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Jan 7, 2016
Here Is the Soviet Union’s Secret Space Cannon
Posted by Sean Brazell in category: space
In 1975, the USSR actually fired a cannon from an orbiting space station. Forty years later, we finally got a good look at this gun.
Jan 7, 2016
Meet the Man With a Thought-Controlled Robotic Arm
Posted by Roman Mednitzer in categories: biotech/medical, cyborgs, physics, robotics/AI
Johnny Matheny is the first person to attach a mind-controlled prosthetic limb directly to his skeleton. After losing his arm to cancer in 2008, Johnny signed up for a number of experimental surgeries to prepare himself to use a DARPA-funded prosthetic prototype. The Modular Prosthetic Limb, developed by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, allows Johnny to regain almost complete range of motion through the Bluetooth-controlled arm. (Video by Drew Beebe, Brandon Lisy) (Source: Bloomberg)
A very well done essay by Frank Wilczek about axions, their motivations, their candidacy for dark matter job, and their experimental status.
Jan 7, 2016
Planetary Resources & 3D Systems Reveal First Ever 3D Printed Object from Asteroid Metals
Posted by Jeremy Lichtman in categories: 3D printing, space
The future of space colonization and industrialization can now be visualized.
Planetary Resources, in collaboration with our partner 3D Systems, have developed the first ever direct metal print from asteroid metals. At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) today in Las Vegas, NV., we unveiled the geometric object on the Engadget stage.
Jan 7, 2016
Apple Buys Artificial-Intelligence Startup Emollient — By Rolfe Winkler, et al | The Wall Street Journal
Posted by Odette Bohr Dienel in categories: computing, electronics, machine learning, mobile phones, robotics/AI, software
“Apple Inc. has purchased Emotient Inc., a startup that uses artificial-intelligence technology to read people’s emotions by analyzing facial expressions.”
Jan 7, 2016
An 18-inch video display you can roll up like a newspaper
Posted by Sean Brazell in category: futurism
(credit: LG)
LG is creating a buzz at CES with its concept demo of the world’s first display that can be rolled up like a newspaper.
LG says they’re aiming for 4K-quality 55-inch screens (the prototype resolution is 1,200 by 810 pixels), BBC reports.
Jan 7, 2016
New synthetic molecular prosthetic cell acts as AND gate for disease treatment
Posted by Sean Brazell in categories: biotech/medical, cyborgs, singularity
And the Singularity rolls ever on. And on.
“Cytokine converter” AND-gate synthetic-biology prosthesis used to treat psoriasis in mice. Top left: skin before; right: skin after. (credit: Lina Schukur et al./Science Translational Medicine)
An advanced “molecular prosthetic” — a cell with synthetic gene circuits that can be implanted into an organism to take over metabolic functions that the organism cannot perform itself — has been developed by ETH Zurich scientists.
Continue reading “New synthetic molecular prosthetic cell acts as AND gate for disease treatment” »
Jan 7, 2016
This fully autonomous drone taxi is your traffic-jam dream come true
Posted by Shailesh Prasad in category: robotics/AI
Yup, you read that headline right. A Chinese UAV company named Ehang just unveiled the world’s first autonomous flying taxi.
The plainly-named 184 drone is essentially a giant quadcopter designed to carry a single passenger — and it needs no pilot. Inside the cockpit, there are absolutely zero controls. No joystick, no steering wheel, no buttons, switches, or control panels — just a seat and a small tablet stand.
To fly it, the user simply hops in the cockpit, fires up the accompanying mobile app, and chooses a destination. From that point onward, you’re just along for the ride. The drone takes care of all the piloting and navigation autonomously — so you supposedly don’t need a pilot’s license to use it.
Jan 7, 2016
Facebook: The phone number is dying
Posted by Shailesh Prasad in category: mobile phones
Facebook Messenger now has 800 million monthly active users, and it’s a sign that phone numbers will soon disappear, the company says.
