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Jan 18, 2015

How Aldebaran Robotics Built Its Friendly Humanoid Robot, Pepper

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

By Erico Guizzo — IEEE Spectrum

The robot seems determined to put a bigger smile on the man’s face. “Are you smiling from the bottom of your heart?” it asks. The man chuckles. “That’s what I’m talking about,” the robot quips in a high-pitched voice. Then, just for good measure, it bows its plastic head and apologizes for being “too bossy to our CEO.”

The CEO is Masayoshi Son, founder and chairman of telecom giant SoftBank and Japan’s richest person. As such, he has overseen the development of hundreds of new products as part of a vast conglomerate of mobile-phone carriers, Internet ventures, and media companies. But last June, at a press conference outside Tokyo, Son climbed onstage to unveil a pet project: a humanoid robot named Pepper. Designed to be a companion in the home, it is the world’s first full-scale humanoid to be offered to consumers. In February, SoftBank plans to start selling it in Japan for 198,000 yen (less than US $2,000), plus a monthly subscription fee. Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn, known for building iPhones and iPads for Apple, will produce the robots.

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Jan 17, 2015

IBM Reveals Proof of Concept for Blockchain-Powered Internet of Things

Posted by in categories: big data, business, complex systems, computing, cryptocurrencies, disruptive technology, economics, futurism, information science, open access, open source, strategy

Quoted: “IBM has unveiled its proof of concept for ADEPT, a system developed in partnership with Samsung that uses elements of bitcoin’s underlying design to build a distributed network of devices – a decentralized Internet of Things. The ADEPT concept, or Autonomous Decentralized Peer-to-Peer Telemetry, taps blockchains to provide the backbone of the system, utilizing a mix of proof-of-work and proof-of-stake to secure transactions.”

Read the article here > http://www.coindesk.com/ibm-reveals-proof-concept-blockchain…et-things/

Jan 17, 2015

Can DNA Nanobots Successfully Treat Cancer Patients? First Human Trial Soon

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, nanotechnology

By –SingularityHUB

http://cdn.singularityhub.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/1000_genome_dna-1.jpg

“No, no it’s not science fiction; it’s already happening,” said Ido Bachelet to a somewhat incredulous audience member at a London event late last year. Bachelet, previously of Harvard’s Wyss Institute and faculty member at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University, is a leading figure in the field of DNA nanotechnology.

In a brief talk, Bachelet said DNA nanobots will soon be tried in a critically ill leukemia patient. The patient, who has been given roughly six months to live, will receive an injection of DNA nanobots designed to interact with and destroy leukemia cells—while causing virtually zero collateral damage in healthy tissue.

Continue reading “Can DNA Nanobots Successfully Treat Cancer Patients? First Human Trial Soon” »

Jan 16, 2015

Voxel8: The World’s First 3D Electronics Printer

Posted by in category: 3D printing

Voxel8

Voxel8 has created the world’s first 3D electronics printer from the ground-up. Novel conductive materials and 3D printing technology from the Lewis Research Group at Harvard University. New software crafted for the Voxel8 printer called Project Wire by Autodesk.

The Voxel8 printer truly allows you to combine electronics with novel mechanical forms. Visit voxel8.co for more information. What would you print?

http://www.voxel8.co/

Jan 16, 2015

These Thought-Controlled Robotic Arms Are Beating Paralysis and Amputation

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, robotics/AI

By –SingularityHUB

http://cdn.singularityhub.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/thought-controlled-robotic-arm-1000x400.jpg

In 2012, University of Pittsburgh researchers released a video of Jan Scheuermann feeding herself a bite of chocolate. This, of course, wouldn’t be noteworthy but for one thing: Scheuermann is paralyzed from the neck down. She fed herself that chocolate using a brain implant and thought-controlled robotic arm—and got a taste of freedom once unthinkable.

Scheuermann’s spinocerebellar degeneration left her unable to move her limbs over a decade ago. She leapt at the chance to take part in the University of Pittsburgh study investigating brain-computer interfaces. The study’s researchers are developing a system that reads and decodes brain activity, translating it into physical action in a robotic arm and hand.

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Jan 15, 2015

Elon Musk Donates $10 Million to Protect the World From AI

Posted by in categories: human trajectories, robotics/AI

By Jacob Kastrenakes — The Verge

Elon Musk is worried that AI will destroy humanity, and so he’s decided to donate $10 million toward research into how we can keep artificial intelligence safe. Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has previously expressed concern that something like what happens in The Terminator could happen in real life. He’s also said that AI is “potentially more dangerous than nukes.” The purpose of this donation is to both prevent that from happening and to ensure that AI is used for good and to benefit humanity.

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Jan 15, 2015

Who is FM2030?

Posted by in categories: lifeboat, science, transhumanism

FM 2030 was at various points in his life, an Iranian Olympic basketball player, a diplomat, a university teacher, and a corporate consultant. He developed his views on transhumanism in the 1960s and evolved them over the next thirty-something years. He was placed in cryonic suspension July 8th, 2000.

Jan 15, 2015

5 Mind-Bending Sights: Finally, The Future Is Starting To Look Like We Thought It Would

Posted by in category: futurism

By — SingularityHUB

2015—that just sounds like the future, right. But does it look like the future? Because, that’s the thing, right—we all know technology is advancing at exponential rates. We are making soaring progress in a host of whiz-bang fields. But other than Tokyo, Times Square and, sometimes, Las Vegas from the right angle, the future doesn’t yet look like we thought the future would look.

But that is starting to change. Over the past few months, we’ve started to get clearer and clearer looks at the world that’s coming. Here are five of my favorites sights of tomorrow already here today:

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Jan 14, 2015

The Eiffel Tower Experiment

Posted by in category: physics

You need a pocket mirror, a laser pointer and a counter. Then measure both the up-down time (or distance) and the down-up time (or distance). The two are different.

This means, taking light-radar as a reliable measuring device, that the two measured heights are different. As far as I know, the experiment has never been done in spite of its simplicity.

Why is it worth doing? This “V-Lambda” experiment can also be called “WM” experiment, with the two letters printed on top of each other. You then get XXXX. Very regularly, no shifts. That is, upper and lower time intervals interlock even though being different.

You can do the same experiment between earth and a neutron star (provided a mirror can be deposited on its surface). Then the two time intervals that interlock differ by a factor of about 2.

Continue reading “The Eiffel Tower Experiment” »

Jan 14, 2015

Have a World Changing Startup? Apply Now For Inaugural SU Labs Accelerator

Posted by in categories: education, singularity

By Singularity University

Learn about the Singularity University Labs Startup Accelerator here, and submit your application by January 23rd. Selected teams will be notified of their participation by February 14th. The inaugural class will convene March 23rd.

To change the world, it helps to have a good idea—but good ideas are a dime a dozen. The hard part is sharpening your idea and executing on it. It’s a long road from idea to execution, but how much time the trip takes depends on your speed.

Continue reading “Have a World Changing Startup? Apply Now For Inaugural SU Labs Accelerator” »