Is 'killer robot' warfare closer than we think? Image copyright Getty Images More than 100 of the world's top robotics experts wrote a letter to the United Nations recently calling for a ban on the development of "killer robots" and warning of a new arms race.
Would you take a ride in a pilotless sky taxi? Image copyright RTA/Volocopter Tech companies are competing to develop the first viable passenger-carrying sky taxis, whether manned or pilotless, but how soon could these clever copters really be whizzing over our cities?
And would you trust one? Dubai is racing to be the first to put drone taxis in the air. In June, its Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) signed an agreement with a German start-up Volocopter to test pilotless air taxis towards the end of this year. The firm has received 25m euros (£22m; $30m) from investors, including German motor manufacturer Daimler, to develop the 18-rotor craft capable of transporting two passengers at a time.
China relaunches world's fastest train. Image copyright Getty Images China's fleet of high-speed trains is set once again to become the world's fastest.
The top speed of the Fuxing or "rejuvenation" bullet trains was capped at 300km/h (186mph) in 2011 following two crashes that killed 40 people. From next week, some of the trains will once again be allowed to run at a higher speed of about 350 km/h. The higher maximum speed should cut about an hour off the journey time between Beijing and Shanghai. By 21 September, seven of China's bullet trains will be permitted to travel at the increased maximum speed. To mark the return of the higher-speed service, the trains have been named "Fuxing" - Chinese for rejuvenation - in line with a national government slogan and development plan. All the trains have been fitted with an improved monitoring system that will slow and stop the trains automatically in the event of an emergency.
The probe meant many officials were charged with corruption and abuse of power. Killer robots: Experts warn of 'third revolution in warfare' Image copyright Getty Images More than 100 leading robotics experts are urging the United Nations to take action in order to prevent the development of "killer robots".
Ransomware 'here to stay', warns Google study. Cyber-thieves have made at least $25m (£19m) from ransomware in the last two years, suggests research by Google.
The search giant created thousands of virtual victims of ransomware to expose the payment ecosystem surrounding the malware type. Most of the money was made in 2016 as gangs realised how lucrative it was, revealed a talk at Black Hat. Two types of ransomware made most of the money, it said, but other variants are starting to emerge. "It's become a very, very profitable market and is here to stay," said Elie Bursztein from Google who, along with colleagues Kylie McRoberts and Luca Invernizzi, carried out the research. Ransomware is malicious software that infects a machine and then encrypts or scrambles files so they can no longer be used or read. Mr Bursztein said Google used several different methods to work out how much cash was flowing towards ransomware creators. Cyber-hacks season: The most popular strains were the Locky and Cerber families, added Mr Bursztein. Advantages and Disadvantages of Cloning. Genetic cloning is the process of picking a choosing desired genes from DNA in order to ensure certain qualities.
GCSE Bitesize: The process of cloning. Cryonics Pros And Cons. Cryonics is the theory of being able to preserve people through a freezing process so that they can be revived at a later time.
Part of the reason why science is being researched in this area is so that we can treat people with serious diseases with an actual cure when it becomes available. Our current concepts of space travel would also mandate cryonics for astronauts because there is no other way to get someone to another solar system within a lifetime right now. The science of cryonics definitely has some pros and cons – let’s take a look at some of those in more detail. What Are the Pros of Cryonics? 1. 2. 3. What Are the Cons of Cryonics? 1. 2. 3. Cryonics: does it offer humanity a chance to return from the dead? The decision of a teenage girl to have her body cryogenically frozen in the hope of being reanimated by medical advances in the future is one with which many could sympathise.
But does current evidence suggest the gamble will pay off, or does cryonics simply give desperate people false hope dressed up in the language of science? Can humans be frozen and defrosted successfully? There are two advances that make cryonics a little less far-fetched that it once was. The first is vitrification. As Arctic explorers and mountaineers have learned, humans are not designed to be frozen and defrosted. Future - Cryopreservation: ‘I freeze people to cheat death’ In 1972 Max More saw a children’s science fiction television show called Time Slip that featured characters being frozen in ice.
He didn’t think much about it until years later, when he started hanging out with friends who held meetings about futurism. “They were getting Cryonics magazine,” he says, “and they asked me about it to see how futuristic I was. It just made sense to me right away.” More is now the President and Chief Executive officer of Alcor, one of the world’s largest cryonics companies.
More himself has been a member since 1986, and has decided to opt for neuropreservation – just deep freezing the brain – over whole body preservation. Cryopreservation is a darling of the futurist community. Cryonics Institute. Your next nurse could be a robot: Robots can successfully imitate human motions in the operating room. The nursing assistant for your next trip to the hospital might be a robot.
This is the implication of research recently published by Dr. Elena De Momi and colleagues in the open access journal Frontiers in Robotics and AI (Artificial Intelligence). Dr. De Momi, of the Politecnico di Milano (Italy), led an international team that trained a robot to imitate natural human actions. De Momi's work indicates that humans and robots can effectively coordinate their actions during high-stakes events such as surgeries. Over time this should lead to improvements in safety during surgeries because unlike their human counterparts robots do not tire and can complete an endless series of precise movements. "As a roboticist, I am convinced that robotic (co)workers and collaborators will definitely change the work market, but they won't steal job opportunities. Finally, several humans observed as the robotic arm made numerous motions. This future may not be as far away as we think. Technology. 3D Printed Guns (Documentary)
Home - Cognitive Robotics. The home automation trade magazine. Alltop - Top Home Automation News. Home automation News, Videos, Reviews and Gossip - Lifehacker. 3D Printing News: Articles, interviews and latest news on 3D Printing. 3D Printing - 2016 News and Articles About 3D Printers. 3D printer and 3D printing news, trends and resources.
California Academy of Sciences. As much as we focus on the natural world, at Science Today we also love biomimicry and bio-inspired technology! Here is a roundup of the latest. Biomimicry is the study of living organisms in order to better inform efficient design principles in engineering, medical devices, architecture, and other fields of human innovation. Life on Earth as we know it has evolved over an estimated 3.8 billion years, and many researchers consider this cumulative “information base” of form, function, and process to complement and even exceed many of our current best practices.
Biomimicry may be a newer word, but the concept itself is an old one. From Leonardo Da Vinci’s flying machines to Japan’s Shinkansen train, we have often looked to nature and wondered how things function the way they do. Biomimicry-UK. Festival of the Future City As part of the Festival of the Future City, we are hosting a panel session on the topic of ‘Biomimicry and Future Cities’. The debate with Professor Sue Thomas (Technobiophilia: Nature and Cyberspace) Professor Peter Head (Founder and CEO, The Ecological...
Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining Schools Conference 2015 On the 1st July 2015, we were lucky enough to be invited to give a presentation to the Making a Difference with Modern Materials schools conference run by the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining. 14 Smart Inventions Inspired by Nature: Biomimicry: Nature as R&D Lab. Companies seeking breakthrough products tend to ignore the greatest invention machine in the universe: life’s more than three-billion-year history of evolution by natural selection. What’s missing is a systematic way of capturing nature’s creativity, says Janine Benyus, a biologist, "innovation consultant" and author.
Engineering practices are fractured, Benyus says. Experts in biomimetics study materials; bionics engineers work on prostheses and mechanics. Headlines. Open Radio: First-of-its-kind biomimicry radio show debuts in Turkey Zeynep Arhon is no stranger to finding success working in the world of biomimicry. She graduated with the first Biomimicry 3.8 Certified Biomimicry Professional program cohort in 2010. Today, along with teaching biomimicry with B3.8 as a adjunct faculty member at Arizona State University's Biomimicry Center, Zeynep runs a consultancy practice that fuses the power of marketing and biomimicry, building brands and businesses with strategies inspired by nature.
But Zeynep hit a major personal milestone in her biomimicry journey in October, when she launched "Biyomimikri: Doğadan Gelen İnovasyon" or "Biomimicry: Innovation from Nature"–the first radio show to focus exclusively on biomimicry. The show, hosted by Zeynep will air each week on “Açık Radyo” (Open Radio), one of the strongest voices of sustainability in the Turkey. Zeynep first heard the term sustainability while listening to Açık Radyo in 2001. Robots - 2016 News and Articles - Robotic Technology.
How current robotics advancements can have real-world applications. The field of robotics is heating up with ever-growing innovations for healthcare. Forecasts from the UK's Visiongain suggest the overall world market for robotics in healthcare will surpass $3 billion this year and continue expanding to 2025. "Surgical robots are currently the most dynamic submarket within the overall robotics in healthcare market," the company states. "Medical robots that exhibit both clinical and economical benefits over existing healthcare solutions are in great demand. " Medical Robots News & Articles. The World's Most Advanced Humanoid Robot. Could a robot do your job? Humanoid Robot Starts Work at Japanese Department Store.
How Biomimicry is Inspiring Human Innovation. 14 Smart Inventions Inspired by Nature: Biomimicry: Nature as R&D Lab. 7 Cool Animal-Inspired Technologies. Biomimicry in Action: 13 Technologies Inspired by Nature. Janine Benyus: Biomimicry's surprising lessons from nature's engineers. Markus Fischer: A robot that flies like a bird. Cheryl Hayashi: The magnificence of spider silk. Nina Tandon: Caring for engineered tissue. Janine Benyus: Biomimicry in action. Michael Pawlyn: Using nature's genius in architecture.
Hamish Jolly: A shark-deterrent wetsuit (and it's not what you think) Dennis Hong: My seven species of robot. Keller Rinaudo: A mini robot. Guy Hoffman: Robots with "soul" Raffaello D'Andrea: The astounding athletic power of quadcopters. Sarah Bergbreiter: Why I make robots the size of a grain of rice. 3D Printing. 3-D printing. 3D Printing Industry - 3D Printer News, Reports, Directory and Videos. What is 3D printing? How does 3D printing work? Best New Hi Tech Gadgets. Technology News - Engineering │New Scientist. Welcome to Forbes. Robotics - Gizmag. Robotics Trends. Robots - 2014 News and Articles - Robotic Technology.