Kuka robot plays table tennis world champion Timo Boll

kuka robot

Kuka Agilus robot

We expected a fair fight when robot maker Kuka announced that it would be pitting its Agilus robot against table tennis star Timo Boll last month. Conditioned professional human athlete against a cold, merciless, bright orange mechanical arm on a small wooden field, both wielding the same armament: a miniature bat. Boll was once ranked world number one, but Kuka claimed its robot was the quickest in the world. The Agilus was named for its lightning-fast movements, and would presumably be able to rapidly spin into position and return Boll’s balls from anywhere on the table. (Video)

 

 

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World Science U: Physicist Brian Greene’s new experiment in online science education

brian greene

Physicist Brian Greene

Companies and universities that run massive open online courses are struggling to prove their value. But Columbia University professor and physicist Brian Greene thinks he has a new and potentially more effective way to teach students online: World Science U, a science education platform that offers everything from two-minute educational videos to full-fledged university-level classes.

 

 

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China to deploy drones to control pollution

drones

Drones will freeze pollutants in midair with 176 pounds of chemicals.

China has decided to use drones on the front lines of its “war on pollution.” The drones will fire chemicals into the air, which will freeze pollutants and cause them to fall to the ground. Armed with 176 pounds of chemicals, which is expected to clear a five-kilometer radius, the drones will launch later this month.

 

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Why today’s digital publishers are creating print magazines

magazines

Digital publishers are creating magazines to supplement their websites.

It seems like a really bad time to start a magazine with circulation numbers sinking and print ad rates dipping just as fast. But digital publishers like Politico, Pitchfork and Pando are doing  just that: backwards-engineering their online publications for the physical page.

 

 

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Pew Research – Lifestyles of the Young and Restless

millennials

Millennials are detached from institutions, networked with friends.

The Millennial generation, now ranging in age from 18 to 33, is forging a distinctive path into adulthood. They are relatively unattached to organized politics and religion, linked by social media, burdened by debt, distrustful of people, in no rush to marry— and optimistic about the future.

 

 

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Researchers discover marijuana’s anxiety relief effects

coannabinoid receptors

The discovery of cannabinoid receptors may help explain why marijuana users say they take the drug mainly to reduce anxiety.

Researchers at Vanderbilt University have found cannabinoid receptors, through which marijuana exerts its effects, in a key emotional hub in the brain involved in regulating anxiety and the flight-or-fight response.

 

 

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Average U.S. adult spends 11 hours a day with electronic media

electronic media

Watching TV and listening to the radio are the top two digital activities in the average American adult’s day.

Fifty-eight percent of American adults own smartphones. Pair that with the fact that digital culture permeates almost every aspect of our lives, and we can already assume the average person spends a lot of time with gadgets.

 

 

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Millennials see financial institutions as irrelevant

monopoly-bank

Millennials are looking for ways to live bank-free in the future.

Scratch polled 10,000 millennials to find out which industry was most prime for disruption. The results from the poll found that banks make up four of their top 10 most hated brands, but millennials increasingly viewed these financial institutions as irrelevant.

 

 

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Spectrom: A device that allows desktop 3D printers to print in color for less than $100

spectrum

An item printed with the Spectrom device.

Full color printing is generally a privilege limited to professional and high-end consumer 3D printers, so the more casual user is likely stuck printing in one or two colors. But Cédric Kovacs-Johnson and Charles Haider, both chemical engineering undergraduates at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, say they have come up with a solution: a sub-$100 device that upgrades desktop 3D printers to print in a full rainbow of colors. They call it Spectrom.

 

 

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U.S. wind power accounts for 4% of energy for first time ever

wind farm

The wind energy industry started 2014 with a record 12GW of wind capacity under construction.

Wind power in the U.S. accounted for more than 4% of the energy on the grid last year. This is the first time this milestone has been breached. However, the distribution of wind power across states varied greatly, with some states well ahead of others.

 

 

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