But the technology for extinguishing species is dividing conservationists.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation plans to double the sum it is spending to create a mosquito-killing technology that relies on CRISPR gene editing.
Continue reading… “Bill Gates Doubles His Bet That Mosquitoes Will Be Wiped Out with Gene Editing”
Doctors at Oxford University made medical history recently by successfully completing the first robot-assisted intraocular surgery. Robert MacLaren, Professor of Ophthalmology at the university, and his team managed to gently peel off a 1/1000th millimeter membrane from the inside of a patient’s eye. To do so, the team relied on a cutting-edge medical device known as the Robotic Retinal Dissection Device, or R2D2.
Continue reading… “Robots perform surgery inside your eyeballs”
Within five years robots and so-called intelligent agents will eliminate many positions in customer service, trucking and taxi services, amounting to 6 percent of jobs, according to a Forrester report.
“By 2021, a disruptive tidal wave will begin,” said Brian Hopkins, VP at Forrester, in the report. “Solutions powered by AI/cognitive technology will displace jobs, with the biggest impact felt in transportation, logistics, customer service, and consumer services.”
Continue reading… “Report: AI will eliminate 6 percent of jobs in five years”
Show a human any photograph and they’ll able to predict what happens next with pretty decent accuracy. The woman riding her bike will keep on moving. The dog will catch the frisbee. The man is going to have a pratfall. And so on. It’s such a basic skill that we don’t consider the vast amount of information that is used to make these predictions — concerning gravity, inertia, the nature of pratfalls, etc. — and teaching computers to do the same is proving to be a key challenge in machine vision.
Continue reading… “The next trick for machine learning is generating videos from photos”
Controlling the minds of others from a distance has long been a favourite science fiction theme – but recent advances in genetics and neuroscience suggest that we might soon have that power for real.
Just over a decade ago, the bioengineer Karl Deisseroth and his colleagues at Stanford University published their paper on the optical control of the brain – now known as optogenetics – in which the firing pattern of neurons is controlled by light.
Continue reading… “Remote control of the brain is coming. How will it be used?”
An unmanned robotic speedboat dubbed ‘Bladerunner’ is being trialled by the Royal Navy in secret tests that could revolutionize maritime warfare.
The high-speed vessel, which will take to the River Thames in London today for tests, is designed to carry out surveillance operations and does not carry weapons.
Continue reading… “Navy tests unmanned ‘Bladerunner’ robotic speedboat”
When it comes to making the concept of delivery drones a reality, using vans to handle the brunt of the work is an idea that has some merit. We saw some researchers float the idea a couple of years ago and it now appears Mercedes-Benz also sees some potential in the approach. It has teamed up with drone company Matternet to create a concept vehicle dubbed the Vision Van which would deploy drones from its rooftop to carry packages over the final leg of their journey.
Continue reading… “Mercedes-Benz Vision Van concept sends drones to last-mile delivery”
As the sun set over the Olympic Mountains on a warm and muggy Sunday, I trekked from the manicured suburbia of Sammamish, Wash., to Seattle’s historic Fort Lawton district, where an eclectic home, known as the Bird House, sits among low-hanging branches at the end of a quiet street.
The Bird House belongs to musician Perry Emge, and on this day, he and his home were playing host to the SIXR Festival’s Summer 2016 Cinematic VR Challenge.
Continue reading… “Cinematic VR Challenge shows how Virtual Reality will transform film”
A startup called Innomdle Lab is developing a watch strap named Sgnl that will let you take calls by holding your finger to your ear.
The project is currently on Kickstarter, and has already amassed $211,000, blasting through its $50,000 goal in a matter of days.
Innomdle Lab is planning on shipping early-bird units sold on Kickstarter starting February 2017. The $99 early-bird option is already sold out, but there are still some early-bird packages still left starting at $109.
Continue reading… “You can now take phone calls with your finger like a secret agent”
“I’m looking for a hammer,” I tell a wheeled rectangle idling at a conference expo area in the San Francisco Union Square Hilton Hotel. The rectangle moves toward me, and I jump.
Fellow Robots CEO Marco Mascorro and chief information officer Thavidu Ranatunga tells me there’s nothing to worry about; it won’t crash into me. This particular display robot made by their Silicon Valley startup is programmed for Ranatunga to control with a remote, though in stores it will be autonomous.
Continue reading… “Ask This Customer Service Robot for a Hammer”
An end to arguments over the temperature of office air conditioning could be on the horizon after scientists invented a material which cools the body by 4F.
The new cloth reflects sunlight while also allowing heat radiating from a person’s body to escape.
Continue reading… “The end of air conditioning? Scientists develop clothing that cools the body .”
As Detroit car makers and Silicon Valley tech giants vie to bring driverless cars to U.S. roads, one of the world’s largest tractor makers is looking to do the same down on the farm.
Case IH, the agricultural-machinery unit of CNH Industrial NV, this week unveiled a sleek, aggressive-looking red-and-black machine at the annual Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa.
Continue reading… “Modern Farm Tractors Feature Everything But the Farmer”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.