NASA has selected 16 cool new futuristic space technology concepts for further study. Four of them are from NASA’s own Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), including a railway system on the moon to move cargo. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/futuristic-space-technology-concepts-nasa-jpl-niac…
Tag: robots
Boston Dynamics Is Selling its 70-Pound Robot Dog To Police Departments
The New York Times reports on what the city’s police department calls Digidog, “a 70-pound robotic dog with a loping gait, cameras and lights affixed to its frame, and a two-way communication system that allows the officer maneuvering it remotely to see and hear what is happening.”
Police said the robot can see in the dark and assess how safe it is…
AI learns how to play old platform games
New computer algorithms designed to beat old 80s platformers could help robots navigate your home. Intelligent computer algorithms capable of playing … Source: https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/344270/ai-learns-how-to-play-old-platform-games…
Perseverance saw its own descent stage crash
The Mars rover images a plume of debris from the impact of the descent stage that helped the spacecraft land safely on the red planet. Source: https://earthsky.org/todays-image/photo-mars-perseverance-descent-stage-smoke-plume…
Insect brains will teach us how to make truly intelligent robots
We need a revolution in artificial intelligence and learning from insects will help us achieve it, says James Marshall Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24933220-100-insect-brains-will-teach-us-how-to-make-truly-intelligent-robots/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
MIT Is Building a ‘One-Stop Shop’ For 3D-Printing Robots
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: MIT’s CSAIL department this week showcased “LaserFactory,” a new project that attempts to develop robotics, drones and other machines than can be fabricated as part of a “one-stop shop.” The system is comprised of a software kit and hardware platform designed to create structures and assemble circuitry and sensors for the machine. A…
Robots Are Speeding Up the Most Boring Job In Astronomy
sciencehabit writes: The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) has, for more than 20 years, pioneered collecting spectra from millions of astronomical objects, from nearby stars to supermassive black holes. But this year, the survey is making a change: Instead of employing a small team of technicians for the daily chore of plugging optical fibers into preprepared plates so that — when…
Apes, robots and men: The life and death of the first space chimp
On January 31, 1961, an intrepid chimpanzee called Ham was launched on a rocket from Cape Canaveral in the United States, and returned to Earth alive. In this process, he became the first hominin in space. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-02-apes-robots-men-life-death.html…
Flying robots suggest bees can’t rely on instinct to land on flowers
We thought bees relied on hard-wired instinct to land, but a study involving flying robots suggests the bees may also need to learn about specific surface textures before they can touch down Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2266301-flying-robots-suggest-bees-cant-rely-on-instinct-to-land-on-flowers/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Robot that looks like a bin bag can understand what a hug is
Translucent robots with cameras inside can detect human touch and differentiate between prods, strokes or hugs, which can help us communicate with them non-verbally Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2266045-robot-that-looks-like-a-bin-bag-can-understand-what-a-hug-is/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…