Abstract: An apparatus for making and depositing bricks includes a nozzle having an inlet opening, an outlet opening, and a plurality of walls surrounding the outlet opening. At least one of the walls is configured to retract relative to the other walls. When a first brick is deposited, all of the nozzle walls are in the extended position. When subsequent bricks are deposited, one or more of the nozzle walls are retracted so that the form for the subsequent bricks is provided by the walls that are in the extended position and the sides of the already-deposited bricks. In this manner, the nozzle is configured to deposit the bricks directly adjacent to each other without any space or intervening material between them. The bricks may be deposited in a heated state and they meld together as they cool. The nozzle is particularly advantageous for paving autonomously in otherwise inaccessible locations, such as surfaces on the moon or other planets.

Abstract: In some embodiments, the present disclosure pertains to methods and systems for optimizing a property of a plant. In some embodiments, the methods of the present disclosure include: (1) receiving one or more growth-related parameters of the plant; (2) receiving one or more phenotype-related parameters of the plant; (3) receiving one or more qualitative parameters of the plant; (4) utilizing a computing unit to evaluate said one or more growth-related parameters, phenotype-related parameters and qualitative parameters of the plant; and (5) utilizing the computing unit to adjust the one or more of the growth-related parameters of the plant based on the evaluation. In some embodiments, the aforementioned steps are repeated a plurality of times. In some embodiments, the parameters are stored in a database and utilized by a machine-learning algorithm to optimize the evaluation of the parameters and adjustment of the growth-related parameters.

Abstract: A method for collision avoidance includes receiving a maneuver command, obtaining observations from one or more sensors, generating one or more constraints based on the observations, combining the maneuver command and the one or more constraints to generate a constrained maneuver command that deviates from the maneuver command for collision avoidance, sending the constrained maneuver command to a controller. The method can include modifying motion of a vehicle based on the constrained maneuver command to maneuver with collision avoidance.