Robots in our Brains

Google's Director of Engineering, Ray Kurzweil, predicts that humans will be hybrid robots by 2030.

That is when nanobots will be implanted into our brains so we can expand our intelligence by directly tapping into the Internet.

Hybrid robots, we understand that.

The Kilobot Project

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.

via: A Low Cost Scalable Robot System for Demonstrating Collective Behaviors

DNA Nano Device Sequencer

A multidisciplinary team of Brigham Young University scientists has developed a way to significantly reduce cell death when introducing DNA into egg cells. The researchers have created a microscopic lance that delivers DNA to the cells through electrical forces.

“Because DNA is naturally negatively charged, it is attracted to the outside of the lance using positive voltage,” said Brian Jensen, BYU professor of mechanical engineering. “Once we insert the lance into a cell, we simply reverse the polarity of the electrical force and the lance releases the DNA.”

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Brigham Young University News

Metropolis II: A Kinetic Sculpture That Circulates 100,000 Miniature Cars Every Hour

The New Rules of Robot/Human Society

Costa Concordia Salvage Operation Completed

Dozens of giant pulleys hauled the cruise ship back to an upright position in a 19-hour operation, exposing a section of the white ship's exterior that was stained by rust and algae after months under water.

Franco Porcellacchia, an engineer working on the salvage for ship owner Costa Cruises, said: "It could not have gone better than this. It was a perfect operation."