New York City to Trial AI-Powered Gun Scanners in Subway Stations

Officials in New York City revealed a pilot program on Thursday to implement handheld gun scanners in the subway system to enhance safety and reduce violence underground.

Mayor Eric Adams mentioned that the scanners will be set up at specific stations after a 90-day waiting period mandated by law.


“Ensuring the safety of New Yorkers in the subway system and preserving their trust in the system is crucial for keeping New York the safest metropolis in America,” Adams stated. The announcement also included plans to deploy extra outreach personnel to assist individuals with mental health issues living in the system.

Adams mentioned that authorities will seek companies with expertise in weapons detection technology, and eventually install the scanners in select subway stations to assess their effectiveness further.

The scanner, showcased by Mr. Adams and law enforcement officials at a news conference in Lower Manhattan, was developed by Evolv, a publicly traded company facing allegations of manipulating software test results to exaggerate the scanner’s effectiveness. The company is currently under investigation by U.S. trade regulators and financial regulators.

Evolv’s CEO, Peter George, described the AI-enabled scanner as utilizing “a secure ultra-low frequency electromagnetic field and advanced sensors for concealed weapons detection.”

Jerome Greco, overseeing attorney for the Legal Aid Society’s digital forensics division, cautioned that gun detection systems may trigger false alarms and cause unnecessary panic.

City officials have not disclosed the specific locations where the scanners will be deployed. A demonstration at the Fulton Street station showed the device beeping when an officer with a holstered gun passed, but not reacting to an officer with a cell phone or other electronic device. No false alarms were noted.

While violent incidents in the city’s subways are infrequent, recent high-profile shootings have highlighted safety concerns. The city recorded five murders in the subway system last year, a decrease from the previous year. The installation of the scanners follows a recent fatal accident at an East Harlem subway station, reinforcing the urgency of subway safety measures.

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Source: www.theguardian.com

Webb’s fresh perspective on supernovae, laser connections between space stations, and the Europa Clipper mission

New high-definition images from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near Infrared Camera) reveal intricate details of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A), which is struck by a gas outlet by a star before exploding. It shows an expanding shell of matter. Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Danny Milisavljevic (Purdue University), Ilse De Looze (UGent), Tea Temim (Princeton University)

NASAWebb Space Telescope observes newly exploded star…

The team prepares to install the moon rocket hardware…

And we completed NASA’s first bidirectional end-to-end laser relay system…

Some of the stories we want to share with you – this week at NASA!

Watch the web’s new high-definition exploded stars

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope recently captured this new image of supernova remnant Cassiopeia A. This image, taken with Webb’s near-infrared camera, shows the star’s explosion at a resolution previously unattainable at these wavelengths, giving astronomers a hint at the dynamic processes occurring. . It’s inside a supernova remnant.

NASA’s Artemis II mission is making final preparations for its SLS rocket at Kennedy Space Center. The Orion stage adapter, a critical component that connects Orion to his SLS, recently underwent critical installation work on its diaphragm at Marshall Space Flight Center. This adapter plays an important role in preventing hydrogen gas buildup and ensuring safety during launch.Credit: NASA/Sam Lott

Team prepares to assemble moon rocket and spacecraft connectors

A team at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center recently flipped the Orion stage adapter over and prepared the adapter for diaphragm installation.

The stage adapter connects the Orion spacecraft to the Space Launch System rocket’s intermediate cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS). The diaphragm helps prevent highly flammable hydrogen gas, which could leak from the rocket’s propellant tanks, from accumulating beneath Orion and its crew before and during launch.

NASA’s ILLUMA-T payload communicates with the LCRD via laser signals.Credit: NASA/Dave Ryan

Space station laser communication terminal achieves first link

NASA’s LCRD and the new space station technology experiment ILLUMA-T successfully exchanged data for the first time, establishing the first laser link between ILLUMA-T and an on-orbit laser relay system. LCRD and his ILLUMA-T teamed up to complete NASA’s first bidirectional end-to-end laser relay system.

Laser communications uses infrared light rather than traditional radio waves to send and receive signals, allowing spacecraft to pack more data into each transmission.

The “Message in a Bottle” campaign offers anyone the opportunity to stencil their name onto a microchip inscribed with U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón’s “Mystery Praise: A Poem to Europe.” The chip will be mounted on NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft, bound for Jupiter and its moon Europa. Credit: NASA

Add your name to join the European Clipper Mission

The deadline to participate in NASA’s European Clipper mission’s Message in a Bottle campaign is 11:59 p.m. EST, December 31, 2023. You can join the mission and carve your name on his Clipper spacecraft as it travels and explores 1.8 billion miles of Europe. Jupitericy moon, Europa.

For more information, visit go.nasa.gov/MessageInABottle.

What’s happening this week at @NASA!

Source: scitechdaily.com

The Subway Stations of New York City Overrun by Rats

Squeaklet came out.

A new update to the popular app has revealed to New Yorkers just how rat-infested subway stations are.

Transit, an urban travel planning app first released in 2012, recently New York City subway mouse detector Features. Use information obtained from other users. The user selects one from multiple answers to questions such as “Is this city run by rats?” “Are there rats in this station?” – The app will show you how full of rats the station is. It became a surprising viral hit.

“It completely exploded,” Joe McNeil, Transit’s lead copywriter, told the Post.

Transit’s main service is to display bus and train arrival times. Currently, based on reports from “thousands of rodent observers across five boroughs,” are there no reports of rats at a particular station, or just “one or two” reports? , or whether it’s “very many.”

“New Yorkers are unusually proud of it” and “think it’s funny.” [that there are so many rats]” said McNeil, who is based in Montreal along with other members of the transit team.

A rat on a subway platform in Union Square in 2019.
christopher sadowski

The new feature debuted in August, but has really taken off in recent weeks thanks to posts on TikTok and X (formerly known as Twitter). In October, we received over 17,000 responses about rat sightings on the subway.

“Can we talk about this transit app update,” says dancer Angie Hokulanibigins, with the transit app update in the background. New York City subway mouse detector in TikTok videos It has been viewed more than 1.7 million times since it was posted late last month. “It shows you how dilapidated the stations are…and there’s a scale of rat numbers. The 89th most dilapidated is 42nd Street.”

X user based in Queens shared a screenshot 149 Street – From an app that shows Grand Concourse Station ratings — 10th out of 445 stations.

A screenshot of Rat Detector within the app.
Transportation facilities
Rat Detector also provides users with online “statistical analysis.”
Transportation facilities

The Bronx station’s characteristics reveal it to be a significant rodent hub.
ANT2RA/X
A viral TikTok video helped spread the word about the detector’s existence.
TikTok/Smoklani

“At least the Bronx made it to the top 10 for something,” the post joked.

But the MTA doesn’t seem to be interested.

MTA spokeswoman Kayla Schultz said in a statement to the Post that “we do not know the methodology behind the rat census and therefore decline to comment.”

The transportation team hopes that while the MTA may not yet be equipped with rat detectors, it will at least help it know which stops are most in need of visits from exterminators.

Kingston Throop Station.
google map
191st Street 1 station.
JC Rice
A rat wanders around looking for food at Columbus Circle 59th Street Station on May 8, 2023.
Getty Images

In addition to in-app features, Transit announced on its website a “statistical analysis” of its findings showing “a rattling of the MTA’s most congested platforms.” Grant Avenue and Kingston-Throop Avenue A stopped, and 191 Street 1 now holds that honor.

The app also provides information for Chicago, Los Angeles, and more than 200 other cities, but typically asks users everyday pedestrian questions, such as accessibility and crowding. But, inspired by Rat Tracker’s success, it may start presenting users with even more fun queries.

McNeil said some of his colleagues didn’t expect the rodent tool to become so popular. But people from the Big Apple, or at least those familiar with Pizza Rat’s story, weren’t shocked.

He said, “I don’t think anyone who grew up in New York was surprised at all.”


Source: nypost.com