Year: 2014

Impact Lab > 2014
government, Science & Technology News, Weapons

South Korea launches its 5th 1,800 ton 214-class submarine

submarine

The submarine was named after famous independence fighter Yun Bong-gil (1908-1932).

South Korea has launched its fifth 1,800-ton-class attack submarine last week as part of efforts to boost its underwater warfare capabilities against North Korean submarines, the Navy said.The 214-class submarine, named after famous independence fighter Yun Bong-gil (1908-1932) and manufactured by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., will be delivered to the Navy in late 2015 and commissioned the next year, a Navy officer said.

 

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Analysis, Business, Money Talk

Lawrence Lessig’s Mayday smashes $5M crowdfunding goal

donations

Lawrence Lessig’s Mayday.us just raised a lot of money to help get the money out of politics by campaigning to elect five politicians who will enact campaign finance reform. Last week, the Super PAC hit its $5 million grassroots fundraising goal thanks to 47,000 supporters, which will be matched by $5 million in donations from wealthy tech luminaries.

 

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Science & Technology News

Chinese scientists unveil new ‘bioweapon’ to battle stench of public restrooms

AFHMM5

Chinese scientists say they can turn even the most putrid public lavatory into a sweet-smelling sanctuary.

Entering a public restroom in China can be a horrifying experience. In smaller cities, or the countryside, the sight of an open trench filled with excrement, coupled with a suffocating stench of sulphur and ammonia, is often enough to send even the bravest tourist whimpering back to their hotel.

Analysis, Business, Money Talk, Science & Technology News

RevolutionCredit wants to change the way credit scores are calculated

credit-scores

RevolutionCredit is using online finance crash courses to help lenders better determine a person’s creditworthiness.

Could a better credit score may soon be just be a few mouse clicks away? The current system of determining a person’s creditworthiness is “inadequate and insufficient” and is costing both consumers and creditors, said Zaydoon Munir, founder and CEO of RevolutionCredit.

 

 

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Analysis, Brain, Robots, Science & Technology News

Will killing robots with artificial brains be unethical in the future?

robot

In the future it’s possible we will be able to create artificially human brains that emulate a real human.

Imagine that in hundreds of years in the future it becomes possible to create an exact replica of any human brain on Earth. How should the copy be treated? Should scientists be allowed to experiment on it and, ultimately, put it down if it is no longer needed? After all, it is merely artificial intelligence (AI).

 

 

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Great Videos, Robots, Science & Technology News

Shadow’s robotic hand uses AI to grip any object

Dexterous-Hand-Light-Bulb

Shadow’s Dexterous Hand

It’s not easy to build a robot that can compete with that astounding piece of machinery called the human hand.  But the UK company Shadow has a solid contender. And while its robotic hands imitate nature, why keep nature’s limitations? Shadow’s Dexterous Hand “sees” the shape of the object approaching it to help it determine how to hold it. (Video)

 

 

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Architecture, Robots, Science & Technology News

The Landesgartenschau Exhibition Hall was built entirely by robots

Landesgartenschau Exhibition Hall

Landesgartenschau Exhibition Hall

As part of the ‘Robotics in Timber Construction’ research project at the University of Stuttgart, the peanut-shaped pavilion, Landesgartenschau Exhibition Hall, was created. Constructed entirely by a robotic prefab building system, it showcases the current developments and innovations in computational design and robotic fabrication for lightweight timber construction. (Video)

 

 

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Nanotechnology, Science & Technology News

Commercial nanotube transistors could be ready by 2020

nanotube

Each chip on this wafer has 10,000 nanotube transistors on it. 

For more than ten years, engineers have been worrying that they are running out of tricks for continuing to shrink silicon transistors. Intel’s latest chips have transistors with features as small as 14 nanometers, but it is unclear how the industry can keep scaling down silicon transistors much further or what might replace them.

 

 

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Human Behavior, Robots, Science & Technology News

Advances in emotional computing will give businesses an unfair advantage

pepper

Pepper will understand human emotions.

Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son announced last week they have developed an amazing new robot called Pepper. The most amazing feature isn’t that it will only cost $2,000, or that Pepper is intended to babysit your kids and work the registers at retail stores. What’s really remarkable is that Pepper is designed to understand and respond to human emotion.

 

 

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Alternative Transportation, Science & Technology News

SkyTran – an on-demand levitating monorail

skytran 1

SkyTran

There are many people who advocate for public transportation but there are also those who are accustomed to being able to move about in an individual manner with cars. However, a futuristic on-demand 500m monorail test loop being built at the Israel Aerospace Industry (IAI) campus in Lod, Israel combines the best of both worlds and might have you thinking differently about transit.

 

 

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