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Technology

NEWS: Order Your Robot Security Dog Now!

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robot dog

A robotics company known for its widely shared videos of nimble, legged robots opening doors or walking through rough terrain is preparing to sell some after more than a quarter century of research. Boston Dynamics CEO Marc Raibert said Friday that his company plans to begin selling the dog-like SpotMini robot next year, likely to businesses for use as a camera-equipped security guard. But he thinks other applications for the four-legged contraption will be likely developed by other companies, because the robot has a flat platform to allow other equipment with its own computer programming to be easily mounted on … Read more

U=(N/T)M*G: TOY

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Science finds stuff in weird places all the time. The nightmare creatures in the depths of the ocean. Sand rivers on Mars. Probable diamond storms on Neptune and Uranus. Living creatures in thermal vents, as well as the freezing vacuum of space. I have to say, this one made me giggle. Time crystals have been found in those rock-growing kits for children. Yes, I know what that sounds like. A material that has proven difficult to create in a lab setting is something that kids make on the regular to learn about crystals. Wild, right? It’s also presented some real … Read more

FOR WRITERS: Future Pay

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emoney - pixabay

FOR WRITERS Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer J. Scott Coatsworth: For all you sci fi prophets, how will people pay for things in the future? More and more people are using mobile phone payments, and BitCoin is making people crazy with its wild fluctuations in value. So… What will money be like in the future? This is a legacy chat. Join the chat

TECH: Is a South Korean Company Making Killer Robots?

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killer robot - pixabay

The artificial intelligence (AI) community has a clear message for researchers in South Korea: Don’t make killer robots. Nearly 60 AI and robotics experts from almost 30 countries have signed an open letter calling for a boycott against KAIST, a public university in Daejeon, South Korea, that has been reported to be “develop[ing] artificial intelligence technologies to be applied to military weapons, joining the global competition to develop autonomous arms,” the open letter said. In other words, KAIST might be researching how to make military-grade AI weapons. By Laura Geggel – Full Story at Live Science

SPACE: How Close Are We to a Starliner?

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boeing starliner

Picture this: A team of space travelers blasts off from Earth in a fully automated shuttle that carries them to an outpost orbiting around the moon, where they will embark on a voyage to Mars. Though it sounds like science fiction, this fantastic journey may be closer than you think: An automated spacecraft designed to transport people into low Earth orbit could be ready for its maiden (uncrewed) voyage as early as this summer. The new spacecraft, called the Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 Starliner, is being developed in partnership with NASA by a private company generally associated with commercial airplanes: … Read more

The Orgasm Bomb

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orgasm bomb

A US government agency has released a report about an electromagnetic weapon which can force people to orgasm. The Washington State Fusion Centre (WSFC), which assists other government agencies from local to federal level in combatting terrorism, crime, cyber attacks and disasters, made the documents public as part of a Freedom of Information Act request.  The decision seems to have been accidental, considering that the files were sent to non-profit group Muckrock in a package about anti-fascist and white supremacist groups. But now the documents are in the public sphere, and they are completely terrifying. They outline techonology which … Read more

U=(N/T)M*G: CAT

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Ah, another holy grail of science fiction and science has once again caught my eye and imagination in a interesting fashion. The culprit, this time, is time-travel. Sort of. Allow me to explain. It all starts with quantum physics. You know, that branch of science guilty of giving people headaches since it went mainstream with Schrödinger’s infamous half alive, half dead cat. Schrödinger thought it would be a grand idea to theorize about quantum entanglement with the great Einstein, even if it left him with a sour taste in his mouth. Well, some enterprising scientists went in another direction with … Read more

SPACE: Robot Bees on Mars

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Mars - robot bees

NASA has two teams of researchers working to design a robotic bee that can fly on Mars. The space agency announced the project on March 30. It’s in its early stages, but the idea is to replace modern rovers — which are slow, bulky and very expensive — with swarms of sensor-studded, fast-moving micro-bots that can cover much more ground at a relatively low cost. Literally called Marsbees, the little bots are “flapping wing flyers of a bumblebee size with cicada-sized wings,” NASA officials wrote. By Rafi Letzter – Full Story at SOURCE

TECH: We May Finally Get Our Flying Cars

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Flying Car

A “flying car” company funded by Google co-founder Larry Page seems to finally have a prototype that looks something like a personal aircraft people might actually use. The company, Kitty Hawk, released a video and statement debuting the vehicle, called Cora, today (March 13). Cora looks a bit like a tiny, one-seater airplane, but its wings are studded with small, upward-facing propellers that allow it to take off and land vertically. According to the video, the Cora is fully automated and fully electric, and requires no piloting skills to operate. That’s a far cry from another device Kitty Hawk unveiled … Read more

ET Will Call Us This Century, Physicist Says

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radio telescope - pixabay

Humans will make contact with aliens by the end of the century, theoretical physicist and futurist Michio Kaku told Redditers last week. However, Kaku said he wasn’t sure whether we’d be able to communicate directly with this unknown extraterrestrial society — one that could run the gamut from hostile to pacifist, according to Kaku. In his AMA on Reddit, Kaku responded to a question about alien civilizations, saying, “Let me stick my neck out. I personally feel that within this century, we will make contact with an alien civilization, by listening in on their radio communications. But talking to them … Read more