Face of Baltimore Police Quits to Speak Out | Space: A New Frontier for Self-Driving Cars

Satellites are emerging as the best bet to bring 5G internet to remote areas, even in developed countries.

Imagine yourself in the backseat of a self-driving car, on a road trip through the backcountry. Satellites may be the last things on your mind, but your future life might depend on them, and their capacity to offer fast internet regardless of location. You wouldn’t want your self-driving car to have slow internet when driving next to a cliff, for example.

Fifth-generation mobile internet will not only allow us to watch YouTube videos faster, it’ll also be vital for technologies like self-driving cars and the internet of things. Yet it’s doubtful that rural areas will get access to 5G anytime soon. Telecommunication operators are reluctant to bear the high cost and low profitability of 5G in remote areas, many of which in the U.S. lack even broadband.

That’s where satellites come in. Large institutions such as the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Union, and companies like SpaceX and OneWeb are investing in satellite internet and satellite 5G, hoping to bypass expensive terrestrial networks.

Look Closer is a new photo series by OZY that encourages readers to see beyond a seemingly normal photo.

The jumble of bodies may look like a religious ritual or a crazy gathering. Or maybe it’s a group fight. But look closer and you see people trying to form a multi-storied structure with their bodies. They’re climbing atop each other’s shoulders to form a tower. In Catalonia, these human towers are called castells. Here, members of Castellers de Sants are dismantling the tower during the 27th Human Tower Competition in Tarragona, Spain, this month. In 2010, the United Nations classified castells as one of the masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

The most coveted human towers or castells are ones that are more complex in shape. But there are no winners or losers in human tower-building. When a tower is complete, a child, called the enxaneta, climbs to the top of the castell and raises one hand with four fingers extended, indicating the Catalan flag — a tradition dating back to the 18th century. Only about 3 percent of attempted castells fall, and while it looks like it could be risky, the coordinating body for human tower clubs in Catalonia says it is not at all dangerous. Perhaps most surprising? Completing these spectacular castells takes an average of just three minutes.

Baltimore Police Department Chief Spokesman T.J. Smith is leaving his post with a plan to put Charm City on track for a positive change.

As I reflect over the years and on my time in post-riot Baltimore as the police department’s chief spokesperson, I fully recognize the problems that exist in Charm City aren’t simply “post-riot” problems. They are longstanding, systemic problems that require an aggressive strategic plan.

I made the determination to vacate my position as the public voice and face of the Baltimore police department last week. Many were surprised by my announcement, but those closest to me were not at all. I’ve been very outspoken about the ills that plague our community. But I’ve been in a role where I cannot deliver my personal opinion. Now I feel liberated with the opportunity to be able to publicly articulate some of my own feelings and, more importantly, some of my proposed solutions.