ORCA

Benchmarking the ORCA PT-2 Boson Sampler using Minimum Dominating Set Problems

Announce Type: cross Abstract: We use boson sampling as part of a gradient-free variational algorithm (the Binary Bosonic Solver) to solve a minimum dominating set problem and compare these results to a number of exact and heuristic classical algorithms. The boson sampling has been performed on the physical PT-2 time-bin interferometer from ORCA Computing. The PT-2 device has been tested here using both a single- and double-loop configuration and the results are compared based on the best...

Benchmarking the ORCA PT-2 Boson Sampler using Minimum Dominating Set Problems

arXiv:2605.30935v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: We use boson sampling as part of a gradient-free variational algorithm (the Binary Bosonic Solver) to solve a minimum dominating set problem and compare these results to a number of exact and heuristic classical algorithms. The boson sampling has been performed on the physical PT-2 time-bin interferometer from ORCA Computing. The PT-2 device has been tested here using both a single- and double-loop configuration and the results are...

Clairvoyant: Predictive SJF Scheduling to Mitigate Head-of-Line Blocking in Serial LLM Backends

Announce Type: new Abstract: Serial LLM inference backends -- such as Ollama -- process requests one at a time under FCFS admission, causing Head-of-Line Blocking (HOLB) under mixed workloads at high utilisation: short factual queries can be delayed by minutes behind long generation jobs. While cloud-scale deployments mitigate HOLB via continuous batching (vLLM, Orca), these solutions require tens of GB of VRAM for concurrent KV-caches -- infeasible for memory-constrained edge and local...

Observation-driven correction of numerical weather prediction for marine winds

arXiv:2512.03606v2 Announce Type: replace Abstract: Accurate marine wind forecasts are essential for safe navigation, ship routing, and energy operations, yet they remain challenging because observations over the ocean are sparse, heterogeneous, and temporally variable. We present an observation-informed correction approach for global numerical weather prediction (NWP) of marine winds. Rather than forecasting winds directly, we learn local correction patterns by assimilating the latest...

TAGA: A Tangent-Based Reactive Approach for Socially Compliant Robot Navigation Around Human Groups

Announce Type: replace Abstract: Robots navigating human-populated environments must avoid collisions while respecting the social structure of crowds, particularly the implicit boundaries of social groups. Most navigation approaches model humans as independent individuals,causing socially disruptive behavior even when collision-free. This paper presents TAGA (Tangent Action for Group Avoidance), detected group boundaries via tangent-path maneuvers without modifying the underlying navigation...

Whatever the mirror test tells us, beluga whales pass it

From Hype to Collapse: Investigating Rug Pull Scams on Solana

Announce Type: replace Abstract: Solana has experienced rapid growth due to its high performance and low transaction costs, but the extremely low barrier to token issuance has also enabled widespread Rug Pulls. Unlike Ethereum-based Rug Pulls, which often rely on malicious smart-contract logic, Solana's unified SPL Token program shifts fraudulent execution toward on-chain behavioral manipulation. However, existing research has not systematically examined these Solana-specific Rug Pull...

The 11 best cozy sci-fi games for those chill cosmic vibes

The 11 best cozy sci-fi games for those chill cosmic vibes From farming and walking sims to space trucking, you can live that cozy life… but in space! The best sci-fi games are often pigeonholed into specific genres like shooters, strategy games, and RPGs, and for good reason; franchises like Mass Effect, StarCraft, and Half-Life are all-time classics. But sometimes it’s nice to explore the stars in a safer way... a more chill, vibey kind of way that helps you relax and unwind.

With ShakeAlert installations complete, researchers explore offshore expansion

With ShakeAlert installations complete, researchers explore offshore expansion Lisa Lock Scientific Editor Andrew Zinin Lead Editor The ShakeAlert earthquake early warning system has been rapidly expanding since its launch in 2021. Now, researchers at University of Washington affiliated Pacific Northwest Seismic Network (PNSN) have finished all planned installations, bringing the two-state total to 569 seismic monitoring stations spread across Washington and Oregon. ShakeAlert detects ground...

Whatever the mirror test tells us, beluga whales pass it

In hours of underwater video footage from a New York aquarium, a beluga whale named Natasha stretches her neck, pirouettes, nods, and shakes her head in front of a two-way mirror. Her daughter Maris does much the same. According to a new study published in PLOS One, both animals show the behavioral hallmarks of mirror self-recognition—a cognitive ability long considered a marker of self-awareness, and one that had never before been documented in beluga whales.