Research reveals how the Internet may be changing the brain
By: NICM June 5, 2019 An international team of researchers from Western Sydney University, Harvard University, Kings College, Oxford University and University of Manchester have found the Internet can produce both acute and sustained alterations in specific areas of cognition, which may reflect changes in the brain, affecting our attentional capacities, memory processes, and social […]
This Tank-Like Machine Gun Robot Is Straight out Of “Terminator”
By: Dan Robitzski may 31, 2019 KillBot A new robotic tank called THeMIS could bring the remote-control capabilities of aerial drone warfare down to ground combat. The robot, which C4ISRNET reports was equipped with a 12.7mm machine gun and a 40mm automatic grenade launcher during a demo in Estonia last month, is reminiscent of those […]
Is technology key to improving global health and education, or just an expensive distraction?
By: Stefan Dercon Forum May 31, 2019 After decades of attempting to improve failing health and education systems in developing countries, the situation in many areas is still dire. In some sub-Saharan African countries, children achieve as little as 2.3 to 5 years of learning, despite typically spending 8 years in school. More than five […]
Unsettling Sex Robot Looks Almost Exactly Like a Real Person
By: Futurism May 29, 2019 Some sex experts predict we’re headed toward a future in which “virtual” lovers replace human ones — and based on advances happening in the field of sex robots, it could eventually be hard to tell the difference. One company in particular, DS Doll Robotics, has cooked up incredibly lifelike robotic […]
‘Spider-like senses’ could help autonomous machines see better
By: Purdue University May 29, 2019 What if drones and self-driving cars had the tingling “spidey senses” of Spider-Man? They might actually detect and avoid objects better, says Andres Arrieta, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue University, because they would process sensory information faster. Better sensing capabilities would make it possible for drones […]
Virtual reality: how women are taking a leading role in the sector
By: Tola Onanuga May 28, 2019 Despite a well-documented gender imbalance within the tech industry, a survey suggests that when it comes to VR, women are starting to take up leadership roles in greater numbers When the Arab spring uprising began in 2010, film-maker Tamara Shogaolu was living in Egypt. As she travelled around the […]
Robocrop: world’s first raspberry-picking robot set to work
By: Julia Kollewe and Rob Davies May 26, 2019 Quivering and hesitant, like a spoon-wielding toddler trying to eat soup without spilling it, the world’s first raspberry-picking robot is attempting to harvest one of the fruits. After sizing it up for an age, the robot plucks the fruit with its gripping arm and gingerly deposits […]
MobiKa: A low-cost mobile robot that can assist people in a variety of settings
By: Ingrid Fadelli May 23, 2019 Researchers at Fraunhofer IPA, in Stuttgart, Germany, have recently developed MobiKa, a low-cost, mobile robot capable of two-modal (voice and text) interactions with humans. Their robot, presented in a paper pre-published on arXiv, could be particularly useful for assisting elderly people. Recent advances in robotics have enabled the development […]
NHS to sign up patients for ‘virtual’ A&E in tech revolution
By: Denis Campbell May 23, 2019 Millions of patients will be encouraged to use digital technology to assess how ill they are under a groundbreaking initiative by a leading NHS hospital, as part of a drive to reduce the use of A&E and outpatient appointments. A revolution in the NHS’s embrace of technology will see […]