Tag: Technology

Impact Lab > Technology
Home Technology, Robotics, Robots

Welding Without Welders: The Smart Workcell That Doesn’t Need You

Welders used to rule the shop floor.

Their sparks were the signature of a skilled trade—equal parts craftsmanship, grit, and danger. But what happens when the torch passes to a machine that doesn’t sweat, doesn’t miss, and doesn’t complain?

This week, Cohesive Robotics answered that question loud and clear with the launch of its Smart Welding Robotic Workcell, a fully autonomous welding system that doesn’t just automate tasks—it replaces the art of welding with code, cameras, and algorithms.

Welcome to the new frontier of fabrication, where the welder’s helmet is traded for a machine-learning model, and experience is measured in training data—not decades on the job.

Continue reading… “Welding Without Welders: The Smart Workcell That Doesn’t Need You”
Brain, brain hacking, brain-computer interfaces

The Molecule That Fights Stroke—and Might Rewrite the Future of Brain Health

Imagine a drug that protects your brain six hours after a stroke. Now imagine that same molecule quietly holds the key to reversing Alzheimer’s and other neurological killers—without the usual side effects, without the heartbreak, and without the ticking clock.

That’s the promise behind GAI-17, a small molecular disruptor developed by researchers in Japan that may become one of the most important brain interventions of our time.

And no one saw it coming.

Continue reading… “The Molecule That Fights Stroke—and Might Rewrite the Future of Brain Health”
Architecture

Concrete Goes Blue: How Seaweed and AI Are Cracking Cement’s Dirtiest Secret

It’s hard to overstate the paradox of cement: it holds up our buildings, our bridges, our entire civilization—yet it also quietly poisons the process. Pound for pound, producing cement releases almost as much CO₂ as the material itself weighs. It’s an unavoidable chemistry problem baked into the modern world.

Until now.

A team of scientists at the University of Washington, working in partnership with Microsoft, has taken an unexpected detour through the ocean—and come back with powdered seaweed as a concrete additive that radically alters the equation.

This isn’t just a quirky material swap. It’s the beginning of a full-blown materials intelligence revolution—where biology meets AI to rewrite what we think infrastructure should be made of.

Continue reading… “Concrete Goes Blue: How Seaweed and AI Are Cracking Cement’s Dirtiest Secret”
AI, Apple, Artificial Intelligence

Unleash Your Creativity with This AI-Powered Video Transformation App

The use of AI-generated images has become increasingly accessible, with tools like DALL-E allowing users to easily create visuals from a basic prompt. While AI video generation is still in its early stages, a new app from AI startup Runway offers a glimpse into the technology’s potential.

The recently launched Runway ML iOS app enables users to transform existing videos from their photo gallery or captured on the app into entirely new videos using prompts, images, or presets. The app’s video-to-video technology, Gen-1, has been available for desktop use since February, and the app version streamlines the process, making it more accessible to users.

Although the results from Runway’s technology can sometimes appear warped or disfigured, it is important to keep in mind that unexpected outputs are common with generative AI, especially in the early stages of AI video generation.

Runway ML iOS app is free to download from the Apple App Store and already ranks 19th in the Photo & Video category. However, in-app purchases are available to access different subscription plans, which provide users with varying credit limits and features. The Free plan includes a limit of 125 credits and grants users three video projects with 720p video exports. The Standard plan costs $143.99 annually and provides 625 credits, unlimited video projects, watermark removals, 1080p exports, and additional features. The Pro plan, which costs $334.99, provides users with 2,250 credits per month, unlimited video projects, ProRes exports, 500GB of assets, and premium perks. The app also teases Runway’s Gen-2 text-to-video technology, which is “coming soon.”

By The ImpactLab

AI, Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence is not a technology

03799DBE-D1D5-445A-9681-393DC57F9A00

People have long dreamed of the idea of machines having the intelligence and capabilities of humans. From the early Greek myths of Hephaestus and his automatons to the Golem of Eastern European Jewish tradition to well over a hundred years of science fiction stories, novels and movies, our human imaginations have envisioned what it would be like to have sentient, intelligent, human-like machines co-exist with us. In 1920 Karel Čapek’s play R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots) first coined the word “robot” and gave us a name to give to the creations of our imaginations. In many ways, the quest for the intelligent machine lead to the development of the modern computer. Ideas by Alan Turing not only formulated the basis of programmable machines, but also the core of the concepts of artificial intelligence, with the namesake Turing Test providing a means for evaluating intelligent machines.

Continue reading… “Artificial Intelligence is not a technology”

Biotech, Future, new technology, Science & Technology News

A real-life company is implanting microchips in employees

After a semi-painless injection between the thumb and index finger, a microchip is implanted in another employee. A cyborg is now created, and this human/machine mashup runs off to buy a smoothie using his or her new sub-dermal implant.

If that sounds futuristic, it’s because we’re conditioned to this as a sort of science fiction trope: human gets implanted, its overlords are now in control. For a Swedish company, however, the practice of implanting microchips into its employees has become routine, popular even.

Continue reading… “A real-life company is implanting microchips in employees”

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

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

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, Analysis, Big Data, government, Intelligence, Military, Science & Technology News

The Data-Driven Transformation of Intelligence

When “little green men” invaded Crimea in early 2014, they left a data trail that went largely unnoticed by the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC).  Distracted by a large Russian exercise to the west, the IC did not connect the digital dots that indicated the impending invasion.  In the Information Age, the “dots” are more plentiful and glaring as everyone now leaves a data trail.  Given that, how can intelligence analysts better gather, share, organize, and view data to reveal intent, more accurately predict behavior, and make better decisions with limited resources?

Continue reading… “The Data-Driven Transformation of Intelligence”

Analysis, Artificial Intelligence, Big Problems, Business, Employment

Which 5 jobs will robots take first?

Robo Workers 8g5d

In 2012, Futurist Thomas Frey predicted that 2 billion jobs would disappear by 2030, roughly half of all jobs that exist today. Oxford University researchers reinforced this with their estimates that 47 percent of U.S. jobs could be automated within the next two decades. But which ones will robots take first?

First, we should define “robots” as technologies, such as machine learning algorithms running on purpose-built computer platforms, that have been trained to perform tasks that currently require humans to perform.

Continue reading… “Which 5 jobs will robots take first?”

Future, Plant Life, Science & Technology News

Scientists create cyborg rose

rose

Swedish scientists are taking the futuristic idea of plant cyborgs and making the leap from science fiction to real-world science. They have been working on ways to regulate plant growth, using electronic wires grown inside the plants own nutrient channels to host sensors and drug-delivery systems. The aim is to provide just the right amount of plant hormones at just the right time. Such efforts could provide even more precise human control over plant production and agriculture.

Continue reading… “Scientists create cyborg rose”

Analysis, Artificial Intelligence, New Inventions, new technology, Science & Technology News

Scientists create ANNABELL, an artificial system capable of learning human language

language

One of the most impressive complex cognitive processes is the ability to learn and creatively use language. It’s those processes that continue to set humans apart from even the most advanced machines. However, a team of scientists has now created an artificial system of neurons that is capable of learning words, phrases and syntax with no prior programming, thereby sustaining a dialog using processes that resemble mental actions.

Continue reading… “Scientists create ANNABELL, an artificial system capable of learning human language”

Discover the Hidden Patterns of Tomorrow with Futurist Thomas Frey
Unlock Your Potential, Ignite Your Success.

By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.

Learn More about this exciting program.