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May 20, 2018

Urban Aero moves forward with innovative VTOL aircraft

Posted by in categories: innovation, transportation

The development of Israel-based Urban Aeronautics’ Cormorant prototype is well underway, with hopes of launching a full-scale development of the aircraft in the near future.

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May 20, 2018

A.I. could be the harbinger of a global socialist revolution

Posted by in categories: employment, robotics/AI

Artificial intelligence and automation stand poised to put millions out of work and make inequality even more pronounced. Is it possible to solve one problem with another?

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May 20, 2018

When Thoughts Control Machines

Posted by in categories: computing, entertainment, neuroscience

Efforts to connect human brains to computers have taken big leaps forward in recent years. Melding our minds with machines could provide the biggest single upgrade to human intelligence since our species evolved. But are we ready?

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May 20, 2018

This Is What It’s Like to Be a Space Rocket Launcher in Alaska

Posted by in category: futurism

After a massive explosion puts everything at risk, workers at Kodiak Island’s spaceport prepare to launch a new rocket into orbit.

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May 20, 2018

Interesting Space Photo

Posted by in category: space

IS CHINA’S SPACE LASER FOR REAL? IT’S NOT A DEATH STAR SUPER LASER. IT’S A SPACE BROOM.

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May 20, 2018

Google’s Selfish Ledger is an unsettling vision of Silicon Valley social engineering

Posted by in categories: business, futurism

Google has built a multibillion-dollar business out of knowing everything about its users. Now, a video produced within Google and obtained by The Verge offers a stunningly ambitious and unsettling look at how some at the company envision using that information in the future.

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May 19, 2018

The U.S. Army Is Turning to Robot Soldiers

Posted by in categories: military, robotics/AI

“Within five years, I have no doubt there will be robots in every Army formation.”


From the spears hurled by Romans to the missiles launched by fighter pilots, the weapons humans use to kill each other have always been subject to improvement. Militaries seek to make each one ever-more lethal and, in doing so, better protect the soldier who wields it. But in the next evolution of combat, the U.S. Army is heading down a path that may lead humans off the battlefield entirely.

Over the next few years, the Pentagon is poised to spend almost $1 billion for a range of robots designed to complement combat troops. Beyond scouting and explosives disposal, these new machines will sniff out hazardous chemicals or other agents, perform complex reconnaissance and even carry a soldier’s gear.

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May 19, 2018

Stunning helicopter footage shows Hawaii volcano’s fast-moving lava flow

Posted by in category: transportation

A lava flow on Kilauea was moving at the speed of 300 yards per hour on Saturday.

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May 19, 2018

What are plus codes?

Posted by in category: futurism

Are short codes for locations, for places that don’t have their own street address.

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May 19, 2018

Revolutionary 3D nanohybrid lithium-ion battery could allow for charging in just seconds

Posted by in categories: materials, nanotechnology

Left: Conventional composite battery design, with 2D stacked anode and cathode (black and red materials). Right: New 3D nanohybrid lithium-ion battery design, with multiple anodes and cathodes nanometers apart for high-speed charging. (credit: Cornell University)

Cornell University engineers have designed a revolutionary 3D lithium-ion battery that could be charged in just seconds.

In a conventional battery, the battery’s anode and cathode (the two sides of a battery connection) are stacked in separate columns (the black and red columns in the left illustration above). For the new design, the engineers instead used thousands of nanoscale (ultra-tiny) anodes and cathodes (shown in the illustration on the right above).

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