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Jan 7, 2016

Meet the Man With a Thought-Controlled Robotic Arm

Posted by 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)

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Jan 7, 2016

Time’s (Almost) Reversible Arrow

Posted by in category: cosmology

A very well done essay by Frank Wilczek about axions, their motivations, their candidacy for dark matter job, and their experimental status.

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Jan 7, 2016

Planetary Resources & 3D Systems Reveal First Ever 3D Printed Object from Asteroid Metals

Posted by 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.

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Jan 7, 2016

Apple Buys Artificial-Intelligence Startup Emollient — By Rolfe Winkler, et al | The Wall Street Journal

Posted by in categories: computing, electronics, machine learning, mobile phones, robotics/AI, software

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“Apple Inc. has purchased Emotient Inc., a startup that uses artificial-intelligence technology to read people’s emotions by analyzing facial expressions.”

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Jan 7, 2016

An 18-inch video display you can roll up like a newspaper

Posted by 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.

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Jan 7, 2016

New synthetic molecular prosthetic cell acts as AND gate for disease treatment

Posted by 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 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.

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Jan 7, 2016

Facebook: The phone number is dying

Posted by 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.

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Jan 7, 2016

Self-Driving Cars Will Be on Our Roads Much Sooner than Anticipated

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, transportation

When will autonomous cars actually be on our roads? It seems that the date is far closer than anticipated.

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Jan 7, 2016

ili Wearable Translator

Posted by in categories: innovation, wearables

Japanese company creates innovative new translation product. Decides to market it using the most cringeworthy video possible.

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