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tech

Virgin Unveils Hyperloop that Will Travel 760 Mph

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Virgin Hyperloop

Virgin Hyperloop One has released a prototype for a levitating pod that is designed to zoom at speeds as high as 760 mph (1,200 km/h) through a Hyperloop connecting Dubai to Abu Dhabi, according to news sources. The 87-mile (140 kilometers) journey usually takes 90 minutes by car, but the Hyperloop will take a mere 12 minutes, thanks to its innovative track — a long tube that has had its air removed to create a vacuum inside, according to the Daily Mail. Virgin unveiled the pod — which will be accelerated by an electromagnetic propulsion system within the vacuum tube … Read more

SCIENCE: Electronic Skin May Help Prevent Robots from Crushing Us (Unless They Really Want To)

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robot - pixabay

A metallic robot hand with “Terminator”-like power sounds good for the movies. But what about a real-life future where that android is now cradling your baby or just shaking your hand? That’s when attributes like “gentle” and “sensitive” might be more warranted to avoid a human-crushing outcome. Electronic skin may be the answer, as it could give such robots (and even prosthetic limbs) the ability to sense how forceful their handshakes and cradles are when interacting with humans. A new electronic skin may also prove more robust than previous versions to prevent accidental damage. It could even heal with the … Read more

TECH: “Human Uber” is Creepy.

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Human Uber

Wouldn’t you love to lead a full, rich social life without the hassle of getting out of bed in the morning? Soon, you may be able to, thanks to a new prototype of a product called the ChameleonMask, which debuted earlier this week at the MIT Technology Review’s EmTech conference in Singapore, NYMag.com reported. Touted by creator Jun Rekimoto, deputy director of Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Inc., as a “human Uber,” the service would essentially allow customers to hire a living, breathing human to walk through the world in his or her stead. “To do this,” Rekimoto wrote on his … Read more

SCIENCE: Levitating With Sound

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tractor beam

A little plot bunny offered with love to all our sci fi writers: A new “tractor beam” can levitate large objects in midair, using only sound. So far, researchers have floated spheres as large as 0.6 inches (16 millimeters) in diameter and moved orbs as large as 0.8 inches (2 cm) on a tabletop using tornadoes of sound waves. Theoretically, vortices made by an array of 200 speakers by 200 speakers could hold up objects as large as 31 inches (80 cm) in diameter. “This is new to acoustics,” said study co-author Mihai Caleap, a senior research associate in engineering … Read more

TECH: Thinnest Mirrors in the World Use Quantum ‘Excitons’ to Reflect Light

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Thin Mirror

Two separate teams of scientists have built the thinnest mirrors in the world: sheets of molybdenum diselenide (MoSe2), each just a single atom wide. The mirrors were developed at the same time at Harvard University and the Institute for Quantum Electronics in Zurich, and described in a pair of papers published Thursday (Jan. 18) in the journal Physical Review Letters. These engineering feats push the limits of what’s possible in this physical universe, the researchers said. Despite approaching the minimum thickness an object could possibly have and remain reflective under the laws of physics, the tiny mirrors reflected a great … Read more

TECH: Underwater Drones

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Underwater Drones

Aerial drones have buzzed their way into almost every aspect of the modern world, from photography and television news coverage, to environmental monitoring and archaeology. And many of the concepts developed for aerial drones are being adopted and adapted to work in a very different environment — underwater. Here’s a look at 23 of the many ways that drones are being used beneath the waves, by oceanographic scientists, archaeologists, militaries, commercial divers, photographers and undersea explorers. By Tom Metcalfe – Full Story at Live Science

TECH: The Latest Tech Material: Cardboard?

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Nintendo cardboard

Nintendo is going low-tech for its newest line of video game accessories. The Japanese company has unveiled a series of DIY cardboard toys, called Nintendo Labo kits, for its wildly popular Switch gaming console. Assembled from sheets of cardboard, the accessories are designed to interact with the Switch and its Joy-Con controllers in a variety of ways. For example, one toy is a 13-key cardboard piano that the console and controllers slot into. After putting it together, users can press the cardboard keys, and musical notes come out of the console. Another kit builds an interactive robot suit with a … Read more

TECH: Driverless Cars Without Steering Wheels Are Almost Here

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GM driverless car

Regulators will “carefully and responsibly” review General Motors’ request to test an autonomous car without a steering wheel, US Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said Sunday. “It is now coming to the stage with the rapid advancement of self-driving technology that this request is now a reality,” Chao said on the sidelines of the Detroit Auto Show. “So we will view the petition carefully and responsibly.”​ GM on Friday unveiled the Cruise AV, an autonomous vehicle with no steering wheel or pedals, announcing it had asked the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to exempt it from a number of federal standards … Read more

SPACE: Elon Musk Tweets Photos of His Giant Rocket

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Falcon Heavy rocket

SpaceX’s monstrous new rocket has officially arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of its debut test launch. Elon Musk — who founded the space exploration firm in 2002, one year before he launched Tesla (TSLA) — tweeted photographs of the Falcon Heavy awaiting its big moment inside a SpaceX hangar. The exact date of the Heavy test launch isn’t clear. The plan was to launch before the new year, but a series of delays pushed it into 2018. A tweet posted to SpaceX’s verified account on December 6 said the company is targeting “early January.” By Jackie Wattles … Read more

FOR WRITERS: Artificial Wombs

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test tubes and beakers - pixabay

FOR WRITERS Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Alicia Nordwell: In honor of National Tech Day – artificial wombs: How would an artificial womb change the ‘humanity’ of the babies grown this way? What might genetic manipulation might lead to in terms of more than purifying the DNA for characteristics? What might be done with “abandoned” genetic materials that are used to create babies? Who would they belong to? What are their legal rights from conception or would they lack of human interaction during gestation make them more prone to be viewed as a product? Today we peer into the … Read more