Lifeboat Foundation

https://youtube.com/watch?v=0W3f2YRhgQ4

After more than a decade away, Sony’s Aibo pet robot is making a return. The original dog-like robot launched in 1999, while Sony says its followup is “capable of forming an emotional bond with members of the household while providing them with love, affection, and the joy of nurturing and raising a companion.” Its OLED eyes allow for “nuanced” expressions as fisheye cameras see and recognize individual faces while new actuators allow its body to move smoothly along 22 axes. Pre-orders for the new robot begin tonight via Sony’s online store in Japan for 179,000 yen (about $1,739 US), with shipments scheduled to begin on January 11th.

Of course, because this is 2017, not only is the new Aibo powered by AI (that learns and develops a unique personality over time) but it’s also connected to the cloud. An Aibo Basic Plan subscription not only backs up your robot’s unique identity but also turns on the connection for owners to access their remote via WiFi or a mobile connection.

Continue reading “Sony’s new Aibo pet robot goes on sale tonight in Japan” »

Emergency Physician Joshua Broder realized his son’s Wii controller could detect movement than a $50,000 ultrasound machine. So he combined them.

NYC attack kills 8, injures 9; suspect in custody.

“This was an act of terror, and a particularly cowardly act of terror,” he said.

[Previous story, posted at 5:19 p.m. ET]

Continue reading “Truck attack in Manhattan kills 8; mayor calls it act of terror” »

Alzheimer’s may be contagious.

A protein might be capable of spreading Alzheimer’s through blood transfusions and surgical equipment, but we don’t know yet how much of a risk this is.

Take that, real bees.

If the processes powering the fusion reactor at the Sun’s core could be recreated on Earth, it would be one of the most important events in the history of our species. Nuclear fusion power plants could end our dependency on fossil fuels and provide a virtually limitless, highly efficient source of clean energy.

We went to two of the world’s leading nuclear fusion research centers—Sandia National Labs in New Mexico and General Fusion outside Vancouver—to see how close we are to bringing the power of the stars down to Earth.

Continue reading “The Race to Create a Star on Earth” »

Robots have become central to the cleaning-up operation at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant, six years after the tsunami that triggered the nuclear meltdown.

It is estimated that around 600 tonnes of toxic fuel may have leaked out of the reactor during the incident.

The Tokyo Electric Power Company is using a variety of robots to explore areas too dangerous for people to go near.

Continue reading “The robots helping to clear up Fukushima” »

‘It’s another tool in the toolbox’

Artificial intelligence is automating tasks in many domains. Do musicians have reason to worry?