Robotics Update

A robot head mimics human expressions in real time:

http://technology.newscientist.com/channel/tech/dn15055-mummy-that-robot-is-making-faces-at-me.html

It's still easy to see it's a robot...but give it a few years and I'll bet we won't be able to tell.

Alternative Energies Update

New "black silicon" captures nearly the entire light spectrum and can generate hundreds of times the current of conventional silicon:

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/21611/?a=f

Alternative Energies Update

New membrane allows methane fuel cell efficiency to be increased by 50%:

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/21532/?a=f

Virtual Reality Update

Virtual worlds are poised for a resurgence in the business world:

http://www.silicon.com/silicon/networks/webwatch/0,39024667,39285821,00.htm

Computing Update

Information has been successfully stored in the nucleus of an atom, paving the way for the ultimate miniaturization of computer memory:

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/102408-small-storage-device.html

Singularity Update

Economist at the Singularity Summit notes how the mere expectation of the approaching Singularity could have a strong impact on our behavior:

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/10/as-computers-ge.html

Robotics Update

Marshall Brain (someone I've communicated with on theological, not technological issues) calls for a change in the way we structure the economy in order to deal with the injection of a massive robot force into the workplace:

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/10/robot-lovers-an.html

Cybernetics Update

Scientists grow reliable computer circuitry out of neurons, possibly providing an effective means of brain-machine interface:

http://technology.newscientist.com/article/dn15019-computer-circuit-built-from-brain-cells.html

Robotics Update

The Army is developing pack robots designed to hunt down uncooperative humans:

http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2008/10/packs-of-robots-will-hunt-down.html

Cybernetics Update

Scientists grow neurons into reliable computer circuits, creating what may turn out to be an effective interface system between brain and machine:

http://technology.newscientist.com/article/dn15019-computer-circuit-built-from-brain-cells.html

Energy Storage Update

Inexplicably, superconducting has been found in iron-based compounds, igniting a new race to find low-temperature superconductors:

http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/86/8642cover.html

Alternative Energies Update

New solar panel captures the entire spectrum of visible light, instead of just a small part of it, thus generating more power from sunlight:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081016132836.htm

Materials Update

"Buckypaper" is ten times lighter than steel and potentially 500 times stronger, and will likely revolutionize everything from TVs to aircraft:

http://www.physorg.com/news143462841.html

It also gives a brief history of the discovery of (essentially) zero-, one- and two-dimentional forms of buckminsterfullerene.

Computing Update

Self-assembling organic circuits may lead to bendable, low-cost, plastic electronics:

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/21575/?a=f

Alternative Energies Update

It turns out cylindrical solar panels have a major advantage over flat panels: they're much cheaper to mount because they capture energy from all directions (capturing reflected light) and thus don't need mechanisms to track the sun. Just lay them on a rooftop and you're set:

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2187/83/

Alternative Energies Update

USGS announces geothermal energy sources could provide a large percentage of US energy needs:

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2199/76/

Nanotechnology Update

While this is far from being nanotechnology, 3D printing is analogous to what a nanofactory will allow in another decade or two (only with virtually ANY product, not just plastic objects):

http://thefutureofthings.com/news/5522/3-d-printing-on-demand.html

Artificial Intelligence Update

Here are the results of the Turing test (mentioned in an earlier post):

http://apnews.myway.com//article/20081013/D93PMBQ80.html

The best program fooled three out of twelve judges during a five-minute conversation. If an artificial intelligence program can convince a quarter of people it's human right now, imagine where will be when robots physically indistinguishable from humans are expected to become available ten to twenty years from now.

Does anyone really doubt robots will likely replace other humans in our romantic and friendship relationships?

Robotics Update

A new camera-equipped, dragonfly-like robot may be used to explore planets like Mars:

http://www.universetoday.com/2008/10/10/exofly-future-space-exploration-super-hero/

Robotics Update

Sticky nanotape acts like gecko feet...only ten times stronger. Great potential for wall-climbing robots:

http://www.technologyreview.com/communications/21508/?a=f

Nanotechnology Update

Scientists use DNA to create nanotechnological structures inside living cells:

http://www.physorg.com/news142676484.html

Singularity Update

This forward by Ray Kurzweil to The Intelligent Universe (by James Gardner) gives a great summary of the consequences of the Law of Accelerating Returns, and how it could lead to saturating the universe with intelligence:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/meme/frame.html?main=memelist.html?m=1%23691

"The explosive nature of exponential growth means it may only take a quarter of a millennium to go from sending messages on horseback to saturating the matter and energy in our solar system with sublimely intelligent processes."

(It's a long article, but most of the page is reader commentary after the article.)

Cybernetics Update

This exoskeleton is now available in Japan for a $2,000/month rental fee. It allows the disabled to walk and can amplify human strength 5x!

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20081007/ap_on_hi_te/as_japan_robot_suit

And here is a video of the suit in action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynL8BCXih8U

(Note: one commentator says artificial intelligence is virtually impossible to create. That is the case now...but just wait another decade or two.)

Artificial Intelligence Update

Upcoming contest tests computer intelligence to determine whether it can pass the Turing Test:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/oct/05/artificialintelligenceai

Nanotechnology Update

Nanotech development firm Zyvex receives a $9.7 million grant from DARPA and ETF to develop atomically precise manufacturing techniques (aka nanotechnology):

http://www.azonano.com/news.asp?newsID=7938

Nanotechnology Update

New x-ray laser technology will allow us to view chemical and atomic reactions as they occur:

http://www.physorg.com/news142257180.html

Alternative Energies Update

New solar cell sets record for efficiency:

http://www.electricalengineer.com/index.php?option=com_zippynews&id=236&task=detailnews&cid=

The 40.8% is under a 326 equivalent...but it's still a record for that category.