Gizmodo
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robots
DARPA Stops Trying Not to Be Terrifying, Funds Chainsaw-Wielding, Flesh-Eating Robot
You don't have to be tinfoil underwear type to get uneasy about some of the bizarre projects that DARPA throws its weight behind. But the organic matter-consuming EATR robot? Oh. God. More »
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By John HerrmanComment by 3DaysTillTheState_GitEmSteveDave: While I have a picture of my lovely assistant wearing a Velo-stat hat, sadly I don't have any in velo-stat... 7 Responses | Other threads
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computers
Intel's Platform Power Management: Like Milliscond Power Naps for Your Entire Computer
Intel Research showed me a demo of their Platform Power Management system. Essentially, they're applying the smart, quick, hardware level idling you find on a CPU to many system parts. The result: systems that idle at 10x less juice. More »
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By Brian LamComment by philibuster: Can you explain the difference between the first and second screen caps? 7 Responses | Other threads
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wireless
Wireless Resonating Power from Intel Research
Intel researchers are working on wireless power that doesn't use a conductive pad. Instead, it uses magnets and a tuned directional transfer coil to send music from an iPod a couple of feet to a speaker. Saw it. It works! More »
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By Brian LamComment by Matt0505: I honestly couldn't care less about this story, I just wanted to post somewhere about how I see that Gizmodo... 20 Responses | Other threads
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cars
ZMP RoboCar Helps Scientists Research Automotive Autonomy, Adorability
In the future, when your car can drive itself, you may well have this little guy to thank. Alternatively, when it gains sentience, bitterly plots against its owner and drives you into a wall, RoboCar will sit, watch and laugh. More »
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By John HerrmanComment by Grendel: I wish scientists would focus on trying to find an alternative fuel for cars or transportation in general BEFORE trying... 5 Responses | Other threads
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future tech
Scientists Discover Superconducting Material That's Just Two Atoms Thick
University of Texas researchers stumbled upon a new superconducting metal that is the world's thinnest at a mere two atoms—slightly thicker than a marathon runner by comparison. More »
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Comment by Justus Paiewonsky: It baffles me that you guys couldn't even name the metal in your post. For the curious, like myself, it happens... 6 Responses | Other threads
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robots
A Sushi Chef for a Post Robot Apocalyptic World
Something about a robot-operated dismembered hand placing raw fish on my plate just sounds...yummy! More »
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By Mark WilsonComment by OMG! Ponies!: Meh. My Armitron has been employed at a Benihana's in Great Neck for the last 9 years and my... 5 Responses | Other threads
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science
Obama Pledges 3%+ of GDP—as Much as Defense Spending—to Scientific Research
This morning, Obama made a huge pledge to focus more money on scientific research—more than the US spent during the space race. In fact, it's almost as much as we spend on defense. More »
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By Adam FrucciComment by Justin Reich: What about people who are fans of new technologies developed in the United States, but don't want all the taxpayers... 35 Responses | Other threads
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going green
Somniloquy Lets Your Computer Download Files In Its Sleep
Usually, when us modern, sensitive, environmentally-conscious types leave the computer on all night, it's because we're downloading something sizable. But what if our computers could handle that task while in sleep mode, thus saving energy? More »
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By Dan NosowitzComment by 3DaysTillTheState_GitEmSteveDave: I would love to put my computers to sleep. Sadly, until I get some IP cams, I need at... 6 Responses | Other threads
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gaming
The WoW Pod Brings Porta-Potties to Azeroth
The saddest part about the WoW Pod isn't the guy eating, crapping and playing WoW inside. It's that an MIT Council for the Arts grant made it happen. More »
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By Mark WilsonComment by gadam07: There's actually a toilet in it? That's terrible. They should at least provide a curtain for privacy, in that case. 4 Responses | Other threads
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robots
Flying Microbot Gives Wings to Imminent Doomsday Scenario
Researchers at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, seemingly oblivious to the fact that technology is exponentially outpacing our ability to keep up with it, have created a new breed of levitating micro-machines. More » -
blackberry
BlackBerry is the Smartphone of Choice for Gangs and Criminals
Society's bad eggs are increasingly turning to the use of BlackBerry devices to skirt detection from law enforcement. Authorities report they have trouble intercepting illicit emails and conversations because of the relatively secure BlackBerry Enterprise Server. More » -
robots
Soft Robotics Offer the Automatons Yet Another Way to Take Over the Earth
Between this post about "soft robots," those nanotube muscles we talked about earlier this week, and the last scene of Battlestar Galactica, I have no doubt that our future is very robotic indeed. More »
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By Jack LoftusComment by CoolRiver45: I can already see the future applications of this technology in sex therapy for the aging population. It may be... 7 Responses | Other threads
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keyboard cracking
Researchers Decipher Keyboard Typing from Thin Air
As long as someone isn't looking over your shoulder and your computer is free from keylogging software, what you type should be pretty safe...or it was, until researchers learned to read your keyboard's electromagnetic radiation. More »
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By Mark WilsonComment by Hypercollider: Something like this is described in Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon... Worth the read. It's a novel by the way, not a... 11 Responses | Other threads
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nanotech
Nanopiezoelectric Jacket Harnesses Power From Hamster Movement
Nanopiezoelectric research hopes to pull tiny amounts of power from minuscule movements, like breathing. Now, Georgia Tech researchers have made a nanopiezoelectric jacket for hamsters that successfully generates .1 volts of electricity. More » -
microsoft
Microsoft's Vision For the Future Gives Me Hope For Humanity
Microsoft's five minute video on what the year 2019 will look like is pretty goddamn amazing. I want to live in this world. GIVE IT TO ME NOW. More »
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By Jason ChenComment by beekerstudios: I won't trust M$ with my life, with the brazillion(sic) security holes I can see in that video, if I... 19 Responses | Other threads
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dream recorder
New Technology Could Display Your Dreams on Screen
A research team at the ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories in Japan has successfully displayed simple images produced in the human brain on a computer screen. Dream recorder anyone? More »
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By Sean FallonComment by Jrsy Devil's Food Cake®: "What do you think? Would that be awesome or scary as hell?" I think I'm going to have to say the... 14 Responses | Other threads
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wireless power
Intel Developing Power Harvesting for Personal Devices, Could See It in as Little as Two Years
At a summit today in San Francisco, Intel CTO Justin Rattner discussed some of Intel's R&D plans on creating components that were more self-sufficient, eco-friendly and helpful in the fight against global warming. More » -
it's alive
DNA Strands Converted Into Tiniest Fiber Optic Cables For Optical Computing
Future optical computers that use light instead of electricity will need nano-scale pipes to transfer photons—analogues to the individual transistor's in a traditional circuit. And for that, scientists for the first time have used human DNA to build the smallest fiber optics cables yet created. And as is typical with organic computers, said cables are capable of assembling themselves. More »
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By John MahoneyComment by Nintenboy01: Oh noez! Super-intelligent organic computers? With human DNA no less?I can imagine that in less than 50 years the world... 5 Responses | Other threads
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robot speech
Waseda Talker Robot Tries to Speak Like Humans, Sounds Like A Cow
This weird looking chap is the Waseda Talker-7 robot, and it makes those strange vowel sounds not through a loudspeaker, but a biomechanical simulation of the way we humans speak. To that end, it's got a 19 degrees-of-freedom motorized system that replicates lungs, vocal cords, tongue, lips: basically the whole deal. Most interestingly, Takanishi labs wants to use the tech not for a speaking robot, but to build it into a cellphone for high-compression speech synthesis. And that makes me look forward to the day my cell can blow a raspberry at me. [BotJunkie] -
Reality Mining
Reality Mining MIT Tech Singles Out 'That Guy' in Office Meetings
Every office has a pompous windbag or ten that monopolizes meeting time with their constant interruptions. And while making fun of those idiots after the fact is a staple of office life, the sad truth is that thousands of hours are lost to these interruptions, and efficiency suffers because of them. Lucky for office life, the brainpower at MIT is hard at work on a series of devices and badges that implement "reality mining" to eliminate these blowhards forever. And no, this has nothing to do with military lasers. More »
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By Jack LoftusComment by First: or maybe people who interrupt the meeting should be made to wear the green sweater (from the picture above) and... 7 Responses | Other threads
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cyborg news
Scientists Build Computer Circuit From Brain Cells
Scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel have managed to build reliable logic gates out of neurons instead of wires. The process actually sounds fairly simple: a glass plate is coated with cell repellent then etched with the desired circuit pattern. The pattern itself is coated with a cell-friendly adhesive which forces the cells to grow only in the scratched areas. Because these scratched paths are so thin, the neurons grow in one direction only—forming straight connections around the circuit. This method has been used to replicate an AND logic gate that only produces output when it receives two inputs. More »
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By Sean FallonComment by Beef Bacon...?: I have no idea what I just read. /bangs head on desk repeatedly 3 Responses | Other threads
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science
Scientists Discover New State of Matter, Could Be Used To Upgrade Microchips
McGill University researchers have discovered a new state of matter to go along with good ol' solid, liquid, gas, plasma and a handful of quantum states—it's called a quasi-three-dimensional electron crystal. While the name sounds like something that would sap Superman's powers, this new state of matter could be used to fabricate modern transistors and continue Moore's Law... possibly indefinitely. More » -
scotch-tape
Researchers Build X-Ray Machine With Scotch Tape
More than 50 years ago, Russian scientists discovered that simple Scotch tape emits x-rays when peeled off glass. New research conducted by colleagues at UCLA has determined that the power that the tape generates is much higher than anyone could have imagined. In fact, they have constructed a machine that generates x-rays by peeling up Scotch tape in a vacuum at the rate of 3 centimeters per second. As you can see in the recent demo they did for the journal Nature, their device was able to successfully generate an x-ray of a finger. More »
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By Sean FallonComment by hymntook: Now can we do Schrödinger's cat in a box filled with tape? 5 Responses | Other threads
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oled
Super Skinny OLED Display Is Thinner Than a Sheet of Paper
If you thought OLEDs were thin already, researchers at the Universal Display Corporation (whose factory we visited last year) have made a flexible display that's positively anorexic. The ultra-thin metal foil screen is less than 50 micrometers thin, which means it's even thinner than a sheet of A4 paper. The UDC folks also claimed that their new invention exceeds the industrial target of 1,000 hours and the lifetime of conventionally sealed glass packaged OLEDs. More »
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By Elaine ChowComment by Smehrt Shirt: 1000 hours? uh....thats nothing.. 3 Responses | Other threads
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solar power
Latest Super-Efficient Solar Technology Captures Every Color of the Rainbow
Not surprisingly, there are several ongoing attempts to increase the efficiency of solar cells: IBMs use of concentrator photovoltaics or the University of Delaware's technology that splits light into high energy, low energy, and medium energy chunks are a couple of examples. The latest breakthrough comes from Ohio State University where a new hybrid material consisting of electrically conductive plastic with metals including molybdenum and titanium has been developed that can absorb energy from all spectrums of visible light at once. Since traditional photovoltaic materials are only capable of capturing a fraction of light frequencies, it is easy to see how this new technology could lead to more efficient solar panels. More » -
digital libraries
America's Biggest Universities Build 78-Terabyte Library, Still Missing Front Door
Today, 23 of the biggest public and private universities in California, Michigan, Virginia, Illinois and other states* announced a 2-million book online library made of 78 terabytes of information, 16 percent of which are free of copyright and ready for public consumption. Even though the press release says "public domain materials will be available for reading online," however, the search interface itself has yet to be constructed. More » -
bionics
Improved Vision Implants Rejuvenate Damaged Retinas Like Digicam Sensors for the Eye
The eye is a delicate thing. Most ocular implants that get too hands-on with your squishy sightballs cause rejections problems, but a new implant developed by the Boston Retinal Implant project shrinks the components significantly, allowing your eye to take on its cyborg enhancements without casting them off violently as unwelcome invaders. More »
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By John MahoneyComment by The Lab: Considering what a contact lens feels like when it's moved off the cornea, this looks painful. And steampunk. I thought... 1 Responses | Other threads
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Green, you say?
Majority of US E-Waste Gets 'Recycled' in Asia, Where Recycling Is Often Non-Existent
A new report by the US Government Accountability Office is claiming that the majority of US E-Waste recycling services should reconsider dumping our 20 million plus pounds of waste on Asia, where it's cheaper but also less effective. Many of the major electronics manufacturers (Samsung, Sony, Best Buy, more) have been proudly rolling out recycling services in greater numbers over the last year or so, but the new information confirms that tons of recycled e-waste never makes it to the actual "recycling" part, at least as far as US standards go. More » -
motorola
News Flash: Moto R&D Working On Prototypes Other Than RAZR 3!
In a panel at GigaOm's Mobilize conference today, Motorola VP of Applied Technology Fred Kitson revealed some prototype display technologies they have in the works, confirming the company has more on the mind than the damn RAZR. One phone prototype Kitson described involves an embedded projector that made use of 3 lasers that project on a wall, while another makes use of a headset display. He also made mention of home displays that could automatically detect your phone as you move into a target range, and dedicate a portion of that screen to your cellphone. More » -
politics
Scientists Race to Develop Political Bullshit Detector, All Dials Pegged at 11
New Scientist today is summarzing the world of political spin detection software—behavioral scientist Paul Ekman claims he can analyze a speech's text for words that indicate untruths and deception. Others look to analyze the tenor of the voice, and facial recognition to spot lies is becoming more of a reality. But unfortunately, much of the bullshit detector tech here seems like it may be drowning a bit in the selfsame goo. More »
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By John MahoneyComment by Themindtaker: I wonder if this works on people who actually believe the b.s. that they are spewing. doubt it. so you... 3 Responses | Other threads
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powerful microscopes
TEAM 0.5 Microsope Takes Closest Look Ever at Graphene, the World's Strongest Known Material
Graphene is getting a lot of publicity these days. It is being hailed as the future of the electronics industry—the material that will eventually replace silicon. It has also recently been confirmed as the world's strongest known material. Now, researchers at the Berkeley Lab have thrust graphene into the spotlight once again thanks to the TEAM 0.5: the world’s most powerful transmission electron microscope. It has produced the first "stunning" images of graphene's individual carbon atoms. More »
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By Sean FallonComment by Beef Bacon...?: Now if you relax your eyes, look through it, you can see a 3d spaceship! No, wait, is that a palm... 9 Responses | Other threads
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spider attack
Spider Attack Simulator: An Excuse For Scientists to Torture Bees
I don't know what's going on over the pond, but it appears that September is robot spider month in the UK. First we saw the 50 foot robot spider that terrorized Liverpool, and now researchers from Queen Mary, University of London have developed a spider attack simulator that helps determine how bees avoid camouflaged predators. Although, I think its real purpose is to satisfy a juvenile urge to screw with their tiny little minds. More »
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By Sean FallonComment by KylejvT: Note that they are using bumble bees in this study, for the simple reason that they are far more timid... 1 Responses | Other threads
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magnets
World's Most Powerful Magnet Under Construction in Florida
You have probably heard stories about patient injuries or deaths occurring when someone introduces a heavy metal object into the same room as an MRI machine. Obviously, we are talking about some seriously powerful magnets here. However, the $10 million magnet currently under construction at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Florida is expected to reach 100 tesla when finished—about 67 times more powerful than a typical MRI machine. More »
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By Sean FallonComment by theblackdog: I hope none of the techs have tattoos. 4 Responses | Other threads
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Boldly Going Down
Deep-Sea Submersible Alvin, Discoverer of the Titanic, To Be Replaced By Bigger, Badder Sub
The NY Times has a piece today about the monumental task of forging a pressure hull out of raw titanium to be used in the replacement for the legendary Alvin, the Navy's only currently operational deep-sea scientific sub that first explored the wreckage of the Titanic. Where Alvin could dive 2.4 miles down, its successor can go up to four miles under (hence the serious forging above), which will open up 99% of the ocean floor for exploration. That's a pretty big deal. More »
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By John MahoneyComment by CowPower: The problem with the sorts of depths we're talking about here is NOT anything to do with breathing, or at... 1 Responses | Other threads
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Magnetic LED Tiles Allow for Any Display Shape
Philips Magnetic Tiles Let You Build Any 3D Display
I've spent the morning at Philips Research Labs in Eindhoven, Netherlands, and I've seen some pretty amazing inventions that may not be far away from a shop near you. One of the coolest was these magnetic LED tiles that allow you to build any kind of 2D- or 3D-shaped display by just attaching one to the next. The results, combined with the beauty of the animated color LEDs behind the diffusing glass, are stunning. The way it works seems like magic. More »
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By Jesus DiazComment by SEEN: @mricyfire: 3D as in the display itself is 3D, not the content on the screen is 3D more » | Other threads
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cool runnings
Self-Refrigerating Plastic Sheets Could Make Ultimate Heatsink
Researchers at Penn State have cooked up a new plastic that can be cooled by simply running a current through it. It uses the electrocaloric effect to rearrange its individual atoms when charged, allowing for heat to more easily come and go. By wrapping up a chip in the stuff and zapping it with current, researchers hope they've found a way to make more efficient heatsinks for laptops and other gear with small, hot enclosures. Right now the process requires too much voltage to be feasible (120v, rather than the couple of volts your laptop battery could give it), but manufacturing improvements could make it ready for prime time, and Intel seems interested. More »
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By John MahoneyComment by Zedster The Myuu: They will need to find out how to sew this into blankets and pillows, clothes, or just wrap it around... more » | Other threads
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optics
New Flexible Image Sensors Could Enable Eyeball-Cams, More Realisitc Cyborgs
Traditional camera lenses have to have beefier optics to make up for the fact that the sensor is flat—but one reason why the human eye is such an efficient little cam at (576 megapixels! ISO 800!) is because our image sensors (err, retinas) are rounder to better capture the light transmitted by the lens on the other side of the sphere. Researchers at Northwestern and the University of Illinois have found a way to create a traditional photo sensor that flexes without breaking, which means your cyborg glass eye of the future will be all the more lifelike. More » -
fuel cells
Much Cheaper Fuel Cells On The Way With New Prototype
Australian researchers have developed a new fuel cell prototype that could lead to much cheaper, more efficient fuel cell vehicles in the near future. Scientists at Monash University in Melbourne created a new cathode that could bypass the need for expensive platinum nanoparticles, which adds about $3500 to $4000 to the sticker price of current fuel cells. More »
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By Elaine ChowComment by MerrillBabakin: Very interesting. As a fuel cell scientist, I do not need too many "important details". Just one: how LONG does it... more » | Other threads
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research
Key to Cheaper Lithium Ion Batteries Could Be Inside the Microwave
Researchers at UT Austin have devised a new way to create lithium iron phosphate—the compound inside high-density Li-ion batteries being developed for cars and power tools—that uses microwaves to cut costs. The new method requires lower temperatures (300° C rather than 700°) and less time to fabricate the phosphate via the nuking process—just like throwing that Tombstone in the m-wave rather than the oven. The tech probably won't trickle down into laptop batteries, which use a lithium cobalt oxide that isn't capable of the quick bursts of current needed to get something like the Chevy Volt rolling. All the better to crash your Tesla with. [Technology Review] -
drinking
Researchers Create Computer Models of Staggering Drunks to Aid City Planning
A team of Welsh scientists have spent long nights camped out in a busy nightlife neighborhood of Cardiff from 11pm to 3am with one goal—studying the way Welshmen stagger when they're shitfaced in order to build an accurate computer model of the phenomenon. They aim to use their data to help city planners design streets that are safer for late night revelers. Now this is some research I can get behind. More »
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By John MahoneyComment by ldsdj: I don't suppose we could save tons of money and/or use it for something actually useful by instead convincing people... more » | Other threads
research
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