Japanese Technology from the Future Friday!

 Astronomy, Internet, Internet Stuff, Japan 日本 Tekk, Japanese Technology from the Future Friday, Mobile, Robot, Space Technology, Technology  No Responses »
May 182012
 

Welcome to Japanese Technology from the Future Friday!
It’s already Friday already here in Japan – we’re 16 hours ahead of the western U.S., which means I totally live in the future. And because it’s already Friday already, I’m left with little time to provide something original or worthwhile before the weekend hits.

So I aggregate!
(see all JTFF posts here)

Why Japan and J-Tech?
Well, I’m literally uniquely positioned to tell you about the future.
And Japan has madd technology. In ways… See – simple!

Your Source for One-Upping Other People Who Care
JTFF is a conduit of specifically Japanese technological news that keeps readers a day ahead of half the world’s technologically interested/obsessed. I’m pretty sure.

::Japanese Technology from the Future Friday – May, 18, 2012::

Terahertz Wi-Fi Transmission
Smart networky guys at the unfortunately acronymed Tokyo Institute of Technology have demonstrated a 3Gbps wireless transmission speed. That’s 15 times faster than the fastest wi-fi currently available. You gotta respect that. What you don’t gotta respect is the fact that Japan still doesn’t quite understand what “wi-fi” means. Trust me, I live here.
[NETWORK WORLD]

Only Robots Can Make Canon Cameras
Well, to be fair, there are a lot of small parts up in there – banana-fingered humans just can’t cut it. Oh, and Canon is a Japanese company – you know that right? They’re clever here with the names. Sometimes. 7-11 is Japanese, too. Just sayin.
[COMMERCIAL APPEAL - GODDAMN GOOGLE NEWS WITH THE OBSCURE]

Japan and South Korea Play Nice in Space
This is pretty cool. Because, while most people outside of East Asia don’t really see a huge difference between these two countries and cultures, in and of themselves – THEY REALLY, REALLY DO. And it ain’t always a pleasant distinction. Trust me, I live here. Oh yeah, the story – JAXA let a Korean satellite hitchhike! Ahhhhuuuhhhhh!!!
[TIMES ONLINE]

Live from the future – that is all!

Japanese Technology from the Future Friday!

 Asia, Bionic, Japan 日本 Tekk, Japanese Technology from the Future Friday, Prosthetics, Robot, Robot Love, Sony, Technology, Technology & Culture  No Responses »
May 122012
 

 Welcome to Japanese Technology from the Future Friday!
It’s already Friday already here in Japan – we’re 16 hours ahead of the western U.S., which means I totally live in the future. And because it’s already Friday already, I’m left with little time to provide something original or worthwhile before the weekend hits.

So I aggregate!
(see all JTFF posts here)

Why Japan and J-Tech?
Well, living here means I’m literally uniquely positioned to tell you about the future.
And Japan has some of the best technology. See – simple!

Your Source for One-Upping Other People Who Care
JTFF is a conduit of specifically Japanese technological news that keeps readers a day ahead of half the world’s technologically interested/obsessed. I’m pretty sure.

::Japanese Technology from the Future Friday – May, 11, 2012::

Japanese Scientists Build Robotic Ass
One of the sweet joys of technology writing is the ability you develop, based on a headline or report title alone, to accurately determine the origin of a given piece of research (poo burger, anyone?). Continue reading »

Okay, Let’s Talk about Making Sex with Robots

 AI, Anthrobotic Originals, Artificial Intelligence, Cybernetics, Future Already Very Pending, NBI, Robot, Robot Emotions, Robot Love, Sony, Technology, Technology & Culture, Technology Law  Comments Off
May 012012
 

Sex & Technology
Human sexuality is a helluva drug, and an unquestionably powerful force in technological trends. Think internet video, sexting, showing someone your junk via webcam, Photoshopping models to enhance sex appeal, increasingly lifelike non-biological “partners,” and a whole universe of hypo-allergenic and ergonomically designed, uhh… appliances.

Now, the global sex industry isn’t just passively implementing new technologies, it’s occasionally driving their development. A classic example from back in the day was pornography’s embrace of VHS video, which played an important role in the downfall of Sony’s Betamax alternative (ref.). Granted, Sony is rather inept at pushing their pet media formats (Memory Stick, UMD, DAT, MD), so, you know, context. Anyway, here’s the thing:

And its a Big One.
 I Think We’re Going to Make Sweet Love to Robots Pretty Soon. Continue reading »

REMINDER: Probable Off-Planet Mining Announcement, & Japan has its Hand Raised.

 Anthrobotic Originals, Energy Technology, Japan 日本 Tekk, Lasers Pew-Pew, Pure Science, Robot, Robots in Space, Space Mining, Space Technology, Technology, Technology & Work  2 Responses »
Apr 232012
 

Billions and Billions. In Space Cash.From Mining – Most Likely
That you’re dorky enough to be reading this means you’ve almost certainly heard about the pending announcement from Planetary Resources (empty site, JSYK). If not, here’s the thing: some really (I mean, really) big names with huge stacks of earth cash are backing this new company, and most of the speculation leans toward asteroid/space mining of some sort. Here’s a piece from Forbes, and another one from The Wall Street Journal.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, April 24, at some vague time in Seattle, they’re going to drop some knowledge – hopefully it will realistically backup the rather grandiose claims being been tossed around (trillions added to the U.S. economy, saving humanity, etc.).

Asteroid mining could be pretty cool. While extremely expensive, it’s actually feasible with today’s technology. If Planetary Resources has some novel means of doing so, or even if it’s just the announcement of a big sexy science project, that’s awesome. We need more of that. Jump to their site to sign up for news.

But Wait, What’s that You Say?
Asteroid Mining has Already Kinda Been Demonstrated in Principle?
With (mostly disingenuous) apologies for once again chastising real journalists, I must say it’s rather inexplicable that I, a dude who molests WordPress in order to yell about technology in public, I among very few am bringing up JAXA’s Hayabusa mission. Continue reading »

Navy’s Firefighting Robot: Way More Than Meets the Eye

 AI, Anthrobotic Originals, Artificial Intelligence, Military Robotics, Multimedia, Navy, NBI, Robot, Technology, WarBots  2 Responses »
Apr 172012
 

It’s Totally Not What it Looks Like
At the U.S. Navy’s new LASR research facility (Lab for Autonomous Systems Research), they’re making robot firefighters – and it’s really excellent work. But, I’ve seen a few robotics and tech websites (no names) kinda making fun of some recently publicized research (video below, and via Gizmodo). It’s really not fair, and kinda irresponsible.
Here’s why:

This is Not the Robot Anybody’s Looking For
Yeah, the robot above and the one in the video below, which do look a bit high, are primitive, slow, and physically ineffective. But what you’re seeing here is the software end of the mule. Robotics reporters should know that this outdated platform is an MIT facial gesture tester from 2008. It appears here simply to give a physical presence to the artificial intelligence that’s learning by observing gestures and parsing human speech – this is merely proof-of-concept, which obviously works better with a stand-in physical presence.

Obviously, right? I mean, in this project it would be silly to pursue a wheeled or tracked robot of any kind, because it’s like, you know, the Navy. With boats and stuff. They tend to be kinda cramped. And have stairs. And are made for people.
So… you know – just sayin.

2 + 2
Okay lets see, I’m going to go ahead and make the not-at-all unsafe assumption that the Navy’s fancy new Laboratory for Autonomous Systems Research is pretty hip to what’s going on over at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). Hell, the former might even be part of the latter! Looking just a bit closer at the issue – surprise, surprise: here’s a timeline of the NRL’s 85-year history of autonomous systems development, including the March 2012 announcement of the LASR facility, where the above seemingly baked robot is doing his thing.

Curious kids might wonder what else goes on at the NRL, and a few seconds of reading reveals a startling correlate! Continue reading »

Revolutionary Robotics at the Warehouse in Waltham. Boston Dynamics Dominates.

 Anthrobotic Originals, Boston Dynamics, DARPA, Future Already Very Pending, Military Robotics, Robot, Technology, Technology & Labor, Technology & Work, WarBots  Comments Off
Apr 132012
 

It Makes Us a Robot
 Technically, socially, or engineeringly, if you’re interested in robotics then you surely saw this week’s announcement coverage of DARPA’s next grand challenge thingy - this one for a versatile robotic platform (humanoid or not). If not, you aren’t very good at being interested in robots, so get it together already.
(here’s Hizook’s breakdown)

Doin It, and Doin It, and Doin It Well
Lots of diverse labs with diverse designs are going to attack this challenge, but one wonders if already-DARPA-backed firm Boston Dynamics kinda has this one in the bag. Back in November, Anthrobotic reported on BD’s public reveal of what is arguably the world’s most advanced humanlike bipedal robot. It’s called PETMAN, and, amusingly, it wasn’t supposed to be a holyshit-amazing walking robot, it’s a human-shaped machine intended as a test platform for the utility and protective abilities of human-shaped military gear.

But here’s the thing: whether accidentally or not, when it comes to getting from point A to B, PETMAN crushes all other bipedal humanoid platforms. Watch this video, and remind yourself that it’s not CGI. And this one, too – a robot is using an arm as a balance point for stair climbing! Continue reading »

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