robotics software @pipedream_labs, cofounded @voyage, drones @amazon & the army. hyperspectral sensing enthusiast. EPCOT originalist.
fl, dc, sometimes tx
- Tweets 11,916
- Following 3,796
- Followers 10,784
- Likes 108,755
it seems that someone has vibe coded the traffic lights this morning.
think about all the safety watchdogs and hardware interlocks that had to fail for this to happen.
C/C++ engineers in shambles.
17
12
426
14,524
What other technologies are we missing for terraforming?
Serious question.
The first microbe for Mars is a safe, useful first step toward terraforming.
Read the announcement from @Pioneer__Labs, including links to three new papers:
blog.pioneer-labs.org/p/anno…
8
25
3,665
MacCallister Higgins retweeted
I always thought we'd need some space mirrors and/or greenhouse gases to Terraform Mars. Finding a microbe that can survive there today would be insanely hard, but Erika and her team has done it. With a bit of equipment they can bootstrap a self sustaining biome. The advantage of microbes is that they're self replicating, recurrently self improving, nano machines. Zero marginal cost.
Today, Pioneer Labs is announcing our first step towards terraforming Mars. 🚀🌼
With equipment that fits in just a single rocket launch, we can convert Martian dirt, water, and air into enough building materials to construct a small city on Mars.
To do it, we made the first microbe for Mars. We found the best microbe on Earth and used evolution to teach it how to source all of its nutrients directly from Martian materials.
The first astronauts will be greeted with safe shelter already filled with water, oxygen, and rocket fuel for the return journey.
This is the first step toward using biology to make Mars a friendly place for life. It lets us live off the land and helps us build the next great frontier.
It's the first of five organisms we need to green Mars ⬇️
52
92
1,801
110,303
Free idea to fix Flock: encrypt all video and give residents control over unlocking it. Police can request bounded access per incident, but a majority of residents has to ok.
Threshold cryptography / m-of-n authorization, maybe MPC so no single party ever holds the master key.
86
9
517
21,352
we used to dream about days like this.
(also @openmvcam send me one, y’all are sold out. would love to test and publish)
2
10
2,142
what are other examples of things that look sick as hell but are actually functional (mirror finish reflects sun to minimize heat)?
Starlink laser terminals.
Imagine this thing locking onto a target the size of a dinner plate, 4,000 km away, while both ends are moving at orbital speed.
15
3
170
16,143
MacCallister Higgins retweeted
Surely the stochastic parrot won’t come for CAD, drafting, and spatial reasoning. I've heard it's just a chinese room. It'll be fine.
"Redesign the SO101 robot arm’s gripper to pick up chess pieces reliably, with a shape that centers round pieces and tolerates positioning errors. Refine the existing CAD, show the gripping action in an animated preview, and deliver the final STEP file for 3d printing. I'm going to lunch, don't stop for any reason until complete. Use computer use to send to Bambu H2S when complete"
34
26
606
75,002
MacCallister Higgins retweeted
The existence of RGB-light-covered psyop aircraft (if real) implies the existence of some sort of SkunkWorks team but for making crazy/outlandish doohicky distractions and that sounds like a very fun job
83
100
3,861
193,343
the problem with dc "activism" is that they always need to resort to gimmicks.
this crap, the sandwich throwing guy becoming a symbol, handmaid tale cosplayers, etc.
they don't take themselves seriously, so why should anyone else?
1
9
777
If you would’ve asked me five years ago I would’ve expected the shape of AI to be much more like Jev than ChatGPT. It’s weird that we skipped right to text.
7
619
MacCallister Higgins retweeted
History does not repeat itself but it does rhyme
With a 72’ wingspan and unrefueled range of over 9000 miles, Gamera is a new category of Group 5 strike and sensing UAS that is mass-producible, significantly lower cost than legacy platforms, and the first UAS specifically designed to employ bomber-class strike munitions.
It’s on display this week at @AFA_Air_Space Air, Space & Cyber Conference. Come see the next generation of UAS in person in the Wilson Ballroom at Booth #4100.
8
14
485
36,050
MacCallister Higgins retweeted
I spent 2015-2023 building self-driving cars. It was so painful.
It's now 2026, and we tasked just 1 researcher to take Odyssey-3, our latest world model, and teach it to drive the roads of India with just 20 hours of driving data.
And…it works! This is insane.
Today we’re unveiling Odyssey-3, a big step forward for foundation world models.
It can control robots, power humanoids, drive cars (on the roads of India!), train AIs, pilot drones, and even play video games.
We can’t wait to see what intelligent systems it enables.
84
124
1,976
195,920