Origin coaches Billy Slater and Brad Fittler have come under fire for suggesting Nathan Cleary be handed a lighter suspension due to his character and standing in the game.
Cleary accepted a five-week ban following his send off for an ugly lifting tackle on Eels star Dylan Brown over the weekend.
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Slater, however, couldn’t fathom Cleary being rubbed out for an extended period of time.
“Do we need to be wiping our best players out of the competition for a quarter of the season for one mistake that they make?” Slater said on Channel Nine’s Billy’s Breakdown.
It was a sentiment echoed by Phil Gould.
“I don’t think we need good players out of the game for six weeks to remind them that that’s not what you do,” he said on 100% Footy.
“That’s just an error of judgement. I know this Penrith tackling technique very well, he’s probably thinking his other two players would support that player a little better than they did. They pulled away from it and he found himself in an awkward position.
“Does Nathan Cleary need six weeks away from the game to learn his lesson that’s the wrong tackle to make? He knew it six seconds after he did it that it was wrong.
“They probably want to send a message to the rest of the competition, they want it to look like the star players don’t get special treatment.”
St George forward Aaron Woods, however, was enraged by the stance.
“Freddy and Billy Slater were coming out and saying ‘he’s a good bloke and we don’t want to be missing these good players before semi-finals’,” Woods said on triple m
“That’s bull crap if you ask me.
“He had a prior charge already on Billy Walters earlier on in the year.
“He would have got four weeks, but he had that and that’s an extra week.
“Freddy came out and said that Liam Martin helped it a bit – no he didn’t. He pulled off the tackle and you see Cleary re-grip and get a hand in between the leg.
“That’s the difference between the one with Karl Lawton at the start of the year…(that tackle) was fully momentum, he got around the waist with both hands and it was just a driving tackle and luckily (Cameron) Murray twisted and landed in a really good position.
“Dylan Brown was still on the ground, you could see how hurt he was and he (Cleary) had all the intent. Just because he comes out on Instagram and says ‘I’m sorry and it was totally out of character’ – that’s what happens on a rugby league field.
“Things can go one way or the other and it obviously had no malice, but that’s just part of the game.
Woods said Cleary was far from a clean skin
“It’s a joke – remember he got in trouble for the TikTok? People forget about that as well. I got 10 in the bin the other week and was like ‘mate you shouldn’t have done that’ but everyone else was like ‘sucked in’.
“If Jared Waerea-Hargreaves does the spear tackle, we’d give him life in this game.
“It just frustrates me, just because they are the players they like – call a spade a spade.”
The NRL360 panel also took aim at those suggesting Clearly be afforded special treatment.
“I heard Billy Slater talking after the game saying how Nathan doesn’t need five weeks on the sideline to realize he’s made a mistake, but you have to put him out,” Paul Kent said on Monday night.
“You just have to do that.”
“What do you mean he doesn’t need five weeks out to learn?,” Braith Anasta questioned.
“Because Nathan’s smart enough to correct it and he knows he made a blue,” Kent replied.
“But why was he saying, why was Billy Slater saying that,” Anasta hit back.
“He wasn’t agreeing with the five week penalty, he was thinking one or two weeks could have been enough,” Kent answered.
“Because it’s Nathan Cleary?” Anasta asked.
“Because it’s Nathan Cleary yes,” Kent said.
The Panthers will now play the remainder of the regular season with Jarome Luai out with a knee injury and Cleary hit with a five match suspension.
Originally published as ‘That’s bull crap’: Freddy, Billy slammed for staggering stance on Nathan Cleary ban
The managers of a Melbourne aged care home where 50 people died in a COVID-19 outbreak will be compelled to give evidence at a coronial inquiry.
Key points:
Kon Kontis and Vicky Kos last year refused to give evidence at a coronial inquest, causing delays in proceedings
The Supreme Court found the coroner acted lawfully in ordering them to appear
Family members of residents who died have welcomed the ruling, saying it will help provide answers
Kon Kontis and Vicky Kos were in charge of the St Basil’s Aged Care Home in Fawkner when the virus swept through the facility in July and August 2020.
They were initially called to give evidence at a coronial inquest last year but refused on the grounds they might incriminate themselves.
State Coroner John Cain then made a ruling compelling them to appear, but Mr Kontis and Ms Kos took the matter to the Supreme Court.
Today Justice Stephen O’Meara ruled against the pair, finding the coroner had acted lawfully.
A COVID outbreak claimed the lives of 50 residents of the St Basil’s aged care facility.(ABC News: Danielle Bonica )
Klery Loutas, who lost her 77-year-old mother Filia Xynidakis in the disaster, has welcomed the decision.
“They [Mr Kontis and Ms Kos] have got vital pieces of the puzzle that they need to share with us so we know exactly what happened, how it happened, so governments and legislators can take action so that it doesn’t happen again,” Ms Loutas said.
Ms Loutas said the delay caused by the Supreme Court action had been difficult for families.
“We’ve all been very anxious, we all want to get through this and survive the stress and the torment and the anguish and the trauma we have faced having gone through this and the process being delayed, it just adds stress to our lives, she said.
“We’ve buried our loved ones, but we haven’t laid them to rest and until we find out exactly what happened to them and why it happened none of us will be at peace, none of us will ever be at ease or start to properly mourn and grieve.”
The inquest last year heard care for residents dropped off dramatically when the virus took hold in mid-July 2020.
After Victoria’s Chief Health Officer ruled that all staff had to be considered close contacts, the federal government struggled to find a replacement workforce.
The inquest heard residents were left malnourished and dehydrated and within six weeks, 50 had died.
The inquest was added while Mr Kontis and Ms Kos’ battle to stay silent continued.
It is unclear when the hearing will resume.
St Basil’s operators facing charges
Today’s Supreme Court decision comes as the operators of the nursing home also appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court where they are accused of breaching the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
WorkSafe alleges the nursing home operator did not make sure workers wore protective equipment.(ABC News: Joseph Dunstan)
St Basil’s is facing nine charges which include failing to provide and maintain a safe working environment, failing to provide information and supervision, and failing to make sure that people other than staff members were not exposed to health and safety risks.
WorkSafe investigators allege the nursing home operator did not make sure workers wore protective equipment and did not train workers in how to use it.
They also allege St Basil’s failed to tell workers when protective equipment should be used, failed to supervise them using the equipment or verify that they were able to competently don and doff the gear.
If convicted, the nursing home provider is facing ends of just under $1.49 million.
St Basil’s will return to court in December for an administrative hearing.
Results in some of those races — especially Arizona and Washington — may not be known on Tuesday night if the contests are close. Here is what to watch for as the primary results unfold.
Setting the Senate battlefield
Republican primaries on Tuesday will finalize some of the last remaining questions about this year’s Senate map — chiefly, who will face Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly in what will be one of the most competitive Senate races this cycle.
And in Missouri, voters will pick from a crowded field of Republican candidates vying to replace retiring GOP Sen. Roy Blunt, including disgraced former Gov. Eric Greitens, state Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Rep. Vicky Hartzler.
While Schmitt has emerged to a lead in recent public polling, Trump issued a vague last-minute endorsement Monday night of “ERIC,” effectively amounting to a double endorsement of Greitens and Schmitt.
Though the red state should be safe for Republicans in this November’s Senate race, GOP operatives have long warned that a Greitens nomination — given his baggage including sexual assault and domestic violence allegations — could cost the party a Senate seat.
If Greitens were to prevail in Tuesday’s primary, Missouri could become a state where Democrats decide to spend big — a strategy that would force Republicans to do the same to keep their advantage.
The Republican Senate primary in Arizona has come down to two candidates: Blake Masters, the Peter Thiel protégé who secured Trump’s endorsement in June, and Jim Lamon, a solar power executive who has put at least $14 million of his own funds into the race.
Masters in the last month emerged as a clear frontrunner, according to public polling, though Lamon has continued to pour big money into the campaign to keep pace with a pro-Masters, Thiel-funded super PAC. Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, whom Trump has fired for failing to help overturn the results of the 2020 election, has polled in third place in the race.
Voters in Washington State will also advance two candidates from their all-party primary system. Republican challenger Tiffany Smiley is the only well-funded GOP candidate on the ballot, and Democratic Sen. Patty Murray already began running attack ads against her earlier this summer.
Swing-state governors on the ballot
Voters are also setting GOP races for governors in two top battlegrounds: Arizona and Michigan.
The Arizona race has broken down like a number of other GOP gubernatorial primaries this year, with Trump lined up on one side and leading state Republicans pushing another candidate.
Trump has backed former TV anchor Kari Lake in Arizona’s open primary. Meanwhile, term-limited Gov. Doug Ducey, the co-chair of the Republican Governors Association, and former Vice President Mike Pence are among those supporting former state board of regents member Karrin Taylor Robson in a contentious primary that drew both Trump and Pence to the state. Lake has led most of the recent public polling in the race.
On the Democratic side, Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs has been seen as the favorite in a primary that also includes former Nogales Mayor Marco Lopez.
In the race to replace Hobbs to become the state’s next chief election officer, Republicans are on the verge of nominating state lawmaker Mark Finchem, a prominent election conspiracy theorist. Trump has endorsed Finchem, while Ducey backed advertising executive Beau Lane.
Tuesday’s second big gubernatorial primary comes in Michigan, where Republicans are searching for their nominee to face off against Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
That contest has been one of the messiest in recent memory. Leading candidates were booted off the ballot after signature fraud on their nominating petitions were discovered, and another contender in the crowded field was arrested by the FBI for his alleged participation in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the US Capitol.
But there, Trump and the establishment reached an apparent detente. Many of the state’s GOP power players, including the DeVos family, backed conservative media personality Tudor Dixon — and Trump followed suit late last week with a late endorsement.
The first abortion test
Voters in Kansas will have the first opportunity to weigh in directly on abortion policy at the ballot box following the Supreme Court’s dobbs decision, via the “Value Them Both” state constitutional amendment on the ballot on Tuesday.
While the amendment on the ballot would not create any new abortion restrictions, it would open the path for state lawmakers to do so. It has been the subject of an intense campaign on both sides, and the results could be close.
Both supporters of abortion rights and anti-abortion activists view the ballot initiative in Kansas as just the first of many to come. It is one of at least five abortion-related ballot measures across the country this year, and others are already being planned in states across the country for future elections.
The race is also an early setup of the state’s gubernatorial contest. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly is arguably the most endangered Democratic incumbent in the country, while state Attorney General Derek Schmidt will lock up the Republican nomination on Tuesday. The results of Tuesday’s ballot measure could determine some of the central themes of the general election there.
Three pro-impeachment Republicans face voters
Three of the six pro-impeachment Republicans who decided to seek reelection will face the voters — and Trump’s wrath — on Tuesday.
The most imperiled: Rep. peter mejer (R-Mich.), the only freshman to vote to hold Trump accountable for the Jan. 6 attacks. He faces a strong challenge from the Trump-backed John Gibbs, but Meijer has a massive financial advantage. He and his allies have dumped $2.4 million on ads to bolster the incumbent.
Gibbs has spent just $26,000 on cable and digital ads — but he did get surprise air cover from the House Democratic campaign arm. Democrats are targeting the seat, which Biden won by 9 points, in the fall, and they controversially meddled in the primary hopes that Gibbs would be easier to defeat.
In Washington State, GOP Reps. Dan Newhouse and Jaime Herrera Beuter both face Trump-backed challengers in their all-party primaries — and both got millions in aid from establishment groups. Herrera Beutler and Winning for Women Action Fund, a group that backs GOP women, together spent over five times more on air than Joe Kent, her top challenger.
Newhouse and his allies invested $1.3 million on TV ads; his top challenger for him, 2020 governor nominee Loren Culp, aired none. Muddying the waters are several other non-Trump-endorsed Republican challengers in the mix in both races.
All three contests will test whether GOP outrage over a year-and-a-half old impeachment vote can overcome a deluge of pro-incumbent spending on TV.
There’s also another major incumbent primary to watch: a member-versus-member battle in Michigan between Democratic Reps. haley stevens and Andy Levine. Redistricting forced them together, after Levin left behind the new version of his current seat to run against Stevens. The matchup has turned into a proxy war between national political forces, with pro-Israel groups spending money in the race and national progressives including Sen. Bernie Sander (I-Vt.) coming in to stump for Levin.
Priming the House battlefield
Both parties will also choose nominees in more than a half dozen swing seats across four states.
In Washington State, several Republicans are battling for the second slot in the general-election with Democratic Rep. kim schrier. Top contenders include Jesse Jensen, the 2020 nominee; Reagan Dunn, a former federal prosecutor whose mother previously represented the area in Congress; and Matt Larkin, a lawyer and businessman.
In Kansas, Republican Amanda Adkins and Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids are headed for a rematch in a suburban Kansas City seat.
Arizona will finalize matchups for four potentially competitive races in the fall. A slew of Republicans are vying for the nod to take on Democratic Rep. Tom O’Halleran after redistricting transformed his massive northern district into a seat Trump would have carried by 9 points. State Rep. Walt Blackman and the Trump-endorsed veteran Eli Crane — two election deniers — are the most prominent candidates.
In the Phoenix area, businessman Kelly Cooper and attorney Tanya Wheeless are battling for the chance to take on Democratic Rep. Greg Stanton. In a nearby district, embattled Rep. David Schweiker faces a well-funded primary challenger and several Democratic ones as well.
And down south in Tucson, Republicans are hoping for a win by Juan Ciscomani, a former top advisor to Gov. Doug Duey. State Sen. Kristen Engel and state Rep. Daniel Hernandez are competing on the Democratic side. The seat was left open by retiring Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick.
Intel is planning to install its next-generation Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) technology in devices by 2024, ETNews reports.
Wi-Fi 7 is the successor to Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax), bringing two times faster data processing speeds of 5.8 Gbps and more stable 6 GHz bandwidth stability, as well as support for up to 36 Gbps when working with data. Intel plans to expand its Wi-Fi 7 development efforts ahead of its introduction to the market in 2024 and intends to apply its technology predominantly in laptops before expanding to other devices.
“We are currently developing Intel’s Wi-Fi ‘802.11be’ in order to obtain the ‘Wi-Fi Alliance’ certification, and it will be installed in PC products such as laptops by 2024. We expect it to appear in major markets in 2025 ,” Eric McLaughlin, vice president of Intel’s wireless solutions division, said at a recent press conference in Asia.
“Wi-Fi 7 almost doubles the frequency bandwidth of 802.11ax (170 MHz) to 320 MHz and doubles the speed of Wi-Fi. Since there is more than a year left before the release of 802.11be, there is still a chance that we could improve the processing speed even further,” he added.
Meanwhile, Apple is on the cusp of transitioning its devices to Wi-Fi 6E. While it was heavily rumored to debut with the iPhone 13 lineup last year, Apple has yet to release any devices with support for Wi-Fi 6E. That is expected to change this year starting with the iPhone 14.
Apple’s long-rumored mixed-reality headset is also expected to feature Wi-Fi 6E. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that head-mounted display devices in 2022, 2023, and 2024 will offer Wi-Fi 6/6E, Wi-Fi 6E/7, and Wi-Fi 7, respectively, but it is unclear if this information was related to Apple’s product roadmap specifically.
Wi-Fi 6E offers the features and capabilities of Wi-Fi 6, including higher performance, lower latency, and faster data rates, extended into the 6 GHz band for processing speeds of 2.4 Gbps. The additional spectrum provides more airspace beyond existing 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi, resulting in increased bandwidth and less interference.
Last year, the FCC adopted rules that make 1,200 MHz of spectrum in the 6 GHz band available for unlicensed use in the United States, paving the way for the introduction of new devices with Wi-Fi 6E support.
Along with Intel, Qualcomm, Broadcom, and MediaTek are also preparing to release Wi-Fi 7-based products.
Lions forward Eric Hipwood insists Brisbane can win the AFL premiership from anywhere in the top eight, saying form – rather than ladder position – was the key heading into next month’s finals series.
Brisbane has dropped to fifth spot after their seven-point weekend loss to Richmond at the MCG.
With three rounds of the regular season remaining, the Lions should still make the top four if they can beat Carlton, St Kilda and Melbourne this month.
But if Brisbane has to settle for a spot in the bottom half of the top eight, Hipwood believes his side can still win the flag, provided form and consistency is found in the next three weeks.
Under the current finals system, the Western Bulldogs are the only team to clinch the premiership from outside the top four, having won the flag in 2016 after finishing seventh on the ladder.
“That’s what you strive for at the start of the season, to get that double chance (by finishing in the top four), but you’ve seen teams win the grand final from outside the top four,” Hipwood said.
“We’d like (a top-four spot), but we just want to be competitive come the end of the season.”
Hipwood was adamant Brisbane would find form before the finals, saying there were “positives” to take from the loss to the Tigers, who fought back from 42 points down to win and keep alive their hopes of playing football finals this season.
“It was disappointing that we did lose, but we’re still optimistic. We had a lot of opportunities to win the game and we just couldn’t ice it,” Hipwood said.
“We played some really good footy, especially in that first half.”
“What hasn’t been spoken about enough is that Richmond are a bloody good team.
“They’re certainly up there with the best and they brought that on the weekend. I don’t think the ladder position (ninth) represents where they’re at.”
Despite Brisbane’s loss, the towering Hipwood had his best game since returning in round nine after 10 months on the sidelines following a knee reconstruction.
He kicked four goals and grabbed six marks in an encouraging sign with the finals approaching.
“I’ve been quite inconsistent and I’m quick to identify that myself but I am building,” Hipwood said.
“I didn’t really have any practice games or anything like that prior to coming (back) into the AFL.
“I’m getting better week-in, week-out – that’s all that really matters.”
A man charged with rape and multiple aggravated home burglary offenses has been denied bail by the Kalgoorlie Magistrates Court in Western Australia.
Key points:
Andrew Travis Giles is charged with rape and a series of aggravated home burglaries in Kalgoorlie
The 30-year-old is accused of breaking into three homes and sexually or indecently assaulting a woman at each house
He will next appear in court on September 1 via video link after being denied bail
Andrew Travis Giles is accused of breaking into three homes across Kalgoorlie and South Kalgoorlie in the early hours of Monday morning and sexually assaulting or indecently assaulting a woman at each of the properties.
Police prosecutor Darren Woods said the 30-year-old man from Warburton was arrested within four hours of the last alleged offence.
He told the court Mr Giles was wearing inside out blood-stained jeans when he was arrested, and a latex glove containing blood was also found at the tent where he was located by police.
Mr Woods said there would be further testing, but the blood was believed to be from the victims.
He said the clothing appeared to match what the alleged offender was seen wearing in CCTV footage from one of the victim’s homes.
Victims traumatized
Mr Woods said the alleged victims had been traumatized by what had happened and were giving evidence to help with identification of the offender.
“We anticipate further charges will be laid,” he said.
Mr Giles has already been charged with six offences, including committing an aggravated indecent assault in the course of an aggravated home burglary.
The defense counsel for Mr Giles told the court he was applying for bail on instruction from his client — despite advising against it — because Mr Giles wanted to attend a funeral in Warburton.
Magistrate refuses bail
Mr Woods strongly opposed dance.
“While there will be a long period in custody before it goes before the District Court, any period in custody would be far outweighed by the minimum 15-year sentence for the offence,” he said.
Magistrate Matthew Holgate refused bail.
He said there were no conditions that could be imposed on bail that could determine Mr Giles from further offending or from absconding.
“It is not possible to overstate the seriousness of the alleged offences,” he said.
Dressed in a blue hoodie and gray trackpants, Mr Giles only spoke to confirm his name.
He will next appear in court via video link on September 1.
Michigan Republican candidates for governor Ryan Kelley, from left, Garrett Soldano, Tudor Dixon and Kevin Rinke appear at a debate in Grand Rapids, Mich., July 6, 2022.
Michael Buck/AP
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Michael Buck/AP
Michigan Republican candidates for governor Ryan Kelley, from left, Garrett Soldano, Tudor Dixon and Kevin Rinke appear at a debate in Grand Rapids, Mich., July 6, 2022.
Michael Buck/AP
LANSING, Mich. — For months, a group of Michigan Republicans has been jockeying for the chance to face Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in November’s general election, but it’s been a rough time.
There were eleven 10 candidates on the GOP side. Everyone was new to running for office. That political inexperience may have added to a significant shakeup of the field in late May. Election staff in the state say that five candidates, including some big spenders, didn’t collect enough valid signatures to make the ballot.
Reports showed that a group of paid petitioners working across campaigns had faked thousands of signatures on the candidate’s nominating paperwork.
The candidates
Businesswoman Tudor Dixon, who received a late endorsement from former President Donald Trump on Friday night, saw her poll numbers climb following the petition scandal. She has also racked up endorsements from well-known names in Republican politics, like the family of former US Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and the group Right to Life of Michigan.
“You know, we’ve always planned to go around the state and meet people and gain support, gain supporters, and gain the resources to go out there and get our message broadcast louder,” Dixon said after a debate last week. “And that’s what we’ve been doing. And I think that’s what’s behind it – hard work.”
Businessman Kevin Rinke has referred to Dixon as Gov. Whitmer in sheep’s clothing.
“She’ll say or do anything for position,” he said of Dixon. “I’m a guy that’s running to do the right things for the people of Michigan. This is public service for me. I’m not looking for a career.”
Largely self-funded, Rinke has pitched himself as an outsider who will slash the personal income tax rate, raise literacy and focus on election integrity.
“We can move Michigan forward by putting the people first, Democrats as well as Republicans.”
Lately, Rinke and Dixon have both seen relatively strong poll numbers. Still, leading into Tuesday, polling suggests a chunk of Republican voters are still undecided.
In January, chiropractor Garrett Soldano became the first Republican to file in the governor’s race. He’s one of the five remaining. He says he trusts the strategy that got him this far: “We just continue to let our grassroots army do what they do best. And that’s getting out there, and you have voter contacts.”
Pam Dawson, a Michgain voter, watched the Republican debate last week and said all the candidates are strong in their own ways. “And I think they’re trying to be a little bit more cautious. They want to make sure that they’re going to get the one that’s going to beat Whitmer,” she said.
For Dawson, that’s either Soldano or real estate agent Ryan Kelley. The latter saw his name recognition spike after the FBI arrested him in June for misdemeanor charges associated with the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol. Kelley has pleaded not guilty.
The issues and the odds
The candidates — Soldano, Dixon, Rinke, Kelley and Pastor Ralph Rebandt — have all taken similar stances, like wanting to lower taxes and opposing abortion. Candidates’ ability to attract independent voters will be key to winning the general election against Gov. Whitmer, says pollster Richard Czuba of the Glengariff Group. He says two issues will likely dominate:
“We have to watch how is abortion impacting the vote versus how is inflation impacting the vote. And we don’t know the answer to that, yet.”
Czuba questions how prepared the slate of Republican candidates are to take on the political veteran.
“August 3, we are likely to see a Republican nominee for governor that does not have strong name ID, does not have strong organization and probably doesn’t have any money left in the bank after the primary,” Czuba says.
The Democratic Governors Association has already started running attack ads in the GOP primary and Michigan Republican Party spokesperson Gustavo Portela accuses Democrats of meddling.
“They’re afraid of the message, and they’re afraid of the fact that people are going to have a choice this fall.”
Whoever wins the Republican nomination may have to get used to the pressure. Recent campaign finance reports show Gov. Whitmer has millions to spend.
Colin Jackson is a reporter for the Michigan Public Radio Network.
Researchers from Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology in Korea have developed, in a new study, an artificial vision system modeled after the fiddler crab eye structure, which is suitable for both land and underwater environments, and provides a panoramic imaging ability. Credit: Prof. Young Min Song from GIST, Korea
Artificial vision systems find a wide range of applications, including self-driving cars, object detection, crop monitoring, and smart cameras. Such vision is often inspired by the vision of biological organisms. For instance, human and insect vision have inspired terrestrial artificial vision, while fish eyes have led to aquatic artificial vision. While the progress is remarkable, current artificial visions suffer from some limitations: they are not suitable for imaging both land and underwater environments, and are limited to a hemispherical (180°) field-of-view (FOV).
To overcome these issues, a group of researchers from Korea and US, including Professor Young Min Song from Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology in Korea, have now designed a novel artificial vision system with an omnidirectional imaging ability, which can work in both aquatic and terrestrial environments. Their study was made available online on 12 July 2022 and published in Nature Electronics on 11 July 2022.
“Research in bio-inspired vision often results in a novel development that did not exist before. This, in turn, enables a deeper understanding of nature and ensure that the developed imaging device is both structurally and functionally effective,” says Prof. Song, explaining his motivation behind the study.
The inspiration for the system came from the fiddler crab (Uca arcuata), a semiterrestrial crab species with amphibious imaging ability and a 360° FOV. These remarkable features result from the ellipsoidal eye stalk of the fiddler crab’s compound eyes, enabling panoramic imaging, and flat corneas with a graded refractive index profile, allowing for amphibious imaging.
Accordingly, the researchers developed a vision system consisting of an array of flat micro-lenses with a graded refractive index profile that was integrated into a flexible comb-shaped silicon photodiode array and then mounted onto a spherical structure. The graded refractive index and the flat surface of the micro-lens were optimized to offset the defocusing effects due to changes in the external environment. Put simply, light rays traveling in different mediums (corresponding to different refractive indices) were made to focus at the same spot.
To test the capabilities of their system, the team performed optical simulations and imaging demonstrations in air and water. Amphibious imaging was performed by immersing the device halfway in water. To their delight, the images produced by the system were clear and free of distortions. The team further showed that the system had a panoramic visual field, 300either horizontally and 160either vertically, in both air and water. Additionally, the spherical mount was only 2 cm in diameter, making the system compact and portable.
“Our vision system could pave the way for 360° omnidirectional cameras with applications in virtual or augmented reality or an all-weather vision for autonomous vehicles,” speculates Prof. Song excitedly.
Chip-scale metamicroscope for high-performance imaging
More information:
Mincheol Lee et al, An amphibious artificial vision system with a panoramic visual field, Nature Electronics (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41928-022-00789-9
Provided by GIST (Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology)
citation: Fiddler crab eye view inspires researchers to develop novel artificial vision (2022, August 1) retrieved 2 August 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-08-fiddler-crab-eye-view-artificial.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
Paul Kent has urged the NRL to “stand up and show some balls” by banishing all hip-drop tackles from the game.
It comes as Broncos star Patrick Carrigan was handed a four-game suspension for his hip-drop tackle on Jackson Hastings — who will now miss the rest of the season with a fracture in his leg and a syndesmosis injury.
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NRL 360 host Braith Anasta declared the hip-drop tackle “needs to go,” before Kent stressed it was “learned behaviour.”
Kent then called on the NRL to get tough on the tackle given the trauma it’s caused Hastings.
Crawley FUMES at NAS decision | 03:31
Eels outside back Haze Dunster has also been a victim of the hip-drop tackle this year. He ruptured his ACL, PCL and MCL as a result of the tackle from Dragons forward Tyrell Fuimaono, who received a five-game ban.
“Why’s it even in the game?,” he asked.
“This is what gives me the sh**s. These tackles come into the game that clearly cause injuries and rather than the first coach that sees it, identifies it and says ‘you know what guys, we’re not doing this — get it out,’ they all look around the league and see other clubs doing it so say ‘we’re going to have to do it because you get an extra three seconds in the play the ball.’
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“Forget about poor Jackson Hastings, who’s now got five months with his leg in a cast and now has to go through rehab. That’s the price they’re willing to pay these guys.
“The game’s got to stand up and show some balls and actually get it out of the game.
“If Carrigan gets a two-week or three-week penalty, which is what he’s going to ask for, then you just may as well throw it all away and say ‘you know what guys, do your best… take a baseball bat out with you next time.’
“It’s just a joke.”
Carrigan was referred straight to the judiciary for the tackle and fronted the panel on Tuesday night.
His defence, Nick Ghabar, proposed a two-game ban on Tuesday night, however the NRL counsel put forward a five-to-six game suspension.
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A little bit of good news and a lot of luck coming out of a destructive wildfire burning near the California-Oregon border as a photojournalist saved a puppy wandering around the ruins of the McKinney Fire. Jonathan Rivas said he arrived at the community of Klamath River early Saturday morning, just hours after the wildfire broke out where he said there was a lot of damage, with trees and homes burned. Rivas said he was finishing filming one neighborhood when he heard yelping. “I heard a yelp in the distance, but I didn’t really know what it was, I thought it was an injured deer or one of the wildlife that’s there,” the AIO Filmz photojournalist said. “All of a sudden, this little puppy comes and runs up to me. I was super shocked to see that come from the rubble there.”The puppy was clearly excited to see Rivas in the video.Watch the full rescue belowThe puppy allowed Rivas to pick him up and put him in the back of his car. “He was very excited, he was wagging his tail, I am talking to him like I’m talking to my dog, I picked him up, put him in the trunk of my car,” Rivas said. He gave him some water before driving to Yreka and dropping him off at a shelter. Rivas posted the video on social media, where he found the puppy’s family. The puppy has been reunited with his family. “Reuniting it with their family and after hearing their story, it makes me feel good, I am just happy, I was at the right place at the right time,” Rivas said.
SISKIYOU COUNTY, Calif. —
A little bit of good news and a lot of luck coming out of a destructive wildfire burning near the California-Oregon border as a photojournalist saved a puppy wandering around the ruins of the McKinney Fire.
Jonathan Rivas said he arrived at the community of Klamath River early Saturday morning, just hours after the wildfire broke out where he said there was a lot of damage, with trees and homes burned.
Rivas said he was finishing filming one neighborhood when he heard yelping.
“I heard a yelp in the distance, but I didn’t really know what it was, I thought it was an injured deer or one of the wildlife that’s there,” the AIO Filmz photojournalist said. “All of a sudden, this little puppy comes and runs up to me. I was super shocked to see that come from the rubble there.”
The puppy was clearly excited to see Rivas in the video.
Watch the full rescue below
The puppy allowed Rivas to pick him up and put him in the back of his car.
“He was very excited, he was wagging his tail, I am talking to him like I’m talking to my dog, I picked him up, put him in the trunk of my car,” Rivas said.
AIO FILMZ
Puppy rescued from McKinney Fire by photojournalist taking video of damage near Klamath River.
He gave him some water before driving to Yreka and dropping him off at a shelter.
Rivas posted the video on social media, where he found the puppy’s family. The puppy has been reunited with its family of her.
“Reuniting it with their family and after hearing their story, it makes me feel good, I am just happy, I was at the right place at the right time,” Rivas said.
