The purpose of this blog is the creation of an open, international, independent and free forum, where every UFO-researcher can publish the results of his/her research. The languagues, used for this blog, are Dutch, English and French.You can find the articles of a collegue by selecting his category. Each author stays resposable for the continue of his articles. As blogmaster I have the right to refuse an addition or an article, when it attacks other collegues or UFO-groupes.
Druk op onderstaande knop om te reageren in mijn forum
Zoeken in blog
Deze blog is opgedragen aan mijn overleden echtgenote Lucienne.
In 2012 verloor ze haar moedige strijd tegen kanker!
In 2011 startte ik deze blog, omdat ik niet mocht stoppen met mijn UFO-onderzoek.
BEDANKT!!!
Een interessant adres?
UFO'S of UAP'S, ASTRONOMIE, RUIMTEVAART, ARCHEOLOGIE, OUDHEIDKUNDE, SF-SNUFJES EN ANDERE ESOTERISCHE WETENSCHAPPEN - DE ALLERLAATSTE NIEUWTJES
UFO's of UAP'S in België en de rest van de wereld Ontdek de Fascinerende Wereld van UFO's en UAP's: Jouw Bron voor Onthullende Informatie!
Ben jij ook gefascineerd door het onbekende? Wil je meer weten over UFO's en UAP's, niet alleen in België, maar over de hele wereld? Dan ben je op de juiste plek!
België: Het Kloppend Hart van UFO-onderzoek
In België is BUFON (Belgisch UFO-Netwerk) dé autoriteit op het gebied van UFO-onderzoek. Voor betrouwbare en objectieve informatie over deze intrigerende fenomenen, bezoek je zeker onze Facebook-pagina en deze blog. Maar dat is nog niet alles! Ontdek ook het Belgisch UFO-meldpunt en Caelestia, twee organisaties die diepgaand onderzoek verrichten, al zijn ze soms kritisch of sceptisch.
Nederland: Een Schat aan Informatie
Voor onze Nederlandse buren is er de schitterende website www.ufowijzer.nl, beheerd door Paul Harmans. Deze site biedt een schat aan informatie en artikelen die je niet wilt missen!
Internationaal: MUFON - De Wereldwijde Autoriteit
Neem ook een kijkje bij MUFON (Mutual UFO Network Inc.), een gerenommeerde Amerikaanse UFO-vereniging met afdelingen in de VS en wereldwijd. MUFON is toegewijd aan de wetenschappelijke en analytische studie van het UFO-fenomeen, en hun maandelijkse tijdschrift, The MUFON UFO-Journal, is een must-read voor elke UFO-enthousiasteling. Bezoek hun website op www.mufon.com voor meer informatie.
Samenwerking en Toekomstvisie
Sinds 1 februari 2020 is Pieter niet alleen ex-president van BUFON, maar ook de voormalige nationale directeur van MUFON in Vlaanderen en Nederland. Dit creëert een sterke samenwerking met de Franse MUFON Reseau MUFON/EUROP, wat ons in staat stelt om nog meer waardevolle inzichten te delen.
Let op: Nepprofielen en Nieuwe Groeperingen
Pas op voor een nieuwe groepering die zich ook BUFON noemt, maar geen enkele connectie heeft met onze gevestigde organisatie. Hoewel zij de naam geregistreerd hebben, kunnen ze het rijke verleden en de expertise van onze groep niet evenaren. We wensen hen veel succes, maar we blijven de autoriteit in UFO-onderzoek!
Blijf Op De Hoogte!
Wil jij de laatste nieuwtjes over UFO's, ruimtevaart, archeologie, en meer? Volg ons dan en duik samen met ons in de fascinerende wereld van het onbekende! Sluit je aan bij de gemeenschap van nieuwsgierige geesten die net als jij verlangen naar antwoorden en avonturen in de sterren!
Heb je vragen of wil je meer weten? Aarzel dan niet om contact met ons op te nemen! Samen ontrafelen we het mysterie van de lucht en daarbuiten.
04-01-2021
OUR FUTURE ROBOT OVERLORDS WILL HAVE SICK DANCE MOVES
OUR FUTURE ROBOT OVERLORDS WILL HAVE SICK DANCE MOVES
Boston Dynamics, one of the leading global mobile robot developers, has recently released a video showing their highly popular robot lineup in action. In tackling some of the toughest robotics challenges, the company wanted to show the public just exactly what they’ve been up to lately. In the video below, Atlas, their humanoid robot, Spot, the dog-shaped robot, and Handle, the box-juggling robot, took center stage as The Countours “Do You Love Me” began to play. The dance that happened next needs to be seen to be believed.
BACKGROUND
Initially founded in 1992 after breaking off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston Dynamics’ goal is to “combine the principles of dynamic control and balance with sophisticated mechanical designs, cutting-edge electronics, and next-generation software for high-performance robots equipped with perception, navigation, and intelligence.”
Their first major success came with its dog-like quadrupedal robots developed for DARPA, the Defense Department’s research and development organization. This would evolve into the commercialized version of the Spot robot, which is currently on the market.
In 2018, Boston Dynamics showcased the Spot robot attempting to do “The Running Man” dance to the popular song, “Uptown Funk.” The new video shows how far the company has come with all of the mobility issues they may have had in the past and how much the robots have evolved.
ANALYSIS
The purpose of showing off the “dancing robots” is two-fold for Boston Dynamics.
The first highlights the organic quality of stable motion that humans often associate with natural movement but implemented in robots with legs. Unlike wheeled or track robots, these robots can navigate and overcome the challenges of obstacles and rugged terrain with this dynamic mobility.
The second reason for showing off the smooth, perfectly choreographed dance chops of the robots is to bring fun to autonomous robots’ evolution. Many videos of these robots have left people feeling uncomfortable due to their rigid movements and focused tenacity at completing tasks.
Boston Dynamics wanted to go into the New Year with some light-hearted fun in an attempt to show how much their robots have evolved. On their official Twitter account, they stated that “Our whole crew got together to celebrate the start of what we hope will be a happier year.”
OUTLOOK
Currently, the “Dancing Robots” video has racked up over 20 million views on YouTube, showing no signs of slowing down. And neither do the robots or their creators. Boston Dynamics plans on posting more videos of the robots dancing. And while Spot is the only robot currently on the market, the prototypes of both Atlas and Handle are well on their way to becoming the next dance sensations.
With one of the most unusual and tumultuous years behind us, these three robots indeed show that anything is possible as we move forward. That is, of course, before the Terminator-like invasion begins to the soundtrack Dirty Dancing.
0
1
2
3
4
5
- Gemiddelde waardering: 0/5 - (0 Stemmen) Categorie:SF-snufjes }, Robotics and A.I. Artificiel Intelligence ( E, F en NL )
03-01-2021
South Korea's Artificial Sun Is More Hotter Than Actual Sun
South Korea's Artificial Sun Is More Hotter Than Actual Sun
South Korea gets success in creating an artificial sun and achieves 100 million degrees for 20 seconds, breaks world record
The Sun is the main source of energy to our earth, due to which human beings, including plants and animals, can get food. Apart from this, all the planets of the solar system revolve around the sun, so the sun is considered to be the main source of energy.
Electricity is produced through solar panels from the strong sunlight, although it is difficult to reach the same amount of sunlight in every country. This is the reason that many countries are preparing to make the artificial sun to generate more energy and in this list, After china now South Korea's name has also been included. So let's know how South Korea will get energy through the artificial sun.
The Artificial Sun of South Korea
The sun which gives energy to our solar system has a very hot and scorching temperature, so no machine or human being can reach the sun. However, today humans and science have made so much progress that some countries are moving towards creating the artificial sun.
According to the news, after China, now South Korea has also succeeded in making its own artificial sun. This artificial sun can shine for 20 seconds at temperatures above 100 million degrees Celsius.
Let us tell you that this artificial sun made by South Korea has also set a world record for the longest glow in the artificial sun ever created. Not only this, the sun made by South Korea shines at a much higher temperature than the real sun and with the help of this a lot of energy can be obtained in a short time. Let us tell you that the average temperature of the centre of the real sun is up to 15 million degrees Celsius.
For the past several years, scientists in South Korea were working on making artificial suns, for this, they used a superconducting fusion device called Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) and succeeded in producing artificial suns.
For this fusion, scientists collected plasma from hydrogen, which is made of hot iron and its temperature reaches 100 million degrees. Let me tell you that this iron is necessary to maintain the high temperature of the artificial sun.
You'd be surprised to know that the 2020 Fusion surpassed the previous year's plasma operation, as the previous artificial sun radiated for only 8 seconds while the artificial sun radiated for a full 20 seconds this year.
Let us tell you that earlier the Korean Institute of Fusion Energy (KFE) of South Korea succeeded in reaching the temperature of 100 million degrees for the first time through KSTAR fusion in 2018 but at that time the artificial sun radiates only for 1.5 seconds.
The report, released by scientists from South Korea, states that the goal of this institute is to shine the artificial sun for 300 seconds by 2025 through a fusion ignition.
China's Artificial Sun
This is not the first time that a country has succeeded in shining the artificial sun at high temperatures, even before China has been able to create an artificial sun and bring it to higher temperatures.
China succeeded in shining its artificial sun at 150 million degrees Celsius. Although the report of China's artificial sun shining appeared only in the local newspapers, there has been no such claim by China at the international level.
Benefits of an Artificial Sun
As we know that the sun is the best and easiest source of energy for other planets including the earth, from which electricity, water can be generated and lives get food.
In such a situation, every country wants to manufacture artificial sun for its profit so that it can meet the maximum consumption of electricity. In today's time, electricity has become very essential for every work, ongoing work in the company and factories can't be completed without electricity.
Due to the high consumption of electricity, the pollution level on the earth is constantly increasing, which all countries are relying on solar energy to reduce. However, it is very difficult for us to capture all the solar energy around the world.
Because the temperature and geographical conditions of each country are different. In such a situation, it has become an easy way to create an artificial sun and get solar energy from its light and do not harm nature.
This is the reason that different countries around the world are working on the technique of making the artificial sun and raising its temperature for maximum time. If any country succeeds in acquiring the technique of maintaining simulated sun temperatures for a long time, it can emerge as the new superpower of the world.
Now it will be interesting to see which country after China and South Korea is successful in making the artificial sun and shining it for a longer time. Creating an artificial sun and obtaining solar energy from it will be a new achievement for science and Humankind.
ALL RELATED VIDEOS, selected and posted by peter2011
The off-the-grid shelters offer 111 square feet of living space and cost $17,500 per pod.
All images courtesy of Jupe
“Jupe is an off-grid escape from the city, whether to the middle of a sprawling desert, a windswept cliff by the sea or your own backyard,” the startup’s official website reads. “Units are easy to assemble anywhere and WiFi-enabled, providing equal connection to the natural and digital world.”
“Experiencing the natural wonders of the world shouldn’t mean being forced to disconnect while staying in a less-than-inspirational living space,” CEO Jeff Wilson said in a press release. “During these times when most of us are craving a true escape, Jupe provides an experience perfectly suited for socially distanced travel.”
Monolith Excitement
According to Jupe’s site, the aluminum-reinforced pods can fit a Queen-sized bed, end tables, a desk and chair — and an “average-sized monolith,” for some reason.
“We turned to ideas that inspired and excited us,” Wilson said. “Remember that monolith from ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’? It last sent signals to Jupiter from the moon. It seems that a few of those blueprints were bounced back to Earth. We intercepted them and created Jupe.”
If you’re wiling to spend a little more, you can deck out your Jupe with smart speakers, a locking safe, and even solar panels for the full off-the-grid experience.
Jupes can be pre-ordered for a refundable $99 deposit.
RELATED PHOTOS AND VIDEO, selected and posted by peter2011
Jupe is made of interconnected aluminium masts that provide support for the geometric shape that’s designed to be reminiscent of an “interstellar shuttle.”
Sam Gezari
Jupe urban escape pod.
The sides are made of fire-resistant canvas, while the floor is wood tiling.
Sam Gezari
Jupe urban escape pod.
Jupe designers said that the structure was designed as “a work of art rather than a simple dwelling.”
Sam Gezari
Jupe urban escape pod.
Though it’s only 111 square feet inside, Jupe feels surprisingly roomy, with 11 foot-tall ceilings. There’s enough room for a queen-size bed, a desk, chair, and ottoman.
Sam Gezari
Jupe urban escape pod.
The floor also opens up into storage cubes, totaling more than 38 cubic feet of storage space.
Sam Gezari
Jupe urban escape pod.
The front window can open into a large panorama to take in views.
Jeff Wilson
Jupe urban escape pod.
Each unit comes with solar panels, a 200 Ah battery system, and WiFi router, with the option to add on dimmable LED lighting and a Sonos speaker with Alexa.
Sam Gezari
Jupe urban escape pod.
The Jupe can be flat-packed down onto the base frame for easy transportation.
Sam Gezari
Jupe urban escape pod.
It can be reassembled anywhere, even off the grid, thanks to solar power and batteries.
Last week, France gave the go-ahead for augmented soldiers, and some fear the super troopers could be the new norm in the recent future.
The French seek to improve “physical, cognitive, perceptive and psychological capacities,” and could allow for location tracking or connectivity with weapons systems and other soldiers. Among the ministry’s research were drugs to keep troops awake for long periods of time and combat stress, and even surgery to improve hearing.
The new species of augmented soldiers, dubbed “homo robocopus” could also have altered DNA to give them enhanced speed and strength as well as robotics.
Michael Clarke, visiting professor in war studies at Kings College London (KCL), told the Sun participating could be “using DNA as a farmer would in a herd of cattle.”
“We’ve reached the point now where we could potentially manipulate people’s DNA to breed into them extra strength, endurance and other things just as we do with animals,” Clarke said. “Just as we’ve done with standard cattle to give them more back, we can do that now very precisely with humans.”
Clarke added that the bio-race is being fueled internationally due to fears of China’s program.
“What they’re all thinking about is what might come up in 30 years’ time, given another 10 years development and experimentation,” Clarke told the paper. “The Chinese in 30 years’ time might have a cohort of people who are 20 years old who’ve got particular characteristics they might have tried to breed into them by manipulating DNA.”
Due to DNA manipulation, future soldiers could also be immune to disease and feelings.
A recent report by the International Society for Military Ethics in Europe obtained by the Sun, reveals a dystopic arena full of bionic men capable of fighting “all the time.”
“Enhanced soldiers would be reduced to bionic men, who run fast, do not need sleep, eat and drink very little, and can fight all the time,” the report states. “A new species is born: Homo robocopus.”
Sir Lawrence Freedman, Professor of war studies at KCL, told the Sun robotics are of more importance: “There are people going back into combat in ways they wouldn’t have been able to before because prosthetics have been improved. You can use Google glasses, there’s lots of things you can now do with a modern soldier that makes them much more effective than they were in the past. If you want people to act just according to orders going in to great danger, the other trend you can see that is pretty active at the moment is drones, autonomous vehicles and so on.”
While France claims it will abide by humanitarian law, French armed forces minister Florence Parly warned, “we have to be clear, not everyone has the same scruples as us and we have to prepare ourselves for such a future,” she said.
Here is some of the tech in progress to create “homo robocopus,” according to the Sun.
Brain microchips — France has been given the all-clear to develop microchips to enhance soldier brain power.
Bionic eyes — Being developed in Hong Kong, this gives users infrared and night vision.
Super hearing — The US’s Tactical Communication and Protective System are smart earbuds which boost soldiers’ hearing to be near superhuman.
Health implant — DARPA, the Pentagon’s research arm, is developing cyborg implants to monitor combat efficiency.
Enhanced limbs — A Devcom report revealed plans to equip US soldiers with enhanced limbs for increased strength.
Exoskeletonlegs — The US Army has tested an exoskeleton which can be attached to soldier’s legs and can increase their productivity by up to 27 times.
Synthetic blood — Respirocyte is a theoretical red blood cell that could help soldiers not get out of breath and stay underwater for hours.
Pain immunity — DARPA’s Persistence in Combat initiative would allow soldiers to have their pain suppressed for 30 days.
It’s been fairly easy for some to adopt a remote working model during the pandemic, but manufacturing and warehouse workers have had it rougher — some tasks just need people to be physically present in the workplace.
But now, one team is working on a solution for the traditional factory floor that could allow more workers to carry out their labor from home.
The proposed human-in-the-loop assembly system. The robot workspace can be manipulated remotely. Image credits: Columbia Engineering.
Columbia Engineering announced that researchers have won a grant to develop the project titled “FMRG: Adaptable and Scalable Robot Teleoperation for Human-in-the-Loop Assembly.” The project’s raw ingredients include machine perception, human-computer interaction, human-robot interaction, and machine learning.
They have come up with a “physical-scene-understanding algorithm” to convert visual observations via camera shots of a robot workspace into a virtual 3D-scene representation.
Handling 3D models
The system analyzes the robot worksite and can change it into a visual physical scene representation. Each object is represented by a 3D model that mimics its shape, size, and physical attributes. A human operator gets to specify the assembly goal by manipulating these virtual 3D models.
A reinforcement learning algorithm infers a planning policy, given the task goals and the robot configuration. Also, this algorithm can infer its probability of success and use it to determine when to request human assistance — otherwise, it carries out its work automatically.
The project is led by Shuran Song, an assistant professor of computer science at Columbia University. She said the system they envision will allow workers who are not trained roboticists to operate the robots and this pleases her.
“I am excited to see how this research could eventually provide greater job access to workers regardless of their geographical location or physical ability.”
Automation for the future
The team received $3.7m funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The NSF stated the award period starts from January 1 to an estimated end date of Dec. 31, 2025. The NSF award abstract reveals the positive impact such an effort could have on business and workers:
“The research will benefit both the manufacturing industry and the workforce by increasing access to manufacturing employment and improving working conditions and safety. By combining human-in-the-loop design with machine learning, this research can broaden the adoption of automation in manufacturing to new tasks. Beyond manufacturing, the research will also lower the entry barrier to using robotic systems for a wide range of real-world applications, such as assistive and service robots.”
The abstract said their team is collaborating with NYDesigns and LaGuardia Community College “to translate research results to industrial partners and develop training programs to educate and prepare the future manufacturing workforce.”
Song is directing the vision-based perception and machine learning algorithm designs for the physical-scene-understanding algorithms. Computer Science Professor Steven Feiner, Columbia University, is looking at the 3D and VR user interface. Matei Ciocarlie, associate professor of mechanical engineering, Columbia University, is building the robot learning and control algorithms. Before joining the faculty, Matei was a scientist at Willow Garage, and scientist at Google. Matei contributed to the development of the open-source Robot Operating System.
A takeaway:News of robots often results in hair-pulling remarks on a tradeoff that can result in lost jobs for humans. Here is a project that, once complete, has the potential to complement human capabilities by using robotics.
Nancy Cohen is a contributing author. Want to get involved like Nancy and send your story to ZME Science? Check out our contact and contribute page.
In the midst of all the crazy things that have happened in our pandemic year, it’s easy to lose track of other developments. But despite the hardship of the lockdowns and the pandemic itself, the world isn’t sitting still. We’ve seen some stunning advancements not related to the pandemic, including some very nifty gadgets. Here are just some of them.
Remember those unsettling robot dog videos trying to go down stairs and open doors? Spot is their leader. The robot by Boston Dynamics has been in development for a few years now, but it’s gone on sale in 2020, for the hefty sum of $74,500 — and this was also the year that Spot was really put to good use.
Spot is agile, robust, and can navigate rugged terrain with unprecedented mobility. Its software is downloadable and upgradeable (available on GitHub) if you’re up for the task, and are willing to pay the price of a luxury car to get the robot itself.
Spot isn’t exactly a companion (though he can also play that part, and he’s a pretty good dancer actually) — he’s more of a utility dog. From patrolling hazardous sites and abandoned buildings to monitoring construction sites and offshore oil rigs, Spot can be sent where it would be too dangerous for humans. Different companies (and even governments) are already putting the robot dog to good use. For instance, Spot is patrolling the parks of Singapore warning people to not stay too close to each other.
A little bit dystopian? Maybe. Useful? Definitely.
2. Drones taking to the oceans
The Geneinno T1 drone. Image credits: Geneinno.
Drones are as cool and useful as ever (and they’re actually becoming more and more present in science and environmental monitoring), but they’re not exactly a new gadget. Well, at least air drones. Underwater drones, however, are pretty new and interesting.
An underwater drone is a submarine in the same sense a ‘regular’ drone is a helicopter. Biologists have been using ROVs (Remotely Operated underwater Vehicles) for a few years to study corals, fish, and explore the subsurface — now, you can get your own version. Several companies are already working in the field, but US-based Geneinno seems to be one of the pioneers in the field, and their ROVs (or underwater drones, which just sounds better) are now available to the public.
3. The Lego Bugatti
Image credits: LEGO
Nowadays, you can build anything and everything from Lego — but few things are as awesome as the company’s Technic branch. You basically build your own, realistic and fancy model cars, from the likes of a Ferrari or a Lamborghini to a Jeep Wrangler or even a race plane.
The cars have accurate real-life functions, such as a gearbox and a steering wheel, connected just like the real thing (there’s even a Lego engine). This is not for the inexperienced builder and not for those without patience, but it can make for a stunning little home gadget. But if you’re looking to build your own Lego fancy car, this is as good as it gets in 2020.
What you see here, just slightly bigger than a coin, is a full-on computer — and it goes for about $25. The Raspberry Pi Foundation is already well-known to those interested in the Internet of Things (IoT) and gadgets, as well as those looking for cheap computing alternatives.
Raspberry Pi’s are small, single-board computers that can function either stand-alone, or as part of other applications (typically involving some form of sensors). The new mini version includes a 64-bit quad-core processor, graphics support, hardware decoder, HDMI ports, USB ports, a PCI interface, camera interfaces, at least a gigabyte of memory, flash storage, clock and battery backup, a wireless option, an ethernet option. If you’d like to start diving into the world of IoT or just getting started with some offbeat computing, this is definitely one of the best places to start — and it won’t break your budget either.
5. Futuristic AI fitness work-from-home mirrors
Image credits: Fuseproject.
Staying fit is never easy, especially in a year like this when we’ve had to deal with the pandemic and all the stress and uncertainty — while mostly staying home. But somehow, one feels that having a futuristic AI mirror assistant could help with that.
The new Forme by Fuseproject is a 43-inch screen with 4k resolution and stowable arms for resistance training. It’s your very own one-on-one personal assistant working out with you in the comfort of your home. You can do various types of resistance training, and the screen helps you see what your virtual trainer is doing and try to do the same thing (you can also see yourself and improve your form). You can opt for pre-recorded workouts or a specialized routine, but the machine’s AI also analyzes your workout schedule and progress and constantly tweaks and adapts for optimum performance.
6. The world’s first graphene headphones
Since its recent discovery, graphene has been touted as a wonder material with myriad applications ranging from renewable energy to spacesuits. While graphene has undoubtedly had an important impact on science, we, the profane consumers, are happy to see it make an impact on something more down to earth: music.
Ora headphones are the world’s first graphene headphones, supported by one of the very inventors of graphene, Nobel Laureate Konstantin Novoselov, and they’re one of the first graphene products to hit the shelves. The quality of the headphones shows in the sound quality, and the design is quite unique.
7. The Robot kitchen
Robots can already do many things, but if they can’t cook a good dinner, how good are they really? Well luckily, that’s no longer a problem — at least if you can spare a six figure sum for the fully automated Moley kitchen. The system features two robotic arms and an array of sensors and cameras that not only cook your meal but also wash everything after they’re done.
For now, the system can produce 30 dishes (all developed by top chefs), but the digital menu will soon be expanded to over 5,000 choices. It’s truly one robot worth sinking your teeth into.
8. A wearable sensor that tells you what’s in your blood
Image credits: Robson Rosa da Silva.
This noninvasive skin-adherent sensor printed on microbial nanocellulose is essentially a 1.5 by 0.5 cm thin sheet that can detect a range of biomarkers, from sodium and potassium to lactic acid and glucose. It can even be used to track the level fo atmospheric pollutants. In addition to medical uses, it could, for instance, be used when working out (to tell you when you should take it easy), or for detecting glucose and warning when you should lay off the cake.
To make things even better, the material is breathable and doesn’t include plastic. The Brazilian researchers who developed it are now looking to see what products would offer the best integration.
9. The Smart Garden 6
Let me guess — you’re still using plastic pots to grow plants in? That’s so 2019. This small, chique automated plant grower by the Finnish Design Shop lets you grow your own herbs and salads with minimum hassle.
Not only does it pump its own water from time to time (you just need to fill the tank), but it also has 18 high-end LED lights which ,according to the producer, “provide the best spectrums and intensity needed to create perfect germination and growth conditions for your greens”
A robot able to 'imagine' itself has been created in a step towards the self-aware robots envisioned in the Terminator movies.
Skynet and other sci-fi machines are able to learn and decipher from scratch but real-world robots have yet to master this art.
Now, scientists have managed to create a machine that can learn without prior programming via 'deep learning'.
After an initial 24 hours of behaving like a 'babbling infant' it was able to grasp objects from specific locations and drop them with 100 per cent accuracy thanks to 35 hours of training.
Even when relying entirely on its internal self model - the machine's 'imagination' - the robot was able to complete the pick-and-place task with a 44 per cent success rate.
Intelligent? After 35 hours of training, the 'self model' helped the robot grasp objects from specific locations and drop them in a receptacle with 100 per cent accuracy
The device consists of a jointed artificial arm and grasping 'hand' similar to those used in numerous production plants.
What makes this robot different to thousands of others is that it knows that is what it is.
US scientists gave it the ability to 'imagine itself' using a process of self-simulation.
Professor Hod Lipson, director of the Creative Machines Lab at the University of Columbia, New York - where the research was conducted, said: 'If we want robots to become independent, to adapt quickly to scenarios unforeseen by their creators, then it's essential that they learn to simulate themselves.
'While our robot's ability to imagine itself is still crude compared to humans, we believe that this ability is on the path to machine self-awareness.'
At the start of the study, the robot had no idea what shape it was, whether a spider, a snake or an arm.
To begin with, it behaved like a 'babbling infant', moving randomly while attempting various tasks.
Within about a day of intensive 'deep learning', the robot built up an internal picture of its structure and abilities.
PhD student Robert Kwiatkowski, another member of the team, said: 'That's like trying to pick up a glass of water with your eyes closed, a process difficult even for humans.'
Risk factor: Eerily, the scientists say they are aware of the potential dangers involved in giving robots the gift of self-awareness
Other tasks included writing text on a board using a marker.
To test whether the robot could detect damage to itself, the scientists replaced part of its body with a deformed version. The machine was able to recognise the change and work around it, with little loss of performance.
Self-aware robots may shed new light on the age-old mystery of consciousness, said Pressor Lipson. He added: 'Philosophers, psychologists, and cognitive scientists have been pondering the nature of self-awareness for millennia, but have made relatively little progress.
'We still cloak our lack of understanding with subjective terms like 'canvas of reality', but robots now force us to translate these vague notions into concrete algorithms and mechanisms.'
Self-aware robots and computers running amok or threatening the human race have been a rich source of material for sci-fi novels and films.
The scientists say they are aware of the potential dangers involved in giving robots the gift of self-awareness.
Writing in the journal Science Robotics, they warn: 'Self-awareness will lead to more resilient and adaptive systems, but also implies some loss of control. It's a powerful technology, but it should be handled with care.'
HOW WILL ROBOTS CHANGE THE WORKPLACE BY 2022?
The World Economic Forum has unveiled its latest predictions for the future of jobs.
Its 2018 report surveyed executives representing 15 million employees in 20 economies.
The non-profit expects robots, AI and other forms of automation to drastically change the workplace within the next four years.
By 2022:
Jobs predicted to be displaced: 75 million
Jobs predicted to be created: 133 million
Share of workforce requiring re-/upskilling: 54 per cent
Companies expecting to cut permanent workforce: 50 per cent
Companies expecting to hire specialist contractors: 48 per cent
Companies expecting to grow workforce: 38 per cent
Companies expecting automation to grow workforce: 28 per cent
0
1
2
3
4
5
- Gemiddelde waardering: 0/5 - (0 Stemmen) Categorie:SF-snufjes }, Robotics and A.I. Artificiel Intelligence ( E, F en NL )
MIT ENGINEERS BUILT AN AI THAT DESIGN ITS OWN ROBOTS
MIT ENGINEERS BUILT AN AI THAT DESIGN ITS OWN ROBOTS
MIT
DAN ROBITZSKI
Robotception
As the latest bit of evidence that humanity has learned nothing from the “Terminator” franchise, we present RoboGrammer — an AI algorithm that can design its own robot bodies.
Thankfully, RoboGrammer still needs a helping hand from humanity, ExtremeTech reports, and it can’t manufacture anything on its own, so a machine uprising remains unlikely. But the MIT-built algorithm is particularly adept at designing the ideal body for a given set of conditions, making it a valuable tool for roboticists in need of some fresh ideas.
Nature-Inspired
The MIT engineers tested out RoboGrammer in a virtual environment where its creations had to traverse specific terrains like slippery floors or sets of stairs.
On its first try, RoboGrammer built mostly nonsensical robots out of the virtual parts it was given.
But with a little human guidance — the engineers took inspiration from real-world arthropods — the algorithm was able to optimize its body for the task at hand. For instance, the algorithm built a lizard-like body for smooth terrain, and then made its body more rigid when it had to cross gaps in the floor. For an icy surface, it designed a walrus-like body that pulled itself forward with two arms and then slid.
Fresh Eyes
Project leader and MIT computer scientist Allan Zhao told ExtremeTech that RoboGrammer may not be able to design all the nuts and bolts of a complete robot, but it can give human engineers ideas for how to approach a certain robotics project from a new angle rather than building the same old design.
“When you think of building a robot that needs to cross various terrains, you immediately jump to a quadruped,” Zhao told the site.
China sends vessel “Fendouzhe”, or “Striver”, into earth’s deepest ocean trench. The vessel descended more than 10,000 meters (about 33,000 feet) into the Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Trench with three researchers on board.
After multiple dives, the vessel was finally able to land on the deepest known point of the trench. This point is known as the Challenger Deep.
Earlier this month, Fendouzhe set a national record of 10,909 meters for manned deep-sea diving. But it missed out on beating the world record for the deepest dive by an American explorer in 2019.
Video footage
China live-streamed footage of its new manned submersible parked at the bottom of Marina Trench. So the world witnessed the first live video from Challenger deep for the first time.
Video footage shot and relayed by deep-sea camera showed the green-and-white Chinese submersible moving through dark waters. The video showed the submersible surrounded by clouds of sediments as it gradually touches down the seabed.
Deep-sea resources
Fendouzhe is observing “the many species and the distribution of living things on the seabed” It has sonar “eyes” for classifying the different objects and robotic arms for collecting biological samples.
ALL RELATED VIDEOS, selected and posted by peter2011
China gets plenty of news coverage lately due to the coronavirus and its ongoing mission on the Moon, but it may not want the publicity being generated by U.S. Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, who claimed in an interview this week that China is actively conducting gene editing on members of its military with the goal of creating super soldiers with capabilities now only seen in movies. Is it true? Should we be worried? Is it too late? Or is this a smoke screen to hide our own experiments?
“U.S. intelligence shows that China has even conducted human testing on members of the People’s Liberation Army in hope of developing soldiers with biologically enhanced capabilities. There are no ethical boundaries to Beijing’s pursuit of power.”
In an exclusive article in The Wall Street Journal titled “China Is National Security Threat No. 1,” Ratcliffe presents his concerns and defends the article’s subtitle, “Resisting Beijing’s attempt to reshape and dominate the world is the challenge of our generation.” Calling the findings of U.S. intelligence “the greatest threat to democracy and freedom world-wide since World War II,” Ratcliffe presents his case that China’s goal is world domination and anything it says to the contrary is “only a layer of camouflage to the activities of the Chinese Communist Party.”
Other articles covering Ratcliffe’s op-ed point out that China has talked about “biological dominance” or “command/superiority in biology” before, but the context has been in biological warfare or biological protection of soldiers from enemy biological weapons or backsplash from their own. Needless to say, the speculation has often been that at least some of these experiments and tests have been done without the knowledge of the soldiers – don’t get all indignant without looking in the mirror of your own military first. As expected, the gene-editing technique most often referred to in these articles and studies has been CRISPR, which the Chinese have confirmed in multiple cases to have used in editing human embryos and bringing them to term, with the babies probably in their infancy by now. Of course, super soldiers raised from super babies is not a short-term solution, but the Chinese are well known for thinking long-term.
Can he help us?
Back to Ratcliffe. The controversial Director of National Intelligence is nearing the end of his term and has lived up to fears expressed during both his first failed nomination and his second confirmed one that he would politicize U.S. intelligence. President Trump has focused his wrath on China — because of the coronavirus, its military buildup, its economic growth and his constant need for a scapegoat – and Ratcliffe obviously supports the president. Ratcliffe’s spell as director of national intelligence will end when president-elect Joe Biden is sworn in, and Biden has nominated Avril Haines to the position – she was previously deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency and would be the first woman to hold the position. How would she react to intelligence that China is developing super soldiers? Perhaps someone will ask that question during her nomination hearings.
Whether Ratcliffe’s op-ed is political or real intelligence, it’s not surprising that China would be conducting such experiments – with or without the knowledge of the soldiers. It should also not be a surprise that the U.S. military (and probably Russia, Israel, Iran … you get the idea) would also be covertly conducting them. We live in a world where, by the time you can say “the cat is out of the bag,” the cat is a genetically-altered super-feline that has birthed multiple generations of creatures that are no longer content with mice, birds or canned meat.
0
1
2
3
4
5
- Gemiddelde waardering: 0/5 - (0 Stemmen) Categorie:SF-snufjes }, Robotics and A.I. Artificiel Intelligence ( E, F en NL )
01-12-2020
THE US ARMY IS DEVELOPING TECH THAT READS SOLDIERS’ MINDS
THE US ARMY IS DEVELOPING TECH THAT READS SOLDIERS’ MINDS
US ARMY
DAN ROBITZSKI
Radio Silence
The U.S. Army is pouring money into neuroscience research, in a bid to try and decode the meaning behind different brain signals.
The ultimate goal — likely still far in the future — is to build a system that would allow soldiers to communicate with nothing more than their thoughts, according to C4ISRNET. It’s a bold initiative that highlights the bizarre ways medical technology could change the very nature of warfare — and soldiers themselves.
Mind Literate
The Army Research Office (ARO) has committed to spending $6.25 million on the project over the next five years, C4ISRNET reports. That’s chump change, obviously, and the reality is that the military is still a long way off from deploying telepathic cyborg troops into battle.
For now, ARO neuroscientists say they’ve learned to decode and parse the neural signals that direct behavior from the rest of the brain’s output. It’s not quite mind reading, but it’s an important first step toward actually understanding what different brain signals mean.
“Here we’re not only measuring signals, but we’re interpreting them,” ARO program manager Hamid Krim told C4ISRNET.
Moving Ahead
The next step, Krim explained, is to decode other categories of brain signals so that a computer would eventually be able to interpret a soldier’s thoughts.
“You can read anything you want; doesn’t mean that you understand it,” Krim told C4ISRNET. “The next step after that is to be able to understand it. At the end of the day, that is the original intent mainly: to have the computer actually being in a full duplex communication mode with the brain.”
On Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido, one town has installed a robot “monster wolf” to protect residents from encroaching bears. The scarecrow wolf is equipped with a motion sensor that, when tripped, spurs the metallic beast into a red LED-eyed, howling sequence, according to Japankyo.
The cyber wolf was created as a joint project between Hokkaido-based machinery firm Ohta Seiki, Hokkaido University, and the Tokyo University of Agriculture, Mainichi reports. Bots were first placed on Hokkaido farmland in 2016 to fend off wolves and other predators from livestock. Now there are more than 62 monster wolves across all of Japan. However, Takikawa’s recent installation is the first meant to protect humans.
"We want to let the bears know, 'Human settlements aren't where you live,' and help with the coexistence of bears and people," said Yuji Ota, head of Ohta Seiki in an interview with Mainichi.
This Princess Mononoke-gone-metal ideal of beast, man, and machine living harmoniously has worked in wildlife management before, according to Dave Thau, Global Data and Technology Lead Scientist of Global Science at the World Wildlife Fund. Although a new science, Thau says robots are enhancing global conservation efforts — from swimming the depths picking up trash to gathering insights on the backs of flying beetles.
“Many of these applications are very new and not yet widely deployed, making it exciting times for any conservation minded roboticists,” Thau said in an email to Motherboard. “We’re using technology to monitor biodiversity and environmental health as well as helping reduce illegal exploitation of wildlife and reduce human/wildlife conflict.”
For the town of just more than 36,500 residents, bear sightings were extremely rare, according to Mainichi. There’s typically one sighting every few years, but this year since the end of May, there have been 10 in the town alone. While there is no conclusive reason for the Takikawa uptick, the Japan Times reported a similar surge in the Hokkaido town of Shimamaki.
Takikawa officials have placed the 4-footlong, 3-foot high scarecrow in a neighborhood just outside of the city center. It will remain there until hibernation season begins at the end of November. The robots have proven themselves useful in fending off boars and deer in crop fields, but the trial is still out for how they will fare with bears. While rare, Hokkaido is known for its higuma, or brown bear, which are similar to the American grizzly.
“Hiking in Hokkaido, especially places where bear sightings are prevalent, requires bringing a bear bell and it isn’t for amateur hikers,” said Yumi Anngraini, a former resident of the Hokkaido town Sapporo and an avid hiker, in an Instagram DM to Motherboard. “I think I would feel safer with this robot making sure the surrounding area is safe before I get there.”
In addition to its practical use, Anngraini said she also believes the wolf installation is a fun spectacle and a good way to bring tourists into the area.
Thau also says there are some concerns about pollution when it comes to wildlife management via robotics. The manufacturing and implementation of these sorts of technologies inherently come with environmental side effects.
“At some point sensors will become small and cheap enough that they could be deployed very widely. The risk here is that we pollute the environment while trying to preserve it,” said Thau. “At the same time, humans are impacting most of the planet, so wildlife is seriously impacted by our actions. WWF is working to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, and we use technology to do that.”
Still, Thau is confident environmentally-based tech is heading in the right direction and will do more good than harm.
Researchers at Caltech in the US have figured out how to record videos of light moving in three dimensions for the first time. The camera is capable of shooting videos at up to 100 billion frames per second.
To put that into perspective, the average smartphone is limited to just 60.
A three-dimensional video showing a pulse of laser light passing through a laser-scattering medium and bouncing off reflective surfaces. Credit: Caltech
Researcher Lihon Wang had previously developed technology that can reach blistering speeds of 70 trillion frames per second — fast enough to see light traveling by. But there was a problem with that. Just like the camera in a cell phone, it could only produce flat images.
Now, he decided to take it a step further and move into 3D.
The new device uses the technology that Wang has been exploring for years, and is fast enough to take 100 billion pictures in a single second. If the entire world took as many photos as possible in a single second, we still wouldn’t reach this performance. Wang calls this “single-shot stereo-polarimetric compressed ultrafast photography,” or SP-CUP.
With the CUP technology, all the frames of a video are captured in one action without repeating the event. This makes a CUP camera extremely quick. Now, Wang has added a third dimension to this ultrafast imagery, essentially making the camera “see” just as humans do.
When we look at our surroundings, we perceive that some objects are closer and others are farther away. This is possible because of our two eyes, as each sees objects and their surroundings from a different angle. The information from these two images is combined by the brain into a single 3-D image. The SP-CUP camera works in essentially the same way, Wang added in a press release.
Scientists have discovered a ground-breaking bio-synthetic material that they claim can be used to merge artificial intelligence with the human brain.
The breakthrough, presented today at the American Chemical Society Fall 2020 virtual expo, is a major step towards integrating electronics with the body to create part human, part robotic "cyborg" beings.
Connecting electronics to human tissue has been a major challenge due to traditional materials like gold, silicon and steel causing scarring when implanted.
Scars not only cause damage but also interrupt electrical signals flowing between computers and muscle or brain tissue. The researchers from the University of Delaware were able to overcome this after various types of polymers.
"We got the idea for this project because we were trying to interface rigid organic microelectrodes with the brain, but brains are made out of organic, salty, live materials," said Dr David Martin, who led the study.
"It wasn't working well, so we thought there must be a better way. We started looking at organic electronic materials like conjugated polymers that were being used in non-biological devices. We found a chemically stable example that was sold commercially as an antistatic coating for electronic displays."
The polymer, known as a Pedot, has exactly the properties needed to interface electronic hardware with human tissue without causing scarring while also dramatically improving the performance of medical implants.
The versatile Pedot polymer was also recently discovered to be capable of transforming standard house bricks into energy storage units, due to its ability to penetrate porous materials and conduct electricity.
The latest research used a Pedot film with an antibody that stimulates blood vessel growth after injury and could be used to detect early stages of tumour growth in the body.
Pedot polymers could also be used to help sense or treat brain or nervous system disorders, while versions could theoretically attach peptides, antibodies and DNA.
"Name your favourite biomolecule, and you can in principle make a Pedot film that has whatever biofunctional group you might be interested in," Dr Martin said.
The researchers made a polymer with dopamine, which plays a role in addictive behaviours.
Several companies and research institutions are already working on technology to connect brains to computers, with Elon Musk's Neuralink perhaps the closest to achieving a commercial product.
The startup plans to reveal more details about its brain chips later this month, which could one day provide "full-bandwidth data streaming" to the brain through a USB-C cable.
Mr Musk has made several claims about Neuralink's technology, stating earlier this year that it "could extend range of hearing beyond normal frequencies" and even allow people to stream music directly to their brains.
Such technology is essential for humans to compete with advanced artificial intelligence, according to Mr Musk. Last month he warned that humans risk being overtaken by AI within the next five years.
0
1
2
3
4
5
- Gemiddelde waardering: 0/5 - (0 Stemmen) Categorie:SF-snufjes }, Robotics and A.I. Artificiel Intelligence ( E, F en NL )
16-10-2020
AI PILOT THOROUGHLY BEATS HUMAN IN F-16 DOGFIGHT, MARKING MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
AI PILOT THOROUGHLY BEATS HUMAN IN F-16 DOGFIGHT, MARKING MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Artificial intelligence defeated US fighter pilot in a clean sweep of simulated battles
Anthony Cuthbertson @ADCuthbertson
An AI pilot has defeated a US Air Force pilot in a virtual F-16 dogfight in a "coming of age" moment for artificial intelligence.
The US military's AlphaDogfight Trials was organised by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) - a secretive branch of the US Department of Defense responsible for the development of futuristic technologies.
It sought to demonstrate the "feasibility of developing effective, intelligent autonomous agents capable of defeating adversary aircraft in a dogfight."
The winning AI pilot, developed by Heron Systems, defeated other AI adversaries before going on to beat a human pilot wearing a VR helmet by a score of 5 - 0 in the final.
"We've gotten an opportunity to watch AI come of age [against] a very credible adversary in the human pilot," said Col. Dan Javorsek, program manager in Darpa's Strategic Technology Office.
"The AlphaDogfight Trials is all about increasing trust in AI. If the champion AI earns the respect of an F-16 pilot, we'll have come one step closer to achieving effective human-machine teaming in air combat."
The human pilot, who went by the name 'Banger', said that he was unable to match twisting techniques adopted by the AI pilot that he had not witnessed in human-to-human air combat.
"Standard things we do as fighter pilots are not working," he said during a live broadcast.
AI pilots have a significant advantage over human pilots, as they are not affected by the extreme G forces that occur when manoeuvring at high speeds.
They are also able to aim and fire to a superhuman level, though until now artificial intelligence has lacked the tactical thinking that humans are capable of.
The AI system was developed through deep reinforcement learning in order to overcome this and defeat the human pilot.
Darpa said the AlphaDogfight Trials is a precursor to its ACE program, which ultimately aims to use AI algorithms to fly real aircraft.
In a breakthrough that could mean wonders for plastic recycling and disposal, scientists have created a new combination of enzymes to break down plastic faster. This “super enzyme” as they call it, not only breaks down plastic six times faster than current methods, but is also more affordable and can work on a larger scale.
This is done by a team of researchers who re-engineered a plastic-eating enzyme in 2018. They have now combined it with a second enzyme to make it have major implications for the recycling of bottles, clothing, and all other commonly found waste.
In a study published in scientific journalPNASon September 28, the researchers revealed that the “super-enzyme” was made by combining two separate enzymes—a plastic-eating enzyme named PETase and the new enzyme called MHETase. Using a technique that is commonly used in the biofuels industry, researchers effectively stitched the two enzymes’ DNA together to create one long chain which formed this new blend of enzymes. The two enzymes were derived from a bacterium discovered in Japan in 2016, which scientists found could break down polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
While this was the first time they combined two enzymes to break plastic, researchers believe that there is still a huge potential to tweak and make the enzymes work faster. “When we linked the enzymes, rather unexpectedly, we got a dramatic increase in activity,” said John McGeehan, a professor of structural biology at the University of Portsmouth, UK toThe Guardian. “This is a trajectory towards trying to make faster enzymes that are more industrially relevant. But it’s also one of those stories about learning from nature, and then bringing it into the lab.”
Plastic pollution has always been one of the most pressing environmental issues, as their disposal has rapidly overwhelmed the world’s ability to deal with them. They take about 500 years to degrade in the ocean—if they do at all—and even then, much of it breaks down into microplastics that have been found in marine life, ocean water, and evenin the guts of humans.
The super enzyme could have major benefits for recycling PET, which is the most common thermoplastic used in single-use drinks bottles and clothing. PET takes hundreds of years to degrade in the environment. With this, it can break down in a couple of days. Combining the plastic-eating enzymes with existing ones that break down natural fibres could allow mixed materials to be fully recycled, added McGeehan.
Paramedics in the UK have carried out the first test of a jet suit that would get them to people in danger or distress in a fraction of the time it would take by car or foot. The exercise was part of a collaboration between Gravity Industries, which developed the jet pack, and the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS).
Credit Gravity
The Lake District is among the UK’s most famous national parks, attracting more than 15 million people ever year. But its wild terrain can be treacherous, leading to several incidents that require the assistance of the team at GNAAS. They are forced to move by vehicle or foot, as helicopters can’t land in the area due to its peaks and valleys.
Looking for potential alternatives, GNAAS engaged in conversations last year with Gravity Industries, founded by Richard Browning. The company recently developed a jet suit with five mini engines. It can reach impressive speeds of up to 85 miles/hour for up to 10 minutes and a maximum altitude of 3,658 meters.
The year-long conversations finally culminated in a recent jet suit test flight, carried out at Langdale Pikes in the Lake District. Browning flew from the valley bottom to a simulated casualty site on The Band, near Bowfell. The whole flight took 90 seconds, which would have required 25 minutes and a steep climb on foot.
“It was wonderful to be invited to explore the capabilities of the Gravity Jet Suit in an emergency response simulation and work alongside the team at GNAAS,” said Browning in a press statement. “We are just scratching the surface in terms of what is possible to achieve with our technology.”
The scenario was that a 10-year old girl had fallen from the cliffs and sustained a serious leg injury. After receiving the coordinates of the casualty, Browning, dressed as a jet suit paramedic, set off across rocky hills and picturesque scenery to successfully reach the girl. The paramedics could then assess her injuries and provide treatment.
Andy Mawson, director of operations at GNAAS, came up with the idea of a partnership with Gravity Industries and described seeing the first trial as an “awesome” experience. He said the exercise had demonstrated the huge potential of using jet suits to deliver critical care services.
“There are dozens of patients every month within the complex but relatively small geographical footprint of the Lakes,” he said in a press statement. “We could see the need. What we didn’t know for sure is how this would work in practice. Well, we’ve seen it now and it is, quite honestly, awesome.”
World's first flying suit patent was recently unveiled. As the fastest flying suit, it has also been awarded with Guinness World record also.
0
1
2
3
4
5
- Gemiddelde waardering: 0/5 - (0 Stemmen) Categorie:SF-snufjes }, Robotics and A.I. Artificiel Intelligence ( E, F en NL )
PARAMEDICS TEST JETPACK FOR DARING MOUNTAIN RESCUES
PARAMEDICS TEST JETPACK FOR DARING MOUNTAIN RESCUES
GNAAS
VICTOR TANGERMANN
Jetpack Paramedic
The Great North Air Ambulance Service, a UK registered charity dedicated to providing helicopter emergency services, is testing a jetpack made by Gravity Industries to one day allow paramedics to fly up a mountain to provide first aid, the BBC reports.
A jetpack could allow paramedics to soar up the mountain in 90 seconds rather than hiking for 30 minutes, according to GNAAS director of operations Andy Mawson.
“In a jet pack, what might have taken up to an hour to reach the patient may only take a few minutes, and that could mean the difference between life and death,” he told the BBC.
I Am Iron Man
Gravity Industries, led by founder and daredevil Richard Browning, has made headlines over the last couple of years for completing several flights inside an “Iron Man-style” suit and even setting speed records.
Browning completed a demonstration exercise in the UK’s Lake District as part of the collaboration.
“If the idea takes off, the flying paramedic will be armed with a medical kit, with strong pain relief for walkers who may have suffered fractures, and a defibrillator for those who may have suffered a heart attack,” Mawson told the BBC.
A team of researchers at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, has built a bionic device that they say can restore vision to the blind through a brain implant.
The team is now preparing for what they claim will be the world’s first human clinical trials of a bionic eye — and are asking for additional funding to eventually manufacture it on a global scale.
It’s essentially the guts of a smartphone combined with brain-implanted micro electrodes, as TechCrunch reports. The “Gennaris bionic vision system,” a project that’s more than ten years in the making, bypasses damaged optic nerves to allow signals to be transmitted from the retina to the vision center of the brain.
The system is made up of a custom-designed headgear, which includes a camera and a wireless transmitter. A processor unit takes care of data crunching, while a set of tiles implanted inside the brain deliver the signals.
“Our design creates a visual pattern from combinations of up to 172 spots of light (phosphenes) which provides information for the individual to navigate indoor and outdoor environments, and recognize the presence of people and objects around them,” Arthur Lowery, professor at Monash University’s Department of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering, said in a statement.
The researchers are also hoping to adapt the system to help those with untreatable neurological conditions, such as limb paralysis, to regain movement.
“If successful, the MVG [Monash Vision Group] team will look to create a new commercial enterprise focused on providing vision to people with untreatable blindness and movement to the arms of people paralyzed by quadriplegia, transforming their health care,” Lewis said.
A trial in July showed that the Gennaris array was able to be transplanted safely into the brains of three sheep using a pneumatic insertor, with a cumulative 2,700 hours of stimulation not causing any adverse health effects.
It’s still unclear when the first human trials will take place.
“With extra investment, we’ll be able to manufacture these cortical implants here in Australia at the scale needed to progress to human trials,” Marcello Rosa, professor of physiology at Monash and MVG member, said in the statement.
The news comes after Elon Musk’s brain computer interface company Neuralink announced it’s testing its coin-sized interface prototype in live pigs. The end goals are similar: to treat brain issues including blindness and paralysis.
Whether the Monash device is technically the first bionic eye, though, may come down to semantics.
A separate brain implant, a “visual prosthetic” device, developed by scientists at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, recently allowed both blind and sighted participants to “see” the shape of letters, as detailed in a paper published in May.
0
1
2
3
4
5
- Gemiddelde waardering: 0/5 - (0 Stemmen) Categorie:SF-snufjes }, Robotics and A.I. Artificiel Intelligence ( E, F en NL )
10-09-2020
NEW MILITARY DRONE FITS IN BACKPACK, CAN CARRY LASERS, RADIO JAMMERS, WEAPONS
NEW MILITARY DRONE FITS IN BACKPACK, CAN CARRY LASERS, RADIO JAMMERS, WEAPONS
ANDURIL
VICTOR TANGERMANN
The Ghost 4
Anduril, a military tech startup founded by Oculus Rift creator Palmer Luckey, has unveiled a new AI-powered drone called the Ghost 4.
The company promises to inject artificial intelligence into drone-assisted missions in the near future, Wired reports, with the Ghost 4 performing tasks such as identifying targets much faster and more efficiently.
Luckey called the Ghost a “a Swiss army knife that can do everything” in a statement. The two-meter long aircraft can be folded to fit into a backpack and can withstand the roughest of conditions, including sand and sea water.
Aiming Lasers
According to Anduril, the drone can fly for 100 minutes, controlled either autonomously or remotely by a pilot.
The drone is designed to carry cameras for reconnaissance, lasers to identify targets, or even a radio jammer. It could even carry its own weapon systems in the future. “It would be possible,” Luckey told Wired. “But nobody’s done it yet.”
Falling Behind
Using artificial intelligence to identify targets is a controversial idea. For instance, the contract for Google’s Project Maven, a Pentagon project that uses AI to identify drone targets in satellite images, ended up being abandoned due to mounting pressure from both employees and the general public.
Luckey argues that the US is at risk of falling behind its adversaries, including Russia and China. “I don’t think we can win an AI arms race by thinking it’s not going to happen,” he said in the statement.
Beste bezoeker, Heb je zelf al ooit een vreemde waarneming gedaan, laat dit dan even weten via email aan Frederick Delaere opwww.ufomeldpunt.be. Deze onderzoekers behandelen jouw melding in volledige anonimiteit en met alle respect voor jouw privacy. Ze zijn kritisch, objectief maar open minded aangelegd en zullen jou steeds een verklaring geven voor jouw waarneming! DUS AARZEL NIET, ALS JE EEN ANTWOORD OP JOUW VRAGEN WENST, CONTACTEER FREDERICK. BIJ VOORBAAT DANK...
Druk op onderstaande knop om je bestand , jouw artikel naar mij te verzenden. INDIEN HET DE MOEITE WAARD IS, PLAATS IK HET OP DE BLOG ONDER DIVERSEN MET JOUW NAAM...
Druk op onderstaande knop om een berichtje achter te laten in mijn gastenboek
Alvast bedankt voor al jouw bezoekjes en jouw reacties. Nog een prettige dag verder!!!
Over mijzelf
Ik ben Pieter, en gebruik soms ook wel de schuilnaam Peter2011.
Ik ben een man en woon in Linter (België) en mijn beroep is Ik ben op rust..
Ik ben geboren op 18/10/1950 en ben nu dus 74 jaar jong.
Mijn hobby's zijn: Ufologie en andere esoterische onderwerpen.
Op deze blog vind je onder artikels, werk van mezelf. Mijn dank gaat ook naar André, Ingrid, Oliver, Paul, Vincent, Georges Filer en MUFON voor de bijdragen voor de verschillende categorieën...
Veel leesplezier en geef je mening over deze blog.
Earth's lucky escape 565 million years ago: Study finds our...
Has the mystery of Alexander the Great's death been solved?...
Instagram goes DOWN: Users around the world unable to access...
Astronomers have spotted a mysterious rock more than 1.5...
