The driver scheduling problem (DSP) is type of problem in operations research and theoretical computer science. The DSP consists of selecting a set of duties (assignments) for the drivers or pilots of vehicles (e.g., buses, trains, boats, or planes) involved in the transportation of passengers or goods, within the constraints of various legislative and logistical criteria. == Criteria and modelling == This very complex problem involves several constraints related to labour and company rules and also different evaluation criteria and objectives. Being able to solve this problem efficiently can have a great impact on costs and quality of service for public transportation companies. There is a large number of different rules that a feasible duty might be required to satisfy, such as Minimum and maximum stretch duration Minimum and maximum break duration Minimum and maximum work duration Minimum and maximum total duration Maximum extra work duration Maximum number of vehicle changes Minimum driving duration of a particular vehicle Operations research has provided optimization models and algorithms that lead to efficient solutions for this problem. Among the most common models proposed to solve the DSP are the Set Covering and Set Partitioning Models (SPP/SCP). In the SPP model, each work piece (task) is covered by only one duty. In the SCP model, it is possible to have more than one duty covering a given work piece. In both models, the set of work pieces that needs to be covered is laid out in rows, and the set of previously defined feasible duties available for covering specific work pieces is arranged in columns. The DSP resolution, based on either of these models, is the selection of the set of feasible duties that guarantees that there is one (SPP) or more (SCP) duties covering each work piece while minimizing the total cost of the final schedule.
TalkBack
TalkBack is an accessibility service for the Android operating system that helps blind and visually impaired users to interact with their devices. It uses spoken words, vibration and other audible feedback to allow the user to know what is happening on the screen allowing the user to better interact with their device. The service is pre-installed on many Android devices, and it became part of the Android Accessibility Suite in 2017. According to the Google Play Store, the Android Accessibility Suite has been downloaded over five billion times, including devices that have the suite preinstalled. == Open-source == Google releases the source code of TalkBack with some releases of the accessibility service to GitHub, with the latest of these changes being from May 6, 2021. The source for these versions of Google TalkBack have been released under the Apache License version 2.0. == Release history ==
Mobile Fortify
Mobile Fortify is a mobile app used by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on their government-issued phones. The app allows agents to take a photo in order to gather biometrics, including contactless fingerprints and faceprints, for the purpose of identifying an individual and their potential immigration status. The app was created by NEC. == History == In June 2025, use of Mobile Fortify by ICE was uncovered through leaked emails and the user manual, reported by 404 Media. The app is internally developed, and details of the parent company and developer were initially unknown. In January 2026, the DHS's 2025 AI Use Case Inventory revealed the vendor as NEC Corporation, an international conglomerate with subsidiaries in Argentina, Australia, China, India and Malaysia. Later that month, several senators demanded transparency around the app and its origins, and that ICE stop using it. A second letter was sent again in November, after hearing no response to the previous letter from ICE. == Technology == Unlike other facial recognition software, Fortify uses federally linked databases. By contrast, Clearview AI uses public social media databases for biometric scanning. Federal databases include DHS's automated biometric identification system (IDENT), containing more than 270 million biometric records, and Customs and Border Protection's Traveler Verification Service. The State Department's visa and passport photo database, the FBI's National Crime Information Center, National Law Enforcement Telecommunications Systems, and CBP's TECS and Seized Assets and Case Tracing System (SEACATS). == Oversight == Several senators urged ICE to stop using the app for fear of infringing on fourth amendment and first amendment rights, and requested details on who developed the app, when it was deployed, whether the app was tested for accuracy, and policies and practices governing its use. In June 2025, they sent an open letter to Todd Lyons, ICE acting director, signed by senators Cory Booker, Chris Van Hollen, Ed Markey, Bernie Sanders, Adam Schiff, Tina Smith, Elizabeth Warren, and Ron Wyden. On November 3, a second letter was sent to the ICE by senators, after not receiving answers to questions from the previous letter deadlined for October 2. == Criticism == Mobile Fortify, and ICE's use of similar biometric identification technologies (such as Mobile Identify, an app similar to Mobile Fortify to be used by local or regional law enforcement to assist in immigration enforcement ) has faced scrutiny from a variety of digital rights organizations, politicians, and news outlets. The criticism is already considered to potentially be a reason why the similar Mobile Identify app was pulled from the Google Play Store. Facial recognition technologies are known to produce false-positives and generally unreliable results, especially on those with darker skin tones. ICE has already previously mistakenly arrested a U.S. citizen under the belief he was illegally in the country, and later stated that he "could be deported based on biometric confirmation of his identity" prior to his release. U.S. representative Bennie Thompson, ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee has previously commented that "ICE officials have told us that an apparent biometric match by Mobile Fortify is a ‘definitive’ determination of a person's status and that an ICE officer may ignore evidence of American citizenship—including a birth certificate—if the app says the person is an alien," and that "Mobile Fortify is a dangerous tool in the hands of ICE, and it puts American citizens at risk of detention and even deportation," On January 19, 2026, 404 Media reported on a case where a woman, identified in court documents as "MJMA", was scanned by Mobile Fortify twice in the same interaction, and two entirely different names were provided by the app. According to the Innovation Law Lab, whose attorneys are representing MJMA, both of the names were incorrect. ICE has stated that they will not allow people to decline to be scanned by Mobile Fortify, and that photos taken, even those of U.S. citizens, will be stored for 15 years, something that has been criticized primarily because ICE has not performed a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) for Mobile Fortify, the right to decline other forms of biometric verification to the U.S. government is often available under other circumstances, and the 15 year window is viewed as unnecessarily large.
Maschinen Krieger ZbV 3000
Maschinen Krieger (Ma.K ZBV3000), often abbreviated as Ma.K., is a science fiction intellectual property created by Japanese artist and sculptor Kow Yokoyama in the 1980s. It consists of an illustrated series, a line of merchandise comprising display and action figures of mecha characters and a 1985 short film. == History == The franchise originally began as the science fiction series SF3D which ran as monthly installments in the Japanese hobby magazine Hobby Japan from 1982 to 1985. To develop the storyline, Kow Yokoyama collaborated with Hiroshi Ichimura as story editor and Kunitaka Imai as graphic designer. The three creators drew visual inspiration from their combined interest in World War I and World War II armor and aircraft, the American space program and films such as Star Wars, Blade Runner and The Road Warrior. Inspired by the ILM model builders who worked on Star Wars, Yokoyama built the original models from numerous kits including armor, aircraft, and automobiles. He mostly concentrated on powered armor suits, but later included bipedal walking tanks and aircraft with anti-gravity systems. In 1986, there was a dispute with Hobby Japan over the copyright of the series. The magazine dropped SF3D from its line-up of articles and Nitto ceased production of various kits of the series. The matter was tied up in the courts for years until Yokoyama was awarded the full copyright to the series in the 1990s. Yokoyama and Hobby Japan eventually reconciled and restarted their working relationship, ditching the old SF3D name in favor of Maschinen Krieger ZbV3000, otherwise known as Ma.K. == Story == A nuclear World War IV in 2807 kills most of Earth's population and renders the planet uninhabitable. Fifty-two years after the war, a research team from an interstellar union called the Galactic Federation is sent to Earth and discovers that the planet's natural environment has restored itself. The Federation decides to repopulate the planet and sends over colonists to the surface. Cities and towns are eventually reformed over the next 20 years, but this growth attracts the attention of criminals, military deserters, and other lawless elements who wanted to hide on Earth—away from the authorities. A few militias protect the colonists, but the new interlopers often defeat them. Fearing civil unrest and the colonists forming their own government, the Federation gives the Strahl Democratic Republic (SDR) the right to govern the planet in the late 2870s. The SDR sends three police battalions and three Foreign Legion corps to Earth and uses heavy-handed tactics such as travel restrictions and hard labor camps to restore order, which creates resentment amongst the colonists. In response, the colonists create the Earth Independent Provisional Government and declare independence from the SDR. The SDR immediately establishes a puppet government and attempts to quell the uprising. The wealthy colonists hire mercenaries who are descendants of WWIV veterans to form the Independent Mercenary Army (IMA), which is bolstered by the presence of SDR Foreign Legion defectors. They attack the SDR forces and the battle to control Earth begins in 2882. Over the next four years, the SDR and IMA fight each other at several locations worldwide while developing new technology along the way. The war turns up a notch in June 2883 when the IMA deploys a new weapon - the Armored Fighting Suit powered armor - to devastating effect. The SDR eventually builds their own AFS units. In the last SF3D installment published in the December 1986 issue of Hobby Japan, the IMA successfully defeats the new SDR Königs Kröte unmanned command-and-control mecha using a computer virus that also creates a new artificial intelligence system on the moon. == Merchandise == === Model kits === Fan interest from the installments in Hobby Japan resulted in a small Japanese model company, Nitto, securing the license and quickly released 21 injection molded kits from the series during its entire run in the magazine. Most of the Nitto model kits are in 1:20 scale, while others were made in 1:76 and 1:6 scale. Production of the kits stopped with the end of the Hobby Japan features in 1986, but Nitto reissued many of the original kits under the Maschinen Krieger name, albeit with new decals and box art. Some of the original Nitto kits such as the Krachenvogel are highly sought after by collectors. The Nitto models were also the basis for similar offerings from Japanese model companies Wave and ModelKasten. Wave, in particular, is currently producing original-tooled kits of various subjects in the franchise, such as the Armored Fighting Suits powered armor. Smaller companies such as Brick Works and Love Love Garden have made limited resin pilot figures to go with these model kits. At the 2008 Nuremberg Toy Fair in Germany, the Hasegawa company - known mostly for its line of military and civilian vehicles — announced plans to carry the Ma.K license, having successfully branched into pop culture franchises such as Macross. Hasegawa's venture into the franchise came with the release of the Pkf 85 Falke attack craft in March 2009. The company's Ma.K line has since expanded to at least ten kits either 1:35 or 1:20 scale, including a 1:35 Scale Nutrocker tank and the Mk44 humanoid mecha suit from Robot Battle V, a sidestory to the franchise. Wave corporation also has a line of 1/20 models. While Hasegawa largely maintained the yellow-box aesthetic from the older nitto kits, Wave has a more colorful box design. Certain garage kit manufacturers such as Rainbow-Egg are allowed to produce their own line of resin kits and accessories, upon securing special authorization from Yokoyama himself. === Toys === The franchise also contains a line of action and display figures. The Japanese hobby shop and toy company Yellow Submarine and garage kit maker Max Factory released several pre-finished figures in 1:35 and 1:16 scale. MediCom Toys included Chibi Ma.K. figures in their Kubrick line, plus two 1:6 SAFS figures with working lights and fully poseable pilot figures. === Books === Numerous sourcebooks and modeling guides that further flesh out the information in the series have been released. Hobby Japan published a compilation of the first 15 SF3D installments in 1983 and reprinted them in March 2010. Eventually, the magazine re-released all 43 installments in a slipcase compilation called "SF3D Chronicles" in August 2010, which organized the installments into two separate books: "Heaven" featuring articles on aerial models, and "Earth" for ground-based models. Model Graphix followed suit with their own line of sourcebooks, which provide tutorials from Yokoyama on how he makes his figures. Some sourcebooks also have custom decal sets. === Miniature wargaming === In 2019, Slave 2 Gaming gained the license to produce and sell 1:100 scale (15mm) metal and resin war gaming miniatures. This new range of Maschinen Krieger figures was given the name Ma.K in 15mm, so as to not complicate sales with customers, and rebrand the Ma.k name for the miniature wargaming world. The figures are designed and cast in Australia. They are sold exclusively through Slave 2 Gaming at this time due to the license agreement with Sensei Yokoyama. With the production of the miniatures, a set of gaming rules in the works, with the plan is to release all the current Maschinen Krieger models. == Short film == Yokoyama collaborated with Tsuburaya Productions to create a live-action SF3D film using miniatures in 1985. Directed by Shinichi Ohoka from a script penned by co-producer Hisao Ichikura, the 25-minute SF3D Original Video opens with wreckage left from a battle in the Wiltshire wastelands on Christmas Day 2884 before focusing on a badly damaged IMA SAFS unit. The pilot, Cpl Robert Bush (Tristan Hickey), who is still alive, seeks to get his armored suit back and running and leave the battle area, which is under heavy jamming. Seeing two of the SDR's new Nutrocker (Nutcracker) robot hovertanks arrive nearby, Bush tries to hide, but bodily functions give him away. One Nutcracker gives chase and the SAFS AI points out to Bush how to defeat it. He eventually clambers on to the tank, which passes through the rubble of a town and randomly shoots at high places to bring down objects that could snag him. With the SAFS' right arm sheared off by the Nutcracker's laser blasts and snow settling in, Bush is knocked unconscious all night long from the fall while the tank breaks down under the cold. The next day, the SAFS AI wakes up Bush because the Nutcracker is active again and is preparing to kill him. Bush gets up and faces the tank as it charges towards him. However, the Nutcracker gets too close to a cliff that buckles under its weight and Bush fires his laser into the tank's underbelly. The tank plunges into a ravine and explodes. Bush walks away and reestablishes radio contact with his base. It is revealed that the battle was a field test of th
Dry Drowning
Dry Drowning is a cyberpunk mystery visual novel developed by Studio V and published by VLG Publishing and WhisperGames for Microsoft Windows on August 2, 2019. It was released on the Nintendo Switch on February 22, 2021. == Gameplay == The player takes control of Mordred Foley and has to read through the story, while making decisions at certain points. Depending on the choices, the player can influence the relationship to other characters as well as the course of the game, discovering more than 150 story branches, and eventually reach one out of three different endings with variations. The game also includes passages where the player has to find clues or items on the screen by clicking on them. These can be used in interrogation scenes with certain characters in order to unmask them and discover their lies. Throughout the game, the player has access to an in-game operating system called AquaOS. With that, they can re-read their conversations, look at their found items, and read biographies of the characters encountered. == Plot == The game is set in the fictional and totalitarian city Nova Polemos in Europa in 2066. Mordred Foley and Hera Kairis are private investigators and before the events of the game, they sent two of the most dangerous serial killers ever, Jennifer Kingston and Robert Herrington, to the electric chair. However, after their execution, their agency underwent an investigation for falsifying the evidence presented during the case, which completely destroyed its reputation. Now they want to restart their careers and lives, while dealing with their past traumas. Soon, Mordred is caught up in several cases that all led him to believe that the dreaded serial killer named Pandora has returned. In order to solve these cases, both Mordred and Hera have to face their pasts and fears, all while a racist political party is about to make the lives of refugees in Nova Polemos even worse. == Development == The game was initially conceived by Giacomo Masi and Samuele Zolfanelli, then developed by Studio V and directed and written by Giacomo Masi. It was originally written in Italian and translated into English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and German. The soundtrack was composed, written, and performed by Giorgio Maioli. The ending theme and Hera's pieces, performed on piano, were created by Alessandro Masi. The background and character artworks were made by Giulia Carli, other graphic elements such as the UI were created by Samuele Zolfanelli. The developers cited L.A. Noire, Ace Attorney, Blade Runner and Heavy Rain as some of their inspirations for the game. === Releases === Dry Drowning was originally released on Microsoft Windows through Steam, GOG, Itch.io, and Utomik in August 2019. In July 2019, Giacomo Masi announced the game would be released for Xbox One in 2020, though it was not released that year. A Nintendo Switch port was released on February 22, 2021, and a version for PlayStation 4 is set to release in 2021. == Reception == According to review aggregator platform Metacritic, Dry Drowning received "mixed or average reviews" for PC based on 11 reviews and "generally favorable reviews" for Nintendo Switch based on 6 reviews. Fellow review aggregator OpenCritic assessed that the game received fair approval, being recommended by 55% of critics. 4players.de gave a positive rating of 80% and wrote: "Stylish noir thriller with an interesting story, but mechanical limitations – despite a variety of possible interactions." Screen Rant gave a mixed rating of 3 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Dry Drowning may be a fair bit messy, but there's charm here. Players who are willing to embrace the cheesier elements will find some joy in its well-crafted setting and a decent murder mystery plot. The game is constrictive and lacks the genuine shock and engagement of top tier visual novels like Doki Doki Literature Club!, but there are some moments of clever world building and a strong enough mystery propelling it." The Italian review site SpazioGames gave a positive rating of 8.5 out of 10 points and wrote: "Dry Drowning is a very good game with great narrative experience. Every relationship between the characters is layered to increase player involvement, and each choice has different consequences. A thriller game that deserves to be played." === Awards === The game won Best of EGS 2019 and Best of JOIN 2019 awards, an honorable mention at GAMEROME and was nominated as "Best Italian Debut Game" at the Italian Video Game Awards 2020. It was also declared Best Game at Join The Indie 2019.
Space partitioning
In geometry, space partitioning is the process of dividing an entire space (usually a Euclidean space) into two or more disjoint subsets (see also partition of a set). In other words, space partitioning divides a space into non-overlapping regions. Any point in the space can then be identified to lie in exactly one of the regions. == Overview == Space-partitioning systems are often hierarchical, meaning that a space (or a region of space) is divided into several regions, and then the same space-partitioning system is recursively applied to each of the regions thus created. The regions can be organized into a tree, called a space-partitioning tree. Most space-partitioning systems use planes (or, in higher dimensions, hyperplanes) to divide space: points on one side of the plane form one region, and points on the other side form another. Points exactly on the plane are usually arbitrarily assigned to one or the other side. Recursively partitioning space using planes in this way produces a BSP tree, one of the most common forms of space partitioning. == Uses == === In computer graphics === Space partitioning is particularly important in computer graphics, especially heavily used in ray tracing, where it is frequently used to organize the objects in a virtual scene. A typical scene may contain millions of polygons. Performing a ray/polygon intersection test with each would be a very computationally expensive task. Storing objects in a space-partitioning data structure (k-d tree or BSP tree for example) makes it easy and fast to perform certain kinds of geometry queries—for example in determining whether a ray intersects an object, space partitioning can reduce the number of intersection test to just a few per primary ray, yielding a logarithmic time complexity with respect to the number of polygons. Space partitioning is also often used in scanline algorithms to eliminate the polygons out of the camera's viewing frustum, limiting the number of polygons processed by the pipeline. There is also a usage in collision detection: determining whether two objects are close to each other can be much faster using space partitioning. === In integrated circuit design === In integrated circuit design, an important step is design rule check. This step ensures that the completed design is manufacturable. The check involves rules that specify widths and spacings and other geometry patterns. A modern design can have billions of polygons that represent wires and transistors. Efficient checking relies heavily on geometry query. For example, a rule may specify that any polygon must be at least n nanometers from any other polygon. This is converted into a geometry query by enlarging a polygon by n/2 at all sides and query to find all intersecting polygons. === In probability and statistical learning theory === The number of components in a space partition plays a central role in some results in probability theory. See Growth function for more details. === In geography and GIS === There are many studies and applications where Geographical Spatial Reality is partitioned by hydrological criteria, administrative criteria, mathematical criteria or many others. In the context of cartography and GIS - Geographic Information System, is common to identify cells of the partition by standard codes. For example the for HUC code identifying hydrographical basins and sub-basins, ISO 3166-2 codes identifying countries and its subdivisions, or arbitrary DGGs - discrete global grids identifying quadrants or locations. == Data structures == Common space-partitioning systems include: BSP trees Quadtrees Octrees k-d trees Bins == Number of components == Suppose the n-dimensional Euclidean space is partitioned by r {\displaystyle r} hyperplanes that are ( n − 1 ) {\displaystyle (n-1)} -dimensional. What is the number of components in the partition? The largest number of components is attained when the hyperplanes are in general position, i.e, no two are parallel and no three have the same intersection. Denote this maximum number of components by C o m p ( n , r ) {\displaystyle Comp(n,r)} . Then, the following recurrence relation holds: C o m p ( n , r ) = C o m p ( n , r − 1 ) + C o m p ( n − 1 , r − 1 ) {\displaystyle Comp(n,r)=Comp(n,r-1)+Comp(n-1,r-1)} C o m p ( 0 , r ) = 1 {\displaystyle Comp(0,r)=1} - when there are no dimensions, there is a single point. C o m p ( n , 0 ) = 1 {\displaystyle Comp(n,0)=1} - when there are no hyperplanes, all the space is a single component. And its solution is: C o m p ( n , r ) = ∑ k = 0 n ( r k ) {\displaystyle Comp(n,r)=\sum _{k=0}^{n}{r \choose k}} if r ≥ n {\displaystyle r\geq n} C o m p ( n , r ) = 2 r {\displaystyle Comp(n,r)=2^{r}} if r ≤ n {\displaystyle r\leq n} (consider e.g. r {\displaystyle r} perpendicular hyperplanes; each additional hyperplane divides each existing component to 2). which is upper-bounded as: C o m p ( n , r ) ≤ r n + 1 {\displaystyle Comp(n,r)\leq r^{n}+1}
Knights of Sidonia
Knights of Sidonia (Japanese: シドニアの騎士, Hepburn: Shidonia no Kishi) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tsutomu Nihei. It was serialized by Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Monthly Afternoon between April 2009 and September 2015, with its chapters collected in 15 tankōbon volumes. It tells the story of Nagate Tanikaze, an "under-dweller" destined to become a Garde pilot, whose mission is to defend the generation ship Sidonia from a hostile alien species called Gauna. The manga was licensed for English release in North America by Vertical. An anime television series adaptation was produced by Polygon Pictures. The first season aired from April to June 2014; the second between April and June 2015. An anime film sequel titled Knights of Sidonia: Love Woven in the Stars premiered in June 2021. In 2015, Knights of Sidonia received the 39th Kodansha Manga Award in the general category, as well as the 47th Seiun Award in the Best Comic category in 2016. == Plot == === Setting === The story is set in the year 3394, a thousand years after mankind flees from Earth after it was destroyed by a race of shapeshifting aliens called the Gauna (奇居子（ガウナ）), aboard hundreds of colossal spacecraft created from the remains of the planet. One such ship is the Sidonia, which has developed its own human culture closely based on that of Japan where human cloning, asexual reproduction, and human genetic engineering, such as granting humans photosynthesis, are commonplace. It is also revealed that the top echelons of this society have secretly been granted immortality. With a population of over 500,000 people, Sidonia is possibly the last human settlement remaining, as the fates of the other ships are unknown. Little is known about the true nature of the Gauna or their motivation for attacking humanity. At any given time, a Gauna consists of a nearly impenetrable core protected by a dense layer of malleable flesh known as "placenta" (胞衣, ena). Once the ena is shed away and the core is destroyed, the Gauna's body disintegrates. While Sidonia itself is heavily armed with an arsenal of high-output beam cannons and mass cannons including slow but powerful planet-destroying warheads, it is primarily defended by large mechanized weapons called Gardes (衛人, Morito) whose weaponry and mobility is powered by "Higgs particles" (ヘイグス粒子, Heigusu Ryūshi), armed with a high-output beam cannon for long range assaults and a special spear known as "Kabizashi" for close combat. The tip of the kabizashi is made of a rare and little-understood material which has the unique property of being able to destroy a Gauna's core. Later the Gardes are also equipped with firearms whose ammunition have the same material of the Kabizashi after a means to artificially mass-produce it is discovered. Most people in the surviving human population are screened and drafted as Garde pilots at a young age, if they are shown to be capable of piloting them. === Story === The story follows the adventures of Garde pilot Nagate Tanikaze, who lived in the underground layer of Sidonia since birth and was raised by his grandfather. Never having met anyone else, he trains himself in an old Guardian pilot simulator every day, eventually mastering it. After his grandfather's death, he emerges to the surface and is selected as a Garde pilot, just as Sidonia is once again threatened by the Gauna. == Media == === Manga === Written and illustrated by Tsutomu Nihei, Knights of Sidonia was serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Monthly Afternoon from April 25, 2009, to September 25, 2015. It was compiled in 15 tankōbon volumes. The manga has been licensed in North America by Vertical, who released all 15 volumes in English between February 5, 2013, and April 26, 2016. === Anime === An anime television series adaptation, produced by Polygon Pictures, aired its first season from April 10 to June 26, 2014, on MBS and later on TBS, CBC and BS-TBS. The series was directed by Kōbun Shizuno, assisted by Hiroyuki Seshita, with scripts by Sadayuki Murai and character designs by Yuki Moriyama. The opening theme song is "Sidonia" (シドニア, Shidonia), performed by Angela, while the ending theme song is "Show" (掌 -show-, Shō), performed by Eri Kitamura. A second season aired from April 11 to June 26, 2015. For the second season, the opening theme song is "Kishi Kōshinkyoku" (騎士行進曲, Knight March), performed by Angela, while the ending theme song is "Requiem" (鎮魂歌 -レクイエム-, Rekuiemu), performed by CustomiZ. The series was localized and streamed by Netflix in all of its territories since July 4, 2014, becoming the service's first original anime, as well as the first anime series on Netflix available in Dolby Vision/HDR. The first season has been licensed for home video release by Sentai Filmworks. The second season was released on Netflix on July 3, 2015, and has been licensed by Sentai Filmworks for home video distribution. In July 2021, Funimation announced they acquired the streaming rights from Netflix to both seasons. === Films === A compilation film of the first season with additional scenes and re-edited sound effects was released on March 6, 2015. A new anime film, titled Knights of Sidonia: Love Woven in the Stars, was announced on July 3, 2020. Hiroyuki Seshita served as chief director, while Tadahiro Yoshihira served as director for the new film, with Polygon Pictures returning for production. Sadayuki Murai and Tetsuya Yamada returned to write scripts, while Shūji Katayama composed the music. The rest of the staff and cast returned to reprise their roles. The first four minutes of the film were shown on YouTube on April 28, 2021. The film was set to premiere on May 14, 2021, but was delayed to June 4, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Funimation screened the film in international theaters starting on September 13, 2021. == Reception == === Manga === Knights of Sidonia won the 39th Kodansha Manga Award in the general category in 2015. The manga won the 47th Seiun Award in the Best Comic category in 2016. It also won the Best Seinen category at the 26th Salón del Manga de Barcelona in 2020. It was one of the Jury Recommended works in the Manga Division at the 17th Japan Media Arts Festival in 2013. The Young Adult Library Services Association listed Knights of Sidonia in its 2014 list of Top 10 Graphic Novels for Teens. Carlo Santos from Anime News Network gave the first manga volume a B, stating, "It is got a young man piloting a giant robot against alien enemies, but Knight of Sidonia is no Neon Genesis Evangelion. Yet it is not as bleak or incomprehensible as Tsutomu Nihei works like Blame! or Biomega, either—rather, it is the best of both worlds, bringing Nihei's hard sci-fi mentality into a more conventional space-adventure environment". === Anime === The anime series received positive reviews, even from famous members of the Japanese anime/game industry, like Hideo Kojima, creator of the Metal Gear series, who claims that "It's a kind of anime that we haven't seen for a while that has that sci-fi spirit. Using digital technology cultivated through games, it creates animation that encapsulates Japan's cultural assets like manga, cel animation, kanji, giant robots, etc. What's born is a unique made-in-Japan work that could never be cooked up in Hollywood. Japanese culture has lost its 'cool', and Knights of Sidonia will be the white knight that saves it". Other industry pros left acknowledgements as well, including Akiko Higashimura, Digitarou and Yoshinao Dao.