Category Archives: Futurist

The research group at Cleveland Clinic's Laboratory for Bionic Integration looks at the inside of the touch robot system. Each small black box provides individual finger sensation to the user through a neural-machine interface.

Dreaming of a future where Luke Skywalker's replacement hand is more than a sci-fi fantasy, scientists have designed a "bionic arm" that enlists help from tiny robots to re-create the vital sensations forfeited when one loses an upper limb. The bots do that by safely vibrating muscles at the amputation site.

By 2028, the global prosthetics and orthotics market is expected to reach over $8 billion, according to a 2021 report from Grand View Research, but artificial limbs have hit a mechanical roadblock. They can't really account for many intuitive sensations that help us in our everyday lives, such as the way it feels to open and close our hands.

A study subject tests the team's bionic arm.

"We're still using technology that kind of reached its zenith around World War II," explained Paul Marasco, an associate professor in the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute's Department of Biomedical Engineering and lead author of a study on the new bionic arm published Wednesdayin the journal Science Robotics.

Enter the bionic arm, a hybrid of metal and realistic skin tones.

Though there are several other teams working on bionic arms, such as the groups behind popular cyberpunk video game Deus Ex and Metal Gear Solid, Marasco touts a few advantages of his version.

The sci-fi-looking device translates information directly to and from the brain via powerful robots about half the size of a standard matchbox. While turning thoughts into action, the arm can simultaneously contact the brain to deliver sensations corresponding to that intended action.

Not only does the artificial limb appear to be the first bionic arm to simultaneously test several metrics of its benefits over typical prosthetics, those metrics indicate that it replicates the mechanics of natural arms precisely enough to restore unconscious reflexes in amputees who use it.

We rely on such reflexes every day. For instance, when we pick up a cup of coffee, our hand finds the mug on the table, grips the handle with the right level of firmness and lets go at the perfect time to prevent spills. We can achieve this task thoughtlessly even on the groggiest of mornings because nerves in our arm muscles automatically respond to our choices -- in this case, "I must drink that coffee."

Now playing: Watch this: This bionic arm looks like something out of sci-fi

0:15

Traditional prosthetic limbs can't re-create such seamless movement because they run in manual drive -- amputees have to keep their eyes on them at all times and worry about things a nondisabled person usually chalks up to intuition.

After testing the device on two study subjects and using unprecedented analytic tools, the team was excited to discover that the subjects reverted back to reflexive behaviors from before their amputation, including intuitive grip and natural eye movements -- they could focus their sight away from the limb.

From the lab to your inbox. Get the latest science stories from CNET every week.

The metallic arm requires three components: realignment of nerve endings, mini-robots that work as a sort of control center and the bionic arm itself.

First, a surgical procedure takes an amputee's unused nerve endings within the healthy part of the arm -- those that used to be dedicated to removed parts, such as fingertips -- and "plugs" them into the site of amputation.

"Your brain is like, 'My fingers are connected to a muscle,' [it just doesn't] know that it's a muscle on your shoulder versus a muscle down in your forearm," Marasco explained.

The bionic arm is placed onto the amputation site and little robots are fit into the socket. Those robots press on relevant areas of the site, stimulating the nerve endings that are now attached, when the patient engages the arm.

"You can buzz their muscles and generate these really kind of interesting things -- these perceptual illusions of complex hand movement," Marasco said.

The researchers modified off-the-shelf prosthetic limbs rather than starting from scratch, hoping to fast-track the devices to rehabilitation clinics and make them more cost-effective than traditional prosthetics. People who use those less advanced artificial limbs often overuse the side of their body without an amputation, leading to back or shoulder problems that ultimately require costly medical care.

"These advanced systems are more expensive to fit to start with, but if you use them, they don't injure you, because you don't have to account for them," Marasco said. "This is going to be something that's going to cost less money in the future."

See the original post:
Futuristic bionic arm helps amputees feel the sensation of touch and movement - CNET

Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

TL;DR: Take your note-taking to the next level with the Scanmarker Air Digital Highlighter, on sale for 20% off. As of Sept. 1, pick one up for only $110.

School's back in session, which means note-taking is back on the agenda. But with everything else in your life going digital, scribbling notes longhand with a pad of paper and pencil, or trying to keep up your WPM without missing a beat just seems outdated. Instead, what if you could make the note-taking process much faster? Thats where the Scanmarker Air Digital Highlighter comes into play.

The Scanmarker Air bridges the divide between old school and new school note-taking by wirelessly transferring printed text into an app or web browser 30 times faster than if you were to type it up yourself. You simply highlight words the same way you would normally with a highlighter, but in seconds the Scanmarker will read it and transport it to Microsoft Word, Excel, Gmail, Facebook, and more. It can also translate your text into over 50 different languages and read it back to you as it scans.

Whether youre studying for a test, putting together a report, or extracting quotes for an essay, the Scanmarker Air can make your life easier. Like most of your other gadgets and gizmos, it actually helps you work smarter, not harder. With the ability to scan 3,000 characters per minute or a full line of text within a second, your study habits this semester are about to improve substantially. Theres even a dictionary feature that lets you look up words on the spot.

Basically the same size as a regular highlighter, itll be easy to tote around the Scanmarker from class to class, the library, a local coffee shop, etc. It works seamlessly (and wirelessly) with Mac, Windows, Android, and iOS devices. Plus, itll never run out of ink.

While you're gathering school supplies for the semester, be sure to snag the Scanmarker Air Digital Highlighter and bring your note-taking into the 21st century. It's usually $139, but you can save 20% for a limited time and get it for just $110.

Credit: Scanmarker

Read more:
Take notes the futuristic way with this digital highlighter on sale - Mashable

Last year saw the release of the Polaroid Now, an instant camera reminiscent of the Polaroid cameras from the 1970s with some modern upgrades. The Polaroid Now camera was apparently a hit because today were seeing Polaroid announce and release a follow-up to it. The new camera dubbed the Polaroid Now+ offers the same instant camera functionality as its predecessor, but this time, photographers have more options when it comes to making their pictures unique.

Thats at least partially thanks to connectivity with the Polaroid app. Yes, while the camera is still an analog one that uses instant film, the Now+ can connect to the Polaroid app to offer more shooting modes. Users will find several shooting modes in the app, including light painting, double exposure, and manual mode. The app also offers aperture priority and tripod modes, which Polaroid says will help photographers snap photos with depth of field or long exposure times.

If you want the full analog experience, Polaroid has included five snap-on lens filters that allow you to give your photos new effects without having to bust out the app. The five lenses include orange, blue, and yellow filters along with special red vignette and starburst filters.

Polaroid assures that core features included in the original Now are also present in the Now+. Some of the returning features Polaroid calls out specifically include autofocus, dynamic flash, and a self-timer for taking old-school selfies. As alluded to by the cameras tripod mode, the Polaroid Now+ also comes with a tripod mount.

All in all, the Polaroid Now+ sounds like a sizable upgrade for those who want more options when shooting their instant pictures. That said, it is worth pointing out that at $149.99, the Now+ costs a fair bit more than its $99 predecessor. The camera is available today in blue-gray, black, and white color schemes from Polaroids website.

Read more here:
Polaroid Now+ instant camera bridges the gap between classic and futuristic - SlashGear

Measuring just 9.4 ft (2,894 mm) in length, 5.4 ft (1,655 mm) in width, 5.2 ft (1,595 mm) in height, and with a 6.6-ft (2,020 mm) wheelbase, the new Baojun is presented as a trendy four-seater aiming to appeal to younger customers.

The electric minicar is based on the Baojun E300 Plus, sharing that same bizarre design that isnt necessarily eye-catching, although SAIC-GM-Wulings insists that the car has a futuristic-looking, two-tone avant-garde split body styling to it.

Setting aside the odd suspended cab design, the EV is available in six exterior colors meant to please a wide range of tastes: Rouge, Sable, Emerald, Azure, Cream, and Mint. Regardless of the color you opt for, combinations of three body tones are used with contrasting accents on the roof, grille, mirrors, trim, and wheels.

But even though the KiWi EV may not make the best first impression based on its looks alone, at least it proves to be reliable enough once you get behind the wheel. It also packs in some nice, hi-tech features under the hood. The new Baojun minicar also boasts of delivering comfortable rides, with its McPherson independent suspension and double wishbone independent suspension design.

The rear axle-mounted motor of the KiWi EV generates 40kW of maximum power and 150 Nm of maximum torque. It has a top speed of 62 mph (100 kph), but then again, the KiWi was designed to be rather trendy and useful, not a speedster.

Range-wise, the car offers up to 190 miles (305 km) on a charge. Thanks to its DC fast charging feature, you can fully recharge the battery in one hour.

Baojuns latest telematics comes with AI (artificial intelligence) voice interaction, voice-controlled WeChat function, and real-time navigation.

There are two trim levels available with the Baojun KiWi EV. The Designer variant is priced at approximately $10,800 (69,800 CNY), while the Artist trim goes for around $12,200 (78,800 CNY).

Go here to read the rest:
New Baojun KiWi EV Hits the Chinese Market, Wants to Be Trendy and Futuristic - autoevolution

Unprecedented rainfall washed away vast swathes of Greenland's ice.Storm Clouds Ahead

For the first time in recorded history, it rained at Greenland Summit Camp, a research outpost in the islands (usually) frozen ice shelf.

And it wasnt just a little slush. A torrential downpour containing 7 billion tons of rain washed away a horrifying amount of Greenlands ice last week, Earther reports, in a massive melt event that impacted 337,000 square miles about half of the ice shelf. This is, to be blunt, horrible news for the planet. Its just the third time that the ice shelf surpassed freezing temperatures this decade, the first to happen so late in the calendar year, and the second major ice melt in two weeks. Needless to say, this is a clear sign that climate change is progressing and that we, as a planet, need to take urgent action to keep it from getting worse.

Unfortunately, even new ice formed by freezing rainwater will likely be short-lived, Earther notes. The existing ice on Greenland, formed by the repeated compression of snow over the years, is bright white and reflects sunlight away from the imperiled island ecosystem.

Ice from frozen rain, however, is smoother and darker in color. That means it will absorb more sunlight, further raising temperatures in the area.

In case youre wondering why it matters that it rained on a remote, Arctic landscape: Earther reports that Greenlands melting ice could raise the sea level by an entire foot by 2100.

If that happens, entire coastal cities and communities will be devastated we can wave goodbye to almost all of Florida, much of coastal California, and countless other areas around the world.

READ MORE: It Rained at the Summit of Greenlands Ice Sheet for the First Time Ever Recorded [Earther]

More on climate change: UN Says Its Code Red for Humanity in Alarming Climate Change Report

See original here:
Red Alert: It Rained in Greenland's Ice Sheet for the First Time in Recorded History - Futurism

17 people have left the company over the summer alone. Summer Losses

The hits just keep on coming for Blue Origin.

So far this year, Jeff Bezos company lost out on a $2.9 billion contract to SpaceX and it was beaten by Virgin Galactic for the honor of sending the first billionaire CEO to space. Now a new report from CNBC reveals that Blue Origin has lost roughly 17 top employees this summer alone.

Many of Blue Origins former employees left for seemingly greener pastures such as Nitin Arora, the lead engineer on the companys ill-fated lunar lander program, who is now joining rival SpaceX.

Theres also aerospace engineer Lauren Lyons who joined Firefly Aerospace as its chief operating officer.

CNBC reports that 15 others ranging from engineers, to senior executives, to administrators, to project managers have all left the company over the summer.

Despite this, Blue Origin presents a rosier outlook of its situation.

Blue Origin grew by 850 people in 2020 and we have grown by another 650 so far in 2021, a spokesperson for the company told CNBC. In fact, weve grown by nearly a factor of four over the past three years. We continue to fill out major leadership roles in manufacturing, quality, engine design, and vehicle design. Its a team were building and we have great talent.

After Bezos flight to space this summer, Blue Origin rewarded all of its employees with a hefty $10,000 bonus. However, several anonymous employees told CNBC that the bonus was widely looked at as a way to retain employees in response to the amount that were leaving.

Theres probably not just any one reason why folks are leaving Blue Origin in droves. However, there do seem to be a few main factors at play.

For one, many employees seem downright embarrassed of their companys highly public spats with the likes of NASA, SpaceX, and Virgin Galactic, according to Ars Technica. These moves are also likely going to result in Blue Origin losing out on more work in the future.

They will never get a real government contract after this, an anonymous NASA source told Ars.

Also, if Blue Origins Glassdoor reviews are to be believed, current and former employees dont have the most positive things to say about the stifling work culture and lack of job growth (nor do they care for CEO Bob Smith).

In either case, its always a bad look when your employees quit your company in droves. But its an even worse look when they go straight to your biggest competitors when they do quit.

READ MORE: Top talent departs Jeff Bezos Blue Origin as NASA lander fight escalates [CNBC]

More on Blue Origin blues: Blue Origin Lead Lunar Lander Engineer Jumps Ship, Joins SpaceX

Continued here:
Blue Origin Is Bleeding More of Its Top Workers to Its Rivals - Futurism

This might be a game changer. First Fossil-Free Steel

A Swedish company has created the worlds first carbon-free steel marking a big step forward in the fight against climate change.

HYBRIT, a Swedish steel conglomerate, created the first ever fossil-free steel, according to a statement by SSAB, a steel company and one of the partners in HYBRIT. The steel was sold to Volvo as part of a test run. If successful, the car company plans to scale production of cars made of the material by 2026, reports Gizmodo.

The first fossil-free steel in the world is not only a breakthrough for SSAB, it represents proof that its possible to make the transition and significantly reduce the global carbon footprint of the steel industry, said Martin Lindqvist, president and CEO of SSAB, in the statement. We hope that this will inspire others to also want to speed up the green transition.

Steel is actually one of the most carbon-intensive materials out there. It accounts for roughly seven to nine percent of all carbon dioxide emissions on Earth, according to a study published in Current Opinion in ChemicalEngineering. Thats a fairly significant amount of emissions for the development of just one product.

It makes sense when you think about it. After all, everything from cars to buildings to furniture all have steel in them. So being able to cut that down with green steel is going to have an outsized impact on lessening global emissions.

To put it incredibly simply, you essentially need two ingredients to create traditional steel: iron ore and carbon. The ore (which already contains a good amount of carbon) is melted in a blast furnace using coking coal, which is a high-carbon fuel that adds more of the element to the iron.

After another process in which the iron is melted again and has oxygen blown through it, you get steel.

HYBRIT aims to replace coking coal with hydrogen as well as renewable electricity, according to The Guardian. If successful in its commercial phase with Volvo, we can see a veritable revolution in green steel in the future. Thats going to help go a long way in combating climate change with which, as we all know, we need all the help we can get.

READ MORE: Behold, Carbon-Free Steel Now Exists [Gizmodo]

More on climate change: 2021 Wildfires Spewed Record breaking Amount of CO2

Read the original here:
Scientists Develop the World's First Carbon-Free Steel - Futurism

Brooklyn Park, Minn. Taco Bell is building a restaurant with a new drive-thru concept in Brooklyn Park, a suburb of Minneapolis. Construction is underway on the 3,000-square-foot, two-story restaurant. Completion is scheduled for summer 2022. Known as Defy, the new restaurant concept was developed in partnership with Minneapolis-based Vertical Works Inc., a design company that works with quick-serve restaurants, retailers and healthcare tenants. In 2020, Border Foods, one of the largest privately held Taco Bell franchisees in America, enlisted Vertical Works to create a new restaurant design. With Defy, Taco Bell and Border Foods will partner on their 230th restaurant and 82nd new restaurant build. The concept reimagines the traditional drive-thru experience with four lanes, three of which are dedicated to mobile or delivery order pickups. This way, customers who order via the Taco Bell app or third-party delivery services can skip the line. The drive-thru lanes are situated below the restaurant kitchen. Additionally, digital check-in screens enable mobile order customers to scan in their order via a unique QR code. Food is delivered in a contactless manner via a proprietary lift system. The Defy footprint is smaller or equal to existing Taco Bell store footprints. There will be no indoor dining.

Excerpt from:
Taco Bell to Reinvent Drive-Thru Concept With Futuristic Restaurant in Suburban Minneapolis - Shopping Center Business

A new patent filed by Tesla suggests that the Cybertrick may have some futuristic curved windows that are also durable. The patent was filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office earlier this month and covers windows with curves and feature lines. The patent filing also included a method for manufacturing them.

The production method described in the patent involves applying localized heat from a laser or heating element to a location of a substantially planar glass structure (the glass window, in essence) and bending it at the location to form the feature line. The radius of curvature is a range between 2 millimeters and 5 centimeters. Also, layers of curved or joined glass layers can be added to create a curved multi-layered glass structure.

In the description, Tesla already reminded us that this is possible, since windshields exist. However, the processes for creating windshields starts with a flat sheet of glass that is cut into specific dimensions and heated in an oven to the right temperature, at which point they can be slightly bent or curved into the desired shape. This process is limited by just how much bending or curving you can do with the glass. An example of this is that only smooth, high radius curvatures (13 meters or more) are used for automotive glass structures. With this new patent, Tesla is changing this.

Theres a chance that Tesla may use this new method of making automotive glass for some of the interior elements of the Cybertruck, such as the dash, the front portion of the interior, or in the gauges, displays, and inside panels for doors. Even the consoles could be made from this new glass.

We dont know for sure yet if Tesla will even use this glass (I think it will, but many patents are filed for things that never make it into commercial products). But its exciting to think about, and the patent gives us another clue as to how the Cybertruck may look when its finally ready.

Read the original here:
Will The Tesla Cybertruck Have Futuristic Curved Windows? - CleanTechnica

Lone Starr strikes again.Space Jam

The US Army recently unveiled plans to develop, test, and deploy high-altitude systems that can fly over other countries to surveil them and jam enemy communications from up on high.

The system doesnt quite reach space (unless you adhere to the same definition of space as Jeff Bezos or Richard Branson). Instead, the High-Altitude Extended-Range Long Endurance Intelligence Observation system (HELEIOS) would be a network of balloons or solar glide vehicles that can hover at least 60,000 feet off the ground. The upcoming electronic warfare tools dont quite broach the thorny subject of the increasing military weaponization of space but only in the most literal interpretations of what the Army has planned. Because, make no mistake: This is a weapon of a certain stripe.

HELEIOS may not be a spy satellite, but it sure operates like one. With the balloons in place, the Army would be able to monitor, intercept, and block enemy communications. We know, its not as exciting as a laser battle where potential orbital warfare is concerned. But: The ability to jam signals could be key to battle (if not devastating for some) in a future where orbital communications networks are essential for military success.

The idea is blanketing the deep area with low-cost attritable sensors to enable deep sensing and deep effects, Col. Daniel Holland, the Army capability manager for electronic warfare, explained at a Tuesday presentation attended by C4ISRNET. Essentially our question is can we get the payload light enough to fly on this penetrating, high-altitude, attributable platform, get close enough to place our effects on target, likely with a special purpose electronic attack or RF-enabled cyber.

Based on Hollands comments, it seems that technical and logistical issues like figuring out how to control a free-floating balloon are currently holding the Army back from deploying HELEIOS. Issues like is it a good idea to put cyber warfare balloons in the sky? or what will any other country think about this? dont seem to be on the list of concerns, though.

Of course, its an impressive technological feat to add a sophisticated payload to a balloon, then, use it to bring down digital communications. But if nothing else, it reinforces the idea that space (or at least: high-altitude airspace) has undeniably become militarized for the foreseeable future.

READ MORE: U.S. Army wants a high-altitude jammer [C4ISRNET]

More on the militarization of space: Air Force research Lab Says Force Fields Are on the Horizon

Read more here:
The Army Plans To Build Balloons That Can Jam Communications From Above - Futurism