May 06
A newish paper called “Robots, Men and Sex Tourism” published in the journal Futures, examines the impact that robots will have on the sex industry by looking at life in a brothel in the year 2050. I haven’t read it because, well, I’ve read too much of this nonsense over the years. And, if you …
Apr 28
Two new studies out of The Human Interaction With Nature and Technological Systems (HINTS) Lab in Seatle show that humans view robots as moral entities. The resulting paper is entitled Do People Hold a Humanoid Robot Morally Accountable for the Harm It Causes. The answer seems to be yes. To test this, the humans were set …
Mar 24
Tomorrow’s Thoughts Today has built an argus of flying, file-sharing drones. Their starting point for project “Electronic Countermeasures” was to create something akin to an ‘aerial Napster’ or ‘airborne Pirate Bay’, but it became much more than that. “Part nomadic infrastructure and part robotic swarm, we have rebuilt and programmed the drones to broadcast their own …
Mar 09
I don’t care for tea. Think it’s awful stuff. I like coffee. I don’t like people who like coffee. Half the time, they’re drinking big bowls of milk like they’re some sort of human-shaped, baby-man-cat. The other half, they’re talking all this fancy bullshit about roasts and beans and people working in fields. It’s just …
Mar 01
Flying robot quadrotors perform the James Bond Theme by playing various instruments including the keyboard, drums and maracas, a cymbal, and the debut of an adapted guitar built from a couch frame. The quadrotors play this “couch guitar” by flying over guitar strings stretched across a couch frame; plucking the strings with a stiff wire …
Feb 24
Harvard scientists have created tiny DNA robots that can search and destroy cancer cells. The Week sez: The tiny devices were constructed out of DNA strands and folded into a shape resembling a clamshell. Researchers call it the “DNA origami” method. The devices are pre-programmed to open up in the presence of cancerous cells. Once open, …
Feb 16
pic by Vladimir Gvozdev Harvard engineers have created a process that will allow the mass production of microbots. PhysOrg says: In prototypes, 18 layers of carbon fiber, Kapton (a plastic film), titanium, brass, ceramic, and adhesive sheets have been laminated together in a complex, laser-cut design. The structure incorporates flexible hinges that allow the three-dimensional product—just 2.4 millimeters tall—to assemble …
Feb 15
Last March the Elfoid P1 phone was unveiled. From Pink Tentacle: The Elfoid phone is a miniature version of the Telenoid R1 robot developed last year by a research team led by Osaka University professor Hiroshi Ishiguro. The current prototype measures 20 centimeters (8 in) long, is covered in a soft fleshy urethane skin, and has the …
Feb 14
These illustrations are by Polish artist Daniel Mróz. According to Wikipedia – via Google translate: He illustrated, among others Cyberiada and Tales of robots by Stanislaw Lem. He made the illustrations to the works of Franz Kafka , Slawomir Mrozek ,Jules Verne. He created a technique mostly pen and ink drawing and collage. You can find a gallery of the work he did for Stansilaw Lem here. …
Feb 13
Because having to feed and clean up after the cats isn’t already more than any sensitive soul can bear, scientists have made a robot that can eat and shit. According to GEEKTECH: EcoBot III, also known as BreadBot, is a self-sustaining robot created by the Bristol Robotics Laboratory in the UK. It is not only …
