It’s always annoying to me when I hear people talk about how new advances in medicine are always going to cost more. In many cases the opposite is true. Here’s a well-written article from the NYT explaining why robotic surgery leads to CHEAPER health costs. The reasons are that there are fewer complications and patients [...]

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“We’re at the beginning of an unmanned revolution.” That’s what Gary Kessler, who oversees unmanned aviation programs for the US Navy and Marines, told the AFP. According to the article, “Robots or “unmanned systems” are now deployed by the thousands in Iraq and Afghanistan, spying from the sky for hours on end, searching for booby-traps [...]

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This is one more step on the way towards strong AI. From the FT: “A laboratory robot called Adam has been hailed as the first machine in history to have discovered new scientific knowledge independently of its human creators. Adam formed a hypothesis on the genetics of bakers’ yeast and carried out experiments to test [...]

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Video of the story here. Hat tip to Slashdot for the story. “”A man who lost his sight 30 years ago says he can now see flashes of light after being fitted with a bionic eye. Ron, 73, had the experimental surgery seven months ago at London’s Moorfield’s eye hospital. He says he can now [...]

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From breitbart.com: “Japanese on Thursday unveiled a security robot that can be operated remotely by cellphone and launch a net to capture an intruder. The prototype T-34, jointly developed by robot developer tmsuk Co. Ltd. and security company Alacom Co. Ltd., looks like a small wheeled vehicle and is loaded with sensors that detect anything [...]

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Here is an article and video about Intel’s plan to deliver wireless power. Note that if we can charge a laptop using wireless tech, we can also charge robots etc.

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On Thursday, a monkey named Idoya made a 200-pound, 5-foot humanoid robot walk on a treadmill using only her brain activity. She was in North Carolina, and the robot was in Japan. Dr. Miguel A. L. Nicolelis, a neuroscientist at Duke University carried out the experiment. It was his team that in 2003 demonstrated that [...]

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I spoke at Command College today on future tech issues. Below is a list of links for the people in the room who want to read more on the issue areas. Command College Links 2008 Virtual Reality and Intellectual property Club Penguin: http://play.clubpenguin.com/ FlowPlay: http://world.flowplay.com/v10/teaser.jsp Second life (trailer): http://secondlife.com/showcase/trailercontest_2006.php How something is built in Second [...]

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Here’s a nice update from Tokyo’s home care and rehabilitation convention. Seniors can use a robot to help them feed themselves and nurses can use robotic exoskeletons to help lift patients etc. Of course, here’s another use for the wearable robotics.

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My birthday is this month and my fiancé bought me a robot. It’s been a lot of fun — I especially like the fact that if you walk too close to it, it will scream. Its standard programming makes it tell you to “get your own coffee” so I’ll have to figure out how to [...]

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There’s a cool looking program on the Science Channel today at 2pm. According to the site, the “film will closely examine the technologies that give hope to the disabled, allowing them to push beyond their limits and realize their potential.” Robots and humans begin to merge. This is not to be confused with the Wowee [...]

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This bot is meant to help the elderly, but I think it might actually cause a few heart attacks. I’d be freaked out if this thing picked me up.

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Frequent readers of my blog will know that I’m a huge fan of robots and this past year seems to have been epic for their evolution. Check out this new one showcased at the recent Demo conference: the Pleo. The company says that although every Pleo begins life with certain tendencies, each bot eventually exhibits [...]

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Oh yeah – I want one of these. Honda’s second-generation Asimo robot can run 6KM and hour (that’s 3.7 miles) and can carry drinks on a tray. Soon, it might be possible to feel as though you just landed in the middle of a Star Wars flick – bars with robot-waiters could be just around [...]

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A new book by Carnegie Mellon University roboticist Daniel H. Wilson makes fun of all the silly scenarios people come up with about how robots could go bad. Apparently, it’s also being made into a hollywood film — this is something I can’t wait to see.

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Well, we’re getting closer to creating a ‘real’ Data. Check out this Japanese robot.

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