Archive for the ‘robotics/AI’ category: Page 658
Oct 6, 2016
Project Originally Funded By DARPA Seeks To Replace Bees With Tiny, Winged Robots
Posted by Karen Hurst in categories: drones, food, information science, internet, military, mobile phones, robotics/AI, transhumanism
Got a bee shortage? No problem, DARPA has you covered.
Following the news that the honeybee is now officially an endangered species as “colony collapse disorder” accelerates, it seems that a Harvard research team has the solution – robotic honeybees. Instead of attempting to save the bees by reducing the use of pesticides or revising safety standards for cell phone radiation, the focus has shifted to replacing the bees altogether. Harvard University researchers, led by engineering professor Robert Wood have been tweaking “RoboBees” since their initial introduction in 2009. The bee-sized robots made of titanium and plastic represent a breakthrough in the field of micro-aerial vehicles. The size of the components needed to create flying robots were previously too heavy to make a such a small structure lightweight enough to achieve flight. Current models weigh only 80 mg and have been fitted with sensors that detect light and wind velocity.
Researchers claim that the bees could artificially pollinate entire fields of crops and will soon be able to be programmed to live in an artificial hive, coordinate algorithms and communicate among themselves about methods of pollination and the locations of particular crops. In addition, RoboBees have been suggested for other uses including searching disaster sites for survivors, monitoring traffic, and “military and police applications.” These applications could include using RoboBees to “scout for insurgents” on battlefields abroad or allowing police and SWAT teams to use the micro-robots to gather footage inside buildings.
Oct 6, 2016
Tech billionaires convinced we live in the Matrix are secretly funding scientists to help break us out of it
Posted by Andreas Matt in categories: computing, robotics/AI
Some of the world’s richest and most powerful people are convinced that we are living in a computer simulation. And now they’re trying to do something about it.
At least two of Silicon Valley’s tech billionaires are pouring money into efforts to break humans out of the simulation that they believe that it is living in, according to a new report.
Philosophers have long been concerned about how we can know that our world isn’t just a very believable simulation of a real one. But concern about that has become ever more active in recent years, as computers and artificial intelligence have advanced.
Oct 6, 2016
When her best friend died, she used artificial intelligence to keep talking to him
Posted by Albert Sanchez in categories: computing, robotics/AI
When the engineers had at last finished their work, Eugenia Kuyda opened a console on her laptop and began to type.
“Roman,” she wrote. “This is your digital monument.”
It had been three months since Roman Mazurenko, Kuyda’s closest friend, had died. Kuyda had spent that time gathering up his old text messages, setting aside the ones that felt too personal, and feeding the rest into a neural network built by developers at her artificial intelligence startup. She had struggled with whether she was doing the right thing by bringing him back this way. At times it had even given her nightmares. But ever since Mazurenko’s death, Kuyda had wanted one more chance to speak with him.
Oct 6, 2016
Robots will build spacecraft in orbit
Posted by Klaus Baldauf in categories: robotics/AI, satellites, solar power, sustainability
Oct 6, 2016
Meet the 2016 presidential candidate who believes humans will eventually live forever
Posted by Zoltan Istvan in categories: cyborgs, economics, geopolitics, governance, law, life extension, robotics/AI, transhumanism
Circa News, a millennial site, did a story on transhumanism and my campaign. There are 3 videos embedded into this article (a general one on transhumanism, one on using tech to help the environment, and one on a Universal Basic Income):
WATCH | Zoltan Istvan thinks all sentient beings — including, but not limited to humans, artificial intelligence and cyborgs — have the right to be immortal. And that right should be protected under law.
Which is why, naturally, he decided to run for president of the United States.
Oct 5, 2016
New Shock-Absorbing Material Could Help Robots Take a Real Beating
Posted by Karen Hurst in categories: materials, robotics/AI
The technique involves embedding different levels of solid and liquid in order to customize the elasticity. Adding more liquid makes the material softer and more elastic. This technique allows the printer to exactly customize the elasticity of the print, and even of different areas within the print.
These programmable materials can help reduce wear and tear on moving parts by damping shocks and reducing vibrations. They can also help make robots easier to control by making movements more precise. This method could even have other applications such as in shock-absorbing running shoes and headgear.
Source: MIT News
Continue reading “New Shock-Absorbing Material Could Help Robots Take a Real Beating” »
Oct 5, 2016
DARPA chief Arati Prabhakar on self-driving ships, space travel, IoT, genetics, and more
Posted by Karen Hurst in categories: cybercrime/malcode, genetics, internet, robotics/AI, space travel
The Internet of Things so widely predicted as the Next Big Thing in computing is full of promise but presents a correspondingly large vulnerability to cyber attacks, said Arati Prabhakar, director of DARPA, at the 2016 GeekWire Summit in Seattle today.
IoT offers “a huge value, but then with every advance comes more attack surface,” said Prabhakar during an interview with Alan Boyle, GeekWire’s aerospace and science editor. “Provably secure embedded systems is part of the answer.”
