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1960s aerial spy photos reveal hidden archaeological sites
Archaeologists use satellite photos to spot potential archaeological sites, but urban sprawl and other human development has erased many traces of ancient civilizations. To get around that, Harvard's Jason Urs and Emily Hammer from the University of Pennsylvania figured out how to effectively go back in time to when the land was less despoiled. They dug up and archived a trove of U-2 spy photos from the '50s and '60s, eventually finding ancient canals and "desert kite" stone structures built in northern Iraq by the Assyrians up to 8,000 years ago.
ICYMI: The US Marines want your robots
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: The US Marine Corps announced its latest Innovation Challenge for robots that can handle dull, dirty or dangerous work autonomously, leaving humans free for more important tasks. Meanwhile the University of Pennsylvania has a researcher flying a quadcopter through 45-degree angle window openings at top speeds, with few extra onboard sensors. The algorithm behind it is neat, even if the potential applications make us uncomfortable. You may already know why we should be covering up our computer webcams, but here's more ammo if that's needed. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
