Archive for the 'Rise of the Machines' Category
DARPA Funded Cheetah Robot Treadmill Test at 28MPH
September 6th, 2012Via: BBC: Noel Sharkey, professor of artificial intelligence and robotics at the University of Sheffield, said the robot was “an incredible technical achievement, but it’s unfortunate that it’s going to be used to kill people”. Research Credit: jb
Estonia to Teach Programming in Schools from Age 6
September 5th, 2012Via: Geek.com: With the launch of the Raspberry Pi, computers are becoming affordable again for the younger generations. Now what we need is kids learning about computers in greater detail, including what the hardware is inside the box, and how to create rather than just use software. Estonia looks to be the pace setter in […]
Television Stations Could Start Using Drones To Cover News Stories
September 5th, 2012Via: CBS: A drone originally developed for military use could soon be used by television stations and journalists as a news-gathering device. The Schiebel Corporation’s Camcopter, which is used by the United Arab Emirates Army and the Germany Navy, could soon be used for broadcasting purposes, according to TV News Check. “To me, the potential […]
EU Funding Orwellian Artificial Intelligence Plan to Monitor Public for ‘Abnormal Behavior’
September 4th, 2012Via: Telegraph: A five-year research programme, called Project Indect, aims to develop computer programmes which act as “agents” to monitor and process information from web sites, discussion forums, file servers, peer-to-peer networks and even individual computers. Its main objectives include the “automatic detection of threats and abnormal behaviour or violence”. Project Indect, which received nearly […]
U.S. Flew Spy Drone Missions from Australia
September 3rd, 2012Via: ABC: The United States flew highly classified Global Hawk spy drone missions from the Royal Australian Air Force base at Edinburgh in South Australia from late 2001 until at least 2006. … Global Hawk’s American manufacturer, Northrop Grumman, provided civilian ground crews to service the drones at the RAAF base.
Simplicity Parenting
September 3rd, 2012Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids by Kim John Payne with Lisa M. Ross
Wal-Mart Tests iPhone App Checkout Feature
September 1st, 2012Wow! Bonus points to Wal-Mart for getting their own employees to test a system that will be used to lay them off. Via: Reuters: Wal-Mart Stores Inc is testing a system that would allow shoppers to scan items using their iPhones and then pay at a self-checkout counter, a move that could trim checkout times […]
Drones Over Britain
August 30th, 2012Via: BBC: This year the US Congress passed legislation giving US airspace regulator the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) until September 2015 to open up its airspace to drones, and Britain is expected to follow suit. The UK’s airspace regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), has told BBC Newsnight that large unmanned drones could be flying […]
Harvard: Researchers Grow Cyborg Tissues with Embedded Nanoelectronics
August 30th, 2012Via: Harvard Gazette: Harvard scientists have created a type of “cyborg” tissue for the first time by embedding a three-dimensional network of functional, biocompatible, nanoscale wires into engineered human tissues. As described in a paper published Aug. 26 in the journal Nature Materials, a research team led by Charles M. Lieber, the Mark Hyman Jr. […]
Gates Foundation Funds ‘Anti-Vaccine Surveillance and Alert System’ and ‘On-Demand Vaccine Delivery via Low-Cost Unmanned Aerial Vehicles’
August 29th, 2012Via: TechNet21: An anti-vaccine surveillance and alert system Seth Kalichman of the http://www.uconn.edu/ in the USA will establish an Internet-based global monitoring and rapid alert system for finding, analysing, and counteracting communication campaigns containing misinformation regarding vaccines to support global immunization efforts. … On-demand vaccine delivery via low-cost unmanned aerial vehicles George Barbastathis of the […]
