Robots Learn To Lie
What are the consequences for humanity if we encourage robots to learn how to lie? What are the consequences for the robots? (re: Arthur C. Clarke) |
Robot Resorts In 50 Years?
Can robots run hotels better than people? We may find out, says tourism expert. (re: Richard Morgan) |
'Virtual Iraq' Therapy For PTSD
This program allows the therapist to return someone suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder to the scene of the trauma, for healing. (re: Roger Zelazny) |
Emotion Tracking Big Comedy Brother
Finally, Big Brother will have a software option for making sure that you are really participating in the Two Minutes' Hate. (re: George Orwell) |
BrainPort - See With Your Tongue By Year's End
Tongue vision will be available to everyone, hopefully, if the FDA approves it. (re: Various) |
Bio Acoustic Fish Fence May Protect Great Lakes
Another interesting technology to try to keep the Great Lakes free of Asian carp; I read about the idea first in a Zelazny story three decades ago. (re: Roger Zelazny) |
Life-Size Tachikoma Robot Vehicle
This is a pretty nice implementation of the Tachikoma tank, even if it doesn't climb buildings or turn invisible. (re: Various) |
Zombie Math - Modeling The Attack
What happens when professional mathematicians and statisticians get together to analyze fictional situations? (re: Various) |
Shrink Wrapped Psychiatric Help For Avatars
Short video presents an interesting case for the therapist; Second Life avatars have complicated presentations for the therapist. (re: Roger Zelazny) |
Spiderbot Self-Healing Networks
I'm starting to think that if you want an ad hoc network, you need to send in the robots. With video. (re: Charles Stross) |
ECCEROBOT Anthropomimetic Robot
Exceptional robotic prototype used to slowly rebuild human beings in structure. (re: Varioius) |
iPhone-Based Augmented Reality In Development
Superimpose your viewpoint on reality - not just for yourself, but for others too. Some in concept, some in beta and some in reality. Oh, and some in sf. (re: Various) |
Arena Salix Pavillion Willow Architecture
Graceful structures made of materials that mock our ability to create self-healing coatings or concrete. (re: Jack Vance) |
TruFocals Glasses Do Not Use Hufhuf Oil
Eyeglasses suitable for the Kwisatz Haderach, if he needed glasses. (re: Frank Herbert) |
iPhone UAV Drone Control App
It won't be long now. I'll be reading some technothriller novel, and I'll read 'Sonya looked across to the neighboring building and eased her iPhone out of her purse. Selecting the proper app, she took control of the drone's final approach.' (re: Ray Cummings) |
In-Flight Wi-Fi Gives Me Clarke Moment
Actually, yes, Arthur C. Clarke's vision of checking the news on a tablet computer while in flight can be improved upon... (re: Arthur C. Clarke) |
Baha Divino Bone-Conduction iPod Implanted 'Ear Buds'
These are very neat - you can hear them much better than regular ear buds or other such devices, particularly in noisy environments. (re: Hugo Gernsback) |
Self-Healing Metal Coating
Imagine a material that can heal itself when scratched, or become more corrosion-resistant, or become self-lubricating. (re: J.G. Ballard) |
Cures Found in 'Junk DNA'
What has been conserved in the so-called 'junk DNA' of the human genome? Perhaps cures for disease? And more. (re: Greg Bear) |
Wooden Helicopter Personal Transportation
The do-it-yourself spirit is alive and well in China; this farmer used materials at hand to construct a personal flying vehicle. (re: John W. Campbell) |
Himawari Homotropic Sunflower Robot
This robot shows real progress toward what Philip K. Dick called 'homotropic' machines - robots that seek out and follow people. (re: Philip K. Dick) |
Knife-Wielding Robot With X-Ray Vision
At great expense, this robot has been given sensors to tell just exactly where the ribs are, where the legs are and of course where the shoulders are. (re: Robert Silverberg) |
Bioengineered Mouse Tooth Bud Successfully Implanted
As far as I know, this is the first successful creation and implantation of a tooth bud 'from scratch' that grows to full size and full tooth functionality. (re: William Gibson) |
2 Terabyte Memory Sticks Coming
This is just an announcement of the finalization of the spec - you can't quite buy one yet. (re: Dan Simmons) |
Aroxo Intelligent Agents Negotiate For You
Technology startup ready to put its software agents to work for you. (re: Frederik Pohl) |
Loose Tweets Sink Fleets
The Marines decided to take a year off from on-duty social networking to study the matter more carefully. Includes modern-day take on vintage military IT patriotic poster. (re: Robert Heinlein) |
Touchable Holography Display
Video presentation shows that it is possible to touch a three-dimensional holographic object. (re: Frederik Pohl) |
Soldiers Learn To Trust Robots
Can robots be trusted to 'have your back' in urban combat situations? Soldiers are learning about different robotic platforms, and how they can be used in urban combat. (re: Philip K. Dick) |
NASA's Spring Tire For Improved Lunar Mileage
The tires on the original Lunar Roving Vehicle were fantastic; however, plans to drive the LRVs of the future for thousands, not merely hundreds, of kilometers means we need better tires. (re: Arthur C. Clarke) |
Buying a Tablet Computer?
I think that tablet computers might just make it this time around. Here's why. (re: Arthur C. Clarke) |
Robot Hands Ready To Kick Your Ass
This compilation of robotic hand-to-sensor coordination shows why the future of sports is mechanical. Stop worrying about steriod use -start testing for robotic prosthetic use. (re: Various) |
DARPA's Restorative Injury Repair Dream
Those guys at DARPA must spend all their spare time reading old 1960's sf novels. Not that I'm knocking it; if you're going to read, you can't do better than Phil Dick, Clifford Simak and Larry Niven. (re: Clifford Simak) |
Coolpix S1000pj Projector Camera
This camera does more than point-and-shoot; it is a projector and camera all in one. I think Jack Vance had this one designed - in his mind - about forty years ago. (re: Jack Vance) |
Aeryon Scout UAV Gets Upgrades
This little UAV has come a long way in just a year; it's a pretty close match to one of Jack Vance's ideas. (re: Jack Vance) |
Robotic FuA-Men Fully Automated Ramen Restaurant
This automated restaurant features an autonomous chef and assistant; ramen has never been cooked so precisely. (re: Edgar Rice Burroughs) |
In-Home Surveillance For 20K Brit Families
Not content with constant monitoring by more CCTV cameras per person than any other nation, Britain wants to put them in the homes of problem families as well. (re: Pournelle and Niven) |
Beaker Burgers From In Vitro Meat
All around the world, scientists are racing to be the first to produce meat in a vat. No waste materials to be cut away. Just the burger - in a beaker. (re: Pohl and Kornbluth) |
Hovering Crowd Control Beam
Who would think of using non-lethal beams from the air to enforce civilized behavior? (re: Larry Niven) |
Neurosecurity Concerns In Neural Implant Tech
Fascinating paper details the possible negative consequences of having electronic brain implants; sf readers feel perfectly at home reading it. (re: Robert J. Sawyer) |
Toyota Running Robot, Humanoid But Creepy
How fast can a robot run? This Toyota prototype runs very effectively - if in a sort of horrible, minion-like way. (re: Various) |
Brain Interface Weapons War Crime Immunity
DARPA has developed brain-interface devices that use special algorithms and neural signals to determine that a soldier has made a choice BEFORE he is consciously aware of it. Can a person commit a war crime without being aware of making a decision? (re: Various) |
GHOST Robot Fire Fighters In London
These robotic fire-fighter aren't quite up to the autonomous standard set by their Transformer forebears, but they're coming along nicely. (re: Various) |
Laser Propulsion May Beam Spacecraft To Orbit
Will spacecraft and satellites ride a beam of light into space? Aerospace engineer Leik Myrabo has been working on the technology for decades. (re: Niven and Pournelle) |
Therapists Plan World Of Warcraft Raid
Interesting proposal to have mental health professionals enter the game and attempt to work with players while online. (re: Roger Zelazny) |
Asimov's Psychohistory May Be Possible
Many of us enjoyed the Foundation stories; did you think that psychohistory might actually be a workable discipline? (re: Isaac Asimov) |
Surveillance By Flying Saucer
UPDATED with new sf reference and video. Very well-behaved saucer-shaped surveillance drone certainly looks more cool than other hovering drones. (re: Michael Crichton) |
New Transparent Aluminum Somewhat Shortlived
What, another story about transparent aluminum. No really, it is transparent. To ultraviolet lights. For a very short time. But it's pretty cool. (re: Gene Roddenberry) |
Learning Robot Going Through 'Terrible Twos'
Can you child-proof your house for robots? This Iowa State robot is going through the 'terrible twos' - fortunately, in the lab. (re: Various) |
U.S. Cyber Challenge - Greetings, Starfighter!
It's time for all good geeks to come to the defense of their country. The DoD hopes to attract and train at least 10,000 students to help defend our national cyberspace. (re: Various) |
Perky Pat-Style Unemployment Layout
If you don't like your present circumstances, and long to return to the life of an employed cubicle-dweller, take this tip from Philip K. Dick. (re: Philip K. Dick) |
Undersea UFOs Seen By Russian Navy
Interesting stories surface from the declassified files of the Russian Navy. During the Cold War, the Russians found more than they bargained for underwater. (re: Various) |
Bacterial 'Computer' Solves Math Problem
Genetically modified bacteria solve yet another math problem. It takes a while to program them, but when you can double your number of processors every few hours, the calculations go faster. (re: Greg Bear) |
Bears Beat BearVault, Haven't Discovered Fire - Yet
Watch out for those shy, middle-aged bears; they're the smart ones. (re: Terry Bisson) |
Baseball Robot Pitching Batting Battle VIDEO
These two robots can perform remarkably well at certain aspects of the game. Electromechanical hitters and pitchers have a certain appeal; now we need steampunk versions for that 1890's feel. Now updated with video. (re: Various) |
Tweet Your Prayers To Jerusalem's Western Wall
This unusual site will accept your tweets and pass them on; it's an electronic extension of a practice that dates back hundreds of years. (re: Various) |
Stable Motor Memory For Mastery Of Prosthetics
There is no limit to the type or variety of prosthetic device your brain could learn to control. Time to start thinking of unique implants - Samuel R. Delany has a few ideas. (re: Samuel R. Delany) |
Ultrasound Surgery Performed On Humans
Dr. McCoy's wonderful bloodless surgical instruments get closer to reality; surgeons now use this surgical technique on people with successful results. (re: Gene Roddenberry) |
HRP-4C Robot In Wedding Dress A Mechanical Bride
'Like the father of a bride, I feel both happy and sad.' So said developer Kazuhito Yokoi as he watched his lifelike robotic creation walk down the runway in a wedding dress. With video. (re: Fritz Leiber) |
Rocketplane For Hawaiian Spaceport?
Trips to the edge of space from the continental US are fine, but if you want the blue planet view, you'll want to take off from Hawaii. (re: Robert Heinlein) |
Geoengineering To Mitigate Climate Change
This policy statement focuses on large-scale efforts to geoengineer the climate system to counteract the consequences of increasing greenhouse gas emissions. (re: John Jacob Astor IV) |
Modular Snake Robot's Unique Gaits
Based on snake movements, they've moved beyond mere biomimicry with an amazing variety of movements. (re: Emmett McDowell) |
Biggest Electronic Book Store On Earth
I'm a bit late with this story, but then again, so is Barnes and Noble with that whole electronic bookstore idea. (re: Stanislaw Lem) |
Touchscreen Touches You Back
This display presents dynamically changeable physical buttons on a visual display. (re: Varioius) |
Motorcycle SuperFabric Now With d3o Shock Absorption
It's not quite a super-suit, but the new multi-function motorcycle protection garment from d3o and SuperFabric is getting us closer. (re: Various) |
Flossie The Robot Motorcycle Test Rider
Other robots have gotten their start as test bots. Someday, they'll let Flossie out of the lab. (re: Various) |
Screamers - PKD's Claws - The Robotic Research Begins
Research on how sandfish lizards manage to both run and burrow under the sand is being touted as an aid to robotic research. I thought that Philip K. Dick's robots evolved on their own. (re: Philip K. Dick) |
ATMs Fight Back With Pepper Spray
Autonomous cash machine can decide whether you get money - or the hot stuff. (re: William Gibson) |
'Nearest Tube' Augmented Reality iPhone App
Newest decal required on the iPhone: 'Please don't attempt to drive or walk based on the image you see on your iPhone, held right up against your eyes.' (re: Vernor Vinge) |
Protectan May Guard Us From Radiation Damage
Scientists take advantage of a little-known (to me, anyway) property of the whip-like tails of bacteria to create what could be a very valuable drug. (re: Gene Roddenberry) |
EATR Robot Is A Vegetarian
It turns out that reports of, well, ghoulish behavior on the part of Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot were completely unfounded. Not surprisingly. (re: Philip K. Dick) |
Kindle Orwellian Nightmare Comes True!
Literary irony was substituted for e-book versions of 1984 and Animal Farm on Kindles all over America today. (re: George Orwell) |
Cheaters May No Longer Prosper
Interesting experiment shows a very specific difference between liars and truth-tellers. (re: H. Beam Piper) |
Artificial Skin Swatches Mass-Produced
These tiny swatches of artificial skin come complete with little blood vessels. (re: Frank Herbert) |
WellAWARE Passive Sensor Monitoring Of Elderly
This monitoring system doesn't go as far as its sfnal predecessors, but we're getting there. (re: Ray Bradbury) |
Face Recognition Now Sees Through Disguises
Just when you thought your fake mustache and horn rim glasses were enough, clever software designers march on. (re: Philip K. Dick) |
iKey AK-39 Wearable Wrist Keyboard
This looks like it might be a good candidate for plowsharing. (re: John McTieman) |
Computer Learns Sign Language From TV
Human beings just don't have that many ways to communicate basic (ie, life-sustaining) ideas in ways that are outside the realm of a computer's understanding. Now, another safety barrier falls. (re: Arthur C. Clarke) |
'Electric Sheep' Runs On Real Grass - EATR Robot
An 'electric sheep' that actually runs on biomass? (re: Philip K. Dick) |
'Precrime' Parole System In Philadelphia
A machine learning system in Philly tries, with considerable success, to predict which inmates should be paroled. (re: Philip K. Dick) |
Interplanetary Internet - Disruption Tolerant Network
Let's get astronauts on the 'Net by 2011. In space, no one can hear you tweet. (re: George O. Smith) |
Unemployed Robots Should Seek Work Autonomously
For now, robots just stand idle when humans stop giving them work. SF writers have some suggestions, though. (re: Harry Harrison) |
Digital Booth Babe Display 3mm Thick
Fascinating display created for trade shows; I wonder if the creators of this display saw Young Sherlock Holmes twenty-five years ago. (re: Steven Spielberg) |
Spherical Robot Lego Mindstorms NXT-Based
I just like spherical robots; this very nicely implemented bot uses a Lego Mindstorms NXT kit as the basis for the locomotive power. (re: Various) |
Nano-Particle Field Extraction Thruster
A nanoFET is essentially a micro-thruster; a postage stamp-sized rocket engine. Great flexibility combined with long operational life make it perfect for small devices on long missions. (re: Murray Leinster) |
Robot Learns To Smile
Machine learning is the way they've been teaching an Einstein robot to smile. Grad students approve. (re: Stephen Barr) |
DustCart Robotic Trash Can From DustBot
This idea is a half-century old, but it's still a good one. The Italians press on in the area of urban hygiene. (re: Harry Harrison) |
Robo-Bat Has Shape Memory Alloy Joints
Cutting edge materials used for bones, joints and muscles make this robotic bat as light as possible. (re: Raymond Z. Gallun) |
SHUTi - Automated Online Insomnia Treatment
A recent clinical trial has demonstrated that an automated online system can provide treatment for insomnia that is at least as effective as that provided by human therapists. With video. (re: Philip K. Dick) |
Smile Machines Scan and Rank Workers Daily
Message from your mechanized boss - 'I'm afraid your smile has fallen off from a 91 to an 83. Bring up the corners of that mouth, won't you?' (re: Various) |
Tongue Drive System Validated In Clinical Trial
The Tongue Controller has come through its clinical trial with flying colors; this is good news for people with high-level spinal chord injuries. (re: Alfred Bester) |
Dream Cat Venus An Android's Dream
This is starting to sound a bit more like the electric animals from the PKD novel. Particularly the vidlenses. (re: Philip K. Dick) |
Precisely Crafted Artificial Organs Via Stereolithography
Interesting technique provides another way to create an artificial organ that is not just biologically compatible, but a perfect three-dimensional fit. (re: Philip K. Dick) |
Robotic Obama Not Ready To Lead Nation
SF fans hoping for an autonomous robotic leader were a little disappointed by the animatronic Obama; however, compare a video of the Obamabot with a video of an sfnal CGI leader (re: Various) |
Limb Regeneration Grows Closer
Frank Herbert suggested that an axolotl tank might be useful in tissue regeneration; scientists are now teasing out the salamander's secrets. (re: Frank Herbert) |
Self-Portrait Machine - Robotically Compelled Art
Art project prototype puts the use of machines into sharp perspective. (re: Various) |
SCRATCHbot Robot Rat Whiskers Video
This is a pretty good video showing progress in the almost sixty year-old idea of whiskered robots. (re: Ray Bradbury) |
Responsive Mirror, Mirror On The Wall
A special display lets users see themselves in two different sets of clothing at the same time. (re: Harry Harrison) |
AcceleGlove Open-Source Data Glove
This device was developed at great expense by your government, and now you can have one at a very reasonable price; developers use Java to program it. (re: Steven Spielberg) |
Mars Robot Takes Up Stargazing
Robots with time (and energy) on their hands need tasks to perform. How about spending time looking up, and not just down, at a planetary surface? (re: Larry Niven) |
Chewing Robot Hailed By Would-Be Flesh-Eating Bots
Finally, a way to perform meaningful clinical trials of dental materials. And equip robots with chewing, gnashing teeth. (re: Ray Bradbury) |
Google Earth Typography
What do aliens see when they look at Earth from afar? Maybe letters. (re: Jules Verne) |
Domed Cities - For Earth?
Is it really time to start thinking about whether or not we need to start covering Earth cities to protect them (and us) from the rest of our own planet? (re: Anonymous) |
Robotic Microsurgery Instrument Goes Anywhere
The idea of robotic micro-surgical instruments has a longer history in sf than in medicine. This powerful TED talk displays the latest devices. (re: Raymond Z. Gallun) |
Hero Dog From 9/11 Cloned 5X
Although not all the clones are exact duplicates, it's a remarkable process. (re: Various) |
Cleaning Up Chernobyl With Beets
Another interesting scheme to try to cut the amount of time that tens of thousands of kilometers of countryside must lay fallow due to radioactive fallout. (re: Gregory Benford) |
Hovering Levi-Table
Furniture that floats - that's the future - at least of the office - according to Kurt Vonnegut. (re: Kurt Vonnegut) |
Toyota i-Real Personal Transport Now In Use
Sit up straight if you want to look pedestrians in the eye, then recline for speed. With video. (re: Various) |
AltaRock's Quake-Inducing Geothermal Energy Search
People need alternative energy sources in California; are there any ways of getting what we need that are free of consequences? (re: LucasArts) |
Shrapnel-Locating Autonomous Robot
This autonomous robotic arm uses a biopsy needle and a special technique to find bits of shrapnel as small as 2 mm needle fragments in the body. (re: Larry Niven) |
Underwater Mine Detection Robots Vs. Wabbler
The Navy is trying to create a smarter mine hunting robotic system. I think I can predict the logical countermove. (re: Murray Leinster) |
Optogenetics - Fiber Optic Brain Control
Possibly a cure for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and epilepsy. Also, possibly a way to selectively control the behavior of any individual. (re: Vernor Vinge) |
Air Bag Jacket Saves Life Of Motorcyclist
Although this is an old story, it's a pretty good call by an sf writer. (re: Neal Stephenson) |
Bowlingual Translates Canine Speech
Just in time to be tied into a major motion picture, this upgrade to a classic device now lets your dog speak at last. (re: Murray Leinster) |
Online Virtual Medical Training
This sim is the first step to having an emergency medical hologram. (re: Gene Roddenberry) |
Rotopod Rotational Legged Locomotion Robot
This robot was directly inspired by the tripedal 'spider' robots described by Arthur C. Clarke in Rendezvous With Rama in 1972. (re: Arthur C. Clarke) |
AIs Take DEFCON-Based 'Turing Test'
What kind of money does it take to convince human programmers to vie for the honor of training SkyNet? Five hundred bucks. (re: John Badham) |
AMOLED E-Passport W/Rotating Mugshot
This active matrix organic light emitting diode is no mere digital hokey-pokey; it's a three-dimensional driver's license photo, or (as Jack Vance might call it) a tri-type record. (re: Jack Vance) |
Robotic Catcher's Hand Does Not Need Mitt
This robotic catcher can pull baseballs out of the air with uncanny accuracy. (re: Various) |
Will Japan Abolish Cash?
What are the political implications of a cashless society, in which every transaction is recorded? (re: Edward Bellamy) |
Cyborg Insect Comm System Planned By DARPA
Ever listened to the calls of insects in the evening, or in a meadow on a summer day? They might be talking in a special language devised by DARPA. About you. (re: Various) |
Flexible Polymer Fiber Camera
This technology could be used to create a foldable telescope or a camera that is integrated into clothing. (re: Larry Niven) |
Saser - Sonic Equivalent Of Laser
It appears that this is the first working prototype of a device long theorized; it is the first device to produce coherent sound waves in the terahertz frequency range (re: Gene Roddenberry) |
Human-Injectable Satellite Tracking Chip
Unfortunately, someone has tried to patent a fifty year-old idea of Jack Vance's; we could all live without it, even as Vance's character would have preferred in the novel. (re: Jack Vance) |
Pooktre Living Garden Chair
Why not just grow your furniture? Forget all that tedious sawing and polishing. (re: Jack Vance) |
DEKA 'Luke' Prosthetic Arm Gains VA Funding
This remarkable video shows just how far the science of prosthetics has come. A bionic arm, like that of the Six Million Dollar Man? We're getting pretty close. (re: Martin Caidin) |
Lunar Ice Debate's Two NASA Probes
Space scientists are holding their collective breath to see if two moon missions scheduled for this week will result in the discovery of water ice on the Moon. (re: Robert Heinlein) |
U.S. Winds Slowing Down?
Sometimes, there's an interesting story in science fiction authors predicting a future - with the opposite result. (re: J.G. Ballard) |
Rat Brain Robot Gets Upgrades
Yes, it's a real cyborg - only the brain is used. (re: Peter Watts) |
Transmission Spectrum Of Inhabited Planet Identified
Well, it's about time we figured out what the transmission spectrum of an inhabited planet should look like. (re: Gene Roddenberry) |
Zeo Personal Sleep Coach
If you want to know more about your sleep patterns, but don't want to spend and uncomfortable night in the sleep lab, try Zeo. (re: Satoshi Kon) |
Book-Reading Robot Reads Aloud
This book reading robot had better put its game face on if it thinks it can take away one of my favorite activities - reading books to my children. (re: Philip K. Dick) |
Flame Jet Drill To Bore 10 Miles Into Our Planet
Didn't I see this done from orbit in the last Star Trek movie? Take a look a the video of a prototype device that can drill quickly and efficiently in search of geothermal power. (re: Gene Roddenberry) |
InfoChemistry And Self-Folding Origami
DARPA is moving right along on their programmable matter project. (re: Samuel R. Delany) |
'Try Zero-G' From JAXA Totally Unlike SciFi Movies
No wonder so many people believe that man never walked on the moon; popular tv and movie versions of space flight never show what actual weightlessness looks like in an orbiting ship. (re: Arthur C. Clarke) |
Sushi Robot Digs Uncanny Valley Deeper
Is this really more repulsive than, for example, a Terminator-style full human skin covering a metal endoskeleton? (re: Various) |
Psikharpax Le Robot Rat
Avoid human beings and feed - just the sort of behaviors that robotic rats need. (re: Ray Bradbury) |
Inflatable Space Tower Prototype Assembled
A twenty-foot prototype of an inflatable tower that could potentially reach out of the atmosphere has fans of David Brin's Sundiver interested. (re: Davin Brin) |
Negev Moisture 'Vaporators Planned W/ Solar Power
Hopefully, these devices to condense water out of the air on a vast scale will not require special droids that speak the binary language of moisture vaporators. (re: George Lucas) |
iPlant Brain Implant Advocated For Self-Improvement
If you could affect your own mood by simply pressing a button, would you use it? Would you use it to improve yourself? (re: Larry Niven) |
Battlefield Robot Snake For Israel Defense Force Video
This video of a robotic snake to be used in the battlefield is pretty impressive. I particularly like it when it rears up and sees over things. (re: Various) |
NewsXperiment Combines All Your News
Why monitor hundreds of tedious newsfeeds when you can read them all in one blog post? (re: Various) |
Orwell's Telescreen Now Available
Initially, this device could be used to create wearable displays that also offered eye tracking. However, it's basically a display that both presents an image and takes pictures at the same time. (re: George Orwell) |
GPS Shoes Track Alzheimer's Patients
Keeping track of people with Alzheimer's will get easier once GTX and Aetrex have embedded GPS locators in their shoes. (re: Jack Williamson) |
ECoG Reads The Brain's Surface
This is a new approach to using a sensor grid to detect brain signals and make it possible to control an external device with brain power alone. (re: Gene Roddenberry) |
RF Cochlea Chip 'Seashell Radio'
This unique device draws on the marvelous human ear for its capabilities, which can be described as a 'universal or cognitive radio' much faster than any existing RF spectrum analyzer. (re: Ray Bradbury) |
Stealthy, Persistent Perch and Stare UAVs
Yet another DARPA program that proves they've been reading great science fiction from the Thirties (and beyond). (re: Raymond Z. Gallun) |
Terminator Swimming Snake Robot Already Here
Those slithering swimming snake-like robots from Terminator Salvation are already under development. With video. (re: Various) |
Terminator Salvation Motorcycle Robot Like Ghostrider
Those neat motorcycles from Terminator Salvation have a real world development predecessor, as well as a science fictional predecessor. (re: Bruce Sterling) |
Bipedal Walking Robot For Unstructured Urban Environments
This interesting bipedal robot is designed to work in exactly the same conditions as those wrought by SkyNet in the latest Terminator Salvation movie. (re: Various) |
Facial Expression And Mannerism 'Cloning' By Computer
The cloning of facial expression and mannerisms can now be accomplished in real time; better be careful who (or what) you are doing that video chat with. (re: Robert Heinlein) |