Robotics Update

Areas of robotics advancement during 2009:

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/24231/

Alternative Energies Update

Energy tech innovations over 2009:

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/24280/?a=f

Cybernetics Update

Machine translates thoughts into actual speech in real time:

http://www.physorg.com/news180620740.html

Technology Update

A new book on DARPA's work discusses its future objectives:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/27/books/review/Saletan-t.html?_r=1

Technology Update

A list of the 100 best innovations in 2009:

http://www.popsci.com/node/42027

Robotics Update

Videos of the robots of 2009 in action:

http://singularityhub.com/2009/12/22/a-review-of-the-best-robots-of-2009/

Some of these robots are quite impressive!

Alternative Energies Update

Theoretical digital quantum battery could very soon increase power density (the speed at which energy can be stored or released) by orders of magnitude, and the energy density (the amount of energy that can be stored) by two to ten times compared with today's best lithium-ion and other battery technologies:

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/24265/?a=f

Alternative Energies Update

The use of "hot electrons" allows the theoretical maximum conversion of solar energy to electricity to be raised from 35% to 67% (by using the energy normally lost to heat):

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/24240/?a=f

Computing Update

Complex integrated circuits successfully constructed from carbon nanotubes will take 10+ years to fully develop, but they will be five times faster than equivalent silicon circuits, scale better, and dissipate heat better:

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/24236/?a=f

Robotics Update

For $225,000 you can buy a robot that looks just like you, can talk, and can move its upper body:

http://www.physorg.com/news180018368.html

Predictions Update

A Ray Kurzweil article describing his predictions for the upcoming decade (and beyond):

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2009/12/13/2009-12-13_top_futurist_ray_kurzweil_predicts_how_technology_will_change_humanity_by_2020.html

"Specifically what can we expect? Solar power on steroids, longer lives, the chance to get rid of obesity once and for all, and portable computing devices that start becoming part of your body rather than being held in your hand."

Artificial Intelligence Update

A new approach to artificial intelligence allows computers to infer meaning through input from multiple sensors, greatly enhancing their ability to make educated inferences about their environment:

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2009-12/10/popeye,-the-robot-with-brains-not-brawn.aspx

Robotics Update

Collision avoidance capabilites added to robots allow them to be both fast and safe:

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/24482/?a=f

Cybernetics Update

The newly developed biometric hand can be controlled by an amputee's thoughts:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10408139-1.html

Nanotechnology Update

Researchers have discovered a way to make the atoms and molecules of peptides "grow" to resemble small forests of grass, which can repel dust and water and thus act as a perfect self-cleaning coating for windows or solar panels which (when dirty, become far less efficient):

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091203132159.htm

Artificial Intelligence Update

Advances in reverse-engineering the brain:

http://hplusmagazine.com/articles/ai/race-reverse-engineer-human-brain

"Supercomputer technology appears to be advancing exponentially in accordance with Kurzweil’s “Law of Accelerating Returns.”"

Alternative Energies Update

A great way to store energy generated by windmills during off-peak hours: turn it into ice:

http://ecogeek.org/power-storage/3000

Robotics Update

Artificial skin embedded with optical sensors could help robots develop a more human touch:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427366.700-optical-pressure-sensors-give-robots-the-human-touch.html

Alternative Energies Update

New tandem dye-sensitised solar cells with a three-fold increase in energy conversion efficiency (compared with previously reported tandem dye-sensitised solar cells) have been developed:

http://www.physorg.com/news178889850.html

Robotics Update

A variety of robots displayed at the International Robot Exhibition in Japan:

http://www.popsci.com/technology/gallery/2009-11/gallery-robots-can-do-everything-you

Medicine Update

Atmospheric plasmas can easily kill viruses, bacteria and fungi--even superbugs:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8379604.stm

Alternative Energies Update

New self-assembling, spherical solar cells are capable of capturing more sunlight than flat ones:

http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/24012/

Cybernetics Update

By 2020 we may be controlling our computers through chips implanted in our brains:

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9141180/Intel_Chips_in_brains_will_control_computers_by_2020

Robotics Update

Various types of robots increasingly being developed for and used in surgery:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427351.100-medibots-the-worlds-smallest-surgeons.html?full=true

Alternative Energies Update

A new technique allows carbon dioxide to be turned into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel:

http://www.physorg.com/news178203219.html

Artificial Intelligence Update

A Blue Gene supercomputer simulation exceeds the scale of a cat's cortex:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/news/frame.html?main=/news/news_single.html?id%3D11411

This is disputed by a rival trying to also reverse-engineer the human brain:

http://www.nytimes.com/external/idg/2009/11/24/24idg-ibm-cat-brain-simulation-dismissed-as-hoax-by-rival-39598.html

Artificial Intelligence Update

It may be possible to generate consciousness with as few as a few thousand nerve cells:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091117124009.htm

Computing Update

The DoE is working to develop a supercomputer 1,000 times more powerful than today's speed leader (Jaguar, at 2.3 petaflops) by 2018:

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9140928/Supercomputers_with_100_million_cores_coming_by_2018

Alternative Energies Update

Batteries that harness the decay of radioactive isotopes to produce a low-powered electric current (betavoltaics) promise a 25-year lifespan:

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/23959/

Nanotechnology Update

Researchers have combined the self-assembly ability of DNA with the electronic abilities of carbon nanotubes, suggesting a way to develop self-assembling nanoscale circuits:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110112440.htm

Cybernetics Update

New implantable sensor can be powered by a wireless source up to a meter away:

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/23878/?a=f

Cybernetics Update

Musings on the rapidly arriving enhancements to the human species:

http://www.oxfordtoday.ox.ac.uk/2009-10/v22n1/01.shtml

Cybernetics Update

An update on the SmartHand bionic hand, which is capable of transmitting feeling:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104132708.htm

Nanotechnology Update

Carbon nanotubes, which have so many powerful and unique qualities, can now be processed in bulk for industrial purposes:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102172024.htm

Alternative Energies Update

Japan plans to build a space-based solar power station to beam energy down to Earth by 2030:

http://www.physorg.com/news176879161.html

Transportation Update

Another milestone in the development of a space elevator is reached as a company wins the $900,000 prize for completing a laser-powered climber:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18122-space-elevator-wins-900000-nasa-prize.html

Alternative Energies Update

By wrapping solar cells around an optical fiber, efficiency can be increased six fold:

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/23829/

Artificial Intelligence Update

As we learn more and more about the human brain, interpreting neural activity accurately is becoming possible. It's now possible to roughly tell what a person is thinking about and even create a motion picture of what a person is viewing based solely on measuring brain activity (within limits):

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427323.500-brain-scanners-can-tell-what-youre-thinking-about.html

Robotics Update

For anyone who doesn't think functional humanoid robots are only a decade or two away, here's the latest prototype of a bipedal walker ("Petman") from the makers of the four-legged Big Dog:

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/24313/?a=f

(Be sure to play the video.)

Nanotechnology Update

By adding specific molecules, light and heat to nanoparticles, those nanoparticles can be made to self-assemble into a variety of complex structures, something that will make developing nanotech products much easier:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091022164245.htm

Virtual Reality Update

Several videos demonstrating advances in augmented reality:

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/24253/?a=f

Robotics Update

Hydrogen could be used to make robot muscles far quieter than compressed air or electric motors:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427305.600-hydrogen-muscle-silences-the-domestic-robot.html

Cybernetics Update

Researchers have developed the first bionic hand ("Smart Hand") to not only operate directly from signals from the brain, but also provide tactile feedback so the wearer can feel with the hand:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8313037.stm (watch the video)

This is the first time a bionic limb has approached the functional capabilities of a real hand.

Alternative Energies Update

These are the five top contenders for drastically changing the equation for alternative energy:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703746604574461342682276898.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

(Note the 1,000 megawatts powering 1,000 homes is a mistake; the number of homes powered would be 1,000,000.)

Nanotechnology Update

A breakthrough manufacturing technique now allows diodes to be made much smaller:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091013110042.htm

Society Update

David Brin's "Transparent Society" proposed we'll all soon be continuously recording everything in our lives, leading to a complete loss of privacy...but that it could be turned into a good thing. Now a camera is available to record your every waking moment (it's only a still camera now...but the writing is on the wall):

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17992-new-camera-promises-to-capture-your-whole-life.html

Cybernetics Update

Using bacterial flagella to power micro-machines:

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/24261/

Robotics Update

New submarine and spider robots have been developed to explore the gastrointestinal system:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8301232.stm

Artificial Intelligence Update

Researcher predicts we will be able to reverse-engineer the human brain within ten years:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090904071908.htm

Artificial Intelligence Update

A component of the brain critical for higher level cognition turns out to work much like a digital computer, perhaps simplifying some of the quest for true artificial intelligence:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061005222628.htm

Transportation Update

The US military is developing high-tech airships called LEMVs (Long Endurance Multi-intelligence Vehicles) that use helium to provide 80% of lift, and aerodynamics and thrusters to provide the remaining 20%:

http://ecogeek.org/efficiency/2958

Alternative Energies Update

A new small nuclear battery with a liquid semiconductor could provide SIX orders of magnitude more power than chemical batteries:

http://www.physorg.com/news174139641.html

Cybernetics Update

Signals generated by the brain can now be converted into computer commands, sent over the Internet, and then converted back into brain signals, resulting in what amounts to computer-assisted telepathy!

http://www.soton.ac.uk/mediacentre/news/2009/oct/09_135.shtml

Cybernetics Update

Beetles can now be remotely controlled to fly, land and turn:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17895-freeflying-cyborg-insects-steered-from-a-distance.html

Fitted with cameras they should make excellent scouts and spies.

Robotics Update

Japan's Robot-One competition introduced dancing and fighting robots. One is essentially a car-humanoid robot transformer!

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/09/robot-videos-roboone/

Robotics Update

Developments in wing technology for small flying robots take a cue from flying insects:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327275.600-locust-flight-simulator-helps-robot-insects-evolve.html

Medicine Update

If part of the battle for gaining the benefits of mature nanotechnology is to live long enough to see its development, then life extension technology is worth persuing:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/science/29aging.html

Robotics Update

A new robotic hand uses a softer, more natural grip with fewer sensors and a single motor to pick up objects with the flexibility of a human hand:

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/23534/?a=f

Artificial Intelligence Update

A new mathematical model may help us reverse engineer the human brain:

http://newswire.rockefeller.edu/?page=engine&id=974

Singularity Update

An interview with Ray Kurzweil, describing why he thinks we'll be able to upload our brains to computers by the end of the 2030s:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/by-2040-you-will-be-able-to-upload-your-brain-1792555.html

Nanotechnology Update

Here's an article on that manufacturing process that allows one to beam instructions for a part to a receiving station, which can build the part on demand layer by layer. This article describes it in reference to Star Trek's transporter system:

http://www.universetoday.com/2009/09/29/nasas-version-of-star-trek-replicator-ready-for-on-orbit-test/

It's the first stages toward my idea for creating "real" teleportation: if we do achieve mature molecular nanotechnology (over the next two decades or so), then there's the possibility we'll be able to disassemble an entire human being and store all the data that make up that person. Send that data to a ship or even another planet via radio or laser or whatever, and have assemblers on the ship/planet reassemble the person from common raw materials. It wouldn't be teleportation in seconds, but it would be effectively teleportation in hours, and a hell of a lot cheaper than sending that person to the destination by conventional means.

(Of course, this assumes all aspects of the brain can be captured and replicated, but it's not that big a stretch.)

Robotics Update

Examples of the rapidly expanding area of controling robots remotely (telepresence):

http://spectrum.ieee.org/robotics/humanoids/the-reality-of-robot-surrogates/0

Cybernetics Update

Contact lenses with HUD will soon be available to provide a variety of data superimposed on our vision:

http://spectrum.ieee.org/biomedical/bionics/augmented-reality-in-a-contact-lens/

Virtual Reality Update

(Also a Robotics Update)

Scientists are studying the "uncanny valley" of almost human-looking animated characters and robots to try and eliminate the creepiness factor:

http://www.physorg.com/news172854181.html

Artificial Intelligence Update

Automated video surveillance system uses human brain techniques to spot abnormal behavior:

http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=8144

Another small step on the path to true machine intelligence.

Alternative Energies Update

Google isn't happy with the slow pace of development and high cost of production in solar power, so it's jumping into the field:

http://ecogeek.org/solar-power/2949

With its deep pockets and keen interest in alternative energies, maybe they can speed up the process.

Alternative Energies Update

Carbon nanotube springs may be used to create batteries that mechanically store as much energy pound-for-pound as the best of today's lithium-ion batteries:

http://www.physorg.com/news172758740.html

Alternative Energies Update

Nanosolar's advanced solar panels are coming to market:

http://www.technologyreview.com/business/23482/?a=f

Robotics Update

The iCub robot is designed to learn like a human toddler:

http://www.physorg.com/news171703166.html

Artificial Intelligence Update

A neuroscientist expects to have a functioning model of the human brain within ten years (which matches the conclusions from other prognosticators):

http://www.physorg.com/news171565512.html

"When we first switched it on it already started to display some interesting emergent properties. But this is just the beginning because we know now that it is possible to build it."

Alternative Energies Update

A major "recycling" advance in the use of hydrogen for use in vehicles:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090901143317.htm

Singularity Update

To develop an AI that will want to improve itself and pass that desire on to its succeeding generations, it will need more than just intelligence. It will also have to include motivation and focus:

http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/23354/

Nanotechnology Update

Yet another material made from nanoscale carbon molecules. After buckminsterfullerine, nanotubes and graphene, we now have magnetic graphone, which should facilitate the creation of the next generation of computer miniaturization:

http://www.physorg.com/news171126902.html

Robotics Update

Micro-robots are being developed with insect swarm behavior and "programmed for a variety of applications, such as surveillance, micromanufacturing, medicine, cleaning, and more":

http://www.physorg.com/news170678733.html

Cybernetics Update

Researchers are developing a plasmodium (slime mold)-based robot:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090827073256.htm

"This new plasmodium robot, called plasmobot, will sense objects, span them in the shortest and best way possible, and transport tiny objects along pre-programmed directions. The robots will have parallel inputs and outputs, a network of sensors and the number crunching power of super computers. The plasmobot will be controlled by spatial gradients of light, electro-magnetic fields and the characteristics of the substrate on which it is placed. It will be a fully controllable and programmable amorphous intelligent robot with an embedded massively parallel computer."

Artificial Intelligence Update

As a departure from my usual posts, here's an interview with Noel Sharkey, who holds the opposite position from me, claiming artificial intelligence will not be developed:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327231.100-why-ai-is-a-dangerous-dream.html?full=true

However, his claim that sentience "could be a physical system that cannot be recreated by a computer" would require some evidence to support it. So far it seems we've managed to successfully reproduce various portions of the human brain, and there is no evidence that we won't eventually reproduce the rest.

His thinking is also mired in the very short term, using existing examples of AI (such as Deep Blue) as the basis for all AI. But if we do managed to reproduce every functional aspect of the brain on a computer platform (as we are on track to complete within the next few decades at most), we will have AI based on a proven existing model, only capable of taking advantage of the advantages brought by computers.

He also claims, "Like all humans, the elderly need love and human contact, and this often only comes from visiting carers. A robot companion would not fulfil that need for me." Again, this is short-term thinking. Considering that people are even now bonding with the very basic AI we have now, even a non-sentient machine will likely become convincing enough to allow humans to develop sincere friendships and romances with machines.

Concerning military robots, he says, "There is no way for any AI system to discriminate between a combatant and an innocent." Again, not YET. But what evidence is there to think AI will be unable to do as good or a better job than humans over the next decade or two? Humans in combat often behave irrationally; a machine wouldn't have that problem, and thus would be less likely to make such mistakes. Computers are becoming more and more accurate in their ability to discern patterns, and it's reasonable to believe they will eventually be able to distinguish between friend and foe more easily and more quickly than humans.

Artificial Intelligence

Robotics Update

A new robot designed with bones, tendons and muscles similar to human form moves more like a real human:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327223.900-robot-with-bones-moves-like-you-do.html

Robotics Update

Robots are speeding up...a lot. Here they dribble a ball, toss an object and catch it, throw a ball, use tweezers to pick up an object, and more, all with robotic precision and some with far greater speed than humans can do:

http://www.hizook.com/blog/2009/08/03/high-speed-robot-hand-demonstrates-dexterity-and-skillful-manipulation

Computing Update

Magazines with video displays integrated into them to go on sale soon:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8211209.stm

Robotics Update

Robots learn to deceive. Researchers have found that robots equipped with artificial neural networks and programmed to find "food" eventually learned to conceal their visual signals from other robots to keep the food for themselves:

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/24010/?a=f

Computing Update

Upgraded RFID tags will allow computing without a standard power source:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17616-rfid-tags-get-an-intelligence-upgrade.html

Computing Update

Another crucial milestone crossed in the creation of a viable quantum computer:

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/23137/?a=f

Virtual Reality Update

Another article on the touchable hologram technology that uses sonic waves to simulate contact with the objects:

http://www.physorg.com/news168797748.html

Various Technological Updates

Some very cool ideas shown at SIGGRAPH 2009, including touchable holography, augmented reality for ordinary toys, hyper-realistic virtual reality, 3D teleconferencing and scratchable input:

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/23940/?a=f

I can especially see serious potential for the hyper-realistic VR for not just games, but business meetings and even casual interactions.

Medicine Update

DARPA's looking to use adult stem cells to completely and rapidly regenerate battlefield wounds:

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/08/miitary-aims-for-instant-repair-of-wartime-wounds/

Robotics Update

A new modular robot can break apart or assemble as needed (shades of Transformers!):

http://www.nytimes.com//interactive/2009/07/27/science/20090721-modular-graphic.html

Cybernetics Update

Hybrid Assistive Limb exoskeletons tested in public with a long, slow walk with little effort expended:

http://www.physorg.com/news168507367.html

Computing Update

DNA computing takes a big step forward:

http://www.physorg.com/news168510956.html

Alternative Energies Update

National Academies symposium concludes that emphasizing new solar technologies isn't necessary; instead, support for developing existing technologies will more quickly and efficiently reduce costs to grid parity:

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/23108/

Alternative Energies Update

General Fusion claims it can bring us a grid-capable 100 MW fusion power plant within ten years for an investment of less than a billion dollars:

http://www.technologyreview.com/business/23102/

The magnetized target fusion technique it will use isn't a new concept, but the digital precision necessary to make it work has only recently become available.

Robotics Update

It's finally here: the promise of miniature robots capable of crawling through the body to deliver precise medication, clear arteries, etc.:

http://www.ats.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=6063&security=1141&news_iv_ctrl=1261

This is far larger than a true "nanobot," but it's a big step on the path to having implanted robots constantly monitoring and repairing our bodies.

Alternative Energies Update

A biotech startup claims it has a process to produce 20,000 gallons of biofuel per acre per year, at a price competitive with fossil fuels:

http://www.technologyreview.com/business/23073/

Artificial Intelligence Update

A panel of AI scientists, roboticists, and ethical and legal scholars discusses worst-case scenarios for the upcoming emergence of artificially intelligent machines:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17518-smart-machines-whats-the-worst-that-could-happen.html

Notably, some on the panel think human-level AI could take 1,000 years to develop, while others said 20. I've been reading a lot more of the latter than the former.

Another article, with additional perspectives:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/science/26robot.html?_r=2

Alternative Energies Update

A new design for a less expensive solar thermal power generator:

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/23079/

Alternative Energies Update

A detailed description of the state of the Electrical Energy Storage Unit (EESU) capacitor, which may soon (or not) become a far more efficient replacement for batteries:

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/5557

Artificial Intelligence Update

As the social behavior of large groups of humans becomes more definable through progress in data gathering, new informatics tools and increases in computational power, we will be able to "predict with unprecedented foresight, specificity and scale such things as the economic and social effects of billions of new Internet users in China and India, or the exact location and number of airline flights to cancel around the world in order to halt the spread of a pandemic":

http://www.physorg.com/news167579576.html

Artificial Intelligence Update

We may be only ten years away from having a reverse-engineered model of the human brain:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8164060.stm

Alternative Energies Update

PetroAlgae promises to cheaply provide both food and fuel from just sun and algae:

http://www.ecogeek.org/component/content/article/2855

Robotics Update

Limiting robot finger joints with the same limitations of the human hand speeds up the computation required to mimic human hand movement:

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/23023/

Alternative Energies Update

Urine takes a quarter of the energy to electrolyze into hydrogen than does water:

http://www.ecogeek.org/component/content/article/2845

Cybernetics Update

As we continue to develop the ability to control technology with the mind through direct neural implants, we run the risk of allowing someone to hack our brains:

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/07/neurosecurity/

Cybernetics Update

DARPA's plan to create cybernetic insects to act as spies for the military:

http://www.livescience.com/technology/090714-cyborg-bugs.html

Nanotechnology Update

Recently discovered attractive and repulsive forces in light could allow nanotech computer switches to be pulled or pushed:

http://www.physorg.com/news166711942.html

Cybernetics Update

DARPA to create cyborg crickets to find and identify buried earthquake victims or react to the presence of dangerous chemicals by calling out:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327165.900-cyborg-crickets-could-chirp-at-the-smell-of-survivors.html

Robotics Update

A robot practices before a mirror to learn to how to make correct expressions:

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/23825/

Medicine Update

A new drug, rapamycin, has been shown to increase lifespan in mammals 9-13%, even when administered toward the end of their lifespans, although it does suppress the immune system:

http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/22974/

Artificial Intelligence Update

A computer program learns sign language based on signed gestures and subtitled text on a video image:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17431-computer-learns-sign-language-by-watching-tv.html

Artificial Intelligence Update

The fascinating history of the discovery and development of memristors, their discovery in biological intelligence, and how they may be applied to artificial intelligence:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327151.600-memristor-minds-the-future-of-artificial-intelligence.html?full=true

Computing Update

Researchers create an optical transistor from a single molecule, passing another milestone in the quest for developing quantum computers:

http://www.gizmag.com/optical-transistor-made-from-single-molecule/12157/

Robotics Update

Robo-Bat: Researchers are developing a new MAV (micro-aerial vehicle) based closely on the flight capabilities of a bat:

http://www.physorg.com/news166163661.html

Alternative Energies Update

New flexible nanopillar solar cells could cost one tenth the price of crystaline silicon solar panels:

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/22958/

Medicine Update

This new "Medicine Update" category will not be for reporting advances in regular medical technology (e.g., treatments for cancer or diabetes or whatnot), which I consider an interim step until we develop true nanotechnology to replace most current and near-future techniques. Instead, it will be to report medical advances that specifically deal with life extension technologies to extend our chances of making it to the time when nanotechnological solutions become available.

This first report is by Ray Kurzweil defending why aging may soon be solved:

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/guest/23802/

"...information technology grows exponentially, in sharp contrast to the linear growth of hit or miss approaches that have characterized medicine up until recently. As such, these technologies will be a million times more powerful in 20 years (by doubling in power and price performance each year). The genome project, incidentally, followed exactly this trajectory."

Materials Update

Further progress on the development of a true invisibility cloak. Furthermore, the possibility exists to make an object appear completely different from what it actually is:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327156.300-modified-invisibility-cloak-could-make-the-ultimate-illusion.html

Computing Update

Carbon ring storage could improve data storage densities by three orders of magnitude:

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/23773/

Virtual Reality Update

Incorporating realistic physics into virtual reality:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17389-innovation-physics-brings-realism-to-virtual-reality.html

"One expert evens predicts that such techniques could be used to create Matrix-like virtual worlds indistinguishable from reality within just a few years."

Computing Update

"A team led by Yale University researchers has created the first rudimentary solid-state quantum processor, taking another step toward the ultimate dream of building a quantum computer":

http://www.physorg.com/news165418586.html

Alternative Energies Update

"At any moment, the winds in high-altitude jet streams hold roughly 100 times more energy than all the electricity being consumed on Earth."

How to capture that energy:

http://www.physorg.com/news165082424.html

Cybernetics Update

The brain may automatically adapt to incorporate extensions and additions to the body:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17346

Artificial Intelligence Update

The AI Report:

A series of interesting articles on forbes.com reflecting on the developments in AI and robotics:

http://www.forbes.com/2009/06/22/singularity-robots-computers-opinions-contributors-artificial-intelligence-09_land.html

"Superintelligence would be the last invention biological man would ever need to make, since, by definition, it would be much better at inventing than we are."

Robotics Update

The near-future evolution of small and micro robots for more precision, less collateral damage targetting on the battlefield:

http://www.esquire.com/the-side/feature/new-air-force-drones-in-pakistan-061709

Be sure to watch the military's own video on MAVs (micro air vehicles) to get a real feel for their application:

http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/flight-international/2008/12/video-suicide-micro-air-vehicl.html

Robotics Update

Giving war robots a conscience and a sense of guilt to help them make ethical decisions on the battlefield:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17332-plan-to-teach-military-robots-the-rules-of-war.html

Robotics Update

Computer scientists develop a technique that lets computers see objects with nearly double the accuracy and 10 times the speed of earlier methods:

http://www.physorg.com/news164509831.html

Alternative Energies Update

High-altitude kites could generate enough power for New York City:

http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0615-wind.html

Nanotechnology Update

Researchers figure out how to line up buckyballs like a string of pearls, called buckywire:

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/23682/

"So what might buckywires be good for? First up is photovoltaics: these buckywires look as if they could be hugely efficient light harvesters because of their great surface area and the way that they can conduct photon-liberated electrons. Then there are various electronic applications in wiring up molecular circuit boards."

Nanotechnology Update

Researchers create a functioning, fully-controlable gear only 1.2 nanometers in size:

http://www.physorg.com/news164281362.html

Transportation Update

Inflatable modules could make a space elevator a reality using currently available materials:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227117.000

Robotics Update

A new robot can successfully (if slowly) navigate a building full of open and closed doors, and find where to plug itself in, all without the "cheats" of previous generations:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/09/science/09robot.html?_r=1

Alternative Energies Update

Methanol may turn out to be a better option than hydrogen as a replacement for fossil fuels:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17240-methanol-challenges-hydrogen-to-be-fuel-of-the-future.html

Robotics Update

The tipping point appears to be here on the implementation of robots to replace farm hands:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17224

Computing Update

Physicists use ultra-fast lasers that could accelerate storage and retrieval of data on hard discs by up to 100,000 times:

http://www.physorg.com/news162995052.html

Computing Update

This chip is very close to a Star Trek "medical tricorder" in that it can detect even a single virus in a biological sample within five minutes:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090528093004.htm

Robotics Update

A number of scientists, engineers, writers, etc. give their responses to the question, "Is a serminator scenario possible?"

http://www.hplusmagazine.com/articles/ai/poll-terminator-scenario-possible

Of course, the question is a bit vague, since Terminator includes robots, time travel and rogue AI, but the answers are interesting.

Singularity Update

A brief overview of the coming Singularity:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/weekinreview/24markoff.html?_r=1

Transportation Update

A rotating space elevator could propel its own car up into space:

http://www.physorg.com/news162112945.html

Transportation Update

A rotating space elevator could propel its own car up into space:

http://www.physorg.com/news162112945.html

Artificial Intelligence Update

Dutch supercomputer establishes a new world record by defeating two human Go professionals in an official match:

http://www.hpcwire.com/offthewire/Dutch-Supercomputer-Establishes-New-Record-in-Go-45094962.html?viewAll=y

Computing Update

Nanotechnology may very soon enable the creation of "five dimensional" discs with a storage capacity 2,000 times that of current DVDs:

http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=10754.php

Computing Update

Nanotechnology may very soon enable the creation of "five dimensional" discs with a storage capacity 2,000 times that of current DVDs:

http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=10754.php

Computing Update

New memory material may keep data safe for a billion years:

http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=10742.php

Robotics Update

A new program allows a robot to use stealth to sneak up on an opponent unseen:

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/23554/

Robotics Update

An "ethical governor" is being developed to tell military robots how to react in a combat situation:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30810070/

"Fear might influence human decision-making, but math rules for robots. Simplified, various actions can be classified as ethical or unethical, and assigned a certain value. Starting with a lethal action and subtracting the various ethical responses to the situation equals an unethical response. Other similar equations govern the various possible actions."

Alternative Energies Update

Prototype "breathing" battery currently stores 8x the energy of lithium-ion batteries, and could go higher:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17159-breathing-batteries-could-store-10-times-the-energy.html

Alternative Energies Update

A new technology promises to store and deliver triple the amount of energy of conventional lithium-ion batteries:

http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=10689.php

Artificial Intelligence Update

Nine games computers are ruining for humanity:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17145-nine-games-computers-are-ruining-for-humanity.html?full=true

Step by step computers are beating humans at their own games.

Nanotechnology Update

This isn't just a nanotech update; DARPA'S list of upcoming advanced research projects include robotics, computer and AI goals as well:

http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/41935

Robotics Update

This is an odd one:

A sensing, solar-powered micro-machine uses electromagnetic pulses to control 3,000 magnetically-sensitive bacteria and make them carry it around like tiny zombie porters:

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/23533/

Virtual Reality Update

Project LifeLike attempts to make avatars as realistic as possible as vehicles for the most effective human and AI communication in a virtual world:

http://www.physorg.com/news161630099.html

Computing Update

Moore's Law continues, as Fujitsu creates a computer processor 2.5 times faster than the previous record holder:

http://www.physorg.com/news161600187.html

Cybernetics Update

A recent neuroscience meeting discussed the future of brain augmentation:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227083.700-will-designer-brains-divide-humanity.html?full=true&print=true

Robotics Update

This article describes a number of different advances in robotics technology, including a robot that can climb telephone poles and another that can detect human pedestrians as it moves along city streets:

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/22635/

Some of the videos are worth watching.

Artificial Intelligence Update

DARPA is now attempting to prove that "the human mind is nothing more than parts and energy. In other words, all brain activities — reasoning, emoting, processing sights and smells — derive from physical mechanisms at work, acting according to the principles of “thermodynamics in open systems.”"

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/05/darpa-heat-energy-brains-now-make-us-some/

I disagree that it's "spooky," but perhaps it is to some.

Nanotechnology Update

New LED displays based on carbon nanotubes allow the display to be folded and crumpled without damaging the display:

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/22632/

Alternative Energies Update

Using ink-jet printing to cut the use of expensive silicon in solar cells in half:

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/22599/

Robotics Update

An autonomous robot submarine will explore the deepest oceans:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8035499.stm

Transportation Update

It turns out that "warp" drives to travel faster than the speed of light may indeed be possible:

http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/090506-tw-warp-drive.html

Robotics Update

Not too many years ago, climbing stairs was a difficult task for robots. Now they're able to do so in a variety of ways:

http://singularityhub.com/2009/05/05/robots-take-to-the-stairs-this-is-just-the-beginning-videos/

Singularity Update

An interview with Ray Kurzweil, the "father" of the singularity:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227076.200

My favorite point, referring to the Law of Accelerating Returns:

"When the human genome project was announced in 1990, sceptics said: "No way you're going to do this in 15 years." Halfway through the project the sceptics were still going strong, saying you've only finished 1 per cent of the project. But that's actually right on schedule: by the time you get to 1 per cent you're only seven doublings away."

Alternative Energies Update

A simple "wind energizer" modification to existing wind turbines can increase energy output by 20-150%:

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2719/86/

Alternative Energies Update

"Jet fuel made from camelina reduces carbon emissions 84% compared to regular petro-based jet fuels":

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2714/70/

Artificial Intelligence Update

IBM's new DeepQA project, intended to create a program that can beat humans at the game of Jeopardy, could put us on the path to developing true general AI...or it could reveal that there is no intellectual feat that can't be performed by specialized programs:

http://hplusmagazine.com/articles/ai/rise-answerbots

Nanotechnology Update

Graphene--sheets of carbon one molecule thick--is turning out to have many potential uses:

http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=10425.php

Genetic Engineering Update

Using magnetism to guide super-fast bacteria to deliver medicine to exact locations within the body:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17071-bacteria-take-fantastic-voyage-through-bloodstream.html

Artificial Intelligence Update

How the Net could become self-aware...and perhaps already is (to some degree):

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227062.100-could-the-net-become-selfaware.html

Alternative Energies Update

Inexpensive plastic solar cells are gaining in efficiency relative to silicon solar cells...though they still have a way to go:

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/22563/

Singularity Update

An interview with Vernor Vinge, the writer who came up with the Singularity concept for super machine intelligence far surpassing human intelligence:

http://hplusmagazine.com/articles/ai/singularity-101-vernor-vinge

He believes the Singularity will arrive by 2030. Ray Kurzweil puts the date at 2045.

Computing Update

GE develops the ability to fit 100 DVD's worth of information on a single DVD disc:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/technology/business-computing/27disk.html

Artificial Intelligence Update

A Blue Gene supercomputer is being prepped to beat humans at the game of Jeopardy:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/technology/27jeopardy.html?_r=1

Artificial Intelligence Update

A Blue Gene supercomputer is being prepped to challenge humans at the game of Jeopardy.

Cybernetics Update

The first generation of technological telekinesis comes of age:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/22/AR2009042204036_pf.html

Robotics Update

Robotic penguins swim--and fly!--as gracefully as real penguins:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16996-bionic-penguins-take-to-the-water--and-the-skies.html

Alternative Energies Update

Researchers genetically engineer yeast and bacteria to produce gasoline cheaper than with oil:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16989-yeast-and-bacterium-turned-into-gasoline-factory.html

I'm not sure we want to develop cheaper ways for creating gasoline, considering the environmental cost, but at least the option is available.

Nanotechnology Update

Researchers have found a new way to make transistors smaller and faster using self-assembled, self-aligned, and defect-free nanowire channels made of gallium arsenide:

http://www.physorg.com/news159453806.html

Robotics Update

Several new robots to be used in ordinary businesses:

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/23396/

Computing Update

Using ultraviolet light to trim edges of circuitry to greatly reduce the size of transistors:

http://www.physorg.com/news159100452.html

Nanotechnology Update

(Could also be Computer Update)

"Unzipped" carbon nanotubes create "nanoribbons" which could lead to much faster computers:

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/22503/?a=f

It seems like they're coming up with more and more configurations for carbon at the nanoscale: buckyballs, nanotubes, nanosheets and now nanoribbons.

Robotics Update

Researchers develop first flying micro-robot:

http://www.canadianmanufacturing.com/designengineering/news/headlinenews/article.jsp?content=20090413_092316_10180

Nanotechnology Update

Using DNA to efficiently manufacture nanotubes:

http://www.physorg.com/news158858442.html

Alternative Energies Update

Carbon nanotubes are used to create direct and efficient solar propulsion for water vehicles:

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/22423/

"When light is focused onto it, a boat about a centimeter long can travel as fast as eight centimeters per second. The second machine is a simple rotor with one nanotube strip on one side of each of its four fins. When exposed to direct sunlight, it spins at about 70 rotations per minute."

Alternative Energies Update

Incorporating diatoms into thin film solar cells makes them three times as energy efficient:

http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=216500176

Nanotechnology Update

A new $750 thermoplastic extruding 3D printer allows you to make 3D objects on your desktop:

http://singularityhub.com/2009/04/09/3d-printing-and-self-replicating-machines-in-your-living-room-seriously/

This is an early ancestor of the holy grail of nanotechnology: a desktop factory, which will allow us to manufacture anything we want in our own homes. No need to buy products anymore!

Alternative Energies Update

A helpful animation showing how a fusion reactor will amplify the power of lasers to achieve fusion:

http://www.livescience.com/common/media/video/player.php?videoRef=LS_090408_RideBeam

Alternative Energies Update

Merging genetic engineering with nanotechnology, researchers use a virus to create a battery for them:

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2660/80/

Robotics Update

The new $30 Sentience Driving Software is one step away from fully roboticized driving...and saves 5-24% on fuel consumption:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2009/04/sentience-driving-software-can-reduce.html

Robotics Update

"In recent decades, robots have replaced millions of manual laborers; now they're moving in on scientists, too. A fully automated robotic laboratory can design its own molecular biology experiments and has even made its first discoveries":

http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2009/402/1

Alternative Energies Update

Researchers discover how to use iron instead of platinum to create practical catalysts for fuel cells, which should dramatically reduce the cost of fuel cells:

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/22386/?a=f

Alternative Energies Update

Researchers combine nanotechnology with genetically engineered viruses to build batteries to eventually power hybrid cars and cell phones:

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9130968&intsrc=news_ts_head

Robotics Update

A humanoid robot will help researchers learn how the human brain interacts with the world:

http://www.physorg.com/news157734593.html

Artificial Intelligence Update

Researchers bring the ability to map the brain down to the expense and time frame of desktop computers:

http://www.physorg.com/news157733857.html

"Mapping the billions of connections in the brain is a grand challenge in neuroscience. The current method for mapping interconnected brain cells involves the use of room-size microscopes known as transmission electron microscopes (TEMs). Until now the process of mapping even small areas of the brain using these massive machines would have required several decades. In this week's open-access journal PLoS Biology, research teams at the University of Utah John A. Moran Eye Center and the University of Colorado at Boulder report technical advances that have reduced the time it takes to process high-speed "color" ultrastructure mapping of brain regions down to a few months."

Artificial Intelligence Update

Another step forward in the reverse engineering of the human brain?

http://www.physorg.com/news157717611.html

"Thirty-seven scientists from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) and 20 other major research institutions in the U.S. and Europe have issued a major challenge to the neuroscience community. At long last, the time has come, they argue in a just-published paper, to assemble a comprehensive map of the major neural circuits in the mammalian brain."

Alternative Energies Update

Australia using concentrated solar power to provide energy and desalination to address energy and water shortages:

http://www.sciencealert.com.au/opinions/20091203-18907.html

Cybernetics Update

Robot controlled by thought--essentially technological telepathy or telecontrol:

http://www.physorg.com/news157703000.html

Potential: a completely paralyzed person may eventually be given full physical function by operating a cybernetic suit or a remote robot.

Genetic Engineering Update

Stem cell breakthrough allows the creation of muscle cells to potentially replace damaged or missing muscle:

http://www.physorg.com/news157655456.html

Alternative Energies Update

Microbes used to turn electricity into methane:

http://www.physorg.com/news157651388.html

They could be an efficient and carbon-neutral way to store electricity generated by wind and solar power.

Nanotechnology Update

Using DNA to create an assembly line for highly accurate manufacturing at the molecular level:

http://www.physorg.com/news157642260.html

Alternative Energies Update

Generating energy from kinetic motion is now a piezoelectric cake (sorry) at the nanoscale:

http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2009/326/2

Alternative Energies Update

Laser technology is close to achieving the necessary power to allow practical fusion power to become a reality:

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/22347/

Nanotechnology Update

Not really a nanotech update, but printing electronics is a manufacturing procedure that could bring a wave of new, unique devices over the next few years:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16831-innovation-a-licence-to-print-gadgets.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nhttp://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16831-innovation-a-licence-to-print-gadgets.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-newssref=online-news

"Wallpaper with changing designs, bulbless lamps that shed light from their shades, mediaeval-looking scrolls that unroll to become flexible full-colour displays… These are just a few of the new devices the approaching era of printed electronics could bring."

Computing Update

A new chip simulates the learning abilities of the human brain:

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/22339/?a=f

"The current prototype can operate about 100,000 times faster than a real human brain."

Artificial Intelligence Update

This is an old Hans Moravec article from 1997 on when computer hardware will match the human brain, but it's interesting to note that we're still following the Law of Accelerating Returns (Moore's Law):

http://www.transhumanist.com/volume1/moravec.htm

Artificial Intelligence Update

This article doesn't directly address artificial intelligence, but it does mention something startling:

Robotics Update

An assessment of the upcoming challenges for robotics technology:

http://www.livescience.com/technology/090318-robot-madness-future-robots.html

Robotics Update

New nanotube-based material could form the basis of robotic muscles that function similar to biological muscles only with far greater capability (once they increase the density):

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16806-robots-could-flex-muscles-that-are-stronger-than-steel.html

"Baughman and colleagues have developed a technique to make ribbons of tangled nanotubes that expand in width by 220% when a voltage is applied and then return to their normal size once it is removed. The process takes only milliseconds."

"The tangled nanotubes are constructed into a film that can be described as an aerogel, meaning it contains more air than anything else. Each cubic centimetre weighs only 1.5 milligrams and, given the film's thinness, a single gram would cover 30 square metres."

"It is extremely stiff and strong in the "long" direction – that in which the nanotubes are aligned – but is as stretchy as rubber across its width. It also maintains its properties over an extreme range of temperatures: from -196 °C, at which temperature nitrogen is liquid, to 1538 °C, above the melting point of iron."

Alternative Energies Update

Interesting techniques for storing solar energy at night or wind energy when the wind doesn't blow:

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2612/80/

Nanotechnology Update

"Trapping nanoparticles in cages made of DNA could finally allow them to self-assemble into transistors, metamaterials and even tiny robots":

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126994.800-dna-cages-guide-nanoparticle-selfassembly.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news

Computing Update

New non-volatile memristor chip could become 10x faster than transistor-based chips, continuing Moore's Law into the future:

http://www.physorg.com/news156526733.html

Robotics Update

Not exactly realistic yet, but this Japanese robot designed for the fashion industry is closing in on the goal:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7946780.stm

(The video may "stick" and need refreshing.)

Computing Update

Researchers develop a "brain on a chip," which currently functions like a small version of the human brain:

http://www.physorg.com/news156440026.html

"...the system runs 100,000 times faster than the biological equivalent and 10 million times faster than a software simulation. We can simulate a day in one second..."

"Meier points out that neural computing, with its low-power demands and tolerance of faults, may make it possible to reduce components to molecular size. “We may then be able to make computing devices which are radically different and have amazing performance which, at some point, may approach the performance of the human brain - or even go beyond it!”"

Robotics Update

Image-recognition software and an infrared camera allow a robot to follow people through different environments, responding to gesture commands:

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/23132/

(Be sure to view the video.)

Robotics Update

Image-recognition software and an infrared camera allow a robot to follow people through different environments, responding to gesture commands:

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/23132/

(Be sure to view the video.)

Genetic Engineering Update

New machine allows for the alteration of 50 genes at a time, instead of the usual one, thus greatly speeding up (days instead of months) the genetic engineering of bacteria to produce useful products:

http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/22299/

Alternative Energies Update

A new prototype capacitor stores power as densely as a supercapacitor, but delivers it at speeds comparable with electrostatic capacitors:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16768-atomic-construction-yields-punchier-power-store.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news

"The resulting capacitor can deliver energy at a speed typical of electrostatic capacitors, at a rate that would allow a single kilogram to deliver one megawatt of power – enough to power 10,000 100-watt light bulbs. It can also store energy as densely as a supercapacitor, with 1 kg holding 2500 joules.

"Our primary target [for this technology] is as part of a hybrid battery-capacitor system for electric cars," says Rubloff. "But there are many [potential] small scale applications, [including] better electrical storage systems for cellphones or laptops.""

Alternative Energies Update

New "nanoball" batteries charge 100 times faster than regular batteries:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126994.700-nanoball-batteries-could-recharge-car-in-minutes.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news

Artificial Intelligence Update

A new program can give clear, computed answers to factual questions on a broad range of topics:

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/08/wolfram-alpha-computes-answers-to-factual-questions-this-is-going-to-be-big/

Computing Update

The next generation in user interfaces:

http://singularityhub.com/2009/03/04/the-next-generation-in-human-computer-interfaces-awesome-videos/

Robotics Update

A robotic Trauma Pod capable of remote and autonomous operation is being developed to act as surgeon and nurses on the battlefield:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126982.600-er-20-robots-team-up-for-surgery.html

Cybernetics Update

Another step in the development of a true bionic eye:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7919645.stm

Artificial Intelligence Update

Supercomputer AI now capable of winning against professional Go players:

http://www.hpcwire.com/offthewire/Dutch-Supercomputer-Establishes-New-Go-Record-40540917.html?viewAll=y

"After the victory of IBM's Deep Blue against Garry Kasparov, the game of Go has
replaced chess as a test bed for research in artificial intelligence (AI). Go is
one of the last board games where the strongest humans are still able to easily
win against AI."

Genetic Engineering Update

This isn't actually genetic engineering so much as selective breeding of embryos, but it appears designer babies are now a reality:

http://singularityhub.com/2009/02/25/designer-babies-like-it-or-not-here-they-come/

Artificial Intelligence Update

Microsoft plans to roll out an affordable artificially intelligent digital personal assistant within a few years:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/02/technology/business-computing/02compute.html?_r=2&ref=technology

Alternative Energies Update

Milestone: First Solar thin film solar panels drop below $1 per watt:

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/research/4306443.html

Materials may have to change as we scale up solar power. If the oil industry uses "black gold," the solar industry may end up using "fool's gold." Seriously, actual fool's gold.

Computing Update

Self-programming hybrid "memristor" circuit--having the electrical properties of more than a dozen transistors and possibly capable of learning how to perform a task rather than have to be programmed to do it--could continue Moore's Law:

http://www.physorg.com/news154865950.html

Alternative Energies Update

The "traveling wave reactor" could make nuclear power cheaper and safer, by processing its fissile material only as it needs it:

http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?ch=specialsections&sc=tr10&id=22114

Alternative Energies Update

New "liquid" battery promises to be durable, cheap, long-lasting and store vast amounts of energy (such as may be generated by solar collectors during the day):

http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?ch=specialsections&sc=tr10&id=22116

Computing Update

New 3D "racetrack memory" could soon replace both flash memory and hard drives--faster, denser, more reliable, no moving parts:

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/22115/

Alternative Energies Update

New solar concentrator combines low cost with high efficiency:

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/22204/?a=f

Alternative Energies Update

Solar power beamed down from collectors in space could provide huge amounts of continuous power. A company claims it can have a space-based solar power station in place within the decade:

http://www.universetoday.com/2009/02/18/new-company-looks-to-produce-space-based-solar-power-within-a-decade/

Alternative Energies Update

Sun-powered device converts carbon dioxide and water vapour into natural gas 20x faster than before (although still not enough to be commercially viable):

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16621-sunpowered-device-converts-co2-into-fuel.html

Computing Update

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging to read a person's mind (well, sort of...):

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/22201/?a=f

Nanotechnology Update

The success of mature nanotechnology hinges on mass-producing structures at the nano scale. Researchers have discovered how to use magnets to direct the consistent assembly of nano-structures:

http://www.physorg.com/news154190856.html

Alternative Energies Update

Don't forget the effectiveness of non-photovoltaic solar water heaters. They're cheap, effective, proven technology.

An Irish company claims to have drastically improved on the efficiency of these devices:

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2544/83/

Alternative Energies Update

Harnassing bacteria to produce biofuels and clean up the environment:

http://www.physorg.com/news154107803.html

Cybernetics Update

A "thought-controlled" wheelchair gives mobility and manipulation to the disabled:

http://singularityhub.com/2009/02/11/researchers-develop-brain-controlled-wheelchair-robotic-arm/

Cybernetics Update

New artificial arm is controlled by the wearer's thoughts:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/11/health/research/11arm.html?_r=2&ref=science

Robotics Update

Engineers give robots human brain-inspired software to help them navigate around obstacles in a manner similar to humans:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16557-video-robot-uses-human-mind-tricks-to-navigate.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news

Watch the video.

Computing Update

"Students at the MIT Media Lab have developed a wearable computing system that
turns any surface into an interactive display screen. The wearer can summon
virtual gadgets and internet data at will, then dispel them like smoke when
they're done."

http://blog.wired.com/business/2009/02/ted-digital-six.html

This is like giving everyday objects the same Web-accessibility computer applications have--fascinating!

Computing Update

A new "probabilistic computing" chip can make calculations seven times faster than conventional chips with 1/30th the electricity...by embracing imprecision:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6252697.html

Robotics Update

These new robots are capable of fine motor skills, voice recognition, and the ability to do several common household tasks:

http://www.physorg.com/news153079697.html

Be sure to play the videos.

This is state of the art 2009. Want to guess what we'll have in ten years?

Robotics Update

Engineers use biological adaptive learning techniques to give robots the ability to learn efficient motion:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126946.600-unnatural-selection-robots-start-to-evolve.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news

Robotics Update

Here's another prediction that we'll have sex and marriage with robots in the near future:

http://www.livescience.com/technology/071012-robot-marriage.html

I think the disruptions will be more drastic than implied in the article, though--why have both a human and a robot sex partner, when a robot partner could much more easily fulfill all your fantasies, be ready and willing at all times, have an appearance to your exacting specifications, share your interests more closely, and come with none of the baggage of a human sex partner? I also think the same drastic change will come to friendships.

Materials Update

Functional invisibility comes one step closer:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16527-video-revealing-the-technology-of-invisibility.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news

Artificial Intelligence Update

Speech prediction technology comes of age, capable of filling in what you can't remember:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16528-innovation-speech-prediction-software.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news

Computing Update

Scientists teleport the state of an atom across a lab:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126936.500-teleporter-sends-ions-on-longdistance-journey.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news

"The promise of this new process is that it could form the basis of a "quantum repeater" that will enable quantum communication over almost any distance: ion teleporters placed at regular intervals along a fibre could briefly store quantum states before sending them on their way, so no single photon has to travel too far."

Computing Update

New quantum dot technology should lead to computers that use 1,000 times less power and are 1,000 times smaller than current transistors:

http://www.physorg.com/news152271696.html

Alternative Energies Update

Jatropha, whose seeds produce a highly efficient biofuel, grows like weeds in bad soil and won't displace food farmland:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1874835,00.html

Alternative Energies Update

New anti-reflective coating breakthrough creates nearly 100% absorption of sunlight (instead of the usual 66%) for solar panels:

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2512/83/

Internet Update

South Korea will install a nationwide 1 Gbps super-broadband infrastructure by 2013 that will enable downloading a feature film in one to two seconds!

http://www.physorg.com/news152856783.html

Computing Update

"IBM and the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have signed a new contract to build the next generation of IBM’s BlueGene supercomputers at the famed DOE facility. The first IBM BlueGene supercomputer, called “Dawn,” will have a top processing speed of 500 teraflops." (Due out at the end of this year.) "The second IBM system, dubbed “Sequoia,” will offer 20 petaflops of performance and surpass the records Big Blue set when it installed the massive Roadrunner system for the DOE in 2008." (Due out in 2012.) Sequoia will be nearly 20 times faster than the current fastest supercomputer:

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/IT-Infrastructure/IBM-Building-Next-Generation-of-BlueGene-Supercomputers/

Singularity Update

And now here's the new Singularity University, supported by NASA, Google and others. The NASA Research Park campus has a "nine-week graduate-level interdisciplinary curriculum designed to facilitate understanding, collaboration, and innovation across a broad range of carefully chosen scientific and technological disciplines whose developments are exponentially accelerating":

http://www.kurzweilai.net/news/frame.html?main=/news/news_single.html?id%3D10073

Robotics Update

Ethics report on autonomous military robots released:

http://ethics.calpoly.edu/pr_020209.html

"The public is generally surprised when they hear how great a role robots are playing in the military," explained Dr. Patrick Lin, director of the research group and co-author of the report. "But there hasn’t been much dialogue about the risks posed by these machines, especially as they are expected to be given more autonomy or a greater ability to make choices on their own, such as attack decisions."

Alternative Energies Update

Ethanol-powered portable fuel cells could be far more efficient than ethanol-powered engines and more practical than hydrogen-powered fuel cells:

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/22041/

Robotics Update

These robots use hive mind programming to drastically increase warehouse organizational and functional efficiency:

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/01/retailrobots.html

Computing Update

More indication of the Law of Accelerating Returns, in the form of India's $10 laptop:

http://www.physorg.com/news152541176.html

That price seems impossible...but even double that price seems impossible. Yet it would be vastly more powerful than my old Macintosh I bought in 1984 for over $3000....

Update 2/7/09: It turns out the price seems impossible because the device is actually just a "digital storage hub/net access point for educational media."

http://www.thestandard.com/news/2009/02/04/indias-10-laptop-too-good-be-true

Cybernetics Update

The creation of a remote-controlled cyborg beetle opens the door for creating ultra-small remote-controlled flying surveillance platforms:

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/22039/?a=f

Alternative Energies Update

LEDs last 10x as long as fluorescent bulbs (using 1/3 the energy) and 130x as long as incandescent bulbs. Now they may finally be ready for prime time:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16496-cheap-superefficient-led-lights-on-the-horizon.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news

Transportation Update

The technology to produce cars with incredible performance while using completely green technologies for fuel is here:

http://www.livescience.com/technology/090129-fastest-electric-car.html

So now it's just a matter of the batteries and solar collectors to come of age and we're set.

Computing Update

With the recession, Moore's Law is becoming more about minimizing cost for a certain level of performance rather than maximizing performance for a certain cost:

http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12932356

Artificial Intelligence Update

AI is finally coming of age. This article describes some of the latest advances in machine learning, and how AI is finally beginning to live up to the hype:

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=332273

(I think the final sentence is way off base, though!)

Computing Update

The limit of a bit of information was thought to be no more than one bit of information per atom or electron. But now, researchers at Stanford University have managed to pack information into subatomic spaces, creating a holographic drawing that contained 35 bits per electron:

http://www.nature.com/news/2009/090124/full/news.2009.54.html

Predictions Update

Here's a list of ten items researchers are working on now that may change our lives over the next couple of decades:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126921.800-ten-scifi-devices-that-could-soon-be-in-your-hands.html?full=true&print=true

Transportation Update

Long, stretchy nanotubes appear set to make a space elevator possible:

http://www.physorg.com/news151938445.html

Artificial Intelligence Update

"A dual-layer Blu-ray disc can store an impressive 50 gigabytes, but discs which can hold 20 times as much data have just taken a step closer, thanks to new materials that make reading and writing 3D holograms more reliable."

This isn't directly related to the title of this post, but...close enough, since AI will require the means to store massive amounts of data.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16464-holographic-discs-set-to-smash-storage-records.html

Robotics Update

The gap is closing between what looks and acts like a machine vs. what looks and acts like a human:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16461-tests-that-show-machines-closing-in-on-human-abilities.html?full=true

Nanotechnology Update

"After announcing last April a method for growing exceptionally long, straight, numerous and well-aligned carbon cylinders only a few atoms thick, a Duke University-led team of chemists has now modified that process to create exclusively semiconducting versions of these single-walled carbon nanotubes."

"The achievement paves the way for manufacturing reliable electronic nanocircuits at the ultra-small billionths of a meter scale."

http://www.physorg.com/news151762245.html

Alternative Energies Update

New thermal photovoltaics solar panel technology generates electricity from waste heat, and could prove far more efficient than current conventional solar technology:

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/21981/?a=f

Robotics Update

Researchers are developing robots that use piezoelectricity to power microscopic robots to traverse the human circulatory system with less risk than catheters:

http://www.physorg.com/news151649983.html

Nanotechnology Update

Researcher discovers how to use nanotubes to create molecular-level plumbing for filtering water and air, which should lead to cheap desalination systems, batteries and air-scrubbers (potentially removing excess C02 from the atmosphere):

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126911.500-nanoplumbing-more-than-just-a-pipe-dream.html?full=true

Nanotechnology Update

A new breakthrough allows a metamaterials-based invisibility cloak to work across a broad spectrum (as wide as the visible light spectrum, although only in the microwave range):

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/21971/?a=f

Virtual Reality Update

There's the theory that we all live in a virtual universe. Now it appears there's evidence we live in a giant hologram. I don't know whether or how the two relate, but the latter is mindblowing nevertheless:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126911.300-our-world-may-be-a-giant-hologram.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news

Robotics Update

The year's most impressive robots--a collection of fascinating videos:

http://singularityhub.com/2009/01/12/a-review-of-the-best-robots-of-2008/

Cybernetics Update

New game devices give players psychokinesis-like powers to move objects with their minds:

http://www.physorg.com/news150781868.html

Robotics Update

Japan develops a robot suit to help aging farmers perform arduous work:

http://www.physorg.com/news150697278.html

Artificial Intelligence Update

New call center program promises to be much smarter than current AI programs:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/news/frame.html?main=/news/news_single.html?id%3D9980

"In essence, the system replaces a (hypothetical) intelligent live operator who happens to have an amazing memory. The system remembers each caller's preferences, previous calls and other details, so callers don't have to answer the same questions every time they call. If a call is interrupted, the system can call the customer back and pick up the conversation where it left off. Try getting all that on your next 800 number call!"

Robotics Update

"Fantastic Voyage" miniature robots perform surgical operations:

http://www.physorg.com/news151005939.html

Robotics Update

"Fantastic Voyage" miniature robots perform operations inside patients:

http://www.physorg.com/news151005939.html

Robotics Update

"Fantastic Voyage" miniature robots perform operations inside patients:

http://www.physorg.com/news151005939.html

Alternative Energies Update

Breakthrough catalyst allows artificial photosynthesis even more efficiently than plants:

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2448/70/