Lifeboat Foundation

It works by copying what happens in the hippocampus—a seahorse-shaped region deep in the brain that plays a crucial role in memory. The brain structure not only helps us form short-term memories but also appears to direct memories to other regions for long-term storage.

For more than 10 years, Theodore Berger and Dong Song at the University of Southern California and their colleagues have been developing a way to mimic this process. Their idea is to use brain electrodes to understand the electrical patterns of activity that occur when memories are encoded, and then use those same electrodes to fire similar patterns of activity.

Cyborgs transhumanist and futurists.

Museum of Science | Boston, MA
March 28th, 2018

Continue reading “Cyborgs, Futurists, & Transhumanism: A Conversation” »

In recent years, roboticists and material scientists worldwide have been trying to create artificial systems that resemble human body parts and reproduce their functions. These include artificial skins, protective layers that could also enhance the sensing capabilities of robots.

Researchers at Donghua University in China and the Jülich Centre for Neutron Science (JCNS) in Germany have recently developed a new and highly promising artificial ionic skin based on a self-healable elastic nanomesh, an interwoven structure that resembles human skin. This artificial skin, introduced in a paper published in Nature Communications, is soft, fatigue-free and self-healing.

“As we know, the skin is the largest organ in the human body, which acts as both a protective layer and sensory interface to keep our body healthy and perceptive,” Shengtong Sun, one of the researchers who carried out the study, told TechXplore. “With the rapid development of artificial intelligence and soft robotics, researchers are currently trying to coat humanoid robots with an ‘artificial skin’ that replicates all the mechanical and sensory properties of human skin, so that they can also perceive the everchanging external environment like us.”

According to the researcher, the same technology could be applied to beetles and cicadas as well.

It’s a fun and futuristic vision: an army of remotely controlled cyborg insects that can infiltrate hard to reach locations or monitor crops.

But scientists will have to advance the tech carefully — nobody wants to risk a cyborg cockroach uprising.

For now it tracks down the floral scents that a moth would love, but engineers hope it could help find gas leaks.

A team of researchers gave sheep vastly improved vision, using bionic eyes surgically implanted behind their retinas. The same could work in humans.

Robo-Dog Assault Droids 😲

CHILLING video shows the Chinese military unveiling more of their high-tech weapons as tensions continue to rage with the West.

Beijing flaunted its military tech in the new video which shows a machine-gun armed robot dog, a small ball scout drone and a soldier wearing an exoskeleton.

Continue reading “China unveils ‘Robocop’ exo-skeletons & gun wielding killer robot dogs” »

An international team of researchers have refined a remote-control cyborg cockroach.

You can get down off the table – they’re not in the wild yet. But it’s reasonable to ask why they’d do such a thing.

It’s not because they have a nasty streak. Animals fitted with electronic devices can get into places that humans can’t go.

An international team led by researchers at the RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research (CPR) has engineered a system for creating remote controlled cyborg cockroaches, equipped with a tiny wireless control module that is powered by a rechargeable battery attached to a solar cell. Despite the mechanic devices, ultrathin electronics and flexible materials allow the insects to move freely. These achievements, reported in the scientific journal npj Flexible Electronics on September 5, will help make the use of cyborg insects a practical reality.

Researchers have been trying to design cyborg insects—part insect, part machine—to help inspect hazardous areas or monitor the environment. However, for the use of cyborg insects to be practical, handlers must be able to control them remotely for long periods of time. This requires wireless control of their leg segments, powered by a tiny rechargeable battery. Keeping the battery adequately charged is fundamental—nobody wants a suddenly out-of-control team of cyborg cockroaches roaming around. While it’s possible to build docking stations for recharging the battery, the need to return and recharge could disrupt time-sensitive missions. Therefore, the best solution is to include an on-board solar cell that can continuously ensure that the battery stays charged.

All of this is easier said than done. To successfully integrate these devices into a cockroach that has limited surface area required the research team to develop a special backpack, ultrathin organic solar cell modules, and an adhesion system that keeps the machinery attached for long periods of time while also allowing natural movements.

Continue reading “Robo-bug: A rechargeable, remote-controllable cyborg cockroach” »