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First up on Reddit: NASA’s administrator Jim Bridenstine says he really wants Canada to contribute on artificial intelligence and robotics. He added that this could include a next-generation Canadarm on the Lunar Gateway and that would include more Canadian technology. Bridenstine said that NASA wants to see more Canadians walking on the moon and this is one step for that possibility to happen. Bridenstine said: “We think it would be fantastic for the world to see people on the surface of the moon that are not just wearing the American flag, but wearing the flags of other nations.”
Also trending on Reddit: The Transport Security Administration will do whatever it takes to make facial recognition a regular part of the airport experience and it has finally announced a plan to make that happen. It plans to first team up with Customs and Border Protection on biometric security for international travel, and that will follow with putting in technology that the TSA can then use to speed up a passengers’ boarding process. It then plans to have an “opt-in” biometric system for domestic passengers. This type of technology will include fingerprint readers, which already exist, but the TSA hopes that facial recognition will be the primary way of verifying identities.
Finally trending on LinkedIn: the ride-sharing company Uber has decided to roll out a frequent-flyer reward program in nine U.S. cities. The rewards program will allow riders to accumulate perks like fare discounts, and priority airport pickups. Points are given to riders on a scale depending on the service tier selected. For example, Uber Black service riders would get three points per dollar spent, while Uber Pool riders will only get one point per dollar. There is no word of when Canada will get this service.