Lifeboat Foundation

More broadly, there’s a paradox in all this, that reflects the overarching direction of contemporary robotics. As machines become more and more general-purpose, they’re also going to become much better at tailoring their behavior to different kinds of people—and even eventually to different individuals. Already, SoftBank’s Pepper robot, a humanoid designed to interactive with people, is billed as the first machine able to read human emotions. For people to accept robots as they increasingly work their way into various areas of our lives, robots will have to develop fairly sophisticated understanding of individual human needs.

“If an assistive robot tries to help you, how much help you want really depends on your personality and the situation,” Dragan says. That’s also why robots are in some cases changing form—some of the machines designed to care for humans, for example, will have soft, cuddly bodies rather than just hard metal exoskeletons.

“We’re going to have more and more capable robots,” Dragan told me. Which means when machines interact with people, we’ll be able to customize them depending on who’s around; or if humans are around at all.

Continue reading “Robots That Act Differently When You’re Around” »

Some fundamentals to consider when implementing online bots. It truly has to be for companies/ businesses a cultural, operating model, and business model fit. And, for consumers it is about your own personable fit. Not all bots are created equal meaning no one size fits all. Do your due diligence like you would on any investment as a business and any long term relationship as a consumer.

A version of this essay was originally published at Tech.pinions, a website dedicated to informed opinions, insight and perspective on the tech industry.

We’ve now had two major developer events in a row where chat bots were a significant theme, with both Microsoft’s Build and now Facebook’s F8 focusing on this rapidly emerging new form of interaction with companies and brands. With two such big names behind the trend, it’s easy to get caught up in the hype and enthusiasm these companies obviously share for the technology. But it’s important to stay grounded as we evaluate chat bots as a potential successor to today’s app model.

Continue reading “The Limits of Bots” »

Did you know that the brain functions differently in winter than it does in summertime? To discover how the brain functions in different seasons, read on.

They deserve it too.

X2 Biosystems has received the Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics (SBMT) 2016 Pioneer in Healthcare Technology Innovations Award for developing its next-generation head impact measurement sensor technology, the company said.

X2´s “X-Patch” wearable impact sensor has become widely deployed and tested head impact monitoring device, used in a continually expanding range of athletic activities from football (youth, high school, collegiate, pro) to hockey, soccer, lacrosse, rugby, Australian rules football, baseball, field hockey, wrestling, boxing, taekwondo, mixed martial arts, skiing and BMX cycling.

The X-Patch is also being actively evaluated for use in military training applications.

Continue reading “X2 Biosystems awarded” »

Ugh — this is not good at all.

The study found lower metabolism and smaller brain sizes amoung the group of study participants taking anticholinergic drugs.

Medication with anticholinergic effects include certain over-the-counter antihistamines and nighttime cold medicines, and prescription drugs for sleep aid and many chronic diseases such as hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

Continue reading “Hayfever drugs may shrink brain and raise dementia risk, warn scientists” »

Australia should go “Big Science” on addressing Cyber Security. I believe Australia is already making strides in Cyber Security with their own advancements in Quantum.

Australia’s Cyber Security Strategy, to be released this Thursday, will include an emphasis on research and development, as well as education. How might that unfold?

Regulation is not the immediate problem with autonomous cars. Example, is Google car has been deemed approved by existing regs. However, the issue is the broader public’s trust due to the various reports of hacking of connected cars such as the Nissan Leaf, etc. Until we put in place a more resilient net infrastructure such as Quantum; slow down will happen. I suggest GM to read the news more because everything that I stated has been well communicated in the news and research for the past 4 months.

GM Ventures president Lauckner believes regulation will not halt the advance of the autonomous car.

Nice

A new way of making these tough materials could be a key step in producing better airplane engines and long-lasting machine parts.

Continue reading “New 3D Printing Technique Makes Tougher Ceramics” »

The office today for some and near future for others.

Vodafone says collaboration and gaming will fuel future office design.

Young people coming into employment in the next five years will work in a virtual reality office in the future, according to Vodafone.

Continue reading “Meet your future workplace: AI bots, 3D printing and virtual reality” »