Robotics Update

A robot is taught to fetch specific brands of beer for hard-at-work programmers:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/faithful-willow-garage-robot-taught-to-fetch-beer-from-fridge?utm_source=KurzweilAI+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=5e62dd8d7a-UA-946742-1&utm_medium=email

Robotics Update

Robot teachers are in their infancy...but the writing is on the wall. I will be replaced by a robot within a couple decades:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/11/science/11robots.html

Alternative Energies Update

Solar powered plane successfully flies through the night on stored solar power:

http://www.physorg.com/news197695549.html

Robotics Update

Blind robot with a human-like gait can negotiate uneven surfaces and even recover from stumbles:

http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=7726

Alternative Energies Update

Researchers use super-high pressures to create a new form of material capable of storing energy in batteries at densities bested only by nuclear power:

http://wsunews.wsu.edu/pages/publications.asp?Action=Detail&PublicationID=20580&TypeID=1

Cybernetics Update

VA Tech creates a robotic vehicle capable of being successfully driven by blind drivers:

http://www.egmcartech.com/2010/07/02/national-federation-of-the-blind-and-virginia-tech-demos-blind-friendly-car/

Alternative Energies Update

Process could use the sun's light and heat to break down carbon dioxide into solid carbon (for manufacturing) or carbon monoxide (for fuel):

http://www.physorg.com/news199005915.html

Most significantly, this process could:

"...decrease carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere to pre-industrial levels within 10 years."

!!!

Virtual Reality Update

Another use of haptics in improving the realism of virtual reality experiences:

http://www.physorg.com/news197186879.html

Virtual Reality Update

New haptics technology gives a sense of touch to users handling virtual objects:

http://www.physorg.com/news197256614.html

Alternative Energies Update

Lithium-ion batteries with nanotube electrodes could deliver 10 times more power than a conventional battery and store five times more energy than a conventional ultracapacitor:

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/25634/?ref=rss

Alternative Energies Update

Using gravel and argon gas to store energy generated by erratic alternative energy production like solar and windmills:

http://ecogeek.org/power-storage/3171