Now this is very COOL technology and I wonder just how many lives it can save
Today's Interesting Engineering
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Now this is very COOL technology and I wonder just how many lives it can save
I think it's a great idea but I do wonder how many accidents it will cause until it is common to see on the road.
I suppose there is that as well people might get confused
In today's Interesting Engineering we have the following
The Future of the Human Body
The future of the human body: From the earliest vestiges of science fiction to current popular media, we’ve been fascinated with that question. That interest generally focuses on two lines of supposition – Making us better, and making our lives last longer. ‘Better’ can mean many things; stronger, faster, and smarter appear to be the big three in this regard. Longer is just that, with the obvious ultimate endgame – immortality. Whatever the specific pursuit, augmentation of the human form is most often posited as some form of synthesis with machines – From the Six Million Dollar Man, to Replicants, to the Terminator – The good, the bad, and the ugly. While advancements in surgery have a team contemplating a human head transplant in the near future, it seems that nothing purely human can enhance to the degree the marriage of mortal and metal can. What humans will become and how we get there is indeed the question.
Natasha Vita-More, has a futuristic proposal for the next gen human, the Primo Posthuman – is this the face of our future? With a Ph.D. focused on human enhancement and radical life extension, an M.Phil. in Media Design, and a Bachelors degree in Fine Art, she certainly has an educational background well suited to her vision, and that vision is, to put it lightly, quite deep. Delving into Vita-More’s numerous papers on the nature of the future of humanity is immersion in some very dense reading, indeed. Consider her explanation of what the concept entails:
“I suggest an approach to the artistic search for a new image, founded on scientific probability and inspired by technological prowess. This approach is a disciplined rationalism of the modernist’s enlightenment of progress and naturalism, and the multi-perceptual character of postmodernism which opens up pathways to express humanity in novel forms. It is the hyper-modern approach of “Primo Posthuman,” as a future body prototype, that combines design with biotechnology.”
Vita-More espouses the use of technology governed by a tight ethical valve. The beauty and curse of such an arrangement is, of course, one’s definition of ‘ethical.’ She and other members of the Humanity+ organization have published a manifesto outlining their take; the gist of this is best summarized in the phrase, “Although all progress is change, not all change is progress,” and to their credit, rather than deciding in detail what the ethics in question should be, they opted to paint a general outline with a rather broad brush; “Policy making ought to be guided by responsible and inclusive moral vision, taking seriously both opportunities and risks, respecting autonomy and individual rights, and showing solidarity with and concern for the interests and dignity of all people around the globe.”
Vita-More’s view of how all this should manifest is the Proto Posthuman. Her perspective, like her education, is a synthesis of technology and art, “a design comprised of elegant strokes.” From plastic surgery and prosthetics, to chemical enhancement and genetic engineering, she sees the human body first as a work of art, and secondly as a platform for wide and varied improvements.
Dive into the links for the source material mentioned herein; you’ll be in for the ride of your life.
The post The Future of the Human Body appeared first on Interesting Engineering.
The Future of the Human Body
The future of the human body: From the earliest vestiges of science fiction to current popular media, we’ve been fascinated with that question. That interest generally focuses on two lines of supposition – Making us better, and making our lives last longer. ‘Better’ can mean many things; stronger, faster, and smarter appear to be the big three in this regard. Longer is just that, with the obvious ultimate endgame – immortality. Whatever the specific pursuit, augmentation of the human form is most often posited as some form of synthesis with machines – From the Six Million Dollar Man, to Replicants, to the Terminator – The good, the bad, and the ugly. While advancements in surgery have a team contemplating a human head transplant in the near future, it seems that nothing purely human can enhance to the degree the marriage of mortal and metal can. What humans will become and how we get there is indeed the question.
Natasha Vita-More, has a futuristic proposal for the next gen human, the Primo Posthuman – is this the face of our future? With a Ph.D. focused on human enhancement and radical life extension, an M.Phil. in Media Design, and a Bachelors degree in Fine Art, she certainly has an educational background well suited to her vision, and that vision is, to put it lightly, quite deep. Delving into Vita-More’s numerous papers on the nature of the future of humanity is immersion in some very dense reading, indeed. Consider her explanation of what the concept entails:
“I suggest an approach to the artistic search for a new image, founded on scientific probability and inspired by technological prowess. This approach is a disciplined rationalism of the modernist’s enlightenment of progress and naturalism, and the multi-perceptual character of postmodernism which opens up pathways to express humanity in novel forms. It is the hyper-modern approach of “Primo Posthuman,” as a future body prototype, that combines design with biotechnology.”
Vita-More espouses the use of technology governed by a tight ethical valve. The beauty and curse of such an arrangement is, of course, one’s definition of ‘ethical.’ She and other members of the Humanity+ organization have published a manifesto outlining their take; the gist of this is best summarized in the phrase, “Although all progress is change, not all change is progress,” and to their credit, rather than deciding in detail what the ethics in question should be, they opted to paint a general outline with a rather broad brush; “Policy making ought to be guided by responsible and inclusive moral vision, taking seriously both opportunities and risks, respecting autonomy and individual rights, and showing solidarity with and concern for the interests and dignity of all people around the globe.”
Vita-More’s view of how all this should manifest is the Proto Posthuman. Her perspective, like her education, is a synthesis of technology and art, “a design comprised of elegant strokes.” From plastic surgery and prosthetics, to chemical enhancement and genetic engineering, she sees the human body first as a work of art, and secondly as a platform for wide and varied improvements.
Dive into the links for the source material mentioned herein; you’ll be in for the ride of your life.
The post The Future of the Human Body appeared first on Interesting Engineering.
In today's Interesting Engineering we have the following
Plant-based Vetigel stops traumatic bleeding in seconds
A new plant-based gel, called VetiGel, may be the solution to stop serious bleeding. The premise was created by 22 year-old Joe Landolina – who invented the product when he was just 17 – and can stop bleeding within 12 seconds.
Landolina, CEO and co-founder of Brooklyn biotech startup Suneris, said the gel can be applied to the skin (including open wounds) and soft tissue and is already being used in veterinary clinics. In an interview with Bloomberg, Landolina describes the VetiGel as “Lego building blocks for the body.” The building blocks in this case are polymers removed from the cell walls of a plant and that accelerate the natural blood clotting process in three different ways. Firstly it stops the bleeding immediately after application by closing the wound. The gel then facilitates the accumulation of platelets, which concentrate in the region and facilitate blood clotting. Lastly, the gel stimulates the production of fibrin, which is a coagulation-related protein, resulting in a remarkably fast and stable coagulation process.
The VetiGel is not yet ready for use in humans, but is close to reaching that point, according to Suneris, and when it does, the initial primary market will probably be to help military personnel and EMTs treat traumatic injuries. Soon the VetiGel will be available in the market as a veterinary product to help stop bleeding during animal surgery. Veterinarians and clinics interested in testing VetiGel can contact them on the company website.
Via: Business Insider
The post Plant-based Vetigel stops traumatic bleeding in seconds appeared first on Interesting Engineering.
Plant-based Vetigel stops traumatic bleeding in seconds
A new plant-based gel, called VetiGel, may be the solution to stop serious bleeding. The premise was created by 22 year-old Joe Landolina – who invented the product when he was just 17 – and can stop bleeding within 12 seconds.
Landolina, CEO and co-founder of Brooklyn biotech startup Suneris, said the gel can be applied to the skin (including open wounds) and soft tissue and is already being used in veterinary clinics. In an interview with Bloomberg, Landolina describes the VetiGel as “Lego building blocks for the body.” The building blocks in this case are polymers removed from the cell walls of a plant and that accelerate the natural blood clotting process in three different ways. Firstly it stops the bleeding immediately after application by closing the wound. The gel then facilitates the accumulation of platelets, which concentrate in the region and facilitate blood clotting. Lastly, the gel stimulates the production of fibrin, which is a coagulation-related protein, resulting in a remarkably fast and stable coagulation process.
The VetiGel is not yet ready for use in humans, but is close to reaching that point, according to Suneris, and when it does, the initial primary market will probably be to help military personnel and EMTs treat traumatic injuries. Soon the VetiGel will be available in the market as a veterinary product to help stop bleeding during animal surgery. Veterinarians and clinics interested in testing VetiGel can contact them on the company website.
Via: Business Insider
The post Plant-based Vetigel stops traumatic bleeding in seconds appeared first on Interesting Engineering.
In today's Interesting Engineering we have the following
Lexus claims to have finally created a working hoverboard
Lexus, the luxury car brand, seems to have created its own hoverboard. But the automaker did not provide many details except for a video and some pictures of the flying skateboard. The page says the SLIDE creates “frictionless movement” using magnetic levitation, thanks to magnets that use a superconducting system cooled by liquid nitrogen (hence the smoke coming from the board in the photos).
The video is short and doesn’t reveal much, you can’t actually see it working, but Lexus ensures it is not a fake. In their promotional website they claim to have created a real and functional hoverboard. This is not the first time someone tries to create a working hoverboard. Previous models generally relied on superstrong magnets to stay in the air. But the more weight you add to board, the stronger these magnets had to be. Also, devices that work on superconductors can only function above special magnetic surfaces, and the SLIDE appears to be floating over concrete.
The Lexus hoverboard is part of the company’s Amazing in Motion campaign, through which the company aims to demonstrate how “amazing things can be achieved” when technology, design, and imagination are combined. The board has been under development for over 18 months by teams in Germany and England, and is currently being tested by a professional skateboarder in Barcelona, Spain.
Via: Cool Hunting
The post Lexus claims to have finally created a working hoverboard appeared first on Interesting Engineering.
Lexus claims to have finally created a working hoverboard
Lexus, the luxury car brand, seems to have created its own hoverboard. But the automaker did not provide many details except for a video and some pictures of the flying skateboard. The page says the SLIDE creates “frictionless movement” using magnetic levitation, thanks to magnets that use a superconducting system cooled by liquid nitrogen (hence the smoke coming from the board in the photos).
The video is short and doesn’t reveal much, you can’t actually see it working, but Lexus ensures it is not a fake. In their promotional website they claim to have created a real and functional hoverboard. This is not the first time someone tries to create a working hoverboard. Previous models generally relied on superstrong magnets to stay in the air. But the more weight you add to board, the stronger these magnets had to be. Also, devices that work on superconductors can only function above special magnetic surfaces, and the SLIDE appears to be floating over concrete.
The Lexus hoverboard is part of the company’s Amazing in Motion campaign, through which the company aims to demonstrate how “amazing things can be achieved” when technology, design, and imagination are combined. The board has been under development for over 18 months by teams in Germany and England, and is currently being tested by a professional skateboarder in Barcelona, Spain.
Via: Cool Hunting
The post Lexus claims to have finally created a working hoverboard appeared first on Interesting Engineering.
In today's Interesting Engineering we have the following
Facial recognition may change how people shop
Soon facial recognition may change how we shop as retailers will be able to scan your face and keep your information. At the moment there are many retailers who own technology allowing them to do this and this has caused some arguments among people who don’t like the idea. However after 16 months they have now given up and seem to have accepted the fact that facial scans are going to become a part of how we shop in the future.
Nine groups were against retailers being able to scan faces of shoppers and keep their information. However they have reached a brick wall at the moment and cannot get past it. The privacy groups have said that retailers should have to ask for permission before they are able to scan the faces of their customers. Retailers use the information to keep a track of their customers purchasing habits and track purchases along with gathering information from databases on which customers are listed, of other retailers. Along with using the information to offer customers special deals it seems they also want to identify potential criminals.
Alvaro Bedoya, a Georgetown University law professor is one of the people against facial scans and said that consumers should be asked before scans take place. However negotiations have been taking place for almost one and a half years and the retailers say they should not have to get permissions.
One of the biggest worries of the privacy groups against the technology is that people could be profiled and targeted. One company who has used facial recognition is Facebook and they have used it for categorizing and identifying pictures. Therefore they know which products people look at when they are online as they scan the cookies which come from the websites of retailers. They then use this information to send you product ads.
Another worry is hacking. Passwords and credit card numbers can easily be changed but you cannot change your face if it has been scanned. The privacy groups say that categorizing people based on their face is invasive, even if that person isn’t named.
But how do you feel about it, would you mind if retailers scanned your face and kept it on file without you knowing?
Via [ExtremeTech]
The post Facial recognition may change how people shop appeared first on Interesting Engineering.
Facial recognition may change how people shop
Soon facial recognition may change how we shop as retailers will be able to scan your face and keep your information. At the moment there are many retailers who own technology allowing them to do this and this has caused some arguments among people who don’t like the idea. However after 16 months they have now given up and seem to have accepted the fact that facial scans are going to become a part of how we shop in the future.
[Image Courtesy of ExtremeTech]
Nine groups were against retailers being able to scan faces of shoppers and keep their information. However they have reached a brick wall at the moment and cannot get past it. The privacy groups have said that retailers should have to ask for permission before they are able to scan the faces of their customers. Retailers use the information to keep a track of their customers purchasing habits and track purchases along with gathering information from databases on which customers are listed, of other retailers. Along with using the information to offer customers special deals it seems they also want to identify potential criminals.
Alvaro Bedoya, a Georgetown University law professor is one of the people against facial scans and said that consumers should be asked before scans take place. However negotiations have been taking place for almost one and a half years and the retailers say they should not have to get permissions.
One of the biggest worries of the privacy groups against the technology is that people could be profiled and targeted. One company who has used facial recognition is Facebook and they have used it for categorizing and identifying pictures. Therefore they know which products people look at when they are online as they scan the cookies which come from the websites of retailers. They then use this information to send you product ads.
Another worry is hacking. Passwords and credit card numbers can easily be changed but you cannot change your face if it has been scanned. The privacy groups say that categorizing people based on their face is invasive, even if that person isn’t named.
But how do you feel about it, would you mind if retailers scanned your face and kept it on file without you knowing?
Via [ExtremeTech]
The post Facial recognition may change how people shop appeared first on Interesting Engineering.
In today's Interesting Engineering we have the following
Pepper the robot gets all emotional
Pepper the robot comes from designers Softbank and Aldabaran and they say their robot is going to become a game changer as they have given it all the technology it needs in order for it to interact with human beings when in social settings. The latest technology they have given the robot allows it to get emotional.
The designers are calling Pepper the robot the world’s first emotionally intelligent robot and it can come up with witty and even well timed phrases. The robot is able to recognise emotions and makes use of techniques that are novel. While you may think that robots don’t need to show emotions it could come in handy in situations where a robot becomes a caregiver.
Recognising emotions is not the easiest thing even in human beings with some humans failing to recognise signs of emotion in others. For instance those with autism are said to be blind to emotion and often have a great deal of difficulty in reading the expressions of other people. Softbank is not giving away the algorithms and secrets to how they made Pepper the robot have emotions, but it has been suggested that it could be a type of deep neural network.
Pepper the robot is connected up to a cloud and this feeds data from sensors to the clusters on a server and this is where the majority of the processing takes place. It also means that the algorithms that make Pepper have emotions should get better and make improvements over time. It is looking as though even though finances are indicating that the robot could be a loss making venture, they are going ahead and using the robot as a way of perfecting emotion recognition.
But what do you think? Are they going too far in giving a robot emotions?
Via [ExtremeTech]
The post Pepper the robot gets all emotional appeared first on Interesting Engineering.
Pepper the robot gets all emotional
Pepper the robot comes from designers Softbank and Aldabaran and they say their robot is going to become a game changer as they have given it all the technology it needs in order for it to interact with human beings when in social settings. The latest technology they have given the robot allows it to get emotional.
[Image Courtesy of ExtremeTech]
The designers are calling Pepper the robot the world’s first emotionally intelligent robot and it can come up with witty and even well timed phrases. The robot is able to recognise emotions and makes use of techniques that are novel. While you may think that robots don’t need to show emotions it could come in handy in situations where a robot becomes a caregiver.
Recognising emotions is not the easiest thing even in human beings with some humans failing to recognise signs of emotion in others. For instance those with autism are said to be blind to emotion and often have a great deal of difficulty in reading the expressions of other people. Softbank is not giving away the algorithms and secrets to how they made Pepper the robot have emotions, but it has been suggested that it could be a type of deep neural network.
Pepper the robot is connected up to a cloud and this feeds data from sensors to the clusters on a server and this is where the majority of the processing takes place. It also means that the algorithms that make Pepper have emotions should get better and make improvements over time. It is looking as though even though finances are indicating that the robot could be a loss making venture, they are going ahead and using the robot as a way of perfecting emotion recognition.
But what do you think? Are they going too far in giving a robot emotions?
Via [ExtremeTech]
The post Pepper the robot gets all emotional appeared first on Interesting Engineering.
In today's Interesting Engineering we have the following
3 wheeler all-electric vintage vehicle from Morgan
Morgan, the British Motoring company revealed their plans for the production of a version of their classic 3 wheeler by way of an all-electric version. The concept of the EV3 happens to be the second Morgan electric vehicle with the base on a vehicle that was reintroduced by Morgan during 2011. This was 100 years after the creation of the first three wheel car created by H.F.S Morgan as a personal run-around.
The concept of the EV3 takes on a lot of the same design but this time around it has been given a single electric motor at the back and this offers 45kW of power which is about 100 horses. At the moment we don’t know where the battery pack would be located but we do know that the weight of the car is 450kg. This happens to be less than the 2.0 litre with the V-Twin engine.
Morgan is testing a prototype, which will make its debut at the Goodwood Festival and the range is thought to be around 150 miles. Morgan plans on getting the vehicle into production towards the latter half of 2016 and as with all their vehicles it is made by hand and on a made to order basis. While this isn’t going to be a vehicle that many will want to take on the highways for a daily spin, there is little doubt that fans of Morgan who have the means will be placing an order and getting on the waiting list.
Via [Morgan Motors]
The post 3 wheeler all-electric vintage vehicle from Morgan appeared first on Interesting Engineering.
3 wheeler all-electric vintage vehicle from Morgan
Morgan, the British Motoring company revealed their plans for the production of a version of their classic 3 wheeler by way of an all-electric version. The concept of the EV3 happens to be the second Morgan electric vehicle with the base on a vehicle that was reintroduced by Morgan during 2011. This was 100 years after the creation of the first three wheel car created by H.F.S Morgan as a personal run-around.
[Image Courtesy of Morgan Motors]
The concept of the EV3 takes on a lot of the same design but this time around it has been given a single electric motor at the back and this offers 45kW of power which is about 100 horses. At the moment we don’t know where the battery pack would be located but we do know that the weight of the car is 450kg. This happens to be less than the 2.0 litre with the V-Twin engine.
[Image Courtesy of Morgan Motors]
Morgan is testing a prototype, which will make its debut at the Goodwood Festival and the range is thought to be around 150 miles. Morgan plans on getting the vehicle into production towards the latter half of 2016 and as with all their vehicles it is made by hand and on a made to order basis. While this isn’t going to be a vehicle that many will want to take on the highways for a daily spin, there is little doubt that fans of Morgan who have the means will be placing an order and getting on the waiting list.
[Image Courtesy of Morgan Motors]
Via [Morgan Motors]
The post 3 wheeler all-electric vintage vehicle from Morgan appeared first on Interesting Engineering.
In today's Interesting Engineering we have the following
Engineers and scientists design the world’s most comfortable stiletto
High heels created by scientists instead of designers, does it sound strange to you? The story may seem a bit crazy, but certainly most women will relate to the cause, which focuses on decreasing the pain and preventing physical injuries caused by the use of high heels. Thesis Couture is the science and technology company dedicated to the fashion segment trying to join the best of both worlds in order to help women everywhere. And it is the former executive of SpaceX, the US space transport company, Dolly Singh that leads this team that has long worked to reinvent the famous stilettos in order to make them more comfortable and healthy.
“The key was to make it an interesting problem in their language. Asking them to design a high heel isn’t interesting,” Singh told Tim Walker over at The Independent. “But asking them to design a structure that supports a secondary structure, which is dynamic and has a 180-degree range of motion and happens to be a human body? That’s interesting. I had to make them see it not as a fluffy problem, but as a serious engineering problem.”
The new reinvented stilettos present innovations such as a heel made of high-tech aerospace materials like polymers and plastic instead of a metal rod like the traditional ones, straps that strategically wrap around the feet, slip-resistant sole, cushioned internal heel bed and a better load distribution from heel to toe. According to Thesis Couture, when this project is completed – and duly patented – the technology will revolutionize the fashion industry.
“Five years from now,” Singh says, “I want every high heel on the face of the Earth to be made the way we make them.”
Source: Business Insider
The post Engineers and scientists design the world’s most comfortable stiletto appeared first on Interesting Engineering.
Engineers and scientists design the world’s most comfortable stiletto
High heels created by scientists instead of designers, does it sound strange to you? The story may seem a bit crazy, but certainly most women will relate to the cause, which focuses on decreasing the pain and preventing physical injuries caused by the use of high heels. Thesis Couture is the science and technology company dedicated to the fashion segment trying to join the best of both worlds in order to help women everywhere. And it is the former executive of SpaceX, the US space transport company, Dolly Singh that leads this team that has long worked to reinvent the famous stilettos in order to make them more comfortable and healthy.
“The key was to make it an interesting problem in their language. Asking them to design a high heel isn’t interesting,” Singh told Tim Walker over at The Independent. “But asking them to design a structure that supports a secondary structure, which is dynamic and has a 180-degree range of motion and happens to be a human body? That’s interesting. I had to make them see it not as a fluffy problem, but as a serious engineering problem.”
There is clear evidence that the prolonged use of high heels can cause serious damage to the feet and even the back. And Thesis couture aims to change that with their new technology. “It’s a stiletto. It’s never going to feel like a tennis shoe. But it doesn’t have to feel like a torture device either.” said Singh.
The new reinvented stilettos present innovations such as a heel made of high-tech aerospace materials like polymers and plastic instead of a metal rod like the traditional ones, straps that strategically wrap around the feet, slip-resistant sole, cushioned internal heel bed and a better load distribution from heel to toe. According to Thesis Couture, when this project is completed – and duly patented – the technology will revolutionize the fashion industry.
“Five years from now,” Singh says, “I want every high heel on the face of the Earth to be made the way we make them.”
Source: Business Insider
The post Engineers and scientists design the world’s most comfortable stiletto appeared first on Interesting Engineering.
I would love to have a Morgan three wheeler - but not the electric one.
In today's Interesting Engineering we have the following
Should robotics future make us concerned?
The developments in Robotics has been a long term concern for many across the globe. A great concern, popularly referred to as Singularity, is a hypothetical event in which a robot, computer or any similar device would be both self-aware of its own making and also intelligent enough to alter or improve it. This would inevitably make it smarter and smarter until it outsmarts us all – or so they say.
Before reaching any conclusion, there yet exists another unanswered and perhaps even more important question: will such machines ever exist?
A possible pizza delivery robot in the making [Courtesy: trends.directindustry.com]
Siri, the iPhone app, is quite remarkable as many would expect. Its user interface is so remarkable that most people can’t help but wonder if Siri has a mind of its own. Not only can Siri find you a good restaurant or call a friend, it can occasionally crack a joke or two.
Dag Kittlaus and his team were the ones that created Siri and here is what he had to say about Siri’s sense of humor; “Well, we anticipated, originally, that people were gonna ask funny questions,” he said. “And we spent quite a bit of time preparing Siri to be funny and have a little bit of a dry wit.” And surprisingly enough, Siri doesn’t even think. It’s all preprogrammed.
Dag Kittlaus eventually left Apple and went in pursuit of a more ambitious project he calls Viv. Basically, Viv can be thought as Siri 2.0. Dag Kittlaus said with Viv, one could say something like, “Find me a great place to go, take my kids, to the Caribbean in the last week of February.” and Viv would instantaneously search all possible databases to get what you want and even possibly engage in conversation.
One would think that this (Viv) is quite an achievement, or perhaps not. People like MIT’s Max Tegmark think otherwise. He said, “If we succeed in getting true artificial intelligence(AI) that’s smarter than us, it will be the most powerful technology ever. And it’ll either be the best thing ever to happen to humanity, or the worst thing. And it’s up to us, now, to see which way it’s gonna go.”
Even though Tegmark spoke like Singularity might be a 50-50 scenario, his actions spoke otherwise. He set up a group called Future of Life Institute whose aim according to their website is “working to mitigate existential risks facing humanity”.
It’s difficult to argue against Tegmark, particularly after the following statement he made. He said, “The basic concern is very simple: If you can make a machine which can out-compete us humans on all cognitive tasks, then by definition, it’s better than us also at programming AI. So first thing it can do is improve its own software. Now it’s even smarter! Then it can do it again and again and again.”
Although the general impression is that if this recursive self-improvement occurs with artificially intelligent machines, they would eventually turn on humans and a post-apocalyptic world might be all that remains. This was the inspiration behind the popular Hollywood animation 9. Tegmark argued that this was “ridiculous”, he said that Singularity would not be a problem as long as the goals of AI and humans are aligned with each other.
Hollywood animation 9 shows why people are concerned about Robotics Future – Singularity [Courtesy: villains.wikia.com]
To be or not to be concerned with the future of Robotics and AI? Perhaps only the future can tell us as we wait to see in what directions our ever-ambitious scientists take Artificial Intelligence to.
Source: CBS News
The post Should robotics future make us concerned? appeared first on Interesting Engineering.
Should robotics future make us concerned?
The developments in Robotics has been a long term concern for many across the globe. A great concern, popularly referred to as Singularity, is a hypothetical event in which a robot, computer or any similar device would be both self-aware of its own making and also intelligent enough to alter or improve it. This would inevitably make it smarter and smarter until it outsmarts us all – or so they say.
Before reaching any conclusion, there yet exists another unanswered and perhaps even more important question: will such machines ever exist?
A possible pizza delivery robot in the making [Courtesy: trends.directindustry.com]
Siri, the iPhone app, is quite remarkable as many would expect. Its user interface is so remarkable that most people can’t help but wonder if Siri has a mind of its own. Not only can Siri find you a good restaurant or call a friend, it can occasionally crack a joke or two.
Dag Kittlaus and his team were the ones that created Siri and here is what he had to say about Siri’s sense of humor; “Well, we anticipated, originally, that people were gonna ask funny questions,” he said. “And we spent quite a bit of time preparing Siri to be funny and have a little bit of a dry wit.” And surprisingly enough, Siri doesn’t even think. It’s all preprogrammed.
Dag Kittlaus eventually left Apple and went in pursuit of a more ambitious project he calls Viv. Basically, Viv can be thought as Siri 2.0. Dag Kittlaus said with Viv, one could say something like, “Find me a great place to go, take my kids, to the Caribbean in the last week of February.” and Viv would instantaneously search all possible databases to get what you want and even possibly engage in conversation.
One would think that this (Viv) is quite an achievement, or perhaps not. People like MIT’s Max Tegmark think otherwise. He said, “If we succeed in getting true artificial intelligence(AI) that’s smarter than us, it will be the most powerful technology ever. And it’ll either be the best thing ever to happen to humanity, or the worst thing. And it’s up to us, now, to see which way it’s gonna go.”
Even though Tegmark spoke like Singularity might be a 50-50 scenario, his actions spoke otherwise. He set up a group called Future of Life Institute whose aim according to their website is “working to mitigate existential risks facing humanity”.
It’s difficult to argue against Tegmark, particularly after the following statement he made. He said, “The basic concern is very simple: If you can make a machine which can out-compete us humans on all cognitive tasks, then by definition, it’s better than us also at programming AI. So first thing it can do is improve its own software. Now it’s even smarter! Then it can do it again and again and again.”
Although the general impression is that if this recursive self-improvement occurs with artificially intelligent machines, they would eventually turn on humans and a post-apocalyptic world might be all that remains. This was the inspiration behind the popular Hollywood animation 9. Tegmark argued that this was “ridiculous”, he said that Singularity would not be a problem as long as the goals of AI and humans are aligned with each other.
Hollywood animation 9 shows why people are concerned about Robotics Future – Singularity [Courtesy: villains.wikia.com]
To be or not to be concerned with the future of Robotics and AI? Perhaps only the future can tell us as we wait to see in what directions our ever-ambitious scientists take Artificial Intelligence to.
Source: CBS News
The post Should robotics future make us concerned? appeared first on Interesting Engineering.
In today's Interesting Engineering we have the following
LucidPipe – Truly Elegant Water to Wire Generators
It’s a stone, cold fact that many great ideas are very simple things. And of that genre, the ones that really shine are those that make you think, ‘why hasn’t anyone thought of that before?’ LucidPipe, a truly elegant water to wire electric power generation system, is such an idea. Portland, Oregon based Lucid Energy has developed LucidPipe to generate electrical power from water flowing within the supply pipes that feed our cities and towns – Clean energy generated from an existing resource that remains virtually uninterrupted after installation. The company has recently installed a system in their home town, and has many more in the works, worldwide, from here in the U. S. to Europe, and South Africa.
LucidPipe is stunningly simple. A lift-based, vertical axis, spherical turbine is attached inline to water supply pipe. When water flows, it drives the hydrodynamic turbine and generates electricity, which is then fed back into the electrical grid. The Portland project, once fully operational, will generate upwards of 1,100 MW hours, roughly enough to energize one hundred and fifty homes. The company states that the energy produced will be worth in the neighborhood of two million dollars annually – Those are significant numbers, without a doubt; depending on specific conditions, “one mile of 42” diameter pipeline could produce as much as 3 megawatts or more of electricity.”
Inline water pipe power generators are not a new idea, but one of this level of efficiency and flexibility certainly is. A few decades back, there was a resurgence in interest in small hydro power, everything from old abandoned systems to single home versions sprung up. Generally, the failure of such systems to catch on is predicated on two things, the fact that relatively few homes and places have access to a sufficient water source, and that the small, one house systems required some fairly serious pressure to generate effectively.
LucidPipe is a completely different concept, using large diameter, municipal water supply pipes coupled with very efficient generators. What this provides is truly viable, renewable source power generation, without the environmental vagaries that solar and wind generation face. Furthermore, since municipal water supply systems are in an ongoing state of repair and replacement, installing a system can be integrated into a city’s infrastructure and budget with relatively low impact.
LucidPipe is remarkably efficient, with head pressure extraction as low as 1 PSI per unit. Because of that efficiency, generators can be mounted in series, as closely as 3 to 4 generator diameters apart, meaning that, “up to four LucidPipe units can be installed in a standard 40-foot section of pipe.” LucidPipe’s turbine design allows power generation through a wide variety of conditions. The system is currently designed to work with pipes from 24″ to 96″ in diameter. Naturally, power generated is directly proportional to water velocity. The company states that flow rates of 4 to 7 feet per second are typical, and such rates are quite common in municipal water supply systems. These operating parameters mean that no specialized modification to an existing system is needed to radically increase water velocity; pipe diameters may be simply reduced slightly, to increase water velocity, if need be. As such, the overall cost of adding generators is moderated, and in most applications, recouped within a relatively short time by generated power income. And that is genuinely a better mouse trap.
The post LucidPipe – Truly Elegant Water to Wire Generators appeared first on Interesting Engineering.
LucidPipe – Truly Elegant Water to Wire Generators
It’s a stone, cold fact that many great ideas are very simple things. And of that genre, the ones that really shine are those that make you think, ‘why hasn’t anyone thought of that before?’ LucidPipe, a truly elegant water to wire electric power generation system, is such an idea. Portland, Oregon based Lucid Energy has developed LucidPipe to generate electrical power from water flowing within the supply pipes that feed our cities and towns – Clean energy generated from an existing resource that remains virtually uninterrupted after installation. The company has recently installed a system in their home town, and has many more in the works, worldwide, from here in the U. S. to Europe, and South Africa.
LucidPipe is stunningly simple. A lift-based, vertical axis, spherical turbine is attached inline to water supply pipe. When water flows, it drives the hydrodynamic turbine and generates electricity, which is then fed back into the electrical grid. The Portland project, once fully operational, will generate upwards of 1,100 MW hours, roughly enough to energize one hundred and fifty homes. The company states that the energy produced will be worth in the neighborhood of two million dollars annually – Those are significant numbers, without a doubt; depending on specific conditions, “one mile of 42” diameter pipeline could produce as much as 3 megawatts or more of electricity.”
Inline water pipe power generators are not a new idea, but one of this level of efficiency and flexibility certainly is. A few decades back, there was a resurgence in interest in small hydro power, everything from old abandoned systems to single home versions sprung up. Generally, the failure of such systems to catch on is predicated on two things, the fact that relatively few homes and places have access to a sufficient water source, and that the small, one house systems required some fairly serious pressure to generate effectively.
LucidPipe is a completely different concept, using large diameter, municipal water supply pipes coupled with very efficient generators. What this provides is truly viable, renewable source power generation, without the environmental vagaries that solar and wind generation face. Furthermore, since municipal water supply systems are in an ongoing state of repair and replacement, installing a system can be integrated into a city’s infrastructure and budget with relatively low impact.
LucidPipe is remarkably efficient, with head pressure extraction as low as 1 PSI per unit. Because of that efficiency, generators can be mounted in series, as closely as 3 to 4 generator diameters apart, meaning that, “up to four LucidPipe units can be installed in a standard 40-foot section of pipe.” LucidPipe’s turbine design allows power generation through a wide variety of conditions. The system is currently designed to work with pipes from 24″ to 96″ in diameter. Naturally, power generated is directly proportional to water velocity. The company states that flow rates of 4 to 7 feet per second are typical, and such rates are quite common in municipal water supply systems. These operating parameters mean that no specialized modification to an existing system is needed to radically increase water velocity; pipe diameters may be simply reduced slightly, to increase water velocity, if need be. As such, the overall cost of adding generators is moderated, and in most applications, recouped within a relatively short time by generated power income. And that is genuinely a better mouse trap.
The post LucidPipe – Truly Elegant Water to Wire Generators appeared first on Interesting Engineering.
In today's Interesting Engineering we have the following
Toyota takes Tacoma pickup and Sienna minivan and turns them into the Ultimate Utility Vehicle
There is something strange going on at the headquarters of Toyota as they have just revealed the ultimate utility vehicle as they have taken the Sienna and the Tacoma and blended the two into a hybrid vehicle. The vehicle is about to take a trek over North America and it offers just about everything you would need in a utility vehicle.
The ultimate utility vehicle from Toyota is the type of vehicle that will make you drool if you are into this type of vehicle. It comes with rugged styling and everything you could ever wish for in a 4×4 off-road vehicle. What is unusual about this 4×4 is that is has a short and curved hood along with the cabin shape. The B-pillar rear door does away with the fact that it is primarily a Sienna minivan that has been given a great deal of modification. This has been seemingly stuck onto the Tacoma pickup and its ladder frame.
There isn’t a great deal of information about this ultimate utility vehicle other than the fact that it is going on the 16,500 mile, 110 day Ever Better Expedition that started in Plano earlier on this week and which will go through numerous regions, including Route 66, Death Valley and New York City.
The convoy consists of nine Toyota vehicles and the aim of it is to get employees out of the office. This is so they can actually experience what it’s like to drive a Toyota vehicle on a day to day basis. They will then take their experience and put it to use on vehicles in the future. This is the second leg of the Five Continents Driving project of Toyota that started in Australia. The only single vehicle that is going to take part in all five legs will be the Land Cruiser 200.
You can see from the photos that the ultimate utility vehicle has a frightening looking front bumper complete with winch along with rock sliders, off-road lights and bead lock style wheels. The suspension has been updated and to complete the scary look there is a matte black paint job.
The ultimate utility vehicle is going to be shown off at the SEMA show which is held in November.
Via [Toyota]
The post Toyota takes Tacoma pickup and Sienna minivan and turns them into the Ultimate Utility Vehicle appeared first on Interesting Engineering.
Toyota takes Tacoma pickup and Sienna minivan and turns them into the Ultimate Utility Vehicle
There is something strange going on at the headquarters of Toyota as they have just revealed the ultimate utility vehicle as they have taken the Sienna and the Tacoma and blended the two into a hybrid vehicle. The vehicle is about to take a trek over North America and it offers just about everything you would need in a utility vehicle.
[Image Courtesy of Toyota]
The ultimate utility vehicle from Toyota is the type of vehicle that will make you drool if you are into this type of vehicle. It comes with rugged styling and everything you could ever wish for in a 4×4 off-road vehicle. What is unusual about this 4×4 is that is has a short and curved hood along with the cabin shape. The B-pillar rear door does away with the fact that it is primarily a Sienna minivan that has been given a great deal of modification. This has been seemingly stuck onto the Tacoma pickup and its ladder frame.
[Image Courtesy of Toyota]
There isn’t a great deal of information about this ultimate utility vehicle other than the fact that it is going on the 16,500 mile, 110 day Ever Better Expedition that started in Plano earlier on this week and which will go through numerous regions, including Route 66, Death Valley and New York City.
The convoy consists of nine Toyota vehicles and the aim of it is to get employees out of the office. This is so they can actually experience what it’s like to drive a Toyota vehicle on a day to day basis. They will then take their experience and put it to use on vehicles in the future. This is the second leg of the Five Continents Driving project of Toyota that started in Australia. The only single vehicle that is going to take part in all five legs will be the Land Cruiser 200.
You can see from the photos that the ultimate utility vehicle has a frightening looking front bumper complete with winch along with rock sliders, off-road lights and bead lock style wheels. The suspension has been updated and to complete the scary look there is a matte black paint job.
The ultimate utility vehicle is going to be shown off at the SEMA show which is held in November.
Via [Toyota]
The post Toyota takes Tacoma pickup and Sienna minivan and turns them into the Ultimate Utility Vehicle appeared first on Interesting Engineering.
Now that's a mini van I would drive.
In today's Interesting Engineering we have the following
Blade is world’s first 3D printed supercar and it’s green
With more people taking care of the environment, green cars are becoming more popular and a California company has taken advantage of this fact along with the latest technology and designed Blade, the world’s first 3D printed supercar. The company designed their own technology for printing the prototype vehicle.
The company recognised that there are many green and clean cars on the market. However making those cars is not very environmentally friendly. Divergent Micofactories want to change this and that’s why they designed Blade, a stylish supercar that shows that good looks don’t have to be sacrificed for green ethics.
They are changing the way that cars are built and it will reduce the amount of materials along with energy used dramatically. The Blade prototype weighs around 90% less than the typical supercar; however it is sturdier and stronger than the traditional vehicle.
The vehicle has a 700hp bi-fuel engine that runs on gasoline or compressed natural gas and it can reach 60mph from standstill in 2 seconds. The Blade is going to be produced in a limited amount of numbers but there isn’t a price tag linked to the vehicle yet. Divergent also plans on franchising their 3D printing technology to allow other microfactories to make their own versions of supercars.
Via [Divergent Microfactories]
The post Blade is world’s first 3D printed supercar and it’s green appeared first on Interesting Engineering.
Blade is world’s first 3D printed supercar and it’s green
With more people taking care of the environment, green cars are becoming more popular and a California company has taken advantage of this fact along with the latest technology and designed Blade, the world’s first 3D printed supercar. The company designed their own technology for printing the prototype vehicle.
[Image Courtesy of Divergent Microfactories]
The company recognised that there are many green and clean cars on the market. However making those cars is not very environmentally friendly. Divergent Micofactories want to change this and that’s why they designed Blade, a stylish supercar that shows that good looks don’t have to be sacrificed for green ethics.
[Image Courtesy of Divergent Microfactories]
They are changing the way that cars are built and it will reduce the amount of materials along with energy used dramatically. The Blade prototype weighs around 90% less than the typical supercar; however it is sturdier and stronger than the traditional vehicle.
[Image Courtesy of Divergent Microfactories]
The vehicle has a 700hp bi-fuel engine that runs on gasoline or compressed natural gas and it can reach 60mph from standstill in 2 seconds. The Blade is going to be produced in a limited amount of numbers but there isn’t a price tag linked to the vehicle yet. Divergent also plans on franchising their 3D printing technology to allow other microfactories to make their own versions of supercars.
[Image Courtesy of Divergent Microfactories]
Via [Divergent Microfactories]
The post Blade is world’s first 3D printed supercar and it’s green appeared first on Interesting Engineering.
In today's Interesting Engineering we have the following
This hair dryer art installation will blow your mind
Antoine Terrieux is a juggler and magician who developed an illusionism show based on the use of physics, combining air currents with a precision that only circus artists could manage to achieve. He fused science and art to create kinetic artworks using different arrangements of hair dryers propelling an impressive continuous motion, such as a paper airplane endlessly flying in circles, a string dancing in the air, or a spinning vortex of water vapor.
Antoine Terrieux’s art installation at La Maison Des Jonglages in La Courneuve near Paris uses the air dryer’s airflow to levitate the objects, making it look quite magical. He often uses this hair dryer technique on stage shows to levitate Styrofoam balls, delighting the audience, but he managed to turn it into art by taking this kinetic show to a museum. Check out the video to see these hair dryers creating gravity-defying works of art.
Via: Sploid
The post This hair dryer art installation will blow your mind appeared first on Interesting Engineering.
This hair dryer art installation will blow your mind
Antoine Terrieux is a juggler and magician who developed an illusionism show based on the use of physics, combining air currents with a precision that only circus artists could manage to achieve. He fused science and art to create kinetic artworks using different arrangements of hair dryers propelling an impressive continuous motion, such as a paper airplane endlessly flying in circles, a string dancing in the air, or a spinning vortex of water vapor.
Antoine Terrieux’s art installation at La Maison Des Jonglages in La Courneuve near Paris uses the air dryer’s airflow to levitate the objects, making it look quite magical. He often uses this hair dryer technique on stage shows to levitate Styrofoam balls, delighting the audience, but he managed to turn it into art by taking this kinetic show to a museum. Check out the video to see these hair dryers creating gravity-defying works of art.
Via: Sploid
The post This hair dryer art installation will blow your mind appeared first on Interesting Engineering.
In today's Interesting Engineering we have the following
New low cost graphene production a revolution
Graphene is often called the wonder material, however while it might have its wonders there is no getting away from the fact that it is has chemical vapour deposition that is time consuming and expensive to produce industrially. However this could change as the University of Exeter claim to have found a totally new technique that comes with low cost and they can make graphene of high quality cheaper.
They claim the system is based on technology that is used to make semiconductors and they can use it to make graphene in mass production using the facilities that already exist. The technique involves growing the graphene in a resistive cold wall CVD system which Moorfield Nanotechnology developed in the UK. The nanoCVD system allows them to grow the graphene around 100 times faster than the conventional method and this should cut costs down by around 99%.
Researchers say that they have already used the technique to create a touch sensor that is flexible and based on graphene. Along with more flexible electronics coming from it they say that the sensors could allow for flexible electronic skin for being used in robotics.
Wearable along with flexible technology may be totally transformed by the graphene’s properties. Along with this the procedure is cost effective and this is vitally important for the exploitation of graphene.
Via [University Of Exeter]
The post New low cost graphene production a revolution appeared first on Interesting Engineering.
New low cost graphene production a revolution
Graphene is often called the wonder material, however while it might have its wonders there is no getting away from the fact that it is has chemical vapour deposition that is time consuming and expensive to produce industrially. However this could change as the University of Exeter claim to have found a totally new technique that comes with low cost and they can make graphene of high quality cheaper.
[Image Courtesy of Exeter]
They claim the system is based on technology that is used to make semiconductors and they can use it to make graphene in mass production using the facilities that already exist. The technique involves growing the graphene in a resistive cold wall CVD system which Moorfield Nanotechnology developed in the UK. The nanoCVD system allows them to grow the graphene around 100 times faster than the conventional method and this should cut costs down by around 99%.
[Image Courtesy of Exeter]
Researchers say that they have already used the technique to create a touch sensor that is flexible and based on graphene. Along with more flexible electronics coming from it they say that the sensors could allow for flexible electronic skin for being used in robotics.
Wearable along with flexible technology may be totally transformed by the graphene’s properties. Along with this the procedure is cost effective and this is vitally important for the exploitation of graphene.
Via [University Of Exeter]
The post New low cost graphene production a revolution appeared first on Interesting Engineering.
