As NASA prepares to double the number of astronauts living aboard the International Space Station, nothing may do more for crew bonding than a machine being launched aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on Friday.
Not quite the Terminator yet, but the rat-brained robot developed by Reading University is starting to think for itself.
This pint sized robot isn’t controlled by software, but by 300,000 living neurons generously donated by a rat. These Neurons are being taught how to steer the robot avoiding obstacles and walls. Read the rest of this entry »
Bionics, for most of us, would bring up images of Luke Skywalker and his robotic hand from Star Wars. If you’re as old as me (in your 40s) you can probably remember Steve Austin, the Six Million Dollar Man. Being able to bend solid steel bars and run as fast as a speeding car he was the epitome of cutting edge technology (be it sci-fi technology) of the 1970’s.
Today, Bionics, while not in the same league as Steve Austin, has progressed to an amazing level and has truly improved the lives of many people. Read the rest of this entry »
Remember the days when we did things by hand, or better still we did them ourselves? Way back in the dark ages before the world became automatic. They were the good old days, mowing and watering our lawns by hand. We washed the car in the driveway and we even vacuumed our homes ourselves. This little bit of nostalgia got me thinking. How much have we automated out lives over the last twenty years?
One of my favourite devices from Science Fiction would have to be the “Force Field”. Be it the quaint let’s get it up in a hurry force field from the original Lost in Space TV series, or the nail biting “shields at 5% Captain” from the original Star Trek.
These fictional force fields protect us from a host of nasties ranging from a Klingon phaser blast to the unceasing onslaught of the Wraith in Stargate Atlantis. It’s all well and good for sci-fi but how close are we to developing a real world force field? A lot closer than you think! Welcome to “Cold Plasma”.
“To boldly go where no man has gone before”, sounds like a good motto for tomorrowtechtoday.com. Unfortunately it’s already been taken, however it’s not the only cliché we can borrow from Star Trek for today’s article. Beam me up Scotty pretty much sums up today’s efforts.
Unlike our intrepid Chief Engineer Scotty from the iconic Star Trek TV series, teleportation today is a long way from beaming Captain Kirk and crew down to any nearby planet. Science has however been able to teleport much smaller commuters a shorter distance of around (I’ll say it quickly) one meter. Well it’s a start.
Nikola Tesla, mad scientist or forgotten genius? Born in Croatia in the 1800’s to Serbian immigrant parents, Tesla has directly influenced our modern world in ways that affect our everyday lives. Able to speak 6 languages before he was 18 years old, Nikola Tesla has been touted as one of the greatest geniuses of the 20th century, credited with invention of alternating current (AC Power), radio, Radar, remote control, robotics and the fluorescent lights and nearly 700 other patents. Unfortunately Tesla also had the reputation of a mad scientist due to eccentric behaviour and over exaggerated announcements.
If God meant us to fly, he’d given us wings! Well, for Yves Rossy that’s exactly what he did. The 48 year old former fighter pilot has built himself a set of jet powered wings.
After jumping out of airplane at 7500 feet, he unfolds the 8 foot wings, ignites the jets and screamed off at 186 miles per hour.
Compressed air cars are powered, in short, by air. Air is compressed and then it is released which is the source of propulsion. These air cars have been in the developmental stages for many years and are very, very close to reaching wide commercial markets.
How do air cars work?
One definition of artificial intelligence is offered by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence — “the scientific understanding of the mechanisms underlying thought and intelligent behavior and their embodiment in machines”.
Another definition I found sums up artificial intelligence as: “intelligent behavior in machines”.
My own oversimplified version is “reasoning machines”.
If I understand ai correctly, the ability to reach a new conclusion from what I have learned is one faculty that separates me from most “intelligent” machines today.