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Mar 3, 2016

Zoom to Mars in 6 weeks with new Russian nuclear-fission engine

Posted by in categories: nuclear energy, space travel

A nuclear power propulsion system could propel a spacecraft to Mars in just over a month, a huge step forward from the current 18 months required. Russia might test a nuclear engine as early as 2018, the head of the Rosatom nuclear corporation revealed.

Another advantage of a nuclear engine is that it enables a spacecraft to maneuver throughout the flight, whereas existing technology only makes a defined trajectory flight possible.

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Mar 3, 2016

First ‘natural machine’ augmented reality product Meta 2 launches to developers

Posted by in category: augmented reality

Meta 2 (credit: Meta)

Last month, Meta CEO Meron Gribetz wowed TED with a sneak peak at the company’s new Meta 2 augmented-reality product. Today, Meta announced that the Meta 2 Development Kit is now available for pre-orders.

Meta 2′s Iron-Man-like immersive functionality appears similar to Hololens and Magic Leap, but with a wider 90-degree field of view, 2560 × 1440 high-DPI display, and natural hand-controlled operation.
Meta | Meta 2 Development Kit — Launch Video

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Mar 3, 2016

Ask Ray | Ethan Kurzweil debates the role of tech firms in personal privacy

Posted by in categories: business, energy, government, law enforcement, mobile phones, Ray Kurzweil

https://youtube.com/watch?v=b28Pquo54ek

Dear readers,

My son Ethan Kurzweil — who is a partner at Bessemer Ventures Partners — tracks the future of web innovation, social and legal concerns about privacy, and start-ups who have an edge with their business or consumer applications, like team sourcing or software-as-a-service.

Continue reading “Ask Ray | Ethan Kurzweil debates the role of tech firms in personal privacy” »

Mar 3, 2016

Google’s new robot is now even more human

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Google’s latest version of the Atlas robot can open doors, balance while walking through the snow, place objects on a shelf and pick itself up after being knocked down.

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Mar 3, 2016

Bio Breakthrough: Scientists Unveil First Ever Biological Supercomputer

Posted by in categories: energy, mathematics, supercomputing

Canadian scientists have apparently opened the door to the world of biological supercomputers: this week they unveiled a prototype of a potentially revolutionary unit — as small as a book, energy-efficient with extreme mathematical capabilities and which, importantly, does not overheat.

Tianhe-1A

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Mar 3, 2016

Interesting Futurism Animation 24

Posted by in category: futurism

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Mar 3, 2016

Audi RSQ | Sporty Coupé for the 2004 “I, Robot” | CES Asia 2015

Posted by in categories: education, engineering, robotics/AI, transportation

Audi RSQ – a fantastic car. Certainly a design icon, but first of all, a movie star. The Audi RSQ was the first car we developed for a motion picture – with great success. This sporty coupé for the 2004 Hollywood science-fiction “I, Robot” was a visionary concept of what a car might look like in 2035. Four designers, ten model engineers, ten weeks, all creative liberties – that’s what it took to create this Audi of the future.

What was really unique and visionary about the Audi RSQ: It was the first Audi demonstrating piloted driving capabilities. Here is one of my favorite moments in the movie – a moment that tells you a lot about piloted driving:

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Mar 3, 2016

Six Flags VR Roller Coasters!

Posted by in category: virtual reality

Virtual reality roller coaster rides coming to six flags.

This changes everything!

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Mar 3, 2016

Aerogel Jacket

Posted by in category: materials

A NASA material that’s 99% air lets this jacket maintain its temperature, even when it’s blasted with liquid nitrogen! Meet Oros.

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Mar 3, 2016

An Interstellar Antimatter Engine Is on Kickstarter

Posted by in category: space travel

Love this.

If it’s a successful kick start campaign, regardless of whether or not it actually gets built, it could go a long way towards showing the powers that be that this is truly mankind’s desire. and it’s ultimate manifest destiny. (I know the problem some people have with using that phrase, “manifest destiny”, but it fits this issue in a way that’s totally unrelated to the horrors we inflicted on native americans during our relentless push westward.)


It’s not a warp drive, but it could get us to the nearest star in two decades. If it works.

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