DAILY INNOVATION BRIEF by Maryanne Kane, Journalist

 DAILY INNOVATION BRIEF 

By Journalists Edward Kane & Maryanne Kane 

IF YOU LIVED IN N. AMERICA IN PRE-HISTORIC TIMES, WHAT ANIMALS WOULD YOU HAVE SEEN?

           Source: San Diego Natural History Museum & Stock

• Experts involved in various studies think that, based on skeletal remains, several huge creatures existed in North America during pre-historic times.  Here are several prominent ones:

1. Saber-toothed cats weighing 350 to 620 pounds and nearly 6-feet in length
2. Giant beavers weighing 125 pounds
3. Giant 10-foot-tall sloughs weighing 2200 pounds (giant slough remains found in West Virginia were described by Thomas Jefferson in 1799)
4. Camelops (large camels) 7-feet-tall weighing nearly a ton
5. Cheetah-like animals weighing nearly 150 pounds

• Quite a group to run into as you take a relaxing walk through the forest!!

NEXT-G GPS WITH INCREDIBLE PRECISION

                                                                        Source:  Xona

• CA-based start-up Xona Space Systems just secured nearly $20 million in investment money to build a super-accurate, alternative GPS system.  Here are some key facts:
• New system is called Pulsar
• It takes the accuracy of GPS from the meters-level to the centimeter level
• Designed for the much higher level of navigational accuracy needed for the deployment of autonomous cars, advanced robotics & other new technologies
• Pulsar will be deployed through a 300-satellite constellation in low Earth orbit similar to Starlink cellular communications
• For decades GPS (Global Positioning System) has provided positioning, navigation and timing through billions of devices for free
• Pulsar will cost less to operate and provide more accuracy in geolocation data
• First Xona satellite will be launched in June 2025
• Xona was founded by 7 Stanford University grads.

"Daily Innovation Brief"© By Edward Kane