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Finnish startup Distance Technologies emerged from stealth last year with a technology it claims can turn any transparent surface into a mixed reality (MR) display. Now, it has teamed up with Patria to trial the tech on the defence firm’s armoured vehicles. The partners will jointly develop a heads-up display for Patria’s six-wheel drive armoured personnel carrier. The system will display 3D tactical data, terrain mapping, and AI-driven military insights directly onto the windshield, allowing military personnel to see in low-visibility environments like darkness and smoke.  The MR technology promises to eliminate the need for additional screens or clunky headsets.… This story continues at The Next Web

Welcome to Edition 7.36 of the Rocket Report! Well, after nine months, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are finally back on Earth, safe and sound. This brings to conclusion one of the stranger and more dramatic human spaceflight stories in years. We’re glad they’re finally home, soon to be reunited with their families. As always, we welcome reader submissions, and if you don’t want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar. Summary of 2024 launch activity. In its annual launch report, released earlier this month, Bryce Tech analyzed the 259 orbital launches conducted last year. Among the major trends the analysts found were: Nearly 60 percent of all launches were conducted by US providers, Commercial providers accounted for about 70 percent of launches, and Small satellites, primarily for communications, represented the majority of all spacecraft launched at 97 percent. Read full article Comments

The Federal Communications Commission is making it easier for telcos to turn off old copper phone and DSL networks with four changes that relax requirements related to copper shutoffs. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr—who is also pushing a “Delete, Delete, Delete” initiative to get rid of as many rules as possible—said in an announcement today that agency rules have prevented providers from upgrading to faster networks. “Outdated FCC rules have left Americans sitting in the slow lane for far too long,” Carr said. “Those FCC rules have forced providers to pour resources into maintaining aging and expensive copper line networks instead of investing in the modern, high-speed infrastructure that Americans want and deserve.” The key question for people using old copper service is whether they will ever get a big upgrade to fiber lines for phone and Internet access or if they’ll have to make do with wireless replacements that vary greatly in quality and speed. As we previously reported, AT&T is aiming to eliminate copper phone and DSL lines from its 21-state wireline network but will not deploy fiber in the more sparsely populated half of that territory. Read full article Comments