Year 7 students across the UK have been given a BBC micro: bit—a small, wearable piece of tech. Much like a tiny, pocket-sized computer, the BBC micro: bit encourages kids to learn basic coding and programming skills to prepare them for today’s world.

It can be programmed to do a number of different things; it can be a digital watch, or fitness tracker. The device features 25 LED lights and two programmable buttons, which can be used in game-play or to skip through tracks in a playlist. It also features an on-board compass to track the direction of the wearer. Each micro: bit comes with a USB, cable and battery holder. To programme a micro : bit, kids simply need to connect it to their computer and add some simple lines of code to create the device they want. The hope is that all those computer science skills might inspire a new generation of enthusiastic game developers, super software programmers and wild website builders.

What can we do with my BBC micro: bit? The following are just some examples.

Fashion—make a digital watch, or accessories that can display the time, your own design or message.

Fitness—count your steps with a DIY version of something like the ‘Fitbit’, or create an obstacle course and use the micro: bit in a balancing game.

Music—connect the micro : bit to your phone and control your music player, compose a piece of music, or even use a banana as a music keyboard.

Home & garden—place a sensor in the soil under a plant and connect it to the micro: bit, and it can tell you when the plant is happy with a simple smile or is in need of a drink with a frown.

A ship has used autonomous (自主的) sailing technology to complete a trip across world oceans for the first time. The Mayflower Autonomous Ship is a completely autonomous ocean research ship powered by artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

The Mayflower recently completed a five- week trip across the Atlantic Ocean without any humans on board. It set off from the British port of Plymouth on April 27 and arrived in the eastern Canadian city of Halifax on June 5. The 15-meter Mayflower is named after a ship that carried a group of European settlers from Plymouth to North America more than 400 years ago. That famous trip, in 1620, prepared the way for Britain’s colonization (殖民) of what Europeans called the New World.

The Mayflower experienced breakdowns on its latest trip, as well as an earlier attempt to cross the Atlantic. The first attempt, in June 2021, was called off after a breakdown forced the ship to return to Plymouth. Later ,during the latest trip, a problem with the ship’s power system led project organizers to send the ship to Portugal’s Azores in the mid-Atlantic. A team member was flown to the area to perform repairs.

More troubles came in late May when the Mayflower developed another power issue. That trouble was also repaired. But the team decided to send the ship on a new path to Halifax Experts say AI is getting much better at helping self- sailing ships understand their surroundings and pilot themselves. But most autonomous systems cannot repair themselves when the engine fails. The Mayflower is equipped with instruments designed to measure the health of ocean water. Such ships could be used to probe into parts of oceans that are too difficult for people to reach.

At first look, the playground at the Children’s Guild-Transformation Academy in Baltimore, Maryland, looks like any other. It has swings, slides, and places for children to climb and crawl. But the playground is not just a place for fun. It is also a place where students can learn, grow and gain independence. Everything — from the kind of surface it sits on, to the color of its sitting areas, to the placement of the surrounding fence — is specifically designed for kids with autism (自闭症).

Mark Rapaport is the managing director of autism services at the Transformation Academy. He said the school accepts students aged 5 to 21 with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and are lower-functioning.

Rapaport said the goal of Transformation Academy is to make the students as independent as possible in an effort to help them prepare for adult life. The school aims to provide help with developing communication and social skills, as well as practical abilities like cleaning or cooking.

The playground designed by Maryland company Sparks@Play, using structures manufactured by Landscape Structures, Inc. took a month to develop, said Dan Hack. He works for Sparks@Play and helped lead the playground’s design. Hack said he and others spent weeks getting to know the students and understanding their needs before any building was started. The design process involved physical therapists, occupational therapists, and other specialists. The huge $500,000 project was funded with support from the state of Maryland and the nonprofit Orokawa Foundation.

Parts of the playground that seem small are very important for children with autism and other disabilities. The surrounding fence extends into a wooded area to make it seem more open. And the ground under the play areas is made of soft, but solid materials to support students using wheelchairs or crutches. The benches on the outside of the playground look simple from far away, but are “one of our most inclusive sensory” elements, Hack said. They have many different colors that bring about feelings of calm and curiosity. They are also made with smooth material that can be felt and moved. The academy’s Rapaport said if a child starts to feel uneasy, they can sit down and feel the bench, which can help them relax.