Tuesday, December 22, 2015
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Saturday, November 7, 2015
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Friday, October 16, 2015
Monday, October 5, 2015
Flying Robot Bees Can Now Swim, Too [feedly]
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Flying Robot Bees Can Now Swim, Too
// Popular Science
Robot Bees
Robot bees as seen in 2013, soon after they first achieved controlled flight.
When given the choice between sinking and swimming, these RoboBees will swim every time.
We first wrote about Harvard scientists' invention of robotic bees back in 2013. In some ways, not much has changed. The bees are still leashed to their power supply, too small to carry onboard computers and batteries. But in the past two years, they've picked up a new trick: they've learned how to swim.
The bees are so small and light that the surface tension of the water prevents them from delicately sinking into a glass. But the researchers found that if the bees cannonball into the water, they turn into very happy swimmers. As it turns out, moving through the air and moving through water aren't that different for the RoboBees—they simply flap their wings more slowly underwater.
See the robot bees in action here:
Video of Harvard RoboBee Diving, Hovering, Swimming
Needless to say, real bees and water don't mix quite as well, and though RoboBees and real bees are similar sizes, they still have very different functions. Robot bees may one day be capable of pollinating crops, but that day is at least 20 years in the future.
For now, the researchers are focused on expanding the RoboBee's basic capabilities, including new tricks like swimming. And even if we got to a point where RoboBees were able to pollinate crops, the robotic option would remain far more expensive than the natural, biological source of inspiration.
In the absence of good robot alternatives, researchers are still focused on saving bee populations, which have been in decline for the past several years. Looking into a whole host of scientific research from conservation methods, to bee illnesses, and alternative pollinators, means that we probably won't have to rely on RoboBees to pollinate our food anytime soon. But they're still incredibly cool.
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Saturday, October 3, 2015
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Friday, September 25, 2015
Monday, August 24, 2015
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
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Saturday, July 18, 2015
Robots are becoming self-aware [feedly]
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Robots are becoming self-aware
// Betanews
Smartphones might be getting smarter, and the Internet of Things becoming increasingly important, but a large part of the technological future is owned by robots. Human-replacing robots have existed in factories and manufacturing processes for years, but the dream has long been to create a humanoid robot that is 'intelligent' enough to act like a human.
Three robots have been put to the test at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, and scientists showed that one was able to demonstrate self-awareness. We're not quite at the stage of a robot uprising, but it is an important step on the road to improving reasoning and problem-solving in future robots.
The experiment took three Nao robots, and programmed two of them to believe they'd been given a pill that prevented them from speaking. Importantly, none was aware which had been given the 'pill' and which had not. Researchers then asked the robots which pair had taken the pill, and they each tried to respond with "I don't know". Those who were unable to talk remained silent, but the third repeated the phrase. And this is when the magic happened.
Upon hearing its own voice, the robot was quickly able to determine that it had not been silenced by a pill and uttered the words:
Sorry, I know now. I was able to prove that I was not given a dumbing pill.
So not only was the robot able to respond to human input, it also showed that it could recognize itself, and react accordingly.
The full results of the research are due to be presented at the at RO-MAN robotic conference in Japan from August 31 to September 4. Check out the robots in action in the video below:
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Thursday, July 2, 2015
Monday, June 29, 2015
The War Over Your Future Driverless Car Service Has Begun [feedly]
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The War Over Your Future Driverless Car Service Has Begun
// Popular Science
Uber
An example of a driver that Uber might replace, if the ride-sharing company continues to move towards driverless cars.
Even though Google's driverless car only hit public roads last week (and reportedly already had a close call), another tech giant is already angling to pose as a competitor. Uber, the often-sued not-a-taxi app, just acquired 100 engineers and unknown "assets" from Microsoft Bing, Google's mapping competitor, according to TechCrunch.
This transaction is the latest in a series of steps by Uber to prepare for a future of driverless cars, and signals a growing complication between Uber and Google, the latter of which is also an Uber investor through Google Ventures. On February 2, Uber announced it would partner with Carnegie Mellon University to develop robotic means for "safe, reliable transportation to everyone, everywhere," in other words, self-driving cars. The very same day, news broke that Google is developing its own ride-sharing app, presumably to put its driverless car research to work.
Uber's latest addition of 100 Microsoft engineers is no small move of intellectual property, and it's a clear sign that Uber is looking to improve and expand its core services. Microsoft will no longer be collecting its own maps for Bing, instead leaving that to Uber, who also brought an ex-Google Maps leader on board this month. That former Google VP, Brian McClendon, will oversee Uber's work at Carnegie Mellon, and will presumably oversee the numerous CMU robotics experts Uber is reported to have poached from the leading robotics institution.
Uber has a vested interest in driverless solutions. The company has been long-plagued with bitter legal battles from taxi companies and its drivers alike. Just this month, the California Labor Commission ruled in favor of a former Uber driver, granting her more than $4000 in business expenses. If other drivers come forward with the same claim, Uber could be forced to to reclassify its drivers as employees (they're currently contractors), and potentially pay overtime wages, payroll tax and health insurance. Driverless cars obviously don't demand the same type of equitable treatment as human drivers (at least not yet).
Uber has also been working on expanding its delivery service, acting as both a courier for food and packages. Right now if you're in a few select cities, Uber can bring you food, and same-day merchant delivery might be on the horizon. Uber also has been testing a courier service, Uber Rush, in New York City. However, Uber Rush is a bike courier service, which might be more difficult to replace with driverless cars. Cars, by definition, do not have arms to deliver packages.
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