Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Robopocalypse #27: The Era of the Self Driving Car is HERE...well, for Teslas

Drones:



Here's a piece pumping up the prospects for drones. 

There's a new drone racing event in Utah.

The US Forest Service may get a ban in place for forest fires for drones.

California Governor Brown vetoed a bill that would restrict drones.  He gets blasted by the Oakland Tribune for doing so.

A quick run down of the crimes being committed using drones in the UK, at least in a few areas.  Using drones to record the PINs of people's ATMs seems a bit odd: is the drone going to snag the card, too?

DARPA wants a drone to deliver supplies and then self destructs completely, preferably evaporating, in its Icarus project.

Drones are a perfect thing for software developers.

Self Driving Cars:





Why self driving cars should NEVER be fully autonomous.
Self driving car manufacturers are looking at the ethical decisions for the software running the cars.

Motor Trend took their first ride in a Google self driving Lexus.

Looks like all self driving car manufacturers will be accepting liability for accidents (and here, too).  However, I imagine if you hack the firmware, that will be null and void.


Looking outside the US and first world, how will self driving cars fare in...Nigeria.

In the fantastical, here's a self driving hybrid sports car concept with a drone.  really.

Self driving buses will start testing in Singpore and California in 2016.

3d Printing:


A new bot has been designed and prototyped for 3d printing houses economically.

One company's claims of the promise of 3d printing housing.

A pavilion at an expo in China was 3d printed.

Nike is predicting 3d printing of shoes is not too far away.  Talk about a shake up in the supply chain if true.

3d printing is slowing taking on the catwalk.  One can foresee where not just shoes, but also clothing is 3d printed.

The US Postal Service looked at its revenue future with an eye to 3d printing.

Tungsten is now a 3d printable material.

umm.  yeah: a 3d printed bikini that cleans the ocean as you swim.  Just think of where that ... crud ... will be.  again, umm, yeah.

Robotics:


What happens when you cross a Cyclon with a unicycle and give at job at UPS?
Will this German robot fly aboard the International Space Station?

Meet DORA, the telepresence bot that mimics your point of view motions. 

Also meet Fabricator, a construction bot.

We've already met, SAM, the bricklaying bot, but it's moved up to Buffalo, NY for a job and causing the masons NOT working with the bot to compete John Henry style to keep up.

Salina, Kansas had a bot stolen from a construction site.

The first robot farm is set to be built in Kyoto, Japan.

Another learning bot here from the University of Bremen and it might run the restaurant of the future.

Another soft bot premiers, but this one changes color as it moves.

People prefer 'flawed' bots.

Exoskeletons:

The Europeans are developing an exoskeleton for the elderly.

Software Bots:

Japan is pushing for AI based tools to deal with cyber attacks.

Siri can be hacked from a distance.

Cyborgism:

Cyberpunk, the cyborg enhancement movement seems to be calling themselves 'Grinders.'  hmm.

Economics:

Robots may be coming for your job and that might not be bad news. 

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