Science & Technology News – Page 349

Alternative Transportation, Aviation, Engineering, Inventions, Science & Technology News

A UK entrepreneur takes flight by attaching miniature jet engines to his limbs

April 19, 2017

A YouTube collection of grainy video clips highlights the progress Gravity founder Richard Browning has made toward his outlandish dream over the past year. Each seems more terrifying than the last, with multiple jet engines attached to his limbs in various configurations, as he hovers a few feet from the ground.

The press material attached to the announcement heralds the oil trader turned entrepreneur as a real life Iron Man, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that you’re watching some sort of backyard mad scientist, a few moments away from the world’s most dangerous Jack Ass stunt. Browning acknowledges how downright alarming the footage of the Daedelus rig appears, but shakes off any notion that he’s actually in danger at any point during the three-and-a-half minute package.

Continue reading… “A UK entrepreneur takes flight by attaching miniature jet engines to his limbs”

AI, Artificial Intelligence, Driverless vehicles, Economy, Engineering, Science & Technology News

Rolls-Royce charts course for autonomous shipping

April 18, 2017

The company has secured the grant from Tekes, the Finnish funding agency for innovation, which it plans to invest in an R&D centre in Turku, Finland.

Engineers at the site will carry out development projects focusing on land-based control centres and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in remote and autonomous shipping.

There is still very little AI or machine learning used in the maritime industry, according to Sauli Eloranta, head of innovation and technology at Rolls-Royce Marine.

Continue reading… “Rolls-Royce charts course for autonomous shipping”

Animals, Biotech, Engineering, Science & Technology News, Science Fiction

A New Brain-Interface Device Lets You Control Animals With Your Thoughts

April 21, 2017

TURTLES AND YOUR THOUGHTS

A team of researchers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have developed technology that allows them to control the movement of turtles using human thought.

Think of it as a real life — but significantly scaled down — application of the 2009 blockbuster Avatar concept where humans control the body of an alien by remotely transferring human consciousness into another biological body. The team uses a brain-computer interface (BCI) that helps translate brain waves into commands that guide or control the movement of the turtle.

Continue reading… “A New Brain-Interface Device Lets You Control Animals With Your Thoughts”

Biotech, Future, Futurist, Military, Science & Technology News, Wearables

These High-Tech Glasses Will Give You Superhuman Vision

April 18, 2017

TETRACHROMATIC SHADES

It can be impossible for humans to tell apart very similar colors. But, with a new pair of tetrachromatic glasses created by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, you can never again leave the house wearing two items of black clothing that don’t quite match.

These spectacles enhance the user’s existing color vision, affording them new power to discern more distinct shades. Once developed for practical applications, they could be used to spot camouflaged targets in the field or identify counterfeit money.

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Amazon.com, Analysis, Economy, Finance, Science & Technology News

BARCLAYS: Amazon is probably going to be one of the first ‘trillion-dollar’ companies (AMZN)

April 17, 2017

Amazon’s stock price has been on a tear over the last year, gaining 46%.

A Barclays equity research team led by Ross Sandler thinks that the party may just be getting started, initiating coverage of the stock with $1120 price target, or 29% upside.

In a flurry of notes released from their Internet & Media desk on March 29, Barclays picked Amazon as one of their favorites in the sector and made the case for the stock’s market cap to reach one trillion dollars.

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Analysis, Artificial Intelligence, Automobiles, Driverless cars, Driverless vehicles, Drone, drones, Employment, Robotics, Robots, Science & Technology News, Self-driving Cars

Domino’s has already outperformed every tech stock, now robots will deliver its pizzas

April 17, 2017

Over the last decade, the stock price of Domino’s Pizza has crushed that of Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook mainly because it stopped making pizza that tasted like cardboard. Now it’s innovating on the labor front with plans to test robots as substitutes for your friendly pizza delivery guy. “With our growth plans over the next five to 10 years, we simply won’t have enough delivery drivers if we do not look to add to our fleet through initiatives such as this,” Domino’s chief executive said in a statement announcing the pilot program.

Continue reading… “Domino’s has already outperformed every tech stock, now robots will deliver its pizzas”

Architecture, Artificial Intelligence, Engineering, Robotics, Robots, Science & Technology News

This bricklaying bot could be the architect of the future

April 17, 2017

If you want curves like this, you’ll need a robot. Designed by architects Archi-Union, the undulating exterior of the Chi She Gallery in Shanghai was made using an adapted car-manufacturing robot. “We used digital tools to transform geometry data to digital-fabrication data,” says Li Han, chief architectural designer at Archi-Union, who spent five years making the cyborg helper.

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3D Printer, cutting edge, Engineering, Future, Science & Technology News

MIT’s Color-changing Robot ‘skin’ Was Inspired by the Golden Tortoise Beetle

April 7, 2017

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created a 3D-printed robot “skin” capable of changing color according to the physical stimuli that it receives. The work was inspired by the so-called “goldbug,” a golden tortoise beetle, which changes color in the wild.

“I was googling online about two and a half years ago, looking for creatures that change their color, and found out about this beetle,” project leader, Subramanian Sundaram, an MIT graduate student in electrical engineering and computer science, told Digital Trends. “The golden tortoise beetle is incredibly interesting. One of the things it does is that, when it’s disturbed or scared, it drains out the fluid in its shell which is normally golden in color, but becomes a reddish-brown. I was interested by the idea that this beetle was able to respond to mechanical disturbances by changing the color and transparency of its outer shell. I thought we might be able to replicate that.”

Continue reading… “MIT’s Color-changing Robot ‘skin’ Was Inspired by the Golden Tortoise Beetle”

AI, Artificial Intelligence, Automobiles, Driverless cars, Driverless vehicles, Electric Automobile, Electric Vehicles, Engineering, Future, Futurist, Science & Technology News, Self-driving Cars, Tom Frey

The first self-driving car will debut in three years, but will you want to buy one?

April 10, 2017

Right now, you can head over to a local Volvo dealership and test drive a 2017 Volvo S90. With the push of a button, drivers can watch the car take over steering to stay within a lane, slow itself down in rush-hour traffic and accelerate — up to 80 mph — on the highway. It’s the first Volvo to include the second-generation Pilot Assist as a standard feature.

But, even equipped with radar and a 360-degree camera that can distinguish humans from deer, bicyclists and other cars, the $47,000 S90 sedan is not an autonomous vehicle. A driver must be in the seat and frequently touch the steering wheel. Otherwise, the car slows down.

Continue reading… “The first self-driving car will debut in three years, but will you want to buy one?”

Energy, Engineering, Nanotechnology, Robotics, Robots, Science & Technology News, Solar Energy, Solar Power

Scientists just made electronic skin that’s better than human skin

April 6, 2017

Scientists at the University of Glasgow have invented a robot skin that surpasses human flesh.

Professor Ravinder Dahiya and his team created a silicone and graphine skin which provides haptic feedback to the user. The thin layer of graphine acts as a sensor, making the electronic skin (e-skin) very sensitive to touch. It’s also flexible and cheap to manufacture.

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Augmented Reality, Game Development, Games, Science & Technology News, Virtual Reality, VR

Disney Researchers Catch a Real Ball in Virtual Reality

April 10, 2017

The resurgence of virtual reality is still in its infancy, and while we do have very good VR headsets such as the Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR, in other areas the tech is still severely lacking. Take interaction, for example, it’s very difficult to convey touching something in the virtual world with physical feedback. But what if you could interact with real world objects that appear in the virtual world?

Disney Research decided to carry out just such an experiment by asking the question: can you catch a real ball in virtual reality? The good news is, yes you can, but there’s a number of prerequisites to achieving such a simple task.

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3D Printer, Science & Technology News

3D printing is tackling what may be its biggest challenge yet: the humble book

April 6, 2017

Thirty-four years ago, Chuck Hull developed stereolithography, the grandfather of additive manufacturing systems that rests under the now broad umbrella of 3D printing. In the intervening years, thousands of people have poured their creativity and ingenuity into 3D-printed body parts, bridges, and even a car.

But Ron Arad, a London based Israeli Industrial designer, is taking on a seemingly more banal challenge. He’s 3D printing a book.

Continue reading… “3D printing is tackling what may be its biggest challenge yet: the humble book”