Microsoft enters the 'metaverse' race

Astronauts feast on ‘space tacos’ made with first peppers grown in ISS, Japan granted a safety certificate to a flying car for the first time Nov 04, 2021 # Together with [Anycart]( Good morning to the beginning of a new metaverse! Days after Facebook became Meta, Microsoft is entering the “metaverse” race in full force, with new plans for the future of the office. Bottom line: VR headsets could become mandatory equipment for daily meetings, and we couldn’t be less enthusiastic about it. On second thought, food in orbit is far more appealing, which is why astronauts threw a taco bash on he ISS to celebrate the harvest of the first chile peppers grown in space, and they are mouth-watering. Down a few hundred miles from the space station, Japan has granted a safety certificate to a flying car for the first time, signaling an impending and hopefully permanent shift in urban mobility. This is The Blueprint. Keep reading. CULTURE [Microsoft Enters the 'Metaverse' Race, Won't Let Meta Have A Free Run]( [Microsoft's metaverse will be here in 2022.]( [Microsoft is entering the race to build a metaverse]( with "Mesh", just days after Facebook rebranded to Meta in a push to build virtual spaces for both consumers and businesses. With this announcement, the two companies seem to be on a collision course to claim the future of work. - Slated for roll-out in the first half of 2022, Mesh will start off with a basic virtual area for meetings or social gatherings, but will eventually allow businesses to construct their own spaces with the tools necessary to make meetings more efficient. Beam me up, Scotty. Mesh users will don their VR headsets and beam into meetings, where their avatars can socialize and virtually collaborate. Tablet, PC, and smartphone users may also join, but the experience will be less immersive. If this still sounds like science fiction to you, you should know that Microsoft built a virtual space for Accenture before the global pandemic. The company was able to use that to onboard new employees, take them through initial training, and even assign their first projects within the virtual space. - Another feature that Microsoft plans to push out is the 3D avatar. Microsoft plans to use AI that mimics facial expressions and generates live translations to surmount language barriers and help people interact more effectively during live meetings. Your avatar can represent you in both 2D and 3D meetings, which means two choices remain: either design an animated version of yourself or, if you're in the mood, turn your webcam on. A mixed-reality future. Microsoft may have lost out on building a social media platform, but building the metaverse is something it wants to get right the first time. But it might not be up to the tech giants, since [office workers will decide which one will dominate]( the more immersive virtual world. [Read More]( SCIENCE [Astronauts Feast on 'Space Tacos' Made With First Peppers Grown in ISS]( [The space taco.]( Outer space just got more delicious: The International Space Station (ISS) astronauts [threw a taco party on Friday]( to celebrate the harvest of the first chile peppers grown in space. - What’s on the menu? The peppers are a part of NASA's Plant Habitat-04 project, which aims to determine what foods can be grown in space. In June, forty-eight seeds were launched to the space station and put inside the lab's Advanced Plant Habitat to see whether they could grow in zero-g. While prior experiments had succeeded in growing lettuce and radishes, peppers were the trickiest yet, since they take longer to grow, germinate, and yield fruit than the others. And it was a fiery success that was hidden in one giant bite for humanity. After a four-month wait, astronauts finally got to taste the fruits of their labor in the form of delicious ‘space tacos’ before gathering data on the peppers that were harvested. The grand image. This was part of a larger effort to increase the number of crops that astronauts can grow in space during future missions, since feeding astronauts on the Moon, and especially on faraway planets like Mars, will be a massive logistical challenge with bigger payloads, more propellant, and longer delivery times. - But why peppers? The good old pepper was chosen since it contains several essential nutrients, is rich in Vitamin C, and adds delicious variety to crew menus. Astronauts tend to lose some of their sense of taste and smell as a result of living in zero gravity, which is why spicy or well-seasoned foods are especially well-loved. Adding fresh greens and peppers to the space menu allows astronauts to spice up their daily meals while improving their overall health. What’s next? The chile pepper plants will continue to grow aboard the ISS, and the SpaceX Crew-3 astronauts, who are scheduled to fly this month from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, will harvest them again upon arrival. It looks like astronauts [will be able to munch on fresh chile peppers]( on future voyages to other planets as a spicy remembrance of our pale blue dot. [Read More]( SPONSORED Busy Schedules Affect Work-Life Balance. You Need To Find The Calm In The Chaos. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased average working hours across every industry. Following an intense workday, daily chores take up the precious time you could otherwise spend with your loved ones. For example, the average grocery shopping trip lasts roughly 41 minutes, according to the Time Use Institute. That could stretch longer if you don’t get all the items in one place. Why not save this precious time and spend it with your loved ones instead? Anycart is an online food search engine that delivers all the required ingredients to your doorstep, so you can rustle up the perfect meal. We’ll even cover $15 worth of groceries, completely free, on your first order! [Sign up for Anycart]( and get your groceries delivered to your doorstep! INNOVATION [It's Official. Japan Granted a Safety Certificate to a Flying Car, for the First Time]( [The SD-03.]( This is a milestone moment for Japan and the future of urban mobility: SkyDrive, a Tokyo-based startup developing a new eVTOL flying car concept, [was just granted a safety certificate from]( Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism (MLIT), in a world-first. - Get the memo. SkyDrive first revealed its early flying car prototype to the world in 2018, and then conducted its maiden piloted test flight successfully last year. The SD-03 is the newest edition of SkyDrive's drone-like flying car. It has eight propellers (two at each corner on the end of an arm) and can travel at a peak speed of 30 mph (48 km/h) for up to ten minutes. The MLIT safety certificate certifies that the vehicle's "design, structure, strength, and performance meets the necessary safety and environmental requirements." The company says it'll continue to work in close partnership with the government and MLIT to complete its development of a wholly safe and reliable flying car. Future plans. SkyDrive, which currently runs a 66 lbs-payload (30 kg) cargo drone service in Japan, aims to launch a flying taxi service with SD-03 in Japan's Osaka Bay area as early as 2025. Humanity has dreamt about Jetsons-like flying cars even longer than the Jetsons has existed, but we can finally (and hopefully) mark our calendars. - What’s up. SkyDrive's 2025 timeline is roughly synchronized with flying taxi firms’ rollout plans, like Volocopter, which aims for a 2023 launch. But SkyDrive's model is arguably a lot more dangerous, since it doesn't feature a closed cabin. It also has far fewer engines than models, like Lilium's 7-seater eVTOL aircraft, which comes with 36 ducted electric fans for added redundancy. SkyDrive hasn’t announced whether it’ll build a larger closed cabin model of the SD-03 that fits more passengers, or whether it aims to add autonomous capabilities and other safety features to the flying machine, but the next exciting threshold lies in [how Japan will tackle the issue of air traffic]( before flying cars can truly take off. [Read More]( MAIL & MUSINGS Many middle-aged people grew up with the idea that we'd have flying cars by now. We don’t! Like most futuristic visions, this one has been slow-coming. So, when will flying cars really take off? Be sure you check back tomorrow for the results! [We are closer than ever. Be patient.]( [They'll be here soon to carry freight and packages, but not for us.]( [The rich will enjoy them while we watch jealously from our wastelands below.]( [Never. I don’t want car parts raining down on me just because of a fender-bender miles over my head.]( Yesterday’s Results And now the answer to yesterday’s question! We asked readers whether Facebook can clear its name by rebranding itself as Meta. And it looks like a staggering 62% of you think the damage is done, while only one-quarter think the public’s attention span is quite short. Still, if the strategic PR maneuver succeeds, Meta could dominate a new version of the internet that serves as the interface for social reality, which is how future generations will come to know the world. No, the damage is done. 62% Yes, the public’s attention span is quite short. 25% Facebook doesn’t have a bad image. 9% Of course! Zuckie deserves a second chance. 5% QUOTE OF THE DAY “ We all have a thirst for wonder. It’s a deeply human quality. Science and religion are both bound up with it. What I’m saying is, you don’t have to make stories up, you don’t have to exaggerate. There’s wonder and awe enough in the real world. Nature’s a lot better at inventing wonders than we are. ” Carl Sagan in ‘Contact’ [Video]VIDEO OF THE DAY [This Smart Electric Highway Charges Vehicles As They Drive on It]( Trucks connect to an overhead power line, like bumping cars at the amusement park. [This Smart Electric Highway Charges Vehicles As They Drive on It]( AND ANOTHER THING... - Due to [a troubled project marred by delays and scandals]( the Berlin Brandenbur​​g Airport opened for commercial traffic 29 years after its official planning. - Getting Starlink service could be light-years away for some: A single feature on the Starlink site [is causing delays for preorders on the scale of years]( and there may be no easy fix in sight. (Ars Technica) - Keep an eye on your NFTs: [They are mysteriously disappearing](. - In the last decade, researchers have completely rewritten the story of how gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn form. They’re now debating [whether the same process might hold for Earth](. (Quanta Magazine) - Despite criticisms of Bitcoin’s increasingly central role in the country’s economy, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has declared that his government will use the profits [made from Bitcoin to build new schools in the country](. - Scientists worldwide are keeping a close eye on U.K. COVID infections while the country relaxes measures (like masking), and [it’s unmasking the limits of relying on vaccines, alone](. (Nature) - A new map of the U.S. has revealed cancer-causing air pollution in distressing detail. [How toxic is your air, on average]( Prepared by Derya Ozdemir and Brad Bergan Enjoy reading? Don't forget to forward to a friend! Was this email forwarded to you? [Subscribe]( [About Us]( | [Advertise]( | [Contact Us]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Linkedin]( [Instagram]( You are receiving this email because you have subscribed to our newsletter. Manage your email preferences or unsubscribe [here.]( © Copyright 2021 | The Blueprint is by Interesting Engineering, Inc. 201 Spear Street, Suite 1100 San Francisco, CA 94105 | All Rights Reserved [Interesting Engineering]