
The U.S. is going to seriously cut ground forces (Army & Marines, particularly). The monkey pony show of politics calls it budget cuts and such, but they neglect to point out that grunts are being obviated by bots, man.
The robot revolution has been imminent for several decades, ironically. Regardless of timeframe, the fact of the matter is that we’re now pushing and developing at such a pace that it’s inevitable – at some point robots have to match our sci-fi expectations – and I think it’s now actually factually …
Ha! Okay, maybe not like that. But cereal, the Daily Mail reports that: “Phase one of the world’s first commercial spaceport, which will be the hub for Virgin’s consumer spaceflights, is now 90 per cent complete.” As part of the new wave of private space ventures, Virgin Galactic hopes to get tourists up into low-earth orbit by 2013. Say what you will about Richard Branson’s crazy hair, but he’s getting it done. [VIA DAILY MAIL]
Japanese company ITK’s latest telepresence-like robot hand system is now in production. Among the numerous potential applications for materials science, medicine, military, and extreme-environment tasks, I’ll refrain from making any tele-romance jokes or references and I definitely won’t mention/introduce the word “teledildonics.“ Actually, the sex industry does deserve certain recognition as a formidable force in human technological development. Think VHS. DVD. Online video. Water-based lubricants. Birth control (not only as a wealthy nation’s luxury, but also as a tool for developing nations to reign in population growth). So, just saying. Long-distance love could send this technology into overdrive. [yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPpX8UApuxk&feature=player_embedded’] [read full post]
Do Robots Take People’s Jobs? Q: Let me ask you something: Do computers take jobs? A: That’s a good question. Manufacturing, 3D Printing and What China Knows about the Emerging American Century Q: What a if robotic 3D printer in my garage/neighborhood/city/state can cheaply produce all the plastic parts/units/cloth/everything normally imported from China? A: That’s a good question. [VIA SINGULARITY HUB AND VIA FORBES]