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Archive for the tag “robots”

Robo Friends Have Arrived

Eat your cartoon heart out George Jetson. In this edition of SourceFed, host Trisha Hershberger tells us that the world’s first robot assistant has arrived. Maybe not quite as sophisticated as Rosie the Robot of The Jetsons fame, but Hershberger says, “The reality of a somewhat affordable home robot/assistant companion is on the horizon.” She says the robot will come with a speedy processor, voice and facial recognition, sound isolation technology and an LCD touch screen. What else can we ask for?

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Science Fiction Becomes Fact

Where science fiction becomes science fact – that is the place Hank Green is exploring in today’s episode of SciShow. Many inventions we use today were first imagined in stories that described fantastical futures. Hank talks about the origins of four of these: the cell phone, the submarine, the telemanipulator (or robot arm), and the taser. Blast off for knowledge!

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We Are Already Cyborgs

“If human history is the story of a creature who molts from ape to angel – or, as Nietzsche claimed, from beast to Superman – then somewhere along the way it seems that we must become machines” -Erik Davis.

Join Jason Silva as he freestyles his way into the complex systems of society, technology and human existence and discusses the truth and beauty of science in a form of existential jazz.

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Lolita Bots Patrol the Net

Catching online predators by posing as children is a method police have used for years. Now Spanish researchers say they’ve invented an AI honeypot that sexual predators should find irresistible. It’s a chatbot that goads pervs into professing unclean thoughts. The invention could free up thousands of police officers around the world for more important duties, such as donut inspections and marathon sitting. H/T Next Media Animation

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Will You Be Iron Man?

We have the technology! We can rebuild…ourselves!

Human interface technologies like Google Glass, robotic prosthetics, and bionic eyes have the potential to help people recover lost abilities, but also to grant us new abilities. Will you someday be able to turn on your super-human hearing just by thinking about it? Maybe…if you live long enough. The question of whether we /should/ well, we’ll leave that to the philosophers. Hank Green reports on SciShow.

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Beware the RoboRoaches!

Scientists have figured out a way to actually control a live cockroach. This sort of “brain tapping” into an autonomous animal has triggered a huge ethical debate, leading D News to ask: Are we going too far?

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Ornithopters on the Wing

We’ve been trying to build flapping-wing robots for hundreds of years. And now, ornithopters are finally being developed, and may be used mostly for military purposes, says Hank Green of the SciShow.

Piezoelectrics make those little bugs possible, and also enhances the ability of robot arms to feel, in other news from The International Journal of Robotics.

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The Machine Masters

“Will computers replace teachers? Dear god I hope so,” says Katherine Mangu-Ward, managing editor of Reason magazine. At Reason Weekend 2013, Mangu-Ward discusses the future of education, how technology can change the classroom for the better and why she loves computers more than people.

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The Coming Robot World

Robots will not only be more prevalent in the future, but also likely smarter than human beings. Economic professor Jim Miller looks at the future of artificial intelligence in an interview with John Stossel. H/T LibertyPen

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Know Your Monster: 8

GIGAN

A cyborg from outer space, Gigan was the first robotic monster to square off against Godzilla. He’s also among the more fearsome looking and lethal of Godzilla’s opponents — the first ever to draw blood from the Big Guy. Gigan is practically a walking stiletto — with hooks in place of  hands and feet, and a spinning buzzsaw protruding from his stomach. Sometimes, these accessories get embellished. For instance, the hooks can morph into explosive-tipped blades or even chainsaws. In at least one instance, he’s got a swiveling laser gun mounted on his forehead.

He also can send his foes reeling by battering them at supersonic speeds. It’s said he can travel up to Mach 400 while encased in a diamond-shaped shuttle in space. Even after entering the Earth’s atmosphere, Gigan can fly at blazing speeds.

It comes as no surprise, then, that he has attracted a legion of hardcore fans. But the fact remains: Gigan is a loser. No matter how many times he seems just about to overpower Godzilla, in the end, Gigan always get whipped, always retreats back into space nursing his wounds, regrouping to fight again another day.

Another black mark against Gigan: His screen appearances have come in some of the tackiest Godzilla movies of all time. For instance, in Godzilla Vs. Gigan, the 1972 film where this space cyborg first rears his ugly mug, the Godzilla suit is visibly worn and tattered, literally falling apart by the final reel. In my book, Gigan’s overrated, but many fanboys would certainly take issue with that statement.

 Here’s the original Godzilla Vs. Gigan trailer. The one big plus for the picture: Besides the two titled monsters, the three-headed King Ghidorah and Anguirus are also on the rampage, so the Battle Royales get fierce.

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Tomorrow’s featured monster: Godzilla

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