Science Fiction in the News:
Science and Technology News

Telepresence Robot Roundup With Anybot
The field of telepresence robotics is starting to heat up; take a look at this roundup to see the variety of functions performed. (re: Niven and Pournelle)

Biofuel From Algae
Can we improve the ability of algae to produce material we need? Should we? (re: Hal Clement)

Ice Formation At Room Temperature Is Possible With New Material
This technology will have a number of practical implications. Busy, busy, busy, says Bokonon. (re: Kurt Vonnegut)

Pancake-Flipping Robot Learns By Example
Can you flip a pancake? This robot learned how in only fifty tries. (re: Anthony Boucher)

MIT's Cornucopia Digital Robotic Food Concept
Digital food the modern way. In concept, at least. (re: John W. Campbell)

Making Drone Aircraft Smarter
If you want smarter planes, why not just give them the brains of a pilot? (re: Peter Watts)

'Invisibles' Provides Tactile Feedback For VR
This is just the kind of prototype system that could give you you virtual reality world. (re: David Brin)

Ecobot III Robot Seeks Out Organic Food
Little Ecobot has continued to evolve, navigating to it's nutrient sources. (re: Various)

Amazon Sells More Ebooks Than Hardcovers
'I spent the afternoon in a bookstore. There were no books in it.' (re: Stanislaw Lem)

AQUA2 Underwater Robot With Flippers
Flipper-powered autonomous underwater vehicle. (re: Michael Swanwick)

ChouChou Butterfly Robot
Highly realistic mechanical insect. (re: Harlan Ellison)

Pharmed Blood Is DARPA's Tru Blood
Artificially produced blood for transfusions is on its way. (re: Various)

Ikaros Solar Sail Works!
The first push from sunlight has been felt by Japan's Ikaros spacecraft. (re: Jack Vance)

Terahertz Remote Sensing Detectors
See through walls, containers and clothes from hundreds of feet away - and identify the unique signature of different substances. (re: E.E. 'Doc' Smith)

Computational Journalism The Homeostatic Newspaper
Philip K. Dick has already plumbed the depths of what computers can do for us in creating (and peddling) the news. (re: Philip K. Dick)

Solar Impulse Completes Night Flight
Recharge by day, fly by night. Solar Impulse completes a 26-hour journey. (re: John W. Campbell)

FURO Waitress Robot
It's the latest tech from Dex's Diner in Star Wars! Well, almost. (re: George Lucas)

Canon Wonder Camera Concept
Why do big companies insist on intruding on the domain of sf writers? Philip K. Dick has this concept beat, hands down. (re: Philip K. Dick)

NTT Real-Time Voice Transcriber
Note-taking in long boring meetings will be a thing of the past, thanks to NTT. (re: David H. Keller)

Lung On A Chip - Electronics Plus Human Cells
This device combines living human cells with electronics; can Philip K. Dick's swibble-culture be far behind? (re: Philip K. Dick)

Unlimited Urban Woods - A Forest In A Box
What's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside? Maybe this box. (re: Various)

Robots Everywhere From Cell Phone Electronics
Maybe phones don't need the fictional All Spark to perform amazing feats. (re: Various)

Power Laces From Back To The Future 2
Marty McFly, your auto-lacing shoes are almost ready. With video. (re: Various)

Waterfall Display Technology
Will this nifty multi-layered droplet display replace your flat panel TV? It has to be more refreshing on hot July days. (re: Various)

Real-Life Minority Report Interface Presentation Video
Amazing implementation of the display from the Spielberg movie; not surprisingly, he also helped on the creation of the movie. (re: Steven Spielberg)

Could Blimps Replace Planes For Cargo?
SF writers haven't given up on dirigibles, neither should we. (re: Jerry Pournelle)

KrioRus Brain Freeze Technology
Frozen head buffs take heart from Russian firms ready to save them. (re: Frederik Pohl)

Tempwave: Raytheon Plowshares Energy Weapon
'They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.' And their energy weapons into grape-warmers? (re: Philip K. Dick)

Self-Folding 'Origami Robot' Smart Sheet
Updated! What science-fictional devices could you make with this real-life technology? (re: William Gibson)

Perching Flying Robot
This robot can perch until needed, saving energy for the mission. Which is to help people. (re: Philip K. Dick)

Fortune-Telling Robotic Vending Machine
Now updated ! 'He who reads many Technovelgy articles will have a happy life.' (re: Philip K. Dick)

Italian Scientists Who Failed To Predict Quake Indicted For Manslaughter
Is quake prediction still in the realm of science fiction? Italian prosecutors don't think so, apparently. (re: Arthur C. Clarke)

Unilever Smile-Based Ice Cream Vending Machine
Smile! You're about to get some ice cream from this face-recognition, proximity detecting, smile-measuring vending machine. (re: Douglas Adams)

'Sandfish' Robot Moves Through Sand
Take a look at this video of a biomimetic sand-burrowing robot. (re: Philip K. Dick)

Large Flexible Plastic Sheet Displays
'Ginormous displays' are on the way from Hewlett Packard. (re: E.C. Tubb)

Google Seeks Pohl's Joymaker Voice Recognition
In which Google's Vic Gundotra describes the pursuit of the perfect smartphone - which is starting to sound a lot like Frederik Pohl's joymaker. (re: Frederik Pohl)

EPI Life First ECG Mobile Phone
The world's first cell phone with a built-in ECG monitor. (re: Arthur C. Clarke)

Hyperion Robot Walking Chair
I seem to recall a similar robotic walking chair in a Star Wars movie. (re: George Lucas)

Paro Robot Seal Helps Grandma
Robotic baby harp seals are slowly wiggling their way into American nursing homes. A good idea? Or a phildickian idea? (re: Anne McCaffrey)

Stem Cells From Fat May Heal Bones
A special gel made from a soldier's own stem cells may be able to effect better healing of broken bones. (re: Clifford Simak)

EMIEW2 Roller Skating Robot
And why shouldn't a robot be able to rollerskate? At up to 3.7 miles per hour. (re: Various)

Charlie Health Care Robot For Kiwis
Health care robots are starting to appear all over the world. Now, New Zealand. (re: Katsuhiro Otomo)

Taekwondo Robot Fighting In South Korea
Robots square off in martial arts action! Sounds good to me. (re: Various)

Suspended Animation Works in Lab (With Nematodes)
Cold sleep is a science fiction standard; can metabolic processed be halted for even a short period? (re: Robert Heinlein)

Belvedere The Robot Butler
Great video of a DIY butler robot; watching the little boy react to it will make your day. (re: Frederik Pohl)

Handheld Fashion Kinetoscope Appliance Found
I think Wells got this one pretty much right more than one hundred years ago. Except now, you can own one yourself. (re: H.G. Wells)

LuminAR Bulb And Robot Lamp Frees Trapped Pixels
Remarkable prototype camera/projector fits in a bulb's outlet and sets your information free, putting it on any surface you want. (re: Various)

'Retina Display' SFnally Perfect (Almost)
Just how good is Apple's retina display Does it meet the needs of science fiction writers? (re: Ray Bradbury)

Scarab Robotic Chase Vehicle Concept
An all-electric chase vehicle for use by police. Sounds like a science-fictional concept to me. (re: Daniel Suarez)

eyeSight Gesture Control Of Android Phones
A wave of your hand controls your phone - and it can be used for gaming, too. (re: Samuel R. Delany)

PLEASE Painless Laser Epidural System Like Trek Hypospray
And Variable laser deflection allows flexible formation of pore arrays. (re: Gene Roddenberry)

Aggressive Autonomous Quadrotor UAV Makes Its Moves
Robots are getting quicker, even the autonomous flying kind. (re: Philip K. Dick)

Could Robot Fish Lead Gulf Fish To Safety?
This little robofish has all of the characteristics of a leader - and can really lead schools of fish to safety! (re: Michael Swanwick)

Internet Addiction Growing?
You can log off anytime you want to - right? (re: Dan Simmons)

Your Telemedicine Future
Vashti, your telemedicine apparatus is almost ready, thanks to physicians and Internet technicians. (re: E.M. Forster)

Nanoparticle Tattoo Monitors Blood Glucose
An 'ink' of nanoparticles suspended under the skin could save millions of people the pain of daily needle pricks, and improve monitoring. (re: Paul Di Filippo)

SmartIris IDs People In Crowds
Surveillance of public spaces just got easier, thanks to this DARPA program. (re: Stephen Spielberg)

Japan's Humanoid Robot Moonbase Plan
Now settlers on the moon will have robotic neighbors - a famnextdo. (re: Philip K. Dick)

SmartCap Detects Fatigue
Although I think it needs a buzzer for home use, this device could save lives. (re: Philip K. Dick)

SCRAM Anklet For Lindsay Lohan
This ankle bracelet uses transdermal alcohol monitoring to keep track of miscreants. (re: Philip K. Dick)

Robotic Butterflies For Parks Near You?
Among the synthetic trees, unliving turf and flower-holograms in the parks of the future, we will have robotic butterflies. (re: Roger Zelazny)

First Person Infected With Computer Virus
It's not quite the Snow Crash Metavirus. But they're working on it. (re: Gregory Benford)

Artificial Heart Recipient Goes Home With Freedom Driver
Take heart, Tin Man. No, really; it's a mechanical heart that is fully portable, thanks to its new power source. (re: Philip K. Dick)

bebionic Myo-Electric Hand Launched
Can I see a show of hands? Robotic hands? Here's a video to help you make your own show. (re: Philip K. Dick)

And DARPA Shall SMITE The Wicked
Predicting future crime is always a bit tricky - especially when you plan to do it without the usual three precogs. (re: Philip K. Dick)

Little Dog Robot's Uncanny Walk
Everybody's talkin' 'bout a new way of walkin' - do you want to lose your mind? (re: Various)

Google Adjustable Television
Google wants you to have the greatest possible freedom of choice in selecting programming. Philip K. Dick also wanted you to have freedom of choice _within_ programming. (re: Philip K. Dick)

Google Android Language Rectifier
Hugo Gernsback wrote about it a century ago; now a major phone platform offers it for free. And it works! (re: Hugo Gernsback)

PoBot Has Your Back - For 25 Cents
PoBot is happy to perform its nominal functions for you. For a small fee, of course. (re: Philip K. Dick)

SASI Sarcasm Recognition A Really Useful Invention
Better watch what you say around automated voice recognition systems the next time you call customer service. (re: Arthur C. Clarke)

Voyager 2 Hijacked By Aliens
The aliens probably got the idea for this from Star Trek. (re: Gene Roddenberry)

I-Fairy Robot Minister Performs Wedding Ceremony
This is not, as claimed, the first wedding ceremony performed by a robot. However, the wedding video might make roboticists cry. (re: Robert Silverberg)

Micromasonry 'Biological Legos' Building New Organs
New technique for putting 3-dimensional structure in artificial organs. (re: Larry Niven)

Autofac - Real-Life Nanoscale Assembly Line
Remarkable experiment demonstrates that a nanoscale assembly line can actually work. (re: Philip K. Dick)

DreamROBO Climbing Robots
Climbing the walls like dedicated salarymen. (re: Michael Crichton)

3D Printing In Ceramics - The Vitraglyphic Process
A new way to fabricate glass and ceramic objects. (re: Philip K. Dick)

Invisible Dress: Your Fashion Future
Essential couture for the technologically fashion-minded. (re: Philip K. Dick)

Autom, Your Robotic Weight-Loss Coach
Sticking to your diet and exercise plan may depend on health-conscious robots. (re: Clamp)

Robots, Knives and Soft-Tissue Injury
I certainly hope that robots can learn to be careful with knives, especially when human beings are nearby. Oh, and no running with scissors. (re: Various)

XM-25 'Judge Dredd' Rifle For Special Forces
According to reports, the Lawgiver may soon be seen in action in Afghanistan. Or a near real-life equivalent. (re: Various)

Spray-On Skin With Skin Cell Spray-Transplantation
Remarkable research may make Philip K. Dick's 'art-derm' possible for use with burn victims. (re: Philip K. Dick)

Artificial 'Muscle' Has Elasticity
Forget those mushy muscle-cell-only artificial muscles; this new material should give them some stretch and some pop. (re: Larry Niven)

Google Goggles Translates Pictured Text
The Goggles application just gained a new feature that could be a big hit in European restaurants. (re: Hugo Gernsback)

Laser Thruster 'Tractor Beams' For Space Junk
Here's a suggestion for removing space junk; is it more or less far-fetched than some of the ideas of sf writers? (re: Arthur C. Clarke)

Family Nanny Robot
We're still waiting for helpful nanny robots - it's been more than fifty years already. (re: Philip K. Dick)

'Healing Blade' Game Of Sorcery And Modern Medicine
Amazing new table-top card game by two physicians teaches medical strategy in a world of apothecaries and lords of pestilence. (re: Various)

Perching Project Drones Wait For You
A surveillance officer's dream, flocks of these little drones may be perching in cities near you one day. (re: Raymond Z. Gallun)

Nanopatch Delivers Vaccines
Interesting new way to deliver vaccines may solve problems using much less active agent. (re: Philip K. Dick)

Tweet Sleeve Displays Your Emotions
Insights into your heart, one hundred and forty characters at a time. (re: Murray Leinster)

Cellphone Inventor Cooper Trails Heinlein Again
RAH called this one too, almost sixty years ago. (re: Robert Heinlein)

3D Input Interfaces For Gesture-Controlled Phones
This would be one way to avoid all those smudges on the screen of your cell phone or mobile device. (re: Douglas Adams)

Robotic Arm Plays Chess In Our World
It's always fun to watch chess pieces manipulated by software and robotics. (re: Ambrose Bierce)

Robot Sketch Artist In China
Robots continue to push the envelope, developing their creative talents. (re: Various)

US Teens Embrace ASCII Text
I knew they'd come around sooner or later. (re: Various)

Underpant's Amperometric Biosensors Don't Chafe SF Fans
SF fans have already eased at least one leg into this concept, thanks to Rudy Rucker. (re: David Keller)

Artificial Skin From Spain
Artificial skin is an sf favorite - now, researchers have got you covered. (re: Robert Heinlein)

Rubber Mouth Robot Learns To Speak
This robotic device is capable of learning human speech autonomously. On a personal note, it's also capable of seriously creeping me out. (re: Various)

Festo Biomimetic Bionic Handling Systems
Oh, those guys at Festo are doing more than just dreaming about tentacle arms! (re: H.G. Wells)

NASA Manned Landing On Asteroids?
Landing on asteroids could lead to mining of asteroids. There are a lot of needed materials up there. (re: Robert Heinlein)

Winscape Plasma Monitor Windows
Amazing display is almost totally convincing; Phil Dick made sure you were convinced, in his version. (re: Philip K. Dick)

Conservation Of Tweets
Think carefully when you tweet - future generations are waiting for your 140 character masterpieces. (re: Frank Herbert)

Still Dreaming Of Tentacle Arms
Beware the 'long, flexible, glittering tentacles...' (re: H.G. Wells)

Solar Impulse Solar-Powered PlaneFlies!
First flight test for this plane. (re: John W. Campbell)

NewOrgan Prize From Methuselah Foundation
Sounds like an effort that the science fiction community could get behind. (re: Robert Heinlein)

Implantable Device Security
I'd rather not have medical device hacking on the table. (re: Robert J. Sawyer)

Samurai Robot Waiters In Thailand Video
Unique robotic food delivery experience in Thailand's most roboticized restaurant. (re: George Lucas)

'Smart Dust' Spacecraft Swarm Saves Earth?
Smart dust tells us when to duck. The only trick - getting them to one of the Lagrange points. (re: Various)

Fujitsu Teddy Bear Robot Prototype Spotted
It's lovable, it's cuddly, its - robotic. (re: Harry Harrison)

Marvel's iPad Battery-Powered Comic Book
SF fans, at least, are not surprised or unprepared by Marvel's new comic book app for the iPad. (re: Philip K. Dick)

MIT 3D One-Leg Hopper Robot Circa 1983
One legged hopper robots in fact and fiction; yes, you can ride them! Now with a better sf reference. (re: Isaac Asimov)

Dark Cloud: The Future Of (Anti-)Social Networking
In which two books, read at the same time, coincidentally make each other more interesting. (re: Barnes/Lanier)

PaPeRo Robot Cashier's Helper
PaPeRo, that lovable little robot, follows in the fictional footsteps of Artoo-Detoo. (re: George Lucas)

The Cygnus Bubble And Astroengineering
Enjoyable space image helps sf fans stretch their imaginations a bit. (re: Larry Niven)

PR2 Laundry-Folding Robot
Very practical robot develops very practical skills. (re: Philip K. Dick)

Ballbot Robots Balance On Balls
Here's a ballbot roundup for you; balancing on balls could get to be a habit with robots. (re: Various)

pCubee 3D Display Skips iPad For iCube
Pretty neat hack lets you hold three dimensions in the palm of your hand. Is this the next generation iPad? (re: Robert Heinlein)

Gigapixel Display Like Blade Runner Photo Analysis
When Harrison Ford did this, he had it attached to a cheap TV. The real-life version of today is somewhat larger. (re: Ridley Scott)

Kebab Robot Hyperslicer
This robot carves flesh with the best of them. (re: Various)

Text 2.0 Smart Text
Are you reading it, or is it reading you? (re: Neal Stephenson)

Sand Pirates In Indonesia
Slowly, the natural features of our solar system disappear, thanks to the Better Building Conglomerates. (re: Alfred Bester)

Armed Robots Bad Idea
Many, but not all, sf writers agree that armed robots are a bad idea. Can you think of exceptions? (re: Philip K. Dick)

Robot Journalist Provides Autonomic News Coverage
Philip K. Dick, your autonomic interviewer is just about ready. (re: Philip K. Dick)

HLYWD Migratory Anagram
Unusual art project suggests that the HOLLYWOOD sign letters should be allowed to roam at will. (re: Alan Nelson)

Human Vein Bioprinted In 3D
Organic artificial organs, printed by request, from ready-mix prepared from your own cells, avoiding that annoying need for lifelong anti-rejection drug cocktails. Excellent. (re: Larry Niven)

MeBot Gesturing Robot Videos
MeBot is a fascinating experiment in telepresence robotics. I found an additional video, as well as lots of supportive research on the premise that gesturing robots communicate well with humans. (re: Various)

Judges Who Google: The Tip Of The Iceberg?
Just how connected should judges be? And when justice delayed is justice denied, how fast are human judges anyway? (re: Harry Harrison)

Chinese Netizens Demand Info To Achieve Doublethink
It should be obvious that you can't be expected to censor yourself unless you have access to information to which you shouldn't have access. (re: George Orwell)

Robotic Underground Munitions
I think that if you want to destroy enemies in bunkers, you go with claws or robotic earthworms, courtesy of Philip K. Dick and Harry Harrison. (re: Philip K. Dick)

Repo Men, Artiforgs And Health Care
I just wanted to make sure everyone knew where all this was coming from. And one other thing. (re: Various)

Scanner Could Let You 'Rip' Books
If this device could be commercialized, you could 'rip' a book like you can rip a CD, digitizing its contents for easy storage on your computer. (re: Vernor Vinge)

Teen's Solar System Travel Software Wins Intel Prize
This Albuquerque teen won the highest award for software to help NASA navigate the solar system. (re: Edmond Hamilton)

Smart Video Cams - DARPA's Mind's Eye
It would be cool to have a sort of video camera robot that could make its own surveillance videos for you. Well, it's been done in sf and done in real life. (re: Karen Traviss)

Robocopter Listens And Obeys
Excellent video shows a small robotic copter obeying your every command. (re: Philip E. High)

Little Robotic Fish Has Solid-Polymer Fuel Cell
Surprisingly small, this little robot uses a unique power source and design. (re: Michael Swanwick)

iCub Robot Now Even More Childlike
This humanoid robot just got an upgrade, and is more childlike than ever. (re: Brian Aldiss)

X-37B/OTV Unmanned Spacecraft
This unmanned military spacecraft is scheduled for launch on April 19th; it will enter orbit, function for up to 270 days and then land on Earth autonomously. (re: Gene Roddenberry)

FCC Wants Nationwide Wireless Public Safety Network
The FCC has proposed significant funding for a wireless network for use by police and emergency workers; they might want to read Halting Space to see how to use it. (re: Charles Stross)

Farmigo For Nascent Darknet Farms
How far away from sfnal darknet farms are we? Farmigo is building up the infrastructure. (re: Daniel Suarez)

iPad With VoiceOver Reads Aloud
It's been an important part of e-readers for almost sixty years. (re: Stanislaw Lem)

'Wheelie' Robotic Server
This small robot is like a portable serving table. (re: Stephen Barr)

Cauliflower-Picking Robot
Autonomous vegetable picking machines creeping through fields near you. (re: )

Buy Martin Jetpack This Fall
Ah, how long we've been waiting for a usable jetpack. Remember those sf ideas of yesteryear? (re: John W. Campbell)

Robosoft Kompai Robot Assistant For Elderly
Sounds like one of Philip K. Dick's robants. (re: Philip K. Dick)

Robots May Repair Pipes From Inside
Six billion gallons of drinkable water are wasted every day. But robots can help. (re: Various)

ASUS Windows Phone 3D Games
I'm not sure why I'd want a phone with a 3D display, but I'll reserve judgement until I can see one. (re: George Lucas)

GåågleBot Vacuums, Indexes Your Stuff
It's like google street view for your house! (re: Various)

Multi-Page E-Book Tablet Roundup
Did you know that Microsft's innovative design for an ebook was introduced six years ago by Toshiba? Even earlier by Neal Stephenson. (re: Neal Stephenson)

No Cussing Week Morality Statute
No Cussing Week is just the start. (re: Various)

A Timeline of Science Fiction Inventions: Weapons, Warfare and Security
Lots of people wondered if there was a place where you could get more information about these sf inventions and ideas. (re: Various)

Robot Babies M3-neony And M3-synchy
These baby robots have been designed to help human beings understand their own process of development. (re: Brian Aldiss)

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