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Category: cyborgs – Page 86

Op-ed

The last two decades have seen a great upswing in commercial space endeavors with hundreds of new companies formed and a few prominent billionaires entering the fray. This is all good, but it remains devilishly hard to make money in space without tapping into government space markets. Nevertheless, I’m a firm believer that the commercialization of space is absolutely essential for the growth of the space economy and achieving all of the goals we espouse for human activities in space.

So, what do I mean by commercial space? This has been a great topic of debate ever since NASA initiated the commercial cargo and commercial crew programs. There are many definitions and which is appropriate depends on the context. The real distinction is between the public sector and the private sector. Any given space activity can include a mixture of both elements. The purest form of commercial activity takes place entirely within the private sector. It is performed by private-sector companies for the benefit of private-sector customers using private-sector capital. Something like Direct TV would be an example.

At the other end of the spectrum is a pure public-sector activity where the activity is performed entirely by public-sector agencies using public-sector employees, entirely funded by public funds for a public purpose. An example would be SLS, but even it is not purely public as several private sector companies are employed. In between are all manner of hybrids involving a mix of investment funds, executing entities and customers.

Skin-deep microchips pave the way for ‘transhumanism’

Last year, the Japan Transhumanist Association, a general incorporated group that aims to promote transhumanism in Japan, used Twitter to solicit volunteers for free chip implants. More than 20,000 people applied, and 20 are currently being prepared for the procedure.

With microchip implants, humankind has taken a step toward what future-minded experts predict will be a world filled with cyborgs, but Japan lags behind other countries in this regard.

The microchips inserted under the skin are currently limited to such tasks as opening doors and paying for small items, like drinks.

However, Yuichiro Okamoto, a professor of philosophy at Tamagawa University who is well-versed on the ideological background of science and technology, says the implants are just the beginning of “transhumanism,” the theory that science can allow humans to evolve beyond their current physical and mental limitations.

Bugatti uses SLM Solutions additive manufacturing systems in component production

Sports car maker Bugatti (Molsheim, France) used SLM Solutions’ (Lübeck, Germany) metal additive manufacturing technology to produce automotive components. The components were manufactured in the aerospace alloy Ti6Al4V in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Additive Manufacturing Technologies (Fraunhofer IAPT; Hamburg, Germany) and Bionic Production (Lüneburg, Germany) on a SLM 500 selective laser melting system featuring four 400 W lasers.

A caliper test showed that additively produced metal components can cope with extreme strength, stiffness, and temperature requirements at speeds of over 375 km/h with a braking force of 1.35 g and brake disc temperatures up to 1100°C, says Frank Götzke, Head of New Technologies at Bugatti. The test also showed that a tensile strength of 1250 N/mm and a material density over 99.7% was achieved.

Transhumanism, the Lazy Way to Human ‘Improvement’

Well, Wesley J Smith just did another hit piece against Transhumanism. https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/transhumanism-the-lazy…provement/

It’s full of his usual horrible attempts to justify his intelligent design roots while trying to tell people he doesn’t have any religious reasons for it. But, then again, what can you expect from something from the National Review.

Sometimes you have to laugh. In “Transhumanism and the Death of Human Exceptionalism,” published in Aero, Peter Clarke quotes criticism I leveled against transhumanism from a piece I wrote entitled, “The Transhumanist Bill of Wrongs” From my piece:

Transhumanism would shatter human exceptionalism. The moral philosophy of the West holds that each human being is possessed of natural rights that adhere solely and merely because we are human. But transhumanists yearn to remake humanity in their own image—including as cyborgs, group personalities residing in the Internet Cloud, or AI-controlled machines.

That requires denigrating natural man as exceptional to justify our substantial deconstruction and redesign. Thus, rather than view human beings as exclusive rights-bearers, the [Transhumanist Bill of Rights] would grant rights to all “sentient entities,” a category that includes both the biological and mechanical.

Artificial muscles for robots could be made by spider silk, finds study

Spider silk, which is tougher than steel, could be used as artificial muscles for robots, research finds.

Spider silk, already known as one of the strongest materials for its weight, can be used to create artificial muscles or robotic actuators, scientists say.

According to researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US, the resilient fibres respond very strongly to changes in humidity.


Prospects for Bioinspired Single-Photon Detection Using Nanotube-Chromophore Hybrids

The human eye is an exquisite photodetection system with the ability to detect single photons. The process of vision is initiated by single-photon absorption in the molecule retinal, triggering a cascade of complex chemical processes that eventually lead to the generation of an electrical impulse. Here, we analyze the single-photon detection prospects for an architecture inspired by the human eye: field-effect transistors employing carbon nanotubes functionalized with chromophores. We employ non-equilibrium quantum transport simulations of realistic devices to reveal device response upon absorption of a single photon. We establish the parameters that determine the strength of the response such as the magnitude and orientation of molecular dipole(s), as well as the arrangements of chromophores on carbon nanotubes. Moreover, we show that functionalization of a single nanotube with multiple chromophores allows for number resolution, whereby the number of photons in an incoming light packet can be determined. Finally, we assess the performance prospects by calculating the dark count rate, and we identify the most promising architectures and regimes of operation.

Solar Powered E-Skin for Prosthetic Limbs

Recently University of Glasgow developed a Graphene based E-Skin for prosthetic limbs. The research started with making a prosthetic arm that could sense even the minutest of pressure for gripping soft objects. It eventually yielded a prosthetic limb that was also self powering.

This was because of the development of Graphene based supercapacitors.

Graphene is now being explored for wearable electronics and health pathes because of its flexibility and ability to pick the smallest of signals.

A prosthetic that restores the sense of where your hand is

Researchers have developed a next-generation bionic hand that allows amputees to regain their proprioception. The results of the study, which have been published in Science Robotics, are the culmination of ten years of robotics research.

The next-generation bionic hand, developed by researchers from EPFL, the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa and the A. Gemelli University Polyclinic in Rome, enables amputees to regain a very subtle, close-to-natural sense of touch. The scientists managed to reproduce the feeling of proprioception, which is our brain’s capacity to instantly and accurately sense the position of our limbs during and after movement – even in the dark or with our eyes closed.

The new device allows to reach out for an object on a table and to ascertain an item’s consistency, shape, position and size without having to look at it. The prosthesis has been successfully tested on several patients and works by stimulating the nerves in the ’s stump. The nerves can then provide to the patients in real time – almost like they do in a natural hand.