In an alien solar system

Simple and useful wearable: Spidey sense shirt

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Wed, 01/15/2014 - 10:17

Spider Man spider-sense shirt This year's CES was filled with new wearable technologies looking for the next big thing, but Thinkgeek is selling a tongue-in-cheek wearable as a spidey-sense shirt that vibrates when someone approaches from behind, signaling the wearer a person is within 5 feet.

The device is a novelty, announced just before last year's Comic-Con, but would make great sense as a real wearable or a feature included in a line of self-protection wearables. So much discussion on the benefit of wearables has focused inwards so far. Step tracking or distance measuring was the first real attempt. Tracking body data such as heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar and such for biorhythm projection is where the current cycle is focused. How long before we focus outward?

How Stuff Works: The Technological Singularity

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Tue, 01/14/2014 - 16:11

Jonathan Strickland from How Stuff Works gives his brief views on the technological singularity on the Stuff from the Future podcast series.

Using beacons to more effectively remind or market to shoppers

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Tue, 01/14/2014 - 15:45

InMarket Beacon

Back at Apple's 2013 event, they mentioned iBeacon as part of their new upgrades. This technology uses Bluetooth Low Energy to alert your phone when it comes within range of a beacon - a small, low-powered device used to identify a place. Sneaky Apple not only announced a major competitor to NFC (Near Field Communiction), they also announced that some of their products (and others) have built in beacon functionality and have had them for some time. With the rollout of iOS 7 and OS X 10.9, there are suddenly tens of millions of iBeacon ready devices which can both seek or offer location awareness.

Why is this important? Bluetooth low energy technology currently offers a range of 50 meters/160 feet using a trickle of energy (less than 15 milliamps according to this page). Your phone is suddenly able to identify interesting or even necessary locations within that range with very little impact on the device itself. This is a major step towards the Internet of Things and, as with most leaps forward, will have both positive and negative impacts on our lives and privacy.

Childlike learning at any age

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Mon, 01/13/2014 - 12:43

Takai Hensch, a Harvard professor of molecular and cellular biology, is researching valproic acid* to enhance learning. VPA is used to treat several conditions (see below*), but Hensch is researching the chemical's ability to provide adult brains with the plasticity children experience when it comes to learning new skills and to absorb new information.

In his research (via PubMed.gov), Hensch is focused on teaching adults perfect pitch. But the applications could enable learning in nearly any field. The expectation is an increase in how well adults can take in information in order to speed their learning of new material. When you consider how long it takes to master some specialties, this could help learners increase the speed through which they can cover material and provide extra years of work at higher levels. It would be a major breakthrough for increasing the efficiency of preparing humans for nearly all types of work.

The human face in 100,000 years and why it might change

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Thu, 01/09/2014 - 22:53

Faces of our future Mother Nature Network has an article on speculative work by artist Nickolay Lamm and computational genomics expert Dr. Alan Kwan. They started with the question: “What do you think the human face might look like in 100,000 years and why?” and offered their view of how mankind MIGHT adapt over that time.

A Robotic Petting Zoo

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Tue, 01/07/2014 - 15:28

Image of robotic petting zoo Minimaforms presented Petting Zoo, an interactive display designed to respond to human touch and movement. Using a Kinect camera and software designed to respond with emotions, the exhibition provided three "pets" with three different patterns of responses and a basic machine learning allows each to develop behaviors based on input from the situation.

Preparing for limited living quarters for deep space travel

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Fri, 11/15/2013 - 00:13

View of Japanese mini-apartment Tiny living quarters only get love in mainstream science fiction unless there is a need to present a stressful or different setting. Too much of our space travel is shown on grand ships with lounges, hotel-sized quarters and gravity. The truth is, our first manned deep-space voyages are more likely to occur on ships designed like the ISS than the USS Enterprise. Can we thrive or even manage normal levels of stress in such conditions?

Lifedots: biorhythm trackers

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Thu, 11/07/2013 - 10:25

Lifedots

The Joining

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Tue, 11/05/2013 - 10:08

She found herself robed and ready on time, which was expected - a lack of synchronicity is a sin. Her mother and father stood to either side of the door, ready to enter at her side. They would offer her to the Colony, supporting her as she adjusted to the input. She shivered at the thought of it, but had been advised it was controllable. Practice would provide some autonomy and mastering the filters would limit unwanted intrusion.

Zero-G: Training

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Tue, 11/05/2013 - 09:58

“Keene and Ploski.”

Gabe righted himself, rotating to press his feet against the pads and pressing against his hold on the tether. Releasing the tether, he launched towards the red start position. It was smooth sailing across the 15 meters or so, gliding to the platform over the heads of his fellow trainees.