The Onion’s Future News From The Year 2137 (by TheOnion)
Smart Glasses by Recon Instruments
So, we have the glasses from Google, Golden-i, Vuzix and Baidu. The Recon Jet is new to us. According to their own description, it’s the most advanced wearable computing solution in the world - of course. At least it looks good.
Snip from werd:
These polarized sport shades feature a built-in microcomputer that delivers data straight into your eyeball through its integrated, heads-up display. Sensors include accelerometer, gyroscope, altimeter, magnetometer, and a thermometer. Developer friendly design means you geniuses can also build & run your own apps.
[via werd] [recon instruments]
MIT’s Cheetah robot runs faster & more efficiently
Robotic Greyhound Races are closer than you think. From Engadget:
At the recent International Conference on Robotics and Automation, the Institute of Technology showed of its newest version, which reached a top speed of 13.7 mph. To accomplish this, the runner still needs parallel support bars to constrain movement in one dimension, reducing any roll, yaw — and the chances of a pretty expensive fall. The team says the new version’s cost of transport (COT is power consumption divided by weight, times velocity) is around 0.52. In comparison, Honda’s Asimo has a hefty COT of 2.
Human embryos successfully cloned (sort of)
A group of researchers in Oregon have successfully cloned human embryos. No, really:
The researchers, at Oregon Health and Science University, took skin cells from a baby with a genetic disease and fused them with donated human eggs to create human embryos that were genetically identical to the 8-month-old. They then extracted stem cells from those embryos.
The embryo-creation technique is essentially the same as that used to create Dolly the sheep and the many cloned animals that have followed. In those cases, the embryos were implanted in the wombs of surrogate mothers.
These embryos won’t work for producing clones humans…they are being used to harvest stem cells.
The Oregon researchers, who published a paper on their work in the journal Cell, say their goal is what has been called therapeutic cloning: making embryonic stem cells that are genetically identical to a particular patient.
Embryonic stem cells can turn into any type of cell in the body, like heart cells, muscles or neurons. That raises the hope that one day the cells will be turned into replacement tissue or even replacement organs to treat a host of diseases.
Engineers monitor heart health using paper-thin electronic skin
Engineers combine layers of flexible electronics and pressure sensors to create a wearable heart monitor thinner than a dollar bill. The skin-like device could one day provide doctors with a safer way to check the condition of a patient’s heart.
[read more @nanowerk]
![Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab by Google & NASA for AI-Development
Google and NASA are forming a laboratory to study artificial intelligence by means of computers that use the unusual properties of quantum physics. Their quantum computer, which performs complex calculations thousands of times faster than existing supercomputers, is expected to be in active use in the third quarter of this year.
The Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab, as the entity is called, will focus on machine learning, which is the way computers take note of patterns of information to improve their outputs. Personalized Internet search and predictions of traffic congestion based on GPS data are examples of machine learning. The field is particularly important for things like facial or voice recognition, biological behavior, or the management of very large and complex systems.
// BTW: D-Wave quantum computer matches the tenth ranked supercomputer for speed, someway.
[via nerdcore] [read more @NYTimes & @Google Blog] [picture from wikimedia]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/4dca37b78623819c21e32e4a45efab1b/tumblr_mmw8qtYeEa1r08k60o1_500.jpg)
Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab by Google & NASA for AI-Development
Google and NASA are forming a laboratory to study artificial intelligence by means of computers that use the unusual properties of quantum physics. Their quantum computer, which performs complex calculations thousands of times faster than existing supercomputers, is expected to be in active use in the third quarter of this year.
The Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab, as the entity is called, will focus on machine learning, which is the way computers take note of patterns of information to improve their outputs. Personalized Internet search and predictions of traffic congestion based on GPS data are examples of machine learning. The field is particularly important for things like facial or voice recognition, biological behavior, or the management of very large and complex systems.
// BTW: D-Wave quantum computer matches the tenth ranked supercomputer for speed, someway.
[via nerdcore] [read more @NYTimes & @Google Blog] [picture from wikimedia]
DIY bionics - making kids smile again.
See the joy in Liam’s eyes as he is grasping a ball with his right hand for the first time. By the time this cute fellow grows up, he will have a bionic hand that will be connected to his neural-system and be indistinguishable from his biological body; but for now all Liam cares about is being able to play ball.
