Mind Of Jack

8bitfuture: Video: Prototype ‘PaperTabs’. The PaperTab tablet...

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 18:35:40 -0700

Video: Prototype ‘PaperTabs’.

The PaperTab tablet looks and feels just like a sheet of paper. However, it is fully interactive with a flexible, high-resolution 10.7” plastic display developed by Plastic Logic, a flexible touchscreen, and powered by the second generation Intel® Core i5 processor. Instead of using several apps or windows on a single display, users have ten or more interactive displays or “papertabs”: one per app in use.

First step towards downloading skills to our brain, fMRI to induce brain activity patterns to match a previously known target state.

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 02:22:14 -0700

First step towards downloading skills to our brain, fMRI to induce brain activity patterns to match a previously known target state.:

“New research published today in the journal Science suggests it may be possible to use brain technology to learn to play a piano, reduce mental stress or hit a curve ball with little or no conscious effort.”

jtotheizzoe: Drawing inspiration from biological protein...

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 13:30:57 -0700

jtotheizzoe:

Drawing inspiration from biological protein chains, these MIT folks have built self-assembling modular motors that can take on very complex shapes. Pretty rudimentary for now, but the closest thing I’ve ever seen to a Transformer/Voltron-type technology in real life.

(via Motherboard)

Thought-controlled prosthesis is changing the lives of amputees

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 18:14:44 -0700

Thought-controlled prosthesis is changing the lives of amputees :

“The world’s first implantable robotic arm controlled by thoughts is being developed by Chalmers researcher Max Ortiz Catalan. The first operations on patients will take place this winter.”

Notable points include the ability to give feedback to the neurons, meaning a more direct indication of gripping pressure and the like.

Paralyzed Dogs Walk After Transplant Of Cells Taken From Their Noses

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 18:07:59 -0700

Paralyzed Dogs Walk After Transplant Of Cells Taken From Their Noses:

singularitarian:

British researchers successfully restored the ability to walk in paralyzed dogs. Special cells taken from the dogs’ noses and transplanted to injured areas caused regrowth of neurons. Within six months the dogs amazingly regained used of their hind legs and were able to use a treadmill, some without a harness. The researchers hope the procedure might one day lead to a cure for humans with spinal cord injury.

How NASA might build its very first warp drive

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 03:13:54 -0700

How NASA might build its very first warp drive:

singularitarian:

A few months ago, physicist Harold White stunned the aeronautics world when he announced that he and his team at NASA had begun work on the development of a faster-than-light warp drive. His proposed design, an ingenious re-imagining of an Alcubierre Drive, may eventually result in an engine that can transport a spacecraft to the nearest star in a matter of weeks — and all without violating Einstein’s law of relativity. We contacted White at NASA and asked him to explain how this real life warp drive could actually work.

Longevity gene that makes Hydra immortal also controls human aging

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 15:38:07 -0700

Longevity gene that makes Hydra immortal also controls human aging:

singularitarian:

Why is the polyp Hydra immortal? Researchers from Kiel University decided to study it — and unexpectedly discovered a link to aging in humans.

Some major work on speak recognition and in real time...

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 17:03:25 -0700

Some major work on speak recognition and in real time translation

New Nanotechnology Makes Fabric Stab Proof

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 11:26:04 -0600

New Nanotechnology Makes Fabric Stab Proof:

singularitarian:

The new advancement in lightweight body armor is the result of research that Army and University of Delaware scientists began more than a decade ago. ARL Inside explores the development and testing of shear thickening fluid, a nanotechnology invention that, when applied to fabric like Kevlar, for example, prevents pointed weapons like spikes or ice picks from penetrating between its yarns, and generally helps to hold yarns and fibers in place during attacks from pointed weapons or projectiles. Someday, researchers say, this liquid could be used to treat Soldier uniforms, particularly sleeves and pants, which are not protected by ballistic vests, and have to stay flexible.

Brain-Controlled Full Body HAL Suit

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 12:24:31 -0600

Brain-Controlled Full Body HAL Suit:

“The latest version of HAL has remained brain-controlled but evolved to a full body robot suit that protects against heavy radiation without feeling the weight of the suit. “

Robo-Doctors Signal the Rise of the Medical Machines

Thu, 18 Oct 2012 14:27:49 -0600

Robo-Doctors Signal the Rise of the Medical Machines:

unexpectedtech:

It won’t be long now before the “doctor” treating you for that nagging cold is a machine.

There will be a flesh-and-blood doctor involved in the process, of course, but the robot will do his bidding remotely, perhaps through an iPad. This isn’t so crazy as you might think — Sun Microsystems co-founder and forward-thinker Vinod Khosla predicted the robotization of medicine earlier this summer in an interview with Wired executive editor Thomas Goetz. Four out of five doctors will be replaced by machines, he predicted.

It’s starting to happen, in hundreds of hospitals worldwide.

Charlie Huiner, the vice president of InTouch Health care, also sees robo-docs rising. But he’s got a different take on it. His company is developing robots that allow doctors to “provide their care and expertise” remotely, he said at the second day of the Wired Health Conference.

Huiner doesn’t call his robots replacement doctors. He calls them conduits of care. The robot’s patented autonomous capabilities let a flesh-and-blood doctor on the other side tell their android helper what to do.

“It is as easy as tapping a point on a map or a patient room [on an iPad] and the robot will go there,” Huiner told Wired.

He showcased the company’s new ‘bot, RP-VITA, or Remote Presence Virtual + Independent Telemedicine Assistant, at Wired Health with company CEO Yulun Wang teleconferencing in from another location.

“It’s like the movie Avatar, but for medical applications,” Wang said, appearing on the robot’s monitor-head, which has two eye socket-like cavities. (They’re a user-controlled, eye-friendly laser pointer.) The humanoid ‘bot, which InTouch developed with Roomba-maker iRobot, also can interface with third-party apps.

FFS, Finally AR glasses where the lense is the screen.

Thu, 18 Oct 2012 04:07:46 -0600

FFS, Finally AR glasses where the lense is the screen.:

“appears to be the first time that the company is using side-mounted optical engines with waveguide lenses. This technology allows for the creation of AR glasses that look like little more than regular sunglasses but are capable of showing the user augmented reality information”

Because seriously, fuck google glass

A wireless low-power, high-quality EEG headset Imec, Holst...

Thu, 11 Oct 2012 14:59:59 -0600

A wireless low-power, high-quality EEG headset

Imec, Holst Centre and Panasonic have developed a new prototype of a wireless EEG (electroencephalogram, or brain waves) headset designed to be a reliable, high-quality and wearable EEG monitoring system.

The system combines ease-of-use with ultra-low power electronics. Continuous impedance monitoring and the use of active electrodes increases the quality of EEG signal recording compared to former versions of the system.

How it works

The EEG data is transmitted to a receiver located up to 10 meters away. The headset integrates active electrodes (reduce the susceptibility of the system to power-line interference and cable motion artifacts to improve signal quality), EEG amplifier, microcontroller, and low-power wireless transmitter.

The receiver can continuously record 8-channel EEG signals while concurrently recording electrode-tissue contact impedance (ETI), a measure of contact quality.

The system has a high (>92 dB) common-mode rejection ratio (to reduce interference from power lines and other sources) and low noise (<6 µVpp, 0.5-100Hz), with configurable cut-off frequency (to filter out high or low frequencies).

The heart of the system is the low-power (750µW) 8-channel EEG monitoring chipset. Each EEG channel consists of two active electrodes and a low-power analog signal processor. The EEG channels are designed to extract high-quality EEG signals under a large amount of common-mode interference. The active electrode chips have buffer functionality with high input impedance (1.4GΩ at 10Hz), enabling recordings from dry electrodes, and low output impedance reducing the power-line interference without using shielded wires

The system is integrated into imec’s EEG headset with dry electrodes, which enables EEG recordings with minimal set-up time. The small size of the electronics system, measuring only 35mm x 30mm x 5mm (excluding battery), allows easy integration in any other product.

Firefighting Robot is $100k of Cute n' Foamy

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 13:51:10 -0600

Firefighting Robot is $100k of Cute n' Foamy :

singularitarian:

We’re all familiar with the Triple D’s of robotics: Dull, Dirty, and Dangerous. That third D, the dangerous one, is arguably where robots have found their most valuable niche, at least when it comes to protecting humans from things that are, you know, dangerous. Like bombs. And now, fires!

Exoskeleton for pneumatic lifting

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 02:47:53 -0600

Exoskeleton for pneumatic lifting

animationtidbits: Qumarion Mannequin - Input device for...

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 02:46:40 -0600

animationtidbits:

Qumarion Mannequin - Input device for intuitive 3D manipulation

NOTE: If you’re a 3D animator, you need to watch this.

Remote-operated law enforcement robot that will be controlled by disabled police officers

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 01:24:23 -0600

Remote-operated law enforcement robot that will be controlled by disabled police officers:

Chemical Brain Preservation A very different take on preserving...

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 00:06:22 -0600

Chemical Brain Preservation

A very different take on preserving ourselves until technology can revive us.

US Air Force Blue Horizons video on the past and future of...

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 23:34:59 -0600

US Air Force Blue Horizons video on the past and future of technology

8bitfuture: Quantum keys exchanged from an aeroplane. German...

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 23:37:32 -0600

8bitfuture:

Quantum keys exchanged from an aeroplane.

German researchers have successfully transferred quantum encryption keys from an aircraft to a ground station, paving the way for an extremely secure satellite communication network.

Quantum key distribution (QKD) uses photons polarised in two different ways to encode the 0s and 1s of an encryption key. The laws of quantum mechanics ensure the transmission is secure, as any attempt to intercept the key disturbs the polarisation - a tip-off to the receiver that the key has been seen and should be discarded.

The transmission lasted for 10 minutes, with the researchers saying “It is a very challenging experiment”, and aligning the receiver to a satellite will be even more difficult.

In the meantime, he suggests that solar-powered planes, which can stay aloft for weeks at a time, could enable QKD to be used in military surveillance, for example.