RapLeaf, Whuffie and Strakh
What is the best way to apportion goods between people in a society? How about starting with a reputation manager? (re: Jack Vance) |
BioSuit Space Suit Vs. Tentacle Monsters
Looks like those science fiction movies that depicted people in skin tight space suits knew what they were doing. (re: Manly Wade Wellman) |
Gesture-Controlled TV Update
Now you can control your TV with gestures, not just make gestures at your TV. (re: Various) |
RunBot Learns To Walk At Human Speed
Better put on your walking shoes to keep up with this robot. (re: Karel Capek) |
Wakamaru Robot Receptionists Hired By Temp Agency
This mobile, friendly, singing robot is now ready to go to work in your office. (re: Karel Capek) |
Robot Workers Ready To Go Postal
This robot is surprisingly competent at a human task - sorting packages. (re: Various) |
TASER XREP Neuro-Muscular Incapacitation
This little device comes just 132 years after it was first conceptualized by Jules Verne. (re: Jules Verne) |
Web Photos Now Have Zero Credibility
Now anyone can rewrite history, taking only seconds for each precious photo. (re: George Orwell) |
MULE Autonomous Navigation Vehicle By Lockheed Martin
This robotic device is described in several different sf stories; it sounds handy. (re: Anthony Boucher) |
No-Way Physics And Science Fiction
Do you like your physics possible, or impossible? SF lets you have it both ways. (re: Various) |
Paper Four Video
Excellent video really shows off cool display technology. (re: Philip K. Dick) |
Richard Palmer, d3o Inventor, O2 X Entrepreneur of the Year
Inventor Richard Palmer gets a bit of recognition for bringing science fiction to life for all of us. (re: Larry Niven) |
Robotic Cow Tongues
Artists are supposed to see things differently; raw meat definitely makes a comeback here. (re: Various) |
Micro Air Vehicle In Use In Iraq
This waste-basket-sized vehicle lets you see what's happening just ahead - maybe even on Hoth. (re: George Lucas) |
Vibration Energy Scavenging By Tiny Generator
This tiny generator might appear in a heart near you. (re: Harl Vincent) |
HortiBot - Autonomous Weed 'n Feed AgBot
This robot has handy, yet deadly, attachments to fight our weed enemies. (re: Michael Crichton) |
Transparent TV From Active Inc (And H.G. Wells)
This looks like a great product - H.G. Wells would be very glad to see it, having thought of it seventy years ago. (re: H.G. Wells) |
MulTicket Is Isaac Asimov's Idea
Very cool concept - but it's been around for a while. (re: Isaac Asimov) |
Piranha Movie Now At Stream Near You
This is one sf movie that I don't want to see become a real-life story. (re: Roger Corman) |
Robot Librarians In The Stacks
I wonder what sort of capabilities this robot librarian might have when it comes to retrieving overdue books? (re: Harry Harrison) |
Ultimate Credit Card Of The Future
This credit card concept might actually serve your interests, rather than those of the credit industry. (re: Edward Bellamy) |
Notificator Robot Messenger Predates Twitter
Social networking is fully automated by the 1930's - didn't you know? (re: Various) |
Stink Bullets And PKD's Sheep Dip Isolator
Philip K. Dick always thinks up the ultimate version of everything. (re: Philip K. Dick) |
Tangible 3D Display: Reach In And Touch With Haptic Glove
Grab virtual reality by the ..., well, you know what I mean. (re: Various) |
Genesis 2 Successfully Inflates Module
Another successful test of the Genesis inflatable module (not to mention Larry Niven's original concept) yields a nice photo. (re: Larry Niven) |
Amnesia Drugs: Bad Memories Blocked
Researchers may have found a way to block or even delete bad, unpleasant memories. Imagine the possibilities. (re: Philip K. Dick) |
Bandai Hex Bug Toy Robot Infestation
These tiny pests need to be paid, and probably kept charged as well (see pix and video). (re: Raymond Z. Gallun) |
Spice Girls Live Digital Enhancement
Technology marches on, this time helping bring the Spice Girls up to their usual standard. Such as it is. (re: Ray Bradbury) |
International Space Station To Get Japanese Take-Out
The menu on the International Space Station is about to get a lot more interesting. (re: Various) |
EQGuard Home Earthquake Warning Appliance
This system can give you just enough time to run outside. (re: Various) |
Meet R BOT 001, Russia's New Robocop
Russian militiamen turn to missile-shaped robotic police for help. (re: Harry Harrison) |
Nanowire Electronics Transparent And Flexible
Remarkable advance brings clear displays much closer - and clearer. (re: Various) |
Information Storage In Bacteria DNA Update
If you wanted to make sure that your data survived for thousands of years, where would you put it? (re: Various) |
Khanty Mansiysk Siberia Tower Of Glass
Ambitious glass tower under construction in Siberia reminds me of an earlier effort by Robert Silverberg. (re: Robert Silverberg) |
Bacteria Torture Tests Demonstrate Evolution
Dr. Richard Lenski has followed in the footsteps of famous sf writers, creating captive worlds and learning from them. (re: Theodore Sturgeon) |
SuiPo Posters Call Your Cellphone
New way for otherwise inanimate objects to get to you. (re: Steven Spielberg) |
RFID Mates With Surveillance Cameras
RFID chips plus surveillance cameras - how have we avoided this up to now? (re: Various) |
Hitachi Brain-Machine Interface Applications
Once a working brain-machine interface is developed, who knows what sort of devices we'll have. (re: Frank Herbert) |
Raydiance USP Laser Attacks Unwanted Cells
Medical uses for ultrashort pulse lasers are possible because they transfer no heat to the surrounding area. (re: Robert J. Sawyer) |
HRP-3 Promet Robot Blue Collar Style
Robots need to be able to work in the real world, not just inside controlled environments. (re: Harry Harrison) |
Front Runner Hydrofoil Like Star Wars Podracer
Who knew that Boonta Eve races were held in Grand Rapids, Michigan. (re: George Lucas) |
Smart Wheels Are Artificially Intelligent
Looks like the old 'Tiger Paws' advertisement will finally come true - not the tires, but the wheels themselves. (re: Neal Stephenson) |
Power Pedal Exoskeleton From Matsushita
It kind of looks like a power-assisted Stairmaster... (re: Robert Heinlein) |
Mad-Croc Power Peppermint Energy Gum
Why do people in today's world want to go faster, when they should go slower? (re: Philip K. Dick) |
LANdroid WiFi Robots
DARPA is at it again, this time looking to establish networks on the fly. (re: Various) |
UK 'Bag Brother' Trashcams
They're at it again - no crime is too small to be surveilled. (re: Various) |
Robot 'Minister' Performs Wedding Ceremony
In South Korea, your dream wedding can be engineered precisely to your specifications. (re: Robert Silverberg) |
Self-Healing Polymer Autonomous Material System
Autonomous materials may be able to heal themselves without high maintenance costs. (re: J.G. Ballard) |
Spartan DX Real-Time DNA Check
Need that DNA verification fast, fast, FAST? Try this little product - almost as fast as in the movies. (re: Andrew Niccol) |
T-Qualiser Club Shirt Has Electro- Gobbledi- Googescence
This shirt tells you whether you're getting enough base at the club. (re: Rudy Rucker) |
Interactive Paper Four Sounds Off
This revolutionary product will also improve those school science fair projects... (re: Harlan Ellison) |
Terminator Seed Ban Proposed In Canada
When you buy some seeds, you own all of the plants descended from those seeds, right? Don't be so sure. (re: Paolo Bacigalupi) |
Kansei Robot Reacts To Words Like 'President,' 'Sushi'
Robot seeks to express emotions - how's it doing so far? (re: Various) |
Max Water By Max Whisson
Dr. Max Whisson is back with more information about his Max Water invention to provide potable water to everyone. (re: ) |
Sigma: SF Writers Advise Homeland Security
Science fiction writers dream for the government as well as for us. (re: Niven and Pournelle) |
CB2 Child Robot Lifelike (Yet Creepy) Video
The videos for this robot demonstrate that the border between 'robotic movement' and 'eerily like human movement' has been crossed. (re: Various) |
CitizenObserver.com On The Watch
This website gives you the chance to report suspicious activities of all kinds, 24x7. (re: Ray Bradbury) |
Dutch Growing Pork In Lab
Researchers at it again, in search of pulled pork not pulled from porkers. (re: H. Beam Piper) |
Russians Fear Targeted Bioweapons, Ban Human Tissue Export
Russian fears about bioweapons were predicted by several sf writers, including Greg Bear. (re: Irwin Shaw) |
Microsoft Surface Multi-Touch Display
Microsoft's implementation of a multi-touch display looks smooth - but take a look at the earlier efforts. (re: Various) |
Space Station Gets Shielding, Not Blasters
Sure, you can bolt on some special protective shielding against space debris. But blasters are better. (re: Murray Leinster) |
Neuron Network Cyborg Has Memory
Is this cyborg-like combination of neurons and silicon a new proof of this kind of memory system? (re: Peter Watts) |
Chinese Cyberwar Units Prepare For Netwar
Science fiction authors warned us and gave us the weapon concepts we needed - the Pentagon now tells us about Chinese netwar capabilities. (re: William Gibson) |
Mice Get Smarter By Losing Cdk5 Enzyme
Those mice keep getting smarter - when will these different techniques become available to bloggers? (re: Various) |
Robotic Ecologies Shape Themselves To Serve You
Why don't more people read science fiction to catch a glimpse of what the future might hold? Architects certainly should. (re: Fritz Leiber) |
Punched Tape Music Box Hack
This reminds me very strongly of something quite different, and yet similar. (re: Various) |
Shuttle Launch Experience Open To All
Since you probably won't be going into space, you can try NASA's space shuttle ride. (re: Various) |
Clarke's Inflatable Lunar Habitats Now NASA's
Arthur C. Clarke calls another one in his early novel A Fall of Moondust. (re: Arthur C. Clarke) |
Google Determined To Provide Joymaker Infrastructure
Google knows that the key to whatever mobile device you buy lies in the back-end computer architecture. (re: Frederik Pohl) |
Hitachi Brain Scanner Fun Toy
Hitachi lets you look deep into the brain in this fun toy for the family. (re: Philip K. Dick) |
Wizard Duct Inspector Robot - Ancestor of Matrix Sentinel
Well, they don't have squid-like tentacles, but they do move inside ductwork, trying to eliminate undesirable elements... (re: Wachowski Brothers) |
Chinese Government To Control Olympic Weather
The Chinese government appears to have more control over the weather than you might think. (re: Robert Heinlein) |
Cheap Pocket-Sized DNA Replicator
This tiny, inexpensive device could revolutionize the practice of medicine in developing countries. (re: Various) |
Biocomputers (Biological Computers) Come Closer
Researchers continue to take small steps toward the creation of biological computers. (re: Greg Bear) |
Portal Denial System Electrolaser Intruder-Zapper
Not your mom's pretty lightshow laser system. (re: Various) |
SPIKE Fire-And-Forget Missile World's Smallest
If this tiny missile gets any smaller, you're going to have to see reruns of Crichton's Runaway to find out more. (re: Michael Crichton) |
RFID Diagnostic Sensors Read By RFID-Enabled Cell Phones
Band Aid-style skin patches with RFID chips will help you monitor yourself post-surgery. (re: Various) |
Cyber-Warfare Waged on Estonia By Russia?
Is this the first instance of cyberwarfare between nation-states? (re: Bruce Sterling) |
Tiny Portable Biosensor Detects Contaminants In Food
Frank Herbert calls it once again; finally, we're starting to get our remote-cast snoopers. (re: Frank Herbert) |
Rotating Skyscraper Dynamic Architecture Has Wind Turbine Power
New kind of skyscraper provides its own energy, and maybe enough for other buildings as well. (re: Frank Herbert) |
Vecna BEAR Rescue Robot Prototype Ready
The Vecna BEAR is evolving rapidly; new prototypes testing very well. (re: Takazawa Kijuro) |
Muscle Suit Tokyo Exoskeleton Power Workout
Who cares about carrying patients in hospitals? I want to do 200 pound curls! (re: Bruce Sterling) |
Biometric Deadbolt Lock Like A Palm Lock
Frank Herbert's palm lock always seemed like an ideal way to do locks - and now Biolock has the idea. (re: Frank Herbert) |
Sick Patient Robot Does More Than Say 'Ah'
This robotic patient is no dummy - it has at least one thing that no other robot patient has. (re: Various) |
Burj al-Taqa Dubai Energy Tower - High Tech Badgir
The planned Burj al-Taqa tower takes an energy efficient design of the ancient world into the future. (re: Frank Herbert) |
A4-Sized Color E-Paper Unrolled By Philips
South Korea's LG Philips does it again with this amazing full sheet of e-paper. (re: Neal Stephenson) |
LOCAD-PTS Handheld Microorganism Detector
Astronauts only carry the best in hand-held instrumentation - this one is a pocket-sized biology lab. (re: Greg Bear) |
Unwanted Life Forms Abound In Sick Spacecraft
You don't want unauthorized life forms growing in the walls of your spacecraft - but there they are! (re: Bruce Sterling) |
SPARKy Robotic Ankle Prosthesis (Runner-Up)
The secret of this cool-looking device is a special robotic tendon. (re: Various) |
Robotic Ankle First Such Powered Prosthesis
MIT researchers appear to have created the world's first powered robotic ankle prosthesis. (re: Various) |
'Plastic' Artificial Red Blood Cells
New blood substitute developed in the UK may provided the answer for blood shortages in emergency situations. (re: Various) |
Anti-Shredder Computer Versus Stasi Secret Police
Oh man, does Vernor Vinge have an idea for these people - talk about an anti-shredder! (re: Vernor Vinge) |
Bacteria Attacks Oil Like Black Monday Novel
New finding increases realism in a new sf/thriller novel by R. Scott Weiss. (re: R. Scott Weiss) |
Used Spacecraft Lot Needed On Moon
If you could just gather all the stuff, Robert Heinlein's dream of a used spacecraft lot could be realized. (re: Robert Heinlein) |
Nanoparticle-Treated Clothing Prevents Colds And Flu
The catwalk now holds the key to disease prevention. (re: Various) |
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation May Provide A Napcap
TMS may also help with sleep disorders - switch on deep sleep. (re: Larry Niven) |
DigiDesk Touch-Desk Microsoft's Sci-Fi Desk of the Future
I think Fritz Lang had the spirit (and form) of this device as early as 1927. (re: Fritz Lang) |
Web Services Wizard And Frederik Pohl's Joymaker
For better or for worse, Pohl's vision from The Age of the Pussyfoot is coming closer. (re: Frederik Pohl) |
HAL-Buffett 9000 To Make 50 Percent Of Trades By 2010
The computers are taking over at Wall Street firms this year. (re: Arthur C. Clarke) |
Solar System Ball Chair
Unique chair lets you feel like the Earth is your footstool - or your chair, anyway. (re: Various) |
Big Brother To Read Lips Like HAL
The British are at it again, taking a technology designed to deal with criminals, and applying it to everyone. (re: Arthur C. Clarke) |
Noise-Cancelling Windows With Piezoelectric Patches
Interesting new window prototype reduces noise by cancellation. (re: Arthur C. Clarke) |
Elios Giant Insect Rescue Robot Design
Cool rescue robot design might creep you out just a bit while you were lying there waiting to be rescued. (re: Various) |
Mouse Brain Simulated By Supercomputer
And you thought Corwainer Smith was joking about the tiny supercomputers of the future. (re: Cordwainer Smith) |
Book-Style Interface For Web, TV, Radio
Watanabe is slowly working toward a future written by Neal Stephenson and posited by MIT's Media Lab. (re: Neal Stephenson) |
Hawking Follows Path Set By Heinlein's Waldo
Stephen Hawking gets just a bit closer to Waldo's home in space. (re: Robert Heinlein) |
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act Passed
Finally, the House passes a bill to keep genetic information from being used by employers to discriminate. (re: Andrew Niccol) |
New Earth Detected Around Gliese 581
Remarkable find by astronomers demonstrates that extrasolar Earth-like planets are not just fiction. (re: Various) |
Rhenium Diboride Like Metal, Crystal
Tip for creating latest super-tough material found in Doc Smith. (re: E.E. 'Doc' Smith) |
Almost Niven's Flashlight Laser
Take a look for yourself at this one. (re: Larry Niven) |
Speciation Driven By Cosmic Cycles?
Poul Anderson came up with something very similar to this idea fifty years ago. (re: Poul Anderson) |
Kryptonite Discovered By Scientist
Boffins are finally able to identify mysterious mineral. (re: DC Comics) |
Deflector Shields For Spacecraft?
Interesting idea from the UK on how to protect space travelers Star Trek-style. (re: E.E. 'Doc' Smith) |
Clever Clocks Get You Up
Can't get up in the morning? Here's a handful of clocks that use every trick in the book to wake you up. (re: Various) |
Building Shaker Quake Machine
Engineers get out from behind their laptops and shake up a real 275-ton building. (re: Vernor Vinge) |
Science Fiction Movie Plus Alt Music Mashups
Find herein a diverting trio of mashups - great sf imagery played against contemporary music. (re: Various) |
Nanotech Self-Healing Houses
If a house had the right kind of walls, could it alter enough to heal itself? (re: J.G. Ballard) |
Interview With Greg Bear On Quantico
This exclusive Technovelgy interview includes Greg Bear's comments on the ideas and devices used in his book Quantico. (re: Greg Bear) |
Internet Routing In Space Now, Venus Equilateral Station Later
Sooner or later, there's going to be a real communications network up there - George O. Smith knew it in 1942. (re: George O. Smith) |
Big Brother Now Watching George Orwell's House
Here's an added incentive to visit the house in which George Orwell wrote 1984 - something not mentioned in the guidebooks. (re: George Orwell) |
Star Wars Binoculars A Cognitive Technology Threat Warning
Come on, you've wanted some of those nifty Star Wars binoculars since about 1977 - admit it. (re: George Lucas) |
Domo Robot No Mere Housekeeper
Domo is back in the news with new advances in assistive robotic technologies. (re: Isaac Asimov) |
So It Goes
Author Kurt Vonnegut, who wrote so many books that we've all enjoyed, died yesterday at 84. (re: Kurt Vonnegut) |
Largest OLED Display
This new display is getting closer to those cool TVs that we can just unroll and hang wherever we like. (re: E.C. Tubb) |
Nanogenerator Harvests Mechanical Energy
We might not need to keep track of a half-dozen little charger devices if this works. (re: Frank Herbert) |
UK's Orwellian 'Baby' Brother Cams
The British are really going overboard with their surveillance society. (re: George Orwell) |
Sony DataTiles Inspired By What SF Movie?
The cool Sony DataTiles are back in the news, and they were inspired by a particular science fiction movie. (re: Arthur C. Clarke) |
Your Chemical Wake Up
Science fiction fans have asked for it - now you've got it - a fictional wake up pill. (re: Frank Herbert) |
NextEngine 3D Scanner Captures Your World
This device provides excellent three-dimensional CAD files when presented with small objects. (re: Jack Vance) |
Podtech Gesture Research Turns Hand Into Mouse
Gesture recognition is getting cheaper; soon your hand will be a mouse. (re: Steven Spielberg) |
VeinViewer Now In First Hospital
VeinViewer now in use bigtime. (re: Michael Crichton) |
NEOImpactor Software Models Asteroid Strike Consequences
Software package estimates the impact, human and economic, of asteroid impacts. (re: Various) |
Jumping Microrobot 'Flea' Is Solar Powered
Little fleas have littler fleas, it is said. Here comes one now. (re: Raymond Z. Gallun) |
GEN H-4 Looks Like Heinlein's Copter Harness
John Thomas really wanted one of these, and so do I. (re: Robert Heinlein) |
Your Scrap Copper Future
I've seen this science-fictional future before; where's my personal smelter now that I need one? (re: John Brunner) |
Android Weightlifter Now Capable Of Body Slam
Great sensor skills make the difference in this human-sized robot. (re: Karel Capeck) |
IR Chemical Communication Graffiti Tags Wanted By DARPA
ChemComm is a new proposed graffiti tagging technology under development by DARPA. (re: William Gibson) |
How Long To Run From One End Of TV To The Other? 12 Seconds!
How to best measure the size of your TV? Would you believe you'll need your running shoes and a stopwatch? (re: H.G. Wells) |
Digital Lederhosen MP3 Player Bavarian-Style
At last, traditional Bavarian lederhosen are now available with MP3 controller buttons. (re: Murray Leinster) |
Gummi Bots: Biomimetic Soft-Bodied Robots
These flexible creepy-crawlies are on their way like little caterpillars. (re: Rudy Rucker) |
Maya Hotel Floating Pyramid Island In Caribbean Sea
I think I've read about this one before; it would be nice to have a hotel you could move. (re: Larry Niven) |
Space Junkyard in North Hollywood
Space tech can be had cheap for pennies on the dollar at this space-age junkyard. (re: Various) |
Robot Painter 'Action Jackson' Mimics Jackson Pollock
This little robotic mechanism does a great job of creating works like those of Jackson Pollock. (re: Anthony Boucher) |
Smart Sign Watches You Drive By
Advertisers want to get a bit closer to you with these sensor-enhanced digital billboards. (re: J.G. Ballard) |
Your Can-Crushing Bionic Hand Is Ready, Steve Austin
Robotic hand shows exceptional grip strength. (re: Martin Caidin) |
Blimp Swims Through Air Like A Fish
Yet another use for electroactive polymers, helping non-rigid airships swim like fish. (re: Various) |
Tactical Biorefinery Turns Garbage Into Energy
Fascinating invention by Purdue researchers helps an army camp as well as march on its stomach. (re: Steven Spielberg) |
RoCo Robotic Computer Monitor
You spend more time with your computer than with some of your friends; maybe it should know you better. (re: Various) |
Green Comet Lovejoy - Cometeers Coming From Below?
Where's Giles Habibula when you need him? A green comet approaches the solar system. (re: Jack Williamson) |
Firefighter Rescue Robot Eats Humans
This is one rescue robot that could give you a bit of a start. (re: Various) |
