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Category: robotics/AI – Page 2,746

Board Recommends Further Use Of Autonomy In Sea Control, Support Of Ground Troops

Hmmmm.

The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps should advance the way they use unmanned systems, favoring greater autonomy over remotely-controlled missions and developing multi-vehicle systems such as swarms and cascaded operations, according to a recently released report by the Defense Science Board.

The DSB report, requested by the Pentagon’s acquisition chief in November 2014, notes a variety of Pentagon-wide challenges in developing, testing, fielding and operating autonomous systems, such as operator trust, cyber security and developing a test and evaluation plan for learning systems.

Specific to the Navy, the board recommends adding greater autonomy to Navy counter-mine unmanned underwater systems as a way to save time and keep personnel even farther from potential dangers.

Robotic Brain Training Relieves Paralysis in Duke Study

Excellent! Super human capabilities at work via brain-controlled robotics.

Eight people who spent years paralyzed from spinal cord injuries have regained partial control of their lower limbs as well as some sensation following work with brain-controlled robotics. Five of the participants had been paralyzed for at least five years and two had been paralyzed for more than ten.

It took seven months of training before most of the subjects saw any changes. After a year, four patients’ sensation and muscle control changed significantly enough that doctors upgraded their diagnoses from complete to partial paralysis.

According to Duke University neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelis, M.D., Ph.D., who led the study, brain-machine systems establish direct communication between the brain and computers or prosthetics, such as robotic limbs. According to the report, published by Duke Today, Nicolelis has worked for 20 years to build systems that record hundreds of simultaneous signals from neurons in the brain. His goal is to extract motor commands from those signals and translate them into movement.

World’s first self-driving taxis debut in Singapore

SINGAPORE (AP) — The world’s first self-driving taxis will be picking up passengers in Singapore starting Thursday.

Select members of the public will be able to hail a free ride through their smartphones in taxis operated by nuTonomy, an autonomous vehicle software startup. While multiple companies, including Google and Volvo, have been testing self-driving cars on public roads for several years, nuTonomy says it will be the first to offer rides to the public. It will beat ride-hailing service Uber, which plans to offer rides in autonomous cars in Pittsburgh, by a few weeks.

The service will start small — six cars now, growing to a dozen by the end of the year. The ultimate goal, say nuTonomy officials, is to have a fully self-driving taxi fleet in Singapore by 2018, which will help sharply cut the number of cars on Singapore’s congested roads. Eventually, the model could be adopted in cities around the world, nuTonomy says.

Habitable planet found in solar system next door

Fantastic news! (for once)

Paris (AFP) — Scientists Wednesday announced the discovery of an Earth-sized planet orbiting the star nearest our Sun, opening up the glittering prospect of a habitable world that may one day be explored by robots.

Named Proxima b, the planet is in a “temperate” zone compatible with the presence of liquid water — a key ingredient for life.

​The Jesus Singularity

I’m super excited to share my first fiction since writing “The Transhumanist Wager” four years ago. Vice Motherboard has published this short story of mine on the challenge of AI becoming religious—and what that might mean for humanity. It’s a short read and the story takes place just a few years into the future. And yes, the happenings in this story could occur.

For the second installment of our series exploring the future of human augmentation, we bring you a story by the Transhumanist Party’s presidential candidate (and occasional Motherboard columnist), Zoltan Istvan. Though he’s spent most of the last year traveling the nation in a coffin-shaped bus, spreading the gospel of immortality and H+, he’s no stranger to fiction. His novel, The Transhumanist Wager, is about the impact of evolving beyond this mortal coil. This story is even bolder. Enjoy the always provocative, always entertaining, Zoltan Istvan. –the editor.

Paul Shuman’s phone rang. He struggled to open his eyes. ‘Who the hell is calling me in the middle of the night?’ he thought. He rolled out of bed and walked naked to his desk to see. His phone showed it was his secretary.

“What is it?” he sharply asked on speaker phone.

Soft, Rubbery ‘Octobot’ Can Move Without Batteries

A rubbery little “octobot” is the first robot made completely from soft parts, according to a new study. The tiny, squishy guy also doesn’t need batteries or wires of any kind, and runs on a liquid fuel.

The octopus-like robot is made of silicone rubber, and measures about 2.5 inches (6.5 centimeters) wide and long. The researchers say soft robots can adapt more easily to some environments than rigid machines, and this research could lead to autonomous robots that can sense their surroundings and interact with people.

Conventional robots are typically made from rigid parts, which makes them vulnerable to harm from bumps, scrapes, twists and falls. These hard parts can also hinder them from being able to squirm past obstacles. Increasingly, scientists are building robots made of soft, elastic plastic and rubber, designs inspired by octopuses, starfish and worms. These soft robots are generally more resistant to damage, and can wriggle past many of the obstacles that impair hard robots. [The 6 Strangest Robots Ever Created].

World not prepared for biological attacks, new technology threats: Ban Ki-moon

CISO & CSO at many companies are certainly going to have their work cut out for them in the long-term future as more and more new tech such as 3D Printing, Synthetic Bio, etc. are adopted into companies; really brings a new level of security concerns not only in government; but also the private sector.

He pointed out that while there were international organisations to prevent the spread of nuclear and chemical weapons, there was no such agency to deal with biological weapons.

Speaking at the Council debate on weapons of mass destruction (WMD), he sought to expand its definition beyond nuclear, chemical and biological to embrace the threats arising from 21st century science, technology and globalisation.

Information and communication technologies, artificial intelligence, 3D printing and synthetic biology have the potential massive destruction, he said. “The nexus between these emerging technologies and WMD needs close examination and action.”

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