Cubli robot
Cubli is a cube-shaped robot made with off-the-shelf parts that can jump up, balance on a single corner and “walk” itself across a desk. (Video)
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‘The night I invented 3D printing’: Chuck Hull
Chuck Hull
Chuck Hull, a 74-year-old pioneering innovator is the man responsible for a breakthrough that’s now driving forward the world of manufacturing. He is executive vice president and chief technology officer of 3D Systems, a company built on his creation: the 3D printer. (Video)
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How contour crafting will change construction
Contour crafting
3D printing has incredible potential to overhauling manufacturing. The same principles could upend building construction too.
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3D acoustic cloak makes objects undetectable with sound
The geometry of the plastic sheets and placement of the holes interact with sound waves to make it (and objects beneath it) appear as if they are not there.
Duke University engineers have demonstrated the world’s first three-dimensional acoustic cloak using a few perforated sheets of plastic and extensive computation. The new device reroutes sound waves to create the impression that both the cloak and anything beneath it are not there. (Video)
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Controversy brews over use of autonomous killer robots in war
U.N. will begin to lay the groundwork for the role robots will play in war.
People are promised their quality of life will improve with the advances of technology, and what could be a better example of that than sending robots instead of humans into dangerous situations? Robots can help conduct research in deep oceans and harsh climates, or deliver food and medical supplies to disaster areas. (Video)
Continue reading… “Controversy brews over use of autonomous killer robots in war”
Preschoolers can outsmart college students: Study
Simple test of logic produces surprising win for 4 and 5-year-olds over college students.
A new study published in the journal, Cognition, finds that preschoolers can outsmart college students because they are less biased and more flexible than adults. The study put 170 college undergrads up against 106 four and five-year-olds in a test of learning and reasoning. (Video)
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A telescope bigger than a galaxy
Abell 2744 cluster
Astronomers have announced a view of the universe though a lens more than 500,000 light years wide, as part of a program called “Frontier Fields” to search for the first galaxies. (Video)
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Kuka robot plays table tennis world champion Timo Boll
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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Lunar space elevator planned by the end of 2019
By the end of 2019, Liftport has the goal establish an operational Lunar Space Elevator Infrastructure using:
- Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) Technology
- “Sputnik-like Simplicity”
- A Single Launch Solution
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Incredible video of a hawk attacking a water balloon in super slow motion
More and more incredible footage is getting captured of events our human brain would otherwise be unable to see in such detail due to the rise in popularity and drop in price of high speed cameras. (Video)
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How technology is helping the most helpless
As a new study from the University of Arizona about sex trafficking during the Super Bowl highlights, advances in data analysis are underpinning some powerful new ways of tackling very tough problems. Among all the stones hurled at the tech sector lately, this is an area in which it can take pride.
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Toro-bots: Walking robotic lamps reorganize garden landscapes
Toro-bots
No matter how pretty your garden may be it only gets that way because of all of the hard work you put into it. But, in the future gardens might not need your help at all, reordering themselves at a robotic whim. (Video)
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