Futurism

Soon, 3D printers could be building houses on the Moon out of lunar dust

London-based design firm Foster+Partners aims to partner-up with the European Space Agency, and build structures on the Moon from the regolith found on the surface. The inflatable scaffolding would be manufactured on Earth, then transported to the Moon and covered with a durable shell constructed by robotically-driven 3D printers. All images courtesy Foster+Partners. This is…

io9 George Dvorsky

A compact mecha-suit for battling pocket-sized xenomorphs

Several years ago we told you about ActiveLink’s Power Loader, a mecha-like exoskeleton that looked like something right out of Aliens. Now, following the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, ActiveLink has started work on Power Loader Light — a more compact version that would allow for increased physical strength, but not at the…

io9 George Dvorsky

How the Battle of Asakai Became One of the Largest Space Battles in Video Game History

It was pilot error that sent the Titan-class ship into enemy territory. But it was a cascade of alliances and grudges that turned the incident into a space battle involving almost 3,000 ships, one of EVE Online’s largest conflicts ever. There are several large player alliances in EVE Online, and they gather into larger alliances…

io9 Ed Grabianowski

Please give us a science fiction version of Grand Theft Auto!

You can already get flying cars in some versions of Grand Theft Auto with a cheat code — but will there ever be a straight-up futuristic version, set in some kind of science fiction megalopolis? Rockstar Games VP Dan Houser called the prospect “tempting,” but added, “We will do it the very second we have…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

A robotic tail that lets you express yourself like a dog

Japanese inventor Shota Ishiwatari has developed a robotic tail that tracks its wearer’s heart rate and wags accordingly. Called “Tailly” — worst name ever — the venture project has its own Kickstarter campaign. Ishiwatari has developed a prototype of the moving tail, which uses sensors on the inside of the belt to measure the user’s…

io9 George Dvorsky

What Country Best Represents the Future?

Back in the early 1990s, there was a popular idea in the United States that Japan represented the future. With its booming economy and sophisticated tech industry, the country seemed poised to become the next great superpower. But when the Asian bubble burst, science fiction writers and futurists imagined China as the next great nation,…

io9 Annalee Newitz

This robotic 3D printer doesn’t need your help, thank you very much

As if 3D printers weren’t mind-blowing enough, iRobot (yes, the company responsible for the Roomba) has just filed a patent for a robot-assisted all-in-one fabricator that can print, mill, drill, and finish a final product — and all without human intervention. Called the “Robotic Fabricator,” the system is a precursor to machines that will eventually…

io9 George Dvorsky

Japanese finance minster wants old people to “hurry up and die”

Japan’s new right-wing government hasn’t wasted time in alienating tens of millions of its voters. According to finance minister Taro Aso, elderly people should “hurry up and die” so that pressure can be relieved on the state to pay for their skyrocketing medical bills. Indeed, nearly a quarter of Japan’s population is over 60, so…

io9 George Dvorsky

An Android You Can Make With A 3D Printer

French sculptor Gael Langevin’s InMoov project combines two of our favorite things: 3D printing and robotics. Though he had no previous experience making robots, Langevin spent the last year figuring it all out, ultimately developing and coding a voice controlled android that can be constructed from parts generated by a 3D printer. And not only…

io9 George Dvorsky

It Could Be A War Crime To Use Biologically Enhanced Soldiers

Earlier this month, a report funded by the Greenwall Foundation examined the legal and ethical implications of using biologically enhanced humans on the battlefield. Given the Pentagon’s open acknowledgement that it’s working to create super-soldiers, this is quickly becoming a pertinent issue. We wanted to learn more, so we contacted one of the study’s authors.…

io9 George Dvorsky

Divers capture amazing dolphin-rescue on video

If this video of interspecies collaboration doesn’t warm your heart, you probably don’t have a heart. When a dolphin gets caught on a fishing hook, it seeks out this group of human divers for help, resulting in a remarkable display of trust, intelligence and cooperation – from both species. Via Americablog: It turns out that…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

23-Year Old Kim Suozzi Undergoes Cryonic Preservation After Successful Fundraising Campaign

Back in September we told you about Kim Suozzi, the 23-year old neuroscience student who was in the midst of battling terminal brain cancer. Sadly, she passed away last week on January 17th — but not before a successful fundraising campaign managed to secure the funds required to grant Suozzi her dying wish: cryonic preservation.…

io9 George Dvorsky

Wanted: An “extremely adventurous female human” to give birth to a Neandertal

German magazine Der Spiegel has just published an interview with geneticist George Church in which he talks about his work as a biologist and his idea of making humans resistant to all viruses. But he also addresses a topic we’ve discussed before: The idea of cloning a Neandertal. https://gizmodo.com/do-you-think-we-should-clone-a-neanderthal-5880249 Church, the author of Regenesis: How…

io9 George Dvorsky

For the weekend: Isaac Asimov’s Visions of the Future is available free online in its entirety

Two years before his death, legendary science and science fiction writer Isaac Asimov kicked off a TV pilot dedicated to exploring the faint and ever-shifting boundary separating science from science fiction. By highlighting advances in science and technology, Asimov sought to prepare viewers for the world of tomorrow by providing them with glimpses of what…

Television Robbie Gonzalez

Bruce Sterling Thinks Artificial Intelligence Has Jumped the Shark

Bruce Sterling wrote influential works like Schismatrix and Islands in the Net, plus he practically invented cyberpunk (with all due respect, of course, to William Gibson and Rudy Rucker). We are serious fans of his work. And if his recent comments about the potential risks of greater-than-human artificial intelligence — or lack thereof — are…

io9 George Dvorsky

A lie detecting program that discovers deception better than people can

How good are you at catching a lie? Research suggests that despite the fact many liars expose their own deceit in the way they talk, we humans are terrible at picking up on it. Half the time we’re right. Half the time we’re wrong. Computers, it turns out, are much better at detecting these clues,…

io9 Morgan E. Peck - Txchnologist

The hidden bus routes in San Francisco that are only for techno-elites

Last year, design firm Stamen got a grant to create an art project based on the bus routes that people in San Francisco take to commute the 30-50 miles south to Silicon Valley. (Click image to enlarge.) Though they take busses, none of these workers take public transit. Their companies, such as Google, Apple, Facebook,…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Physicist aims to publish a science fiction novel to raise $2 million for new laser weapons

A physicist is asking for help publishing his wild new science fiction book series — and possibly also creating a new superweapon that would change the face of war forever. Australian-born physicist Adam Weigold is trying to raise $20,000 on Kickstarter to pay for editing and marketing for his novel Dragon Empire, which is about…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

A chip that turns your body into a battery

In what sounds uncomfortably like a scenario from The Matrix, a startup in Corvallis, Oregon, has developed a small chip that can turn body heat into electric energy. The chip, which absorbs heat directly from the skin, channels energy through a thermoelectric generator that converts it into electric power. In future, the chip will enable…

io9 George Dvorsky

IBM’s Watson computer has parts of its memory cleared after developing an acute case of potty mouth

It all started a couple of years ago when IBM’s Watson, the computer voted most likely to destroy us when the technological Singularity strikes, was given access to the Urban Dictionary. In an attempt to help Watson learn slang — and thus be more amenable to conversational language — the machine subsequently picked up such…

io9 George Dvorsky

Soon, 3D printers could be building houses on the Moon out of lunar dust

A compact mecha-suit for battling pocket-sized xenomorphs

How the Battle of Asakai Became One of the Largest Space Battles in Video Game History

Please give us a science fiction version of Grand Theft Auto!

A robotic tail that lets you express yourself like a dog

What Country Best Represents the Future?

This robotic 3D printer doesn’t need your help, thank you very much

Japanese finance minster wants old people to “hurry up and die”

An Android You Can Make With A 3D Printer

It Could Be A War Crime To Use Biologically Enhanced Soldiers

Divers capture amazing dolphin-rescue on video

23-Year Old Kim Suozzi Undergoes Cryonic Preservation After Successful Fundraising Campaign

Wanted: An “extremely adventurous female human” to give birth to a Neandertal

For the weekend: Isaac Asimov’s Visions of the Future is available free online in its entirety

Bruce Sterling Thinks Artificial Intelligence Has Jumped the Shark

A lie detecting program that discovers deception better than people can

The hidden bus routes in San Francisco that are only for techno-elites

Physicist aims to publish a science fiction novel to raise $2 million for new laser weapons

A chip that turns your body into a battery

IBM’s Watson computer has parts of its memory cleared after developing an acute case of potty mouth

Sonos Roam 2 Speaker Turns the Amazon Spring Sale into a Black Friday Moment, Now at Its Lowest Price

What Do You Mean Glen Powell Is Fox McCloud in the ‘Super Mario Galaxy’ Movie

This Winter Fly Is Doing Something Scientists Didn’t Think Was Possible

Acer’s Mac Mini M4 Docking Station Drops to an All-Time Low, Supporting Up to 8TB Storage

Sony Is Hiking PS5 Prices for the Second Time in Less Than a Year

This Amazon Smart Plug Deal in the Spring Sale Makes Alexa Smart Home Setup Almost Too Easy and Cheap

Ryan Coogler’s ‘X-Files’ Reboot Has Found Its Other Big Star

Anker’s 100W Power Bank Hits Its Lowest Price of the Year on Amazon, Packing 25,000mAh and 3 Ports

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets

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