Every great structure, from the Empire State Building to the Golden Gate Bridge, depends on specific mechanical properties to remain strong and reliable. Rigidity—a material’s stiffness—is of particular importance for maintaining the robust functionality of everything from colossal edifices to the tiniest of nanoscale structures. In biological nanostructures, like DNA networks, it has been difficult [...]
An eye-controlled television has been unveiled at Berlin’s IFA trade show. Haier’s Gaze TV uses technology developed by Tobii, a Swedish firm which already offers eye-tracking technology for computers. Users control the set by staring at the top or bottom of the screen to activate a user-interface. The user can then change the volume, switch [...]
An ominous plume of black smoke hangs over east London. The scarcely believable news arrives in snippets: A huge blast has rocked the Thames Barrier; a surge of water is ploughing through the city; a sports stadium has collapsed; more explosions are reported on Twitter. Thousands of people are trying to evacuate, but like the [...]
People in the Netherlands have reason to celebrate today, following the expected passing into law of new net neutrality regulation. The legislation in question was agreed upon back in June last year, but it’s only on Tuesday that the nation’s second legislative chamber gave its blessing to the move, making everything official. Under the new [...]
Self-replicating robots could be the solution to making first contact with an alien civilization. These proposed exobots could efficiently explore our local galactic neighborhood and help locate any extraterrestrials that may be sending radio signals in our direction. After 50 years of searching the heavens with radio telescopes and coming up empty, the SETI Institute’s [...]
Researchers have released the biggest images yet detailing dark matter, the mysterious substance that makes up 85% of the Universe’s mass. Each image, a billion light-years across, shows evidence of dark matter clumps scattered through the cosmos. The team from the Canada-France Hawaii Telescope inferred the dark matter’s existence by the way it bends light. [...]
Who hasn’t dreamt of floating on a cloud? Whether we are looking up at the sky or gazing out of an airplane window, those giant beds of fluff are irresistible. New York designer Tiago Barros is on the same wavelength and created an incredible, cloud-like balloon that takes travelers for a floating ride around the [...]
A team of scientists has demonstrated that a coordinated group of pre-programmed, autonomous robots can do the job of building workers, constructing a six meter high tower without any human intervention. Architects say this new technology paves the way for new methods of engineering buildings of the future. [youtube width="500" height="344"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvN9Ri1GmuY[/youtube]
Kevin Grennan created this Robot Armpit prototype. There’s more good stuff about his work with robots that smell scary in this We Make Money Not Art interview and profile, in honor of The Smell of Control: Fear, Focus, Trust, which deals with smell and robotics. “It was important to me that the odours and chemicals [...]
This robotic lander made staff in a NASA control room very happy when it launched, flew and landed itself autonomously. While that’s an impressive feat in itself, seeing the explosive launch in infrared is even more exciting. Part of the Robotic Lander Development Project at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, the prototype is [...]
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