Archive for the 'Rise of the Machines' Category
A Future for Drones: Automated Killing
September 20th, 2011Via: Washington Post: One afternoon last fall at Fort Benning, Ga., two model-size planes took off, climbed to 800 and 1,000 feet, and began criss-crossing the military base in search of an orange, green and blue tarp. The automated, unpiloted planes worked on their own, with no human guidance, no hand on any control. After […]
The $300 Million Cable That Will Save Traders Milliseconds
September 13th, 2011Now with more Flashcrash! Via: Telegraph: In the high-speed world of automated financial trading, milliseconds matter. So much so, in fact, that a saving of just six milliseconds in transmission time is all that is required to justify the laying of the first transatlantic communications cable for 10 years at a cost of more than […]
DARPA Researchers Rig Cyborg Beetles to Capture Energy That Powers Neuro Control Electronics
September 3rd, 2011The creature flaps its wings and generates power for the electronics that the remote operators use to control its flight. Sound familiar? Governments figured out this model long ago: Income tax, property tax, sales tax, fuel tax, fart tax, etc. They’ve got everyone coming and going, the system feeds on our activity through taxes and […]
AI vs. AI. Two Chatbots Talking to Each Other
August 31st, 2011HAHA. Isn’t it reassuring to know that these types of systems are trading stocks, bonds, currencies, commodities and derivatives millions of times per second? Never mind the killer robot applications… Have a nice day! Via: Cornell University / YouTube: Research Credit: jakdmsy
Kevin Slavin: How Algorithms Shape Our World
August 25th, 2011Via: TED: Kevin Slavin argues that we’re living in a world designed for — and increasingly controlled by — algorithms. In this riveting talk from TEDGlobal, he shows how these complex computer programs determine: espionage tactics, stock prices, movie scripts, and architecture. And he warns that we are writing code we can’t understand, with implications […]
MABEL: University of Michigan Demonstrates Running Bipedal Robot—Sort Of
August 16th, 2011This is from the description of the University of Michigan MABEL video on YouTube: In our opinion, this is the most realistic, human-like running achieved on a robot. Call me old fashioned, but most humans that I’ve seen running don’t require a boom to keep them from toppling over as they run. And they usually […]
Foxconn: 1 Million Robots in 3 Years
July 31st, 2011Via: Xinhua: Taiwanese technology giant Foxconn will replace some of its workers with 1 million robots in three years to cut rising labor expenses and improve efficiency, said Terry Gou, founder and chairman of the company, late Friday. The robots will be used to do simple and routine work such as spraying, welding and assembling […]
Scientists Think They’ve Figured Out The “Uncanny Valley”
July 27th, 2011Via: Digital Trends: Researchers from the university of California, San Diego, have discovered that a mismatch between movement and humanoid traits could be causing the uncanny valley effect, or the uneasiness we feel when we look at humanoid robots or CGI creations.
Automatic Butcherbot Debones 1,500 Whole Chickens Per Hour
July 11th, 2011Via: Popular Science: The fastest human butchers can fully debone about 150 chickens per hour. That’s a lot of chickens! But the new Mayekawa Automatic Chicken Deboner easily bests it, masterfully breaking down a whopping 1,500 chickens in the same amount of time–which, if our math is correct, is ten times faster than a flesh-and-blood […]
HULC Robotic Exoskeleton Undergoing Biomechanical Testing with U.S. Army
July 9th, 2011Future headline? ‘Resistance Fighters Use Smartphone to Cause U.S. Troops Wearing Exoskeletons to ‘Walk’ Off Tall Cliff’ They did it for the lulz. Via: Gizmag: Following lab evaluation tests, Lockheed Martin’s ruggedized HULC (Human Universal Load Carrier) robotic exoskeleton is now undergoing biomechanical testing at the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center […]
