Archive for the 'Rise of the Machines' Category
Children Perceive Humanoid Robot as Emotional, Moral Being
April 6th, 2012I’m posting this more for its comedic value than because I think it’ll happen anytime soon. My four-year-old son, left to his own devices, would destroy that bot inside of ten minutes. His goal wouldn’t be to destroy it; he just wants to figure out what makes machines go. If he had access to screw […]
Google Begins Testing Its Augmented-Reality Glasses
April 5th, 2012Here we go… Via: New York Times: If you venture into a coffee shop in the coming months and see someone with a pair of futuristic glasses that look like a prop from “Star Trek,” don’t worry. It’s probably just a Google employee testing the company’s new augmented-reality glasses. On Wednesday, Google gave people a […]
U.S. Draws Up Plans for Nuclear Powered Drones
April 3rd, 2012Via: Guardian: American scientists have drawn up plans for a new generation of nuclear-powered drones capable of flying over remote regions of the world for months on end without refuelling. The blueprints for the new drones, which have been developed by Sandia National Laboratories – the US government’s principal nuclear research and development agency – […]
And Now… Degrees in ‘Drone Studies’
March 29th, 2012Via: The Daily: America’s newest college major may well be Drone Studies. Amid a worldwide boom in unmanned aerial vehicles, a handful of U.S. colleges have begun offering classes and even four-year degrees for students looking for jobs in the fast-growing field where even newcomers can earn six-figure salaries. Jeb Bailey, 28, who has taken […]
The Rise of the Machines, as Told by Workplace Safety Signs
March 29th, 2012Via: io9: Come the robot uprising, one of the first orders of business on the insurgents’ agenda will be to breathe life into the world’s most dangerous pre-existing mechanical equipment. Fortunately for those who like to plan ahead, the vast majority of today’s hazardous machines feature warning labels that clearly illustrate all the ways that […]
U.S. Could Fly Spy Drones from Australian Territory
March 28th, 2012Via: Chanel News Asia: Australia said Wednesday it may allow the United States to use its territory to operate long-range spy drones, as part of an increased US presence in the Asia-Pacific that has rankled China. Washington and Canberra could also reportedly station US aircraft carriers and nuclear-powered attack submarines in the western Australian city […]
Hitachi Surveillance System Can Recognize a Face From 36 Million Others in One Second
March 24th, 2012Via: Mashable: Face-recognition technology is rapidly evolving as evidenced by this new surveillance camera system. It can not only recognize specific faces, but is able to compare a single face to 36 million others in just one second. The system, made by Hitachi Kokusai Electric and reported by DigInfo TV, was shown at a security […]
The Pirate Bay to Fly ‘Server Drones’ to Avoid Law Enforcement
March 20th, 2012Via: U.S. News: The world’s largest and most resilient BitTorrent site plans to redefine “cloud computing” with a plan to move at least some of its servers onto unmanned drones miles above Sweden. In a Sunday blog post, The Pirate Bay announced new “Low Orbit Server Stations” that will house the site’s servers and files […]
Microsoft: Data Mining Your Digital Effluvia
March 18th, 2012People seem to be cracking up and looking for technological fixes to what amounts to mental illness that was caused by their technology in the first place. Here’s how Becky chronicles milestones and other pleasant moments with our children. She pastes photographs to sheets of paper and handwrites the details of what happened on the […]
Using Mobile Phone User Location Data for ‘Crowd (Soft) Control’
March 18th, 2012shewhomeasures.com: Via: PhysOrg: Eighty-eight percent of Americans now own a cell phone, forming a massive network that offers scientists a wealth of information and an infinite number of new applications. With the help of these phone users — and their devices’ cameras, audio recorders, and other features — researchers envision endless possibilities for gathering huge […]
