Purdue University's IDEAS Lab built an autonomous drone that tracks runners through dense forests completely without GPS or cloud networks. By running 3D LiDAR mapping and obstacle-avoidance AI entirely on-chip, it can weave under tree canopies and predict target movement through blind spots in real time. Massive implications for next-gen search & rescue and edge AI.

A new ‘ALIEN’ movie is in the works. • It will be connected to ‘Prometheus’ and ‘Covenant’ • Aaron Guzikowski (‘Prisoners’, ‘Raised by Wolves’) is writing the script (Source: hollywoodreporter.com/movies…)

“Wildwood” director Travis Knight calls AI an “amazing piece of technology” but says, “I’m not embracing it at all.” “I see technology as a tool, and we use technology at Laika. A pencil is technology, a paintbrush is technology, a 3D printer is technology. Technology is useful when you put it in the hands of people, when you put it in the hands of artists who can amplify their voice." “Technology is not useful when it takes the place of the artist, and that’s the concern with generative AI,” he continued. “It’s an amazing piece of technology, but the concern is that when it supplants the artist, then we have an issue because the computer cannot speak about humanity at all. It doesn’t know what it feels like.” variety.com/2026/film/column…

I can finally talk about Mass Effect Universe. Since Bioware closed I can now reveal that I was part of the Mass Effect Council, saw what BioWare was building, and provided feedback during development. • Set 600+ years after the Reaper War • You play as a customizable N7 agent • Instead of being a walking gun rack, you're a cross between John Wick and James Bond • Shepard's legacy preserved, regardless of your ending • A galaxy divided into three major factions • Humanity, Krogan, Batarians, and more allied together • Council races forming their own alliance • The Geth emerging as a third superpower • A galactic Cold War instead of another Reaper style invasion with a shadowy adversary • Geth-built megastructures • Connections between the Milky Way and Andromeda • Experimental technology implanted in you as a unique point of difference • Hacking and manipulating the environment • See through walls, identify systems, remotely trigger hazards and more • Handcrafted missions like ME1-3 • But with Hitman-style freedom in how you complete them • Brutal close-range executions • Squadmates who can clash with each other • Romance wasn't being sanitised • Liara returns - now an incredibly powerful Asari Matriarch From what I saw, BioWare was making Mass Effect for us, the fans, not for people who don't exist. It looked incredible. And now we may never get to play it. Find out more here: youtu.be/ZOWrTNazZxM #SaveMassEffect

SITUATION DETECTED: Warhound launched from stealth today with a $200M seed at a $1.2B valuation. Ben Lamm and Palmer Luckey are cloning gene-edited bio-enhanced dogs and equipping them with custom Anduril vests, goggles, and sensors for the military and law enforcement.

Can We Finally Agree That Dragon Age: The Veilguard Was Actually Terrific? polygon.com/dragon-age-the-v…