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Feb 5, 2016

Will Retail Stores Of The Future Be Run By Robots?

Posted by in categories: futurism, robotics/AI

Will Retail Stores of the future include robots as service/ floor reps & cashiers as reps — I believe so.


SoftBank gives preview Of robotic retail with Pepper, its humanoid robot.

Is our new tech-savvy customer base ready for robotic sales associates? Japanese tech firm SoftBank says yes, and offers its humanoid robot, Pepper, as an example.

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Feb 5, 2016

Strategies for Growing the Transhumanism Movement

Posted by in categories: existential risks, geopolitics, life extension, Ray Kurzweil, transhumanism

https://youtube.com/watch?v=MGbGVGgoSPo

An article on transhumanism in the Huff Post:


2016-02-05-1454642218-44797-futurecity.jpg
Future Transhumanist City — Image by Sam Howzit

Transhumanism–the international movement that aims to use science and technology to improve the human being–has been growing quickly in the last few years. Everywhere one looks, there seems to be more and more people embracing radical technology that is already dramatically changing lives. Ideas that seemed science fiction just a decade ago are now here.

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Feb 5, 2016

Robot Chef Serves Up the Future of Home Cooking

Posted by in categories: business, food, habitats, internet, robotics/AI

Moley Chef Robots reappearing again today across the web. These do hold a lot of opportunity for restaurant franchises as well as homes. However, AI in a business has a break even point before the investment is no longer a wise or sound investment.

Always step back and look at the bigger picture 1st (e.g. look at all costs & any risks/ liabilities). Look at initial purchase/ lease costs, any write off/ depreciation opportunities, know your customer & your brand (if your restaurant is because of your master chef then a robot is a line chef which you consider how much your spending on a line chef as well as replacing them v. a robotic chef), know your local food & safety regs. Never good to put in a series of robotic chefs and local ordinances and city committees pass restrictions that forces you to de-install your $60K robot after 1 or 2 yrs.

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Feb 5, 2016

The Iron Stepping Stones To Better Wearable Tech Without Semiconductors

Posted by in categories: computing, wearables

Q-Dots improving wearables.


Spreading out iron dots on nanotubes could help create better wearable tech that is both reliable and more flexible. The technology looks beyond semiconductors, says lead researcher Yoke Khin Yap, and could change how we construct transistors.

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Feb 5, 2016

Quantum Computers Are One Step Closer — Authorities Fear Their Power Could Be Used Disruptively

Posted by in categories: computing, quantum physics

Wow-glad folks are really beginning to understand the bigger gap that we’re all facing in the near future as we begin our Quantum Technology transformation. Last month I was asked as a futurist & NextGen Technology Disruptor what was my largest concern over the next 5 yrs and I responded the Quantum Gap that we all will be in as the Quantum Transformation begins it’s process among various countries.


Scientists in Finland have made an important breakthrough that brings us a step closer to building a quantum computer.

The team led by quantum physicist Mikko Möttönen succeeded in transporting heat 10,000 times further than ever before, with maximal effectiveness. Science Daily reported on the discovery today, saying that it “may lead to a giant leap in the development of quantum computers.”

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Feb 5, 2016

DARPA researchers to push limits of reading, writing brain neurons

Posted by in categories: law, neuroscience

DARPA is making great progress on their research on mapping and understanding the human brain. Recently they are working on a project that break’s Stevenson’s Law. Stevenson Law states that the number of neurons that can be recorded simultaneously will double every seven years, and currently sits at about 500 neurons; however, DARPA’s goal is to take it to 1 million neurons. Which means taking Brain-Mind Interface capabilities to a level where anyone or anything with this technology can outperform and control machines like we only dream about.


This week neuroscientists met with DARPA in Arlington, Virginia, to embark on a project breaking Stevenson’s Law.

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Feb 5, 2016

Joint Efforts by Iranian, Malaysian Scientists Produce Antibacterial Coatings for Isolated Areas

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, nanotechnology

Interesting — I need to check in this one a little more.


Abstract: Researchers from Iran and Malaysia designed a nanostructure based on carbon nanotubes with antibacterial properties to be used in public places, specially hospitals and clinics.

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Feb 5, 2016

Elon Musk has been seriously thinking about an electric jet

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, sustainability, transportation

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, speaking at the Hyperloop Pod Competition this week, said he has been thinking more and more about electric jets.

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Feb 5, 2016

This new soft robotic gripper can gently pick up objects of practically any shape

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, cyborgs, food, robotics/AI, space

Robots aren’t exactly known for their delicate touch, but soon, the stereotype of the non-gentle machine may change. Scientists say they have managed to develop a robot with “a new soft gripper” that makes use of a phenomenon known as electroadhesion — which is essentially the next best thing to giving robots opposable thumbs. According to EPFL scientists, these next-gen grippers can handle fragile objects no matter what their shape — everything from an egg to a water balloon to a piece of paper is fair game.

This latest advance in robotics, funded by NCCR Robotics, may allow machines to take on unprecedented roles. “This is the first time that electroadhesion and soft robotics have been combined together to grasp objects,” said Jun Shintake, a doctoral student at EPFL. Potential applications include handling food, capturing debris (both in space and at home), or even being integrated into prosthetic limbs.

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Feb 5, 2016

AltspaceVR Social Platform Launches On Samsung Gear VR

Posted by in category: virtual reality

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQtQGoMRXaI

Virtual reality can sometimes appear like it’s a pretty isolating platform. Visually, people experiencing VR certainly aren’t in the most approachable position and right now the tech is new enough that it rarely seems accessible to those who are vaguely curious.

That being said, there are plenty of companies succeeding in strengthening the social potential of VR. One of the coolest companies doing so, AltspaceVR, just became even more accessible today as it launched its mobile experience on Samsung Gear VR.

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