∆∆

Experimental deviations and non-standard behaviours

[heroinych]

[odditymall]

This is mankind’s greatest scientific accomplishment.

[theroguekid]

[2020]

See it, touch it, feel it: Researchers use ultrasound to make invisible 3-D haptic shape that can be seen and felt

[wildcat2030]

Robot Olympics Planned for 2020 Powered by Japan’s ‘Robot Revolution’ - Japan likes robots. And while some Americans raised on a confusing sci-fi diet of Star Wars, Terminator, and iRobot are perhaps a little wary of advanced AI and robotics—Japan simply can’t wait for the “robot revolution.” In a recent tour of Japanese robotics firms, Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe declared his intention to create a government task force to study and propose strategies for tripling the size of Japan’s robotics industry to $24 billion. And one more thing, Abe said, “In 2020, I would like to gather all of the world’s robots and aim to hold an Olympics where they compete in technical skills.” While mere mortals compete in the 2020 summer Olympics in Tokyo—in a stadium somewhere nearby, the world’s most advanced robots may go head to head in events showcasing their considerable prowess (hopefully by then, right?). (via Robot Olympics Planned for 2020 Powered by Japan’s ‘Robot Revolution’ | Singularity Hub)

[t-ii]

[advancedsystemsarray]

Former Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) director and now Google Executive, Regina E. Duncan, has unveiled a super small, ingestible microchip that we can all be expected to swallow by 2017. “A means of authentication,” she calls it, also called an electronic tattoo, which takes NSA spying to whole new levels. She talks of the ‘mechanical mismatch problem between machines and humans,’ and specifically targets 10 – 20 year olds in her rant about the wonderful qualities of this new technology that can stretch in the human body and still be functional.

[8bitfuture]

Video: aerial drone band.

By KMel Robotics.

[2020]

The people with ‘animal powers’

[4est]

[new-aesthetic]

Boeing test flights (Superbowl celebrations, 747-8, 787 Dreamliner), via FlightAware.

[txchnologist]

The Chance To Dance Again

by Michael Keller

We highlighted the TED talk of Hugh Herr a couple of weeks ago. But his work is too important and beautiful to leave to just one post.

The MIT associate professor of media arts and sciences is making prosthetic limbs and exoskeletons that restore function in those who have lost legs from injury or disease. This set of gifs focuses on his team’s BiOM powered ankle and foot prosthesis. 

"Bionics is not only about making people stronger and faster," he said during the talk. "Our expression, our humanity can be embedded into electromechanics."

To prove his point, Herr and fellow researchers studied dance movement to replace the lower leg that professional dancer Adrianne Haslet-Davis lost after last year’s Boston marathon bombing. He concluded his talk by bringing Haslet-Davis on the stage to perform a bionic rumba. 

Read More

[tibets]

[2020]

US views on space colonies, teleportation and time travel

[wildcat2030]

"We could map the whole Universe — all of the information that has existed since the Big Bang — onto 300 qubits," Lloyd says.

Quantum boost for artificial intelligence : Nature News & Comment (via wildcat2030)

[new-aesthetic]

"It is enough to choose or generate a random sound," Read says, as that’s all that’s needed to inform someone that something important is going on. "It seems to be an easy way to provide rich expression for robots," he says. The findings were presented at the Human-Robot Interaction conference in Bielefeld, Germany, on 3 March. Sean Andrist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his team have a number of other tricks to make a humanoid robot seem “alive”. One is to introduce small random movements into a robot’s head rotation motor, so that instead of appearing stationary, the robot’s head twitches slightly now and then. A face-tracking camera can ensure a robot always looks at the person it is interacting with, but instead of staring straight at their face, the team have programmed in a tendency for the robot to avert its gaze from time to time. The idea is to mimic the human habit of glancing fleetingly to one side when thinking of an answer to a question.

The robot tricks to bridge the uncanny valley - tech - 19 March 2014 - New Scientist (via new-aesthetic)

[hexapod-deactivated20140822]