Bioengineered Spy Plants Are “The Future Of Intelligence Gathering,” According To DARPA
DARPA is well known for their mad inventor-esque forays into robotics, but they are taking yet another fascinating-yet-scary step forward - bioengineered plants that can spy on you.
Humanity is safe. This video of high-tech robots falling down is the funniest thing you'll see today
The DARPA Robotics Challenge has been fascinating to watch, but one of my main concerns (as is evident in most robotics stories) is how close are we to a Terminator-esque extinction of the human race? Based on this video of robots falling over quite comically, turns out the apocalypse is not here yet.
DARPA creates tech that lets robots learn from YouTube videos
In another step towards robots becoming self-aware, DARPA and the University of Maryland have created a program which gives them the ability to learn complicated skills using just a playlist of YouTube videos.
The World's Fastest Running Robot Unleashed On The World
At least our robot overlords will have a pet. Boston Dynamics have created a robotic relative to their previous Cheetah that could outrun Usain Bolt. Called the 'WildCat,' it's able to run outdoors untethered. The human race doesn't stand a chance.
Terrifying 'BigDog' Robot Sports Herculean Throwing Arm To Doom Us All
Meet BigDog, a horrific robotic crab-like abomination with wires and cables protruding from its metal skeleton like something straight out of your most eldritch nightmares. This rough-terran "mule" robot is terrifying enough to look at, but now, with the addition of a front-mounted arm, it can throw a cinder block at your face the way us weak, fleshy humans would fling a tennis ball.
DARPA's Headless, Four-Legged 'LS3' Robot Now Follows Voice Commands
If the Terminator ever needed a four-legged companion, we imagine DARPA’s robotic pack mule, the Legged Squad Support System (LS3) would be a strong contender for the title.
DARPA's Expandable Foam Fights Against Internal Bleeding
A new foam developed by Arsenal Medical in conjunction with DARPA could prove to be a critical lifeline for wounded soldiers on the battlefield.
MIT Invents Shape-Shifting Robots. Small Step Towards Real-Life Transformers
This device, known as a milli-motein, doesn’t look like much more than something you'd find in a home-workshop drawer. But this millimeter-sized set of motorized components inspired by proteins may be a harbinger of real-life Transformers, with the ability to naturally fold themselves into incredibly complex shapes.
DARPA Creates Humanoid Robot That Jumps, Climbs And Avoids Obstacles With Ease
DARPA's most recent creation, the PET-PROTO Robot, has the capability to navigate such obstacles as climbing, jumping, and traversing a wall-to-wall hole in the floor. The company says it's designed to perform complex tasks in "dangerous, degraded, human-engineered environments;" but the possibilities of outrunning Skynet are now lower than ever.
DARPA Threat Detection System Uses Brainwaves To Spot Enemies
Ever had that subconscious feeling trouble is behind you? Turns out The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have managed to harness this undetected human brainwaves with the Cognitive Technology Threat Warning System (CT2WS): a threat detection system with enhanced monitoring.
Cheetah Robot Outruns Usain Bolt
A new speed record has been set by Boston Dynamics' Cheetah robot, running at 28.3 mph - faster than Usain Bolt's top speed of 27.78 mph.
DARPA-Funded Robotic Hand Can Repair Itself, Disarm IEDs
Sandia National Laboratories has developed a cost-effective robotic hand with enough dexterity to mimic human hand movement in the hope it could be used in disarming improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.
Scientists Create Microchips That Imitate Human Organs
Harvard scientists have created a microchips that can mimic the function of a human lung well enough to test new experimental, life-saving drugs. This has the potential of removing the harrowing risk of drug trials on humans and animals.
DARPA Fights Fire With Electricity And A Wall Of Sound
Throwing any conventional method of fire extinguishing out of the window, DARPA has been exploring the use of electricity and sound to put out the flames.
University Researchers Develop Gigapixel Camera Delivering Snaps Of One Billion Pixels
A team of researchers have developed the a gigapixel camera , the AWARE-2, capable of producing images with a resolution five times better than 20/20 human vision (that’s snapshots of one billion pixels each) over a 120-degree by 50-degree field of view.
Could Remote-Controlled Cyborg Insects Be Used As Spies?
Forget micro camera systems, insanely-compact audio surveillance devices and night-vision goggles – scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are currently researching a probe that can be implanted into moths to control their flight, alluding to the possibility of insects being used in the future as spies. Though it's the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) that has invested heavily in a programme to develop 'machine-insect interfaces' for years, Joel Voldman and colleagues of MIT have collaborated to design a unique, flexible neural probe that attaches directly to an insect's ventral nerve cord (VNC) which, alongside the brain, makes up the central nervous system.
100-core processor created by MIT, to be released later this year
We sit here as consumers, feeling content with quad-core processors in our computers (or maybe eight, if you are feeling particularly greedy). But 100 processors on a single chip? That's exactly what silicon manufacturer Tilera has done, and it's coming later this year.
US Military planning to crowdsource military software testing via computer games
The US Department of Defense are looking to crowdsource their military software testing by developing computer games surrounding it, according to a DARPA proposal.
The implementation is going to be a steep initial cost, $32 million dollars specifically; but on the long haul, the plan (officially titled Crowd Sourced Formal Verification) is for it to dramatically reduce the cost of the software verification process.
White House denies sending Obama to Mars
Self-proclaimed time-traveling, universe-exploring government agents Andrew D. Basiago and William Stillings claim they served for DARPA in the 1980s, and witnessed a young Barack Obama sent to explore Mars as a top secret CIA project.
I would love to say we're making this up; but this fantastical story, which we're not surprised doesn't come complete with it's own Tinfoil hats, is one of such absurdity it's actually a pretty fascinating story to read. Reported by Wired's Danger Room, Basiago and Stillings told of how Obama has been lying about his identity and military service, revealing the shocking truth to be the president participating in a CIA intergalactic program, which was hosted at a California community college in 1980.
The Round-up: Sexting, the VGAs and a whole lot of hate towards the English
So a pretty big week has passed us by, giving we few writers a hell of a lot to cover. Permit us, if you will, to assist those who are late to the metaphorical nrm party (we say metaphorical both because that the party is a metaphor for the audience for the website, and also that the thought of any of us hosting a party is laughable imaginary), by offering a whole seven days of coverage in a nice concise package of links for you to divulge upon. Next Call of Duty in space? Google search returning results that call English people...well...it rhymes with hunt? A hydro-jetpack? Strap in. This one's a doozy!