MIT Technology Review presents these 10 breakthrough technologies. They will affect the economy and our politics, improve medicine, or influence our culture. Some are unfolding now; others will take a decade or more to develop.
One of those technologies is PAYING WITH YOUR FACE, which you can do now. Face-detecting systems in China now authorize payments, provide access to facilities, and track down criminals. Will other countries follow?
IBM Watson is a cognitive system that''s ushering in the new era of cognitive business. Recently, a group of battered science fiction bots spoke about their yen to take over the world and their dislike for working with humans. Unlike them, Watson works with humans to out-think competitors, challenges, limits.
The DRC is a competition of robot systems and software teams vying to develop robots capable of assisting humans in responding to natural and man-made disasters. It was designed to be extremely difficult. Participating teams, represent some of the most advanced robotics research and development organizations in the world, To qualify for the DRC Finals, the teams had to submit videos showing successful completion of five sample tasks: engage an emergency shut-off switch, get up from a prone position, loco-mote ten meters without falling, pass over a barrier, and rotate a circular valve 360 degrees. 25 teams will compete during the two-day event, to be held June 5-6, 2015, at Fairplex in Pomona, California. DARPA Robotics Challenge
Harvard researchers designed the Kilobot, a low-cost robot designed to make testing collective algorithms on hundreds or thousands ("kilos") of robots. Each robot has the basic capabilities required for a swarm robot, but is made with low-cost parts, and is mostly assembled by an automated process.
In addition, the system design allows a single user to easily and scalably operate a large Kilobot collective, such as programming, powering on, and charging all robots systems. The researchers are now using the Kilobot swarm to investigate algorithms for robust collective behavior, such as collective transport, human-swarm interaction, and shape self-assembly, as well as new theory that links individual robot capabilities to achievable swarm behaviors.
Engineers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign demonstrated a class of walking “bio-bots” powered by muscle cells and controlled with electrical pulses, giving researchers unprecedented command over their function.
“This work represents an important first step in the development and control of biological machines that can be stimulated, trained, or programmed to do work. It's exciting to think that this system could eventually evolve into a generation of biological machines that could aid in drug delivery, surgical robotics, 'smart' implants, or mobile environmental analyzers, among countless other applications.”
After nearly eight years of development and testing, this robotic arm for amputees has been approved for commercialization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The "Luke Arm," whose official name is DEKA Arm System, is one of the most advanced robotic prostheses ever built. Its creators nicknamed it the "Luke Arm," after Luke Skywalker’s ultra-advanced bionic limb.
What makes the DEKA Arm unique is that it can carry out multiple, simultaneous powered movements, and its wrist and fingers can adjust its positions to perform six different user-selectable grips. In addition, force sensors let the robotic hand precisely control its grasp.
Play-i hopes to foster interest in computer programming at an earlier age with its upcoming programmable robots.
Bo is an explorer. He is playful and curious. He loves going on adventures and making new friends. As you play with him, Bo learns new skills and becomes a more capable robot. Together, there's no stopping where you and Bo can go.
Yana is a storyteller. She is clever and imaginative. She hasn't found her wings yet but she is full of dreams. Yana can surprise you and entertain you — with characters brought to life with gestures! Use the power of your imagination to unlock her potential.
The DARPA Robotic Challenge will focus on developing robots that can operate in rough terrain and austere conditions, using aids (vehicles and hand tools) commonly available in populated areas. Specifically, proving that the following capabilities can be accomplished:
1. Compatibility with environments engineered for humans (even if they are degraded)
2. Ability to use a diverse assortment of tools engineered for humans (from screwdrivers to vehicles)
3. Ability to be supervised by humans who have had little to no robotics training.
Supervised autonomy is critical, as it allows simple tasks to be performed by the robot without full-time operator intervention. This will be especially important in unreliable communications environments.
DARPA-Developed Tools: DRC Simulator: To facilitate robot software development, DARPA is developing an open source simulation tool: the DRC Simulator. The Simulator will be populated with models of robots, robot components, and field environments and will be made available to organizations skilled in robotic software development. This simulator will help to expand the supplier base for ground robot systems (both hardware and software), increase capabilities, and in the future will help lower acquisition costs.
Atlas: The most successful teams (Track B and C) in the Virtual Robotics Challenge will be given a humanoid robot called Atlas. Atlas is one of many robots being developed to complete the physical tasks planned for the DARPA Robotics Challenge Trials and Finals events, and requires software expertise to program the robot to accomplish the objectives.
Stanford researchers has created the first synthetic material that is both self-healing at room temperature and sensitive to touch--a breakthrough that could be the beginnings of a new kind of robot skin.
The researchers took a thin strip of the material and cut it in half with a scalpel. After gently pressing the pieces together for a few seconds, they found the material gained back 75 percent of its original strength and electrical conductivity. The material was restored close to 100 percent in about 30 minutes.
The researchers succeeded by combining two ingredients – the self-healing ability of a plastic polymer and the conductivity of a metal.
They started with a plastic consisting of long chains of molecules joined by hydrogen bonds – the relatively weak attractions between the positively charged region of one atom and the negatively charged region of the next.
“These dynamic bonds allow the material to self-heal,” said Chao Wang, a co-first author of the research. The molecules easily break apart, but then when they reconnect, the bonds reorganize themselves and restore the structure of the material after it gets damaged, he said. The result is a bendable material, which even at room temperature feels a bit like saltwater taffy left in the fridge.
The team’s goal is to make the material stretchy and transparent, so that it might be suitable for wrapping and overlaying on electronic devices or display screens.
Double Robotics, a Mountain View-based company, has invented a new type of telepresence robot that is half robot, half iPad.
The Double, as the company calls it, looks like an ultra-simple robot that can navigate a far-off place through two iPads. One acts as the robot’s eyes and ears, and the other controls it through an iPad application.
The Double is expected to start shipping by late 2012 to people who preordered it, for $1,999.
