The Center for Disease Control estimates that 9.1 percent of global disease could potentially be prevented by cleaner water and improved sanitation. One European-based company is aiming to provide fresh, drinkable water; Internet connectivity; and free electricity to a community in need.
Watly is world’s first, and largest, solar-powered computer that uses thermal technology to provide clean water, electricity, and Internet connectivity to about 750 people. Measuring in at about 131 feet (40 meters) long, this machine can sanitize up to 1,320 gallons (5,000 liters) of water a day, while generating electricity that can be used to charge external devices. Watly is also built with a 3G/4G router that gives people access to the Internet.
The system uses a vapor compression distillation process and can desalinate sea water and get rid of pathogens and pollutants. Photovoltaic panels on top of the machine are used to generate electricity. The excess electricity, stored in a 140 kWh internal battery, can be used to charge up gadgets, like smartphones, lamps, and laptops. The Watly offers up to 1,640 feet (500 meters) of Wi-Fi connectivity and can send any kind of data, such as texts, videos, and images.
Prototypes of the solar-powered machine have been tested in the last three years. The official trial took place in a village in Ghana, earning the company several awards and over $2 million in funding. Though this investment went towards building the pre-industrial version of the machine, the company has launched an Indiegogo campaign to expand the project. For one unit of the Watly system, the company would have to raise $75,000 and receive the matching funds promised by a philanthropist. That type of unit would only provide clean water for the next 15 years. For $325,000, an entire hub with built-in Wi-Fi capabilities and electricity can be built.
San Francisco startup Dimensional advertised for people to walk robot dogs through city streets. The New York Times reported that the job could include carrying a roughly 33-pound robot back to the office if it overheated. A lift home is an awkward requirement for a labor-saving machine.
Keeping the hardware running is only one challenge. Anthropic's robotics tests found that language models mostly failed when controlling joints directly, but did better when directing trained controllers. Giving an AI agent a body doesn't teach it to handle ordinary household objects.
Soon, a mattress protector may be more than a bed cover. Australian medtech company Sleeptite and researchers at RMIT University have received a US patent for FlexiSense, a smart bedding technology that tracks body position and posture to help caregivers identify when older residents may be at risk of falling.
The technology is being developed for Sleeptite’s in-bed monitoring system, REMi, and was recently on display at The MedTech Conference in Boston. A peer-reviewed study in Flexible and Printed Electronics says the sensors can also be made at scale without sacrificing performance or durability.
AI companies spend enormous amounts of time convincing us their technology is safe and secure. But what happens when those same companies become targets of increasingly sophisticated AI-powered attacks? Anthropic, the company behind Claude, is now facing that question. According to a Washington Post report, cybersecurity startup Cathedral discovered vulnerabilities that let its researchers access sensitive information in Anthropic's internal systems.
The researchers used AI agents to identify potential entry points in less than 12 hours. Interestingly, they didn't need to crack Claude itself. Instead, they exploited weaknesses in third-party business applications that Anthropic uses for everyday operations. Anthropic's security testing program disclosed the findings, which allows outside researchers to identify and report vulnerabilities.