In the history of the electric motor, progress has been very slow. It has been over 100 years since the day of the dynamo and early installations of direct current lighting. The large, bulky dynamo of the early 20th century gave way to Tesla’s alternating current solution which gave relative freedom over distances from the […]
2 cute robots: one funded by Japan’s Space Agency the other by Kickstarter
Japan’s cute talking robot will take off August 4th for the Space Station. Kirobo, a 13″ 2# mini-humanoid robot remembers faces, can move its head and arms, and is expected to help keep company and have conversations with the Japanese astronaut aboard the station including relaying information to and from the ground crew. Rapiro, a…
Oxford Martin School founder and GF2045 keynote speaker James Martin dies
At Global Future 2045, in NYC, June 15-16, the keynote speaker represented rampant technological change as both a problem and a benefit, and it needed to be addressed as such. He died on June 24. Martin established the Oxford Martin School in Oxford to focus on future challenges facing mankind and spoke eloquently about how…
The Promise of Wind Power
Electric Power generated by the wind is a really great idea. It may be more romantic than practical. The energy density of wind is very low, so converting wind to do mechanical work isn’t as easy as it might appear. The DOE measures wind quality as Watts per square meter. Low quality wind is rated […]
Global Future 2045 Takes A Hard Look At Today
By Frank Tobe, Editor/Publisher, The Robot Report Dmitry Itskov, a wealthy Russian Internet entrepreneur, hosted and sponsored last weekend’s Global Future 2045, an event organized to highlight the state of present day science and its relentless exponential march toward 2045, the year of the Singularity, the year when computers are expected to surpass the human…
Global Future 2045 Conference Takes A Hard Look At Today
GF2045 host Dmitry Itskov said “We are really at the time when technology can affect human evolution. I want us to shape the future, bring it up for public discussion, and avoid any scenario that could damage it.” Ray Kurzweil said that 2045 would be a time when computers surpassed the human brain and that,…
Big week for robotic mergers and acquisitions
MakerBot sells out to Stratasys Ltd. (NASDAQ:SSYS) for $403 million plus another $200 million if it meets certain targets. Stratasys adds a low-priced product to it’s line of 3D printing products. Note that Amazon’s Bezos Expeditions was a funder of MakerBot and that Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) recently set up a section to sell 3D printers and…
World’s Most Human-Like Android Wasn’t Unveiled at GF2045
Headlines preceding the Global Future 2045 Congress proclaimed: WORLD’S MOST HUMAN-LIKE ANDROID TO BE UNVEILED AT GF2045 “The Dmitry Avatar-A head represents the most expressive facial robot in history and far exceeds the life-like characteristics of previous robot portraits of humans in both technology and artistry,” stated David Hanson. “The Dmitry Avatar-A head can establish eye…
World’s Most Human-Like Android Wasn’t Unveiled at GF2045
At the 2nd Global Future 2045 Congress held in New York City June 15-16, one of the featured draws was the unveiling of a new Hanson Robotics head of the Congress' host, Dmitry Itskov. It didn't happen. Hanson was late and apologized saying: “My robots are complex works of art, and this is the most…
LIDAR finds a lost city in Cambodia
Using LIDAR technology to create terrain maps, archaeologists have uncovered a whole city in Cambodia by discovering unexplained “bumps”. Instead of using maps and sifting through slowly unfolding digs, with this new tech researchers can see whole cities at a time and determine where best to begin. In Cambodia, where unexploded land mines from previous…
The Future of Work
The future of work is in doubt. All you have to do is check the unemployment figures. Well, you need to really check the unemployment figures because the government keeps changing the basis for its calculation. More smoke and mirrors from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. If the total number of people who have given […]
Use of da Vinci surgical robots discussed on NBC’s Rock Center with Brian Williams
NBC's Rock Center focused on the case of a da Vinci surgical robot used to do a hysterectomy where dangerous complications ensued. A suit is in progress. The ACOG (American Congress of Gynocologists) suggests that doctors help patients separate marketing hype from reality regarding hysterectomies. NBC's bottom line: “Hospitals have a responsibility to set the…
First responder and military ground robots to grow at close to 20%
New $3,800 report by Wintergreen Research says that first responder and military ground robot marketplace will expand at close to 20% annually for the rest of the decade. Expected revenue in 2019 is $12 billion. Growth is based on the adoption of automated processes combining innovative software and robotic platforms in systems of engagement that…
$201 million in venture funding in 2012; up from $194 in 2011
Roboticist and entrepreneur Travis Deyle keeps tract of venture funding during the year and has provided not just a list, but a profile of the companies receiving the money. Report doesn’t include big-buck acquisitions of Kiva for $775 million, Evolution Robotics for $74 million, Aldebaran for $100 million, and smaller than a million fundings. 2012…
New robot cars and AI app shown at Apple Developer’s Conference
First thing shown at Apple Developer's Conference was Anki's new AnkiDrive app and cars. Three self-driving cars steered themselves around a track. The cars sense their surroundings and adjust their speeds based on the same processes our brains perform while driving. “We are bringing video games to life on the floor of your livingroom,” CEO…
iRobot unveils new AVA 500 mobile robot for professionals
New iRobot AVA 500, planned for 2014 delivery, navigates autonomously and can be sent from point A to B using an iPad. Base of AVA same as that used by InTouch Health and their successful RP-VITA remote presence robot. AVA 500 carriers a Cisco 21.5-inch LCD and has a HD webcam atop it packed with…
Are headlines about killer robots obscuring the valuable use of drones for other purposes?
Are the campaigns to ban killer robots scaring people unnecessarily? Is the coverage obscuring the valuable contributions that commercial uses of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) offer? There weren’t any headlines about a very helpful drone mapping expedition in Haiti last month. Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water is an article you might…
Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water
By Frank Tobe, Editor/Publisher, The Robot Report University of Sheffield (UK) AI and Robotics Professor Noel Sharkey (red tie) leading a group to protest killer robots. There have been many headlines about “killer robots” and invasion of privacy. They protest that robots will soon choose targets and then bomb or shoot those targets under their…
Work
We are makers of machines. It is one of the many defining characteristics of mankind. My guess is that we create machines primarily out of a desire to avoid work. Which makes perfect sense. Work is a drag. It interferes with doing other things. It also usually involves a great deal of effort, hence the […]
An inspiring article by a future roboticist
[In July, 2011, I interviewed and then wrote about an inspiring high school teacher who spearheaded the founding of the Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy, was the 2010 recipient of a $500,000 MacArthur Fellow award, and is the lead character in the book The New Cool by Neal Bascomb which tells the story of his high school’s winning entry in the…
An inspiring story by an aspiring roboticist
Forsyth Central High School student Brandon Gross writes about his school, his city (Cumming, GA) and Forsyth County involvement in competitive robotics as a method to teach and learn about engineering, math, science and technology. The underlying issues are the use of robotics to stimulate STEM training in middle and high schools and the need…
Israel is top global exporter of UAS
Frost & Sullivan, a research and consulting firm, reported that Israel’s UAS export revenue totaled $4.6 billion from 2005 to 2012. In terms of the number of systems sold, Israel is the world’s largest exporter of unmanned aircraft the study said. “UAS exports have accounted for nearly 10 percent of the country’s total defense export…