There’s just not enough tech talent out there.
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Rethink Robotics co-founder and CTO, former CSAIL director and all-around robot luminary Rodney Brooks joined the Disrupt New York stage this afternoon to tackle some complex questions, ranging from robots place in the living room to the battlefield.
Brooks has a fair bit of experience in both categories, as a cofounder of iRobot, whose product offerings have ranging from vacuuming to bomb diffusion. And while his current company deals more in the realm of factory automation, a number of these ethical issues still clearly weigh heavily on the Australian roboticist.
It was a question about whether robots should be considered unfit for any human tasks that really caused Brooks to ponder their place in the world.
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Air Force Unmanned Fighter Jets
Posted in military, robotics/AI
Despite its Big Brother-ish nature, the rule was ostensibly enacted to improve safety as more and more drones take to the air. In his decision, Judge Kavanaugh noted that although the rule is unlawful, “aviation safety is obviously an important goal, and the Registration Rule may well help further that goal to some degree.”
The FAA said on Friday that it is reviewing the court decision, but did not immediately announce whether it would appeal.
“The FAA put registration and operational regulations in place to ensure that drones are operated in a way that is safe and does not pose security and privacy threats,” the agency said in a statement. “We are in the process of considering our options and response to the decision.”
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Toyota has its sights set on a Blade Runner future as the Japanese automaker backs a move to launch a flying car in time for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The company is giving about 42.5 million yen ($375,000) to the Cartivator project, which is developing the three-wheeled sci-fi car that relies on drone technology to take flight.
The manned vehicle, dubbed SkyDrive, will have four sets of propellors and — at 2.9 metres (9.5 foot) long and 1.3 metres wide — is aiming to be the world’s smallest flying car, according to the project.
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A major new breakthrough in jet propulsion technology could revolutionize the aerospace industry, paving the way for plasma jet engines that could carry a craft to the edge of space using only air and electricity.
Berkant Göksel, the lead researcher in a new study by the Technical University of Berlin, says his team have successfully completed tests on plasma engines that could take future aircrafts to altitudes of 30 miles (50km) and beyond.
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I’m talking #transhumanism, liberty, the Immortality Bus, politics, and overcoming death w/ science. I’ll be making a tribute to my recently deceased father too. There will be a Q & A after. http://sched.co/AGbE & https://moogfest2017.sched.com/artist/info6094
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The truck also offers “major environmental upsides,” Volvo said, since “gear changing, steering and speed are constantly optimized for low fuel consumption and emissions.”
Volvo plans to test the autonomous truck with Renova through the end of the year.
“There is amazing potential to transform the swift pace of technical developments in automation into practical benefits for customers and, more broadly, society in general,” Stenqvist said. “Our self-driving refuse truck is leading the way in this field globally, and one of several exciting autonomous innovations we are working with right now.”
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