman Empire.)</p><p>The use of luxury to win over a people is a tactic mirrored across time.</p><p>Faced with a trade deficit with China, the British Empire flooded their country with cheap opium they had shipped over from India. A luxury drug became an addiction, and the British traded their opium for porcelain, tea, and silk.</p><p><br></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-lazyloadable-image rm-shortcode" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNjAzMzA4Ny9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NzMxODIxOX0.8JIhCYqzawWtkh2AKPqjqcqoG7m006X-ZmmhV7xGY7k/img.jpg?width=980" id="ff6fa" width="850" height="652" data-rm-shortcode-id="85f6eb129aac54d724a9ccc5105511f2" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Mikhail Gorbachev enjoying the American way of life.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit..."><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Gorbachev#/media/File:Reagan_and_Gorbachev_in_western_hats_1992.jpg" target="_blank">Credit</a>: Bob Galbraith / Public domain via Wikipedia</small></p><p><br></p><p>The Cold War was also won on the back of luxury. When cheap American TVs and refrigerators inevitably worked their way into the USSR, the Soviets couldn't hope to match such opulence. The bloc came to see such "luxury" domestic goods as essential, and only the USA could give them.</p><p>But the most relatable example for most of us today is our relationship with Big Tech. Companies like Facebook, Apple, and Google slowly and surely wire our lives into their algorithms and platforms. Social media are designed and calibrated to be deliberately addictive. Time- or money-saving services, like cloud-based storage, have become so universal, that going back is becoming impossible. It's increasingly the case that we don't even know our passwords for things—we let our phones or apps invent and store them for us.</p><h2>You can't leave the machine</h2><p>A new technology or service is initially a luxury—until it becomes so normalized and ubiquitous, so essential—that we can't go back to the time before it appeared. What was once a "want" becomes a "need."</p><p>E.M. Forster's novella, "The Machine Stops", imagines a world where every facet of life is provided by "the machine." There are buttons "to call for food, music, clothing, hot baths, literature and, of course, communication with friends." How prescient has this turned out to be? Today, we have Uber, Skype, Hello Fresh, and Amazon Prime. Our friends and family are also plugged into the machine. </p><p>Is it possible to leave?</p><ul class="ee-ul"></ul><p>Though we view technology as liberating, it also boxes us in. If we believe Tacitus, we are now enslaved by the things we once saw as luxury. It's the job of philosophy to see these chains for what they are. And, as we examine our lives, we can then choose to wear them happily or start the long hard journey of throwing them off.</p><p><em>Jonny Thomson teaches philosophy in Oxford. He runs a popular Instagram account called Mini Philosophy (@<a href="https://www.instagram.com/philosophyminis/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">philosophyminis</a>). His first book is <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mini-Philosophy-Small-Book-Ideas-ebook/dp/B08M3XDNPM/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mini Philosophy: A Small Book of Big Ideas</a>.</em></p>
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This zero-energy 'daylight harvesting' device can send sunlight underground
Researchers in Singapore invented a novel device that may help the island nation illuminate its growing underground infrastructure.
06 April, 2021
Goela et al.
<p><br>As nations like Singapore continue to build <a href="https://opengovasia.com/singapore-to-unveil-pilot-areas-of-underground-masterplan-next-year/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">sophisticated underground infrastructure</a>, there's growing need for reliable and affordable lighting systems. To meet that demand, a team of researchers at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore created an innovative solution: a smart device that harvests real daylight and transmits it underground.</p><p>The device, described in a <a href="https://www.x-mol.com/paper/1354926781369819136" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">paper</a> published by the journal <em>Solar Energy</em>, is something like a "smart" magnifying glass. Its main component is an acrylic sphere that sits above ground to absorb and concentrate sunlight. A plastic optical fibre is positioned under the sphere to collect and transport the concentrated sunlight to a desired location up to two stories underground.</p><p>To ensure the system collects the maximum amount of sunlight, a GPS device uses motors to move the fibre cable into optimal positions, depending on the position of the sun. This helps save energy, considering the only moving part is the lightweight cable, not the heavier sphere.</p><p>But what if it's cloudy? To solve that inevitable problem, the team outfitted the emitting end of the fibre cable with an electrically powered LED bulb that produces artificial light. The researchers said future versions of the device may include a high-efficiency photovoltaic cell that would collect and store energy, meaning it could power the LED bulb during overcast conditions. That would make it a zero-energy device.</p><p><br></p>
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<img class="rm-lazyloadable-image rm-shortcode" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNjAyNjgwMi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY3NDQxOTgxMX0.h_zYtvh8SdV-EWhFd8V7RNfmAkJ35TFt3yEebSXWgUI/img.png?width=980" id="12378" width="1524" height="942" data-rm-shortcode-id="000aefa3f1398074352380fe57082e05" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Credit: <a href="https://www.x-mol.com/pa..." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Goela et al</a>.</small></p>
<p><br></p><p>It's poised to be an efficient system for underground lighting, especially considering the study results showed that the device's luminous efficacy rating was more than double that of commercially available LED bulbs.</p><p>"The luminous efficacy of our low-cost device proves that it is well-suited for low-level lighting applications, like car parks, lifts, and underground walkways in dense cities," Dr. Charu Goel, Principal Research Fellow at NTU's The Photonics Institute, said in a <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/ntu-nss033121.php" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">press release</a>.</p><p>"It is also easily scalable. Since the light capturing capacity of the ball lens is proportional to its size, we can customise the device to a desired output optical power by replacing it with a bigger or smaller ball."</p><p>While some of the early prototypes look like complicated snowglobes, future devices would likely be designed to look and function like traditional lamp posts, illuminating streets above ground using electricity.</p><p><br></p>
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<img class="rm-lazyloadable-image rm-shortcode" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNjAyNjgwNS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyOTc2NjEyNH0.LOb3ZW72Jh6Rc1ECz_5_7EMBeQtEJ4hAnMJyfcQhVAA/img.png?width=980" id="cc498" width="674" height="916" data-rm-shortcode-id="5526c5dab81ecb10ff45bfe03827f5d4" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Credit: <a href="https://www.x-mol.com/pa..." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Goela et al</a></small></p>
<p><br></p><p>This hybrid system could help light the way for Singapore's plans to move more of its infrastructure underground.</p><p>As an island nation with a fast-growing population, Singapore has for years been exploring strategies to use subterranean space more efficiently. Singapore has already built underground highways, parking lots, and walkways, and by 2030 the government hopes to expand its subterranean infrastructure, including underground utility plants, roads, and railways.</p><p>"Where it is feasible and meaningful, going underground would be the approach to optimise land use and improve the quality of our living environment," reads a <a href="https://www.ura.gov.sg/-/media/Corporate/Get-Involved/Plan-Our-Future-SG/Underground-Works/Benchmarking_Study.pdf?la=en" target="_blank">report</a> from Singapore's Urban Redevelopment Authority. "In general, the shallow levels of the underground would be used for people-centric activities that require connectivity to above-ground; while the deeper levels would be used for utilities, infrastructure, storage and logistics uses."</p>
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There’s nowhere left on Earth free of space pollution
When we look at the night sky, we may see junk instead of stars.
02 April, 2021
Credit: Petrovich12 / Adobe Stock
- New research has found that the entire planet is covered by light pollution from space objects.
- Companies like SpaceX and Amazon plan to launch thousands of satellites into orbit this decade.
- Scientists fear this space traffic will impede their ability to stare into deep space.
<p>In December, we reported on the <a href="https://bigthink.com/technology-innovation/space-debris" target="_self">imminent clean-up of space junk</a>. With an estimated 129 million pieces of debris currently orbiting our atmosphere, one lucrative contract awarded by the European Space Agency will commence in 2025. </p><p>Four years is a long time, however, given the amount of junk we've allowed to float into space. It's not the only issue affecting the crowded ether. <a href="https://academic.oup.com/mnrasl/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mnrasl/slab030/6188393" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">New research</a>, published in the <em>Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters</em>, has found that astronomers can no longer find anywhere on Earth to view the night sky free of space junk and satellite pollution. </p><p>Although the first satellite was only launched in 1957, as of the beginning of this year, 3,372 are now in orbit, alongside the aforementioned debris—what the research team from Slovakia, Spain, and the United States term "space objects" for sake of brevity. These objects range in altitude from a few hundred to over 35,000 kilometers. </p><p>These objects pose an immediate threat to researchers by compromising astronomical data. Space debris and satellites often appear as streaks of varying lengths and brightness in ground-based telescopes. And the problem is going to get worse, <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/03/study-finds-nowhere-earth-safe-satellite-light-pollution" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">says</a> John Barentine of the International Dark-Sky Association. </p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"It's a bit of an eye-opener. As space gets more crowded, the magnitude of this effect will only be more, not less."</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-lazyloadable-image rm-shortcode" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTk2NTE4MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MDc0MzUyOX0.Ypo8xi2hPcssE_S5Q-TNmvVmjlnNaxAE6UZ3Wp876JI/img.jpg?width=980" id="60778" width="4940" height="3292" data-rm-shortcode-id="65b379c36be41bb8c4e3b342921d4dea" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption..." spellcheck="false">This handout image supplied by the European Space Agency (ESA), shows a view of The Palms, Dubai as the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft passes below, in an image taken by ESA astronaut Tim Peake from the International Space Station on April 10, 2016.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Photo by Tim Peake / ESA/NASA via Getty Images</small></p><p>Plenty more is coming as the race for consumer travel heats up. SpaceX has <a href="https://spacenews.com/spacex-surpasses-1000-satellite-mark-in-latest-starlink-launch/" target="_blank">already launched over 1,000 Starlink communication satellites</a> as it builds a new global internet infrastructure. Last year, the FCC <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanocallaghan/2020/07/31/amazon-is-going-to-add-3000-more-satellites-into-earths-orbit--and-people-are-not-happy/?sh=12675cb37628" target="_blank">approved 3,236 Amazon satellites</a> that will all be in orbit as part of the mega-constellation "Project Kuiper" by 2029. While these aren't the only companies in the race to a global internet, SpaceX alone aspires to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanocallaghan/2020/07/31/amazon-is-going-to-add-3000-more-satellites-into-earths-orbit--and-people-are-not-happy/?sh=12675cb37628" target="_blank">launch 42,000 satellites</a> into space.<br></p><p>On Earth, we might enjoy faster internet speeds, but in observatories, researchers are concerned. Currently, scientists plan their observations around the orbit schedule of known objects. In a few years, the researchers of this letter write, that might prove impossible. An exponential increase in satellites will likely guarantee streaks in every telescope across the globe. </p><p>Slovakian astronomer Miroslav Kocifaj, part of the team behind this new research, believes this logjam in space could create such an intense background glow that we'll no longer be able to gaze out into the farthest reaches of space. </p><p>His team points to <a href="https://www.iau.org/static/resolutions/IAU1979_French.pdf" target="_blank">the 1979 resolution of the International Astronomical Union</a>, which stated observatories should only be built in regions where light pollution adds less than 10 percent more light than normal skyglow. While they point out that "natural skyglow" is a debatable term, they're also concerned that the ambitious plans of private companies will ensure that nowhere will come in under that number. As the team writes: </p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"These results imply that diffuse night sky brightness produced by artificial space objects directly illuminated by the Sun may well have reached nowadays, and perhaps exceeded, what is considered a sustainability 'red line' for ground based astronomical observatory sites."</p><p>Just at the moment when we're reaching further into the cosmos, we seem to be boxing ourselves in. For millennia, we've started into the night sky and dreamed about the stars. Soon, it seems those dreams will be aimed at the junk we've placed there.</p><p>----</p><ul class="ee-ul"></ul><p><em>Stay in touch with Derek on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/derekberes" target="_blank">Twitter</a>. His most recent book is</em> "<em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08KRVMP2M?pf_rd_r=MDJW43337675SZ0X00FH&pf_rd_p=edaba0ee-c2fe-4124-9f5d-b31d6b1bfbee" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hero's Dose: The Case For Psychedelics in Ritual and Therapy</a>."</em></p>
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