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Anduril is accelerating the launch of defensive payloads by purchasing ready-made Apex satellite buses

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On the sensor expands even further to the “top level”.

The company, best known for its AI-powered defense products in the air, on land and at sea, is partnering with a satellite bus startup Apical space for the rapid deployment of payloads into orbit for the US Department of Defense.

This is a rare case where an emerging defense contractor decides to partner with a supplier somewhat than construct the product itself or just acquire the supplier outright. But this partnership is smart: Anduril attributes much of its success to its approach to product design and development, which emphasizes rapidly developing large numbers of products using off-the-shelf components to cut back costs. Apex does something similar by producing satellite buses, the part of the spacecraft that holds the payload. In the past, they were subject to individual engineering processes, long lead times and high prices.

“We’re really focused on recreating the same things we’ve done in other areas, in the space domain,” Gokul Subramanian, Anduril’s vp of space and software, said at a press conference. “If you concentrate on what Anduril has done successfully in sea, air and ground transportation, there is a shift from the low-volume, high-cost systems which have traditionally been used to high-volume, low-cost systems. We have the same belief in space – that to achieve success in space, we want to maneuver to high-volume, low-cost production.”

Ian Cinnamon, co-founder and CEO of Apex Space, said the satellite bus is the “biggest bottleneck” in the space ecosystem, stopping America from putting more mass into orbit. Their goal is to deliver satellite buses to customers in weeks, not years, with more transparent pricing and a standardized product.

The Anduril-built payload flew in March on the first-ever Apex mission, which Subramanian called a “mission data processor” that allows on-orbit processing of images captured from the satellite. This payload leverages Lattice, the command and control process implemented in all Anduril products. In summary, Anduril was in a position to reveal the ability to point a spacecraft to a particular location, take an image of what the spacecraft saw, process that image, and transmit the data to Earth – all completely autonomously.

“It was the first experiment that gave us confidence in our vision for space, our collaboration with Ian and the bus platform they built,” he said.

Anduril has already purchased a dedicated satellite bus from Apex, which can be launched next yr. Anduril will operate this method, which can carry payloads built in-house and by others. This can be the model of the future, the pair of executives explained: Apex will provide the buses, Anduril will “mission the system,” Subramanian said.

Subramanian declined to comment on the specific opportunities the company hopes to pursue with the latest partnership, however it leaves the company in a great position to tackle a main contractor role on some coveted contracts. For example, the Space Development Agency’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture program is deploying masses of satellites to enhance the Space Force’s aging missile tracking and defense architecture. SDA spends huge amounts of money on these satellites; So far, contracts for the construction of satellites under the program have been awarded to, amongst others: Sierra Space, Rocket Lab, SpaceX. Anduril undoubtedly hopes to affix the club.

This is not Anduril’s first foray into space: in July 2023, the company won a $10.50 contract from Space Systems Command to include Lattice into Space Surveillance Network (SSN) sensors, used for early warning of missiles. Last week, the company was also awarded a $25.3 million contract from the Space Force to offer additional ANN upgrades.

This is the first of many partnerships Anduril intends to announce, including with other bus providers, Subramanian added.

This article was originally published on : techcrunch.com
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US medical device giant Artivion says hackers stole files during a cybersecurity incident

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Artivion, a medical device company that produces implantable tissue for heart and vascular transplants, says its services have been “disrupted” resulting from a cybersecurity incident.

In 8-K filing In an interview with the SEC on Monday, Georgia-based Artivion, formerly CryoLife, said it became aware of a “cybersecurity incident” that involved the “compromise and encryption” of information on November 21. This suggests that the corporate was attacked by ransomware, but Artivion has not yet confirmed the character of the incident and didn’t immediately reply to TechCrunch’s questions. No major ransomware group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

Artivion said it took some systems offline in response to the cyberattack, which the corporate said caused “disruptions to certain ordering and shipping processes.”

Artivion, which reported third-quarter revenue of $95.8 million, said it didn’t expect the incident to have a material impact on the corporate’s funds.

This article was originally published on : techcrunch.com
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It’s a Raspberry Pi 5 in a keyboard and it’s called Raspberry Pi 500

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Manufacturer of single-board computers Raspberry Pi is updating its cute little computer keyboard device with higher specs. Named Raspberry Pi500This successor to the Raspberry Pi 400 is just as powerful as the present Raspberry Pi flagship, the Raspberry Pi 5. It is on the market for purchase now from Raspberry Pi resellers.

The Raspberry Pi 500 is the simplest method to start with the Raspberry Pi because it’s not as intimidating because the Raspberry Pi 5. When you take a look at the Raspberry Pi 500, you do not see any chipsets or PCBs (printed circuit boards). The Raspberry Pi is totally hidden in the familiar housing, the keyboard.

The idea with the Raspberry Pi 500 is you could connect a mouse and a display and you are able to go. If, for instance, you’ve got a relative who uses a very outdated computer with an outdated version of Windows, the Raspberry Pi 500 can easily replace the old PC tower for many computing tasks.

More importantly, this device brings us back to the roots of the Raspberry Pi. Raspberry Pi computers were originally intended for educational applications. Over time, technology enthusiasts and industrial customers began using single-board computers all over the place. (For example, when you’ve ever been to London Heathrow Airport, all of the departures and arrivals boards are there powered by Raspberry Pi.)

Raspberry Pi 500 draws inspiration from the roots of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, a non-profit organization. It’s the right first computer for college. In some ways, it’s a lot better than a Chromebook or iPad because it’s low cost and highly customizable, which inspires creative pondering.

The Raspberry Pi 500 comes with a 32GB SD card that comes pre-installed with Raspberry Pi OS, a Debian-based Linux distribution. It costs $90, which is a slight ($20) price increase over the Raspberry Pi 400.

Only UK and US keyboard variants will probably be available at launch. But versions with French, German, Italian, Japanese, Nordic and Spanish keyboard layouts will probably be available soon. And when you’re in search of a bundle that features all the things you would like, Raspberry Pi also offers a $120 desktop kit that features the Raspberry Pi 500, a mouse, a 27W USB-C power adapter, and a micro-HDMI to HDMI cable.

In other news, Raspberry Pi has announced one other recent thing: the Raspberry Pi monitor. It is a 15.6-inch 1080p monitor that’s priced at $100. Since there are quite a few 1080p portable monitors available on the market, this launch is not as noteworthy because the Pi 500. However, for die-hard Pi fans, there’s now also a Raspberry Pi-branded monitor option available.

Image credits:Raspberry Pi

This article was originally published on : techcrunch.com
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Apple Vision Pro may add support for PlayStation VR controllers

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Vision Pro headset

According to Apple, Apple desires to make its Vision Pro mixed reality device more attractive for gamers and game developers latest report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.

The Vision Pro was presented more as a productivity and media consumption device than a tool geared toward gamers, due partly to its reliance on visual and hand controls moderately than a separate controller.

However, Apple may need gamers if it desires to expand the Vision Pro’s audience, especially since Gurman reports that lower than half one million units have been sold to this point. As such, the corporate has reportedly been in talks with Sony about adding support for PlayStation VR2 handheld controllers, and has also talked to developers about whether they may support the controllers of their games.

Offering more precise control, Apple may also make other forms of software available in Vision Pro, reminiscent of Final Cut Pro or Adobe Photoshop.

This article was originally published on : techcrunch.com
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