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/

Alternative Energies Update

Carbon nanotubes show promise in creating high-energy superbatteries:

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/21938/?a=f

Genetic Engineering Update

A bit of a deviation from the point of this blog, but interesting nevertheless, this article discusses the prospects for resurrecting a number of species that have gone extinct over the past 100,000 years:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126905.000-ten-extinct-beasts-that-could-walk-the-earth-again.html?full=true

Robotics Update

Robots will rapidly replace human soldiers over the next decade:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/02/AR2009010202191_pf.html

"Armed robots will all be snipers. Stone-cold killers, every one of them. They will aim with inhuman precision and fire without human hesitation. They will not need bonuses to enlist or housing for their families or expensive training ranges or retirement payments. Commanders will order them onto battlefields that would mean certain death for humans, knowing that the worst to come is a trip to the shop for repairs."

Could this mean the end of genocide and conventional warfare? A new Pax Americana? Or bring fictional Skynet to reality.

Computing Update

Computers can now read and interpret the results of an MRI scan in what is, essentially, mind-reading:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/12/31/60minutes/main4694713.shtml

Be sure to play the video on the page to see the 60 Minutes interview demonstrating the technology. The researcher involved in the project predicts we'll have the ability to read complex thoughts within three to five years.

Alternative Energies Update

This nano-scale antenna captures light like a radio antenna to then provide:

• Passive, energy-neutral cooling by converting infrared radiation into radiation that we don't feel as heat (like radio waves)
• Passive heating by turning radiation we don't feel as heat into infrared radiation
• Extremely efficient lighting by basically broadcasting photons from the nantennas
• Passive heating or cooling within clothing
• Electricitiy production in clothing by harnessing our bodies' radiation

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1357/83/

Nanotechnology Update

More nanotechnology developments in 2008:

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/21900/?a=f

Alternative Energies Update

An effective biofuel developed for jet engines:

http://news.aol.com/article/airline-uses-vegetable-oil-to-fuel-jet/289514

Computing Update

Researchers working on atomic-scale computing have managed to design a simple logic gate with 30 atoms that perform the same task as 14 transistors:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081222113532.htm

Nanotechnology Update

Nanotechnology's biggest stories of 2008:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16340-nanotechnologys-biggest-stories-of-2008.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news

Transportation Update

FINALLY, scientists have developed a turbo encabulator to solve the problem of inverse reactive current per use in unilateral phase detractors and synchronizing cardinal grammeters in vehicle transmissions:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLDgQg6bq7o

(C'mon, gotta have a little levity now and then....)

Alternative Energies Update

Solar energy finally reaches "grid parity" (equal or cheaper cost than coal-based energy)...depending on how you calculate it:

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2400/83/

Nanotechnology Update

Researchers design and build a fully functional nanocar, which is four nanometers across and includes a chassis with an engine, a pivoting suspension and rotating axles attached to rolling buckyball wheels:

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=Storage&articleId=9123959&taxonomyId=19&pageNumber=1

Predictions Update

Here's a long, old but well-written article on the path to the singularity, using references to science fiction throughout the ages:

http://www.grg.org/charter/Krell2.htm

Notable quote:

"If we assume that self-programming ability follows processing power, very soon after the point that computers of human brainpower are mass-production items, we may expect that computers will attain the total information processing power of all human minds on the planet. They will have long since become the experts in the design of more complex computers, just as they are today the reigning experts at chess strategy. At some point not long after that, computers will recapitulate human history, human culture, and human thought. They will then teach each other everything we humans know in a matter of years (months? days? hours?), and then move on. The whole thing will happen in a flash, and if it happens at all, will certainly happen long before we’re really ready for it. The "flash" seems inevitable before the end of this century, and seems quite probable (given even modest extrapolation) before the middle of it. And, of course, we’ll be unable to stop it, anymore than we can stop anything on the Internet. Before we know it, it will be done."

Computing Update

Researchers create graphene-based memory that can potentially store many times the memory of current flash memory, and is far more resistant to heat:

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9123838

Genetic Engineering Update

Researchers engineer bacteria beyond the limits of nature to create higher-density biofuels:

http://www.physorg.com/news148833955.html

Artificial Intelligence Update

Researchers are working to build a machine that can learn from experience:

http://www.physorg.com/news148754667.html

Predictions Update

A list of upcoming inventions, from HUD contact lenses to bionic limbs. Also mentioned is uploading human minds to computers, allowing us to become truly immortal:

http://www.aolhealth.com/health/bionic-human-scientific-advancements?icid=200100397x1215240606x1201026834

Transportation Update

And now electric vehicle technology has extended to the airplane. Here is a modified glider that not only can go 70 mph for 90 minutes for a total recharge cost of 70 CENTS, but when parked the propeller acts as a windmill to recharge the battery!

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2353/69/

Transportation Update

For electric vehicle fans, here's a race between the Tango and the Tesla Roadster:

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2355/69/

Electric vehicles and their immediate full torque can give them performance to put IC engines to shame.

Robotics Update

Medical robot likely to see battlefield use within a year:

http://www.physorg.com/news148069187.html

It's more like telepresence than it is a robot, but it's a significant step.

Alternative Energies Update

New thin film solar cells are 15% more efficient and use hundreds of times less material than conventional solar cells:

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/21755/?a=f

Computing Update

First superconducting transistor promises PC revolution:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20026856.600-first-superconducting-transistor-promises-pc-revolution.html

Alternative Energies Update

Nanoporous silicon allows the creation of lithium batteries that can hold at least double the charge:

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/21750/?a=f

Alternative Energies Update

Nanoporous silicon allows the creation of lithium batteries that can hold at least double

Alternative Energies Update

New wind power system borrows technology from jet engines to potentially decrease the cost of wind power by half:

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/21737/?a=f

Cybernetics Update

The world's first cybernetic leaf uses plant photosynthesis to generate electricity:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16132-cyborg-leaf-makes-new-solar-power-plant.html

Artificial Intelligence Update

Combat robots may be built with AI able to behave more ethically than human beings:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/25/science/25robots.html?_r=1

Genetic Engineering Update

Bacteria may be turned into microscopic bio-robot slaves to print nanoscale patterns:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16119-invention-microscopic-biorobot-slaves.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news

Alternative Energies Update

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion is designed to exploit the difference in temperature between seawater near the surface and deep down, and has the potential to become the biggest source of renewable energy in the world:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20026836.000-plumbing-the-oceans-could-bring-limitless-clean-energy.html?full=true

Cybernetics Update

Scientists develop a machine-brain interface that can detect neural activity and predict the movement of fingers, as well as which of several sounds the patient is imagining. This may lead to robotic limbs that move as easily as real ones, or a computer interface that detects imagined words:

http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/21699/

Artificial Intelligence Update

DARPA funding "cognitive computing" intended to "engineer the mind by reverse-engineering the brain":

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/20/hunting-for-a-brainy-computer/

Robotics Update

Six ways to build robots that do humans no harm:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16068-six-ways-to-build-robots-that-do-humans-no-harm.html

Computing Update

Within the next couple of years, high-bandwidth wireless Internet signals will soon blanket the US, as frequencies previously used for television are freed up:

http://www.technologyreview.com/communications/21671/?a=f

Alternative Energies Update

New windmill with variable pitch blades to optimize power generation from variable winds, increasing overall output by 50-100%:

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/21666/?a=f

Computing Update

System on a chip developed with transmission speeds 100 times faster than WiFi and 350 times faster than 3.5G cell phones, at about 1/10th the size and cost of existing chips:

http://www.physorg.com/news145636894.html

Alternative Energies Update

Soon to be available for sale: shed-sized, safe, relatively cheap, no-maintenance nuclear power stations with no moving parts and no weapons-grade material, each capable of powering 20,000 homes and requiring refills every decade:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/nov/09/miniature-nuclear-reactors-los-alamos#history-byline

Cybernetics Update

Honda develops a unique leg exoskeleton that is easy to strap on and assists with walking, crouching, etc.:

http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212001311&subSection=Management

Genetic Engineering Update

I think mastery of genetics is only a stepping stone or even a temporary side-step to converting human intelligence to non-biological information technology, but it still does have some interesting potential.

For example: MIT and Caltech students are studying how to convert bacteria into food to fight cavities, produce vitamins, and treat lactose intolerance:

http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/21654/

Computing Update

Effective 3D holographic-like display developed:

http://www.physorg.com/news145514544.html

Watch the video.

Predictions Update

Here's a list of the top ten forecasts for 2009 and beyond by The Futurist magazine:

http://www.wfs.org/Sept-Oct08/Nov-Dec%20FUTURIST/topTen.htm

An example: "Everything you say and do will be recorded by 2030. By the late 2010s, ubiquitous, unseen nanodevices will provide seamless communication and surveillance among all people everywhere."

Technology Funding Update

Bill Joy is alarmed by the potential risks of advanced nanotech and the Singularity, so I'm not sure he's the best choice for being the US's chief technology officer (or maybe he's ideal because of that worry), but it's great to see that Obama is already seeking out the best minds in the field for his administration:

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/05/john-doerrs-advice-for-barack-obama-hire-bill-joy/

Technology Funding Update

Good news: Barak Obama plans to greatly increase federal funding for scientific research, technological development and science education, as well as lift the ban on federally funded embryonic stem cell research:

http://www.newscientist.com/channel/opinion/dn15130-obama-promises-new-era-of-scientific-innovation.html (see the attached PDF file for more specific details)

And more from Obama on scientific development, in his own words:

http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/dn15134-obama-on-science-in-his-own-words.html

Finally!

Virtual Reality Update

The US Army plans to use virtual worlds to make virtual humans indistinguishable from real humans:

http://gizmodo.com/5077240/us-army-to-push-x+files-tech-development-invade-world-of-warcraft

This article also lists several other projects of interest.

Alternative Energies Update

New technique for splitting water to get hydrogen using solar power:

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2241/83/

The inventor claims it will change the world.

Alternative Energies Update

New solar panel material absorbs almost 100% of the sunlight from the entire spectrum and from any direction:

http://www.physorg.com/news144940463.html

Singularity Update

The 2008 Singularity Summit's key announcements/revelations/events:

http://singularityhub.com/2008/11/02/singularity-summit-2008-reviewed/

My favorite note:

"According to Ray Kurzweil, solar energy is an information technology that is experiencing exponential growth. Solar energy production has doubled every year for the last 20 years and is now only 8 doublings away (that is about 10 years!) from providing nearly all of the world’s energy needs."

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.

Alternative Energies Update

Genetically engineered bacterium breaks down wood and grass (no need to use corn!) into ethanol:

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2134/70/

Robotics Update

Vibration, solar and wind-powered, flying surveillance bat-like robot to be built for the US Army:

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2137/85/

Alternative Energies Update

A new startup produces high-efficiency solar panels for much lower cost--on par with conventional electricity production:

http://www.technologyreview.com/Biztech/21405/

Transportation Update

The Japanese are pursuing the development of a space elevator...something that was once completely in the realm of extreme science fiction:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/news/frame.html?main=/news/news_single.html?id%3D9437

Virtual Reality Update

The latest and greatest VR environment helps scientists visualize the universe from molecules to the cosmos:

http://www.physorg.com/news140975289.html

Robotics Update

Installing self-assembling robots in one's stomach to perform medical procedures:

http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/21401/?a=f

Robotics Update

Installing self-assembling robots in one's stomach to perform medical procedures:

http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/21401/?a=f

Alternative Energies Update

A simple process for creating hydrocarbon biofuels chemically, rather than biologically:

http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/21395/

(I don't think hydrocarbon biofuels are the future, but they may be a stopgap measure.)

Alternative Energies Update

Breakthrough may double the storage capacity of ultracapacitors:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080916143910.htm

Computing Update

Map allows computers to understand the context of word use:

http://www.physorg.com/news140929129.html

Alternative Energies Update

Test shows that long distance wireless transmission of power works, and could make space-based solar power a reality:

http://www.nss.org/news/releases/pr20080909.html

Alternative Energies Update

A summary of the trends and scenarios for alternative energies:

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=94743

Robotics Update

Current results of the Stanford Personal Robotics Program for creating robots useful in the home:

http://personalrobotics.stanford.edu/

(Play the videos.)

Computing Update

Petascale computer gets the green light:

http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/32152

This shows you the Law of Accelerating Returns in action:

"Specifically, NASA Ames, Intel and SGI will work together on a project called Pleiades to develop a system with a capacity of one Petaflops peak performance by 2009 and a system with a peak performance of 10 Petaflops by 2012."

Robotics Update

A model helicopter robot learns to fly itself by observing a human flying a remote model helicopter:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/robothelicopterteachesitselfhowtofly

Energy Storage Update

Using viruses to create miniature batteries:

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/virus-battery-0820.html

Alternative Energies Update

Using viruses to create miniature batteries:

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/virus-battery-0820.html