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I was able to demonstrate the Bebionic and its components while also hooking one of the students up to our small hand so they could get a taste of what it’s like to Bebionic. I also had the chance to demonstrate and speak on the importance of fitting patients with an ETD such as my Motion Control, Inc. from Fillauer to accompany the Bebion…ic hand.

We got to talk about the basic components of a myoelectric prosthesis as well as some of the advanced systems such as the Coapt Direct Control and Morph system from Infinite Biomedical Technologies, LLC. With all of the major advances in upper limb prosthetics in recent times it’s great to be part of this technology.

A big thanks to Wendy the program director and faculty for having me visit your program and for making me feel welcome. You have an amazing facility. I will be looking forward to revisiting the program this fall. Steeper Group Steeper USA.

Continue reading “It was nothing less than amazing speaking to the Masters Degree Program of Orthotics and Prosthetics at Eastern Michigan University today” | >

China plans to develop a prototype exascale computer by the end of the year, state media said on Tuesday, as it seeks to win a global race to be the first to build a machine capable of a billion, billion calculations per second.

If successful, the achievement would cement its place as a leading power in the world of supercomputing.

The Asian giant built the world’s fastest supercomputer, the Sunway TaihuLight machine, in June last year, which was twice as fast as the previous number one.

Continue reading “China making super, super computer” | >

China will launch a satellite this year to gather electromagnetic data which may be used in monitoring and forecasting earthquakes.

According to China’s earthquake administrative agencies on Tuesday, the satellite will be launched in the latter half of this year, Xinhua news agency reported.

Movements of the Earth’s crust generate electromagnetic radiation which can be observed from space.

Continue reading “China to Launch Satellite For Predicting Earthquakes” | >

A coalition of 13 organizations, including think tanks like TechFreedom and High Tech Forum, called on Congress to pass legislation that would loosen regulations on electronic cigarette manufacturers that took effect last year.

The rules were finalized by the Food and Drug Administration in May and went into effect in August. The groups are challenging the FDA’s “deeming rule” that requires e-cigarette makers to go through what the coalition considers to be a “lengthy and expensive” application process for products that were not on the market before Feb. 15, 2007.

“The FDA has reflexively applied the precautionary principle, giving more weight to theoretical concerns about problems that might arise rather than any concrete evidence of harm,” the organizations wrote in a letter Tuesday to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). “In doing so, the agency is depriving smokers of a demonstrably safer alternative out of pure speculation.”

Continue reading “Tech Groups Join Call for Congress to Ease FDA’s E-Cigarette Rules” | >

The proposal primarily budgets for the fact that emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning may mature to surpass human intelligence in the future. Robots’ ability to learn from experience and take independent decisions has made them suitable for human-like interaction with its environment. In future, if a robot commits a mistake or omits a task, authorities should be able to trace back to the manufacturer or owner to check if the robot could have avoided the harmful behaviour. Through this legislation, manufacturers and owners could be held accountable for the machine’s action.

Logic of legislation

While a framework to regulate robotics is essential, the need for one is ‘imminent’ and not ‘immediate’, believes Patrick Schwarzkopf, the head of one of the Germany’s largest industry associations. He said that legislation like this would be needed “in 50 years, but not in 10 years”. A legislative framework around self-driving cars is probably a more immediate need.

Continue reading “Call them ‘electronic persons’ because bots are people too” | >

Yikes!

If there’s an unavoidable accident in a self-driving car, who dies? This is the question researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) want you to answer in ‘Moral Machine.’

The simplistic website is sort of like the famed ‘Trolley Problem’ on steroids. If you’re unfamiliar, according to Wikipedia, the Trolley Problem is as follows:

There is a runaway trolley barreling down the railway tracks. Ahead, on the tracks, there are five people tied up and unable to move. The trolley is headed straight for them. You are standing some distance off in the train yard, next to a lever. If you pull this lever, the trolley will switch to a different set of tracks. However, you notice that there is one person on the side track. You have two options:

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Researchers at MIT have developed a method of altering 3D printed objects once printed. The technique involves using light in order to adapt the chemical structure of a 3D printed material. This allows the creation of more complex objects which could be molded together, softened, or even enlarged.

The university is a hub of 3D printing research. Recently announcement include their Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab creating the ‘photoshop for 3D printing’. The ‘Foundry’ software was developed in order to make use of 3D printing’s advanced capabilities over conventional manufacturing techniques. Also addressing 3D printing technology, MIT researchers looked at using 3D printing to investigate how graphene might create the strongest material ever.

The newly published paper is called ‘Living Additive Manufacturing: Transformation of Parent Gels into Diversely Functionalized Daughter Gels Made Possible by Visible Light Photoredox Catalysis’ and available in the ACS Central Science Journal.

Continue reading “MIT create adaptive 3D printing process using light” | >