World's first robot lawyer ROSS hired by US law firm

US-based law firm Baker Hostetler on May 2016 hired the world’s first robot lawyer ROSS to assist the company and its various teams in legal research. The law firm will license artificial lawyer ROSS for use in its Bankruptcy, Restructuring and Creditors Rights team.

Key Features:

Ø  ROSS has been built by ROSS Intelligence and is built upon IBM cognitive computer Watson.

Ø  With the support of Watson’s lawyers can ask ROSS their research question.

Ø  The ROSS reads through the law, gathers evidence, draws inferences and returns highly relevant, evidence-based answers.

Ø  ROSS also monitors the law around the clock to notify user of new court decisions that can affect a case.

Ø  The programme continually learns from lawyers who use it to bring back better results each time.

UAV flights for early diagnosis of HIV in infants

On 14 March 2016, the Government of Malawi and UNICEF successfully tested the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs or drones) to explore cost effecting ways of reducing waiting times for HIV testing of infants. As part of the test, simulated blood samples were transported from a community health centre to the Kamuzu Central Hospital laboratory that is located at a distance of 10 kilometers. Though drones were used in the past for surveillance and assessments of disaster, this is the first known use of UAVs in Africa for Improvement of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) services. After successful completion of further tests, the drone services well be integrated into the health system alongside others existing mechanism such as road, transport and short message service (SMS).
Significance of UAVs for Malawi
      The successful completion of tests and integration of UAVs with HIV services of significance for Malawi due to the following scenario. In 2014, nearly 40000 children in Malawi were born to HIV positive mothers. It is also estimated that around 10000 children deaths occur every year due to the infection. The high incidence of death is attributed to the fact that there is a considerable delay in diagnosis of the infection in infants. This is because of transport challenges and associated delays experienced by health workers in remote areas of the country.

India successfully test fired Agni-1 ballistic missile

On 14 March 2016, India successfully test-fired indigenously built nuclear capable intermediate range Agni-1 ballistic missile. It was launched from launch pad-4 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Abdul Kalam Island (Wheeler Island) on the Odisha coast. The trial was as part of training exercise by the Strategic Force Command (SFC) of Indian Army. The sophisticated missile covered 700 km distance within 9 minutes and 36 seconds. The latest trial of Agni-1 followed the first successful test-fire that was conducted on 27 November 2015 from the same base.

About Agni-1 ballistic missile:

Ø  Agni-1 was developed by Advanced System Laboratory, the premier missile development laboratory of DRDO in collaboration with Defence Research Development Laboratory and Research Centre Imarat and integrated by Bharat Dynamics Limited, Hyderabad.

Ø  The missile is 15-metre long and weighed 12 tonnes and equipped with sophisticated navigation system which ensures it reaches the target with a high degree of accuracy and precision.

The missile is a surface-to- surface and single-stage missile powered by solid propellant and capable of hitting a target 700 kilometers away

Japanese astronomers discovered second largest black hole in Milky Way

Japanese astronomers’ team discovered the second largest black hole in Milky Way. They mapped high velocity compact cloud called CO-0.40-0.22 with a mass 100000 times that of the Sun around 200 light years away from the centre of the Milky Way. The research related to this was published in Astrophysical Journal Letters with the little ‘Signature of an Intermediate Mass Black Hole in the Central Molecular Zone of our Galaxy’ on December 2015. A team led by Tomoharu Oka, a professor at Keio University observed this mysterious cloud with two radio telescopes, the Nobeyama 45m Radio Telescope in Japan and the ASTE telescope in Chile. These both telescopes are operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.

NASA formalized Planetary Defense Coordination Office to detect and track near Earth Objects

On 7 January 2016, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that it had formalized its ongoing program for detecting and tracking near Earth objects (NEOs) as the Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO). It will remain within NASA’s planetary Science Division under Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

Main Functions:

Ø  It will supervise all NASA-funded projects to find and characterize asteroids and comets that pass near the orbit of the Earth around the sun.

Ø  It will take a lead role in coordinating interagency and intergovernmental efforts in response to any potential hazards that impact Earth.

Ø  It will also issue notice of close passes and warnings of any detected potential threats, based on credible science data.

Ø  It will continue to assist to coordinate Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), other U.S. agencies and international counterparts to participate in the precautionary actions against an actual impact hazard.

NASA started discovering the NEOs in 1998 and since then 13500 NEOs were discovered with 1500 new addition every year. It was engaged in worldwide planning for planetary defense for some time.

ISRO and KISR signed MoU on cooperation in space exploration

On 20 January 2016, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Kuwait Institute of Scientific Research (KISR) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes.

Highlights:

Ø  It will allow use of data from Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites by KISR for initiating a few research and application projects.

Ø  It will also enable Training and Building and launching of remote sensing and communication satellites on commercial terms.

Ø  It will provide impetus to explore newer research activities and application possibilities in the field of remote sensing satellite communication satellite navigation and exploration of outer space.

Ø  It will lead to developing a joint activity in the field of application of space technology for the benefit of humanity.

Ø  It will lead to setting up of a Joint Working Group from ISRO and KISR which will work out the plan of action including the time frame and the means of implementing this MoU.

China launched Gaofen-4 dual-use Geostationary satellite

On 29 December 2015, China successfully launched Gaofen-4 Earth observation satellite toward a geostationary orbit from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in the south-western province of Sichuan. The satellite was launched aboard a Long March-3B carrier rocket. Launched as a part of the China High-resolution Earth Observation System (CHEOS), Gaofen-4 is located at the orbit 36000 kilometres away from the earth and moves synchronously with the earth.

Highlights:

Ø  It can see an oil tanker on the sea with a huge CMOS camera, reaching the best imaging level among global high-orbit remote sensing satellites.

Ø  It will be used for disaster prevention and relief, surveillance of geological disasters and forest disasters, and meteorologic forecast.

Ø  It will offer optical spatial resolution of better than 50 meters and infrared sensing capabilities from geostationary orbit.

Ø  It is designed to operate for eight years at an altitude of almost 36000 km above the Earth.

The satellite was launched as a part of Gaofen Project that aims to launch seven high-definition observation satellites before 2020. Gaofen-1, the first satellite of the project, was launched in April 2013.