Archive for the ‘drones’ category: Page 173
Dec 20, 2013
Drones and robotic warfare you just can’t imagine
Posted by Seb in categories: defense, drones, human trajectories, military
Mary (Missy) Cummings is Associate Professor at Duke University and Director of the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Humans and Automation Laboratory.
In just the past two years, it seems as if drones are everywhere in the news. This technology has been around for more than 60 years, but has only recently captured both national and international attention. This is primarily because of the increasing use in the military, but also because of concerns that such technology will be turned on a country’s own citizens.
The average person thinks of a drone as a flying spy camera, loitering overhead waiting to spot a target and then possibly launching a weapon when that target is labeled as a threat. To be sure, this is indeed one mission of drones, typically of organizations like the CIA.
However, this is by far the least common mission. The vast majority of military drone missions today are data and image collection. Their ability to provide “situational awareness” to decision makers on the ground is unparalleled in military operations since drones can essentially conduct perch and stare missions nearly endlessly.
Dec 18, 2013
Minimally Invasive Medical Technology – For the betterment of the human condition.
Posted by Clyde DeSouza in categories: 3D printing, augmented reality, bioprinting, biotech/medical, drones, futurism, robotics/AI, transhumanism
Technology for pain-free healing:
“Your threshold for pain is near zero”, said my dentist, as she deftly moved the extremely thin fiber optic laser head away.
“That’s why I chose to fly in here. Gum filet carving doesn’t appeal to me”, I mumbled, my lips feeling leathery from the anesthetic spray.
Dec 14, 2013
Google Adds to Its Menagerie of Robots
Posted by Seb in categories: business, defense, drones, engineering, futurism, government, human trajectories, law enforcement, military, robotics/AI
By JOHN MARKOFF
SAN FRANCISCO — BigDog, Cheetah, WildCat and Atlas have joined Google’s growing robot menagerie.
Google confirmed on Friday that it had completed the acquisition of Boston Dynamics, an engineering company that has designed mobile research robots for the Pentagon. The company, based in Waltham, Mass., has gained an international reputation for machines that walk with an uncanny sense of balance and even — cheetahlike — run faster than the fastest humans.
It is the eighth robotics company that Google has acquired in the last half-year. Executives at the Internet giant are circumspect about what exactly they plan to do with their robot collection. But Boston Dynamics and its animal kingdom-themed machines bring significant cachet to Google’s robotic efforts, which are being led by Andy Rubin, the Google executive who spearheaded the development of Android, the world’s most widely used smartphone software.
Dec 11, 2013
Skunkworks
Posted by Andres Agostini in categories: big data, biological, bionic, biotech/medical, bitcoin, business, chemistry, climatology, complex systems, cosmology, counterterrorism, cybercrime/malcode, cyborgs, drones, economics, education, energy, engineering, environmental, ethics, existential risks, finance, food, futurism, genetics, geopolitics, government, health, information science, law, law enforcement, mobile phones, nanotechnology, neuroscience, philosophy, physics, policy, posthumanism, privacy, robotics/AI, science, scientific freedom, security, singularity, space, supercomputing, sustainability, transhumanism, transparency, transportation
The Future of Skunkworks Management, Now! By Mr. Andres Agostini
This is an excerpt from the conclusion section of, “…The Future of Skunkworks Management, Now!…” that discusses some management theories and practices and strategies. To view the entire piece, just click the link at the end of this post:
Peter Drucker asserted, “…In a few hundred years, when the story of our [current] time is written from a long-term perspective, it is likely that the most important event those historians will see is not technology, not the Internet, not e-commerce [not so-called ‘social media’]. IT is an unprecedented change in the human condition. For the first time ─ literally ─ substantial and growing numbers of people have choices. for the first time, they will have to manage themselves. And society is totally unprepared for it…”
Please see the full presentation at http://goo.gl/FnJOlg
By CBS News
German postal carrier Deutsche Post DHL is testing a drone delivery service that could deliver medical and food supplies to areas with minimal road access.
Dec 9, 2013
International 3D Printed Drone Competition
Posted by Seb in categories: 3D printing, drones
Dec 6, 2013
Now There’s a Zombie Drone That Hunts, Controls, and Kills Other Drones
Posted by Seb in categories: cybercrime/malcode, drones, security
—By Dana Liebelson
—By When 27-year-old Samy Kamkar—a security researcher who famously made one million Myspace friends in a single day—heard the announcement on Sunday that Amazon was planning to start delivering packages via drone in 2015, he had an idea. He knew that whenever new technology, like drones, becomes popular quickly, there are bound to be security flaws. And he claims that he found one within 24 hours and promptly exploited it: America, meet the zombie drone that Kamkar says hunts, hacks, and takes over nearby drones. With enough hacks, a user can allegedly control an entire zombie drone army capable of flying in any direction, taking video of your house, or committing mass drone-suicide.
“I’ve been playing with drones for a few years,” Kamkar, who is based in Los Angeles, tells Mother Jones. “I’m sure that with most of the drones out there, if you scrutinize the security, you’ll find some kind of vulnerability.” Kamkar says that the Amazon announcement was an opportunity to point out that drone security has room for improvement.
Dec 5, 2013
US Navy launches drone from submerged submarine
Posted by Seb in categories: defense, drones, military, security
By David Szondy
December 5, 2013
Today, the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) announced that it had successfully launched a drone from a submerged submarine. The all-electric eXperimental Fuel Cell Unmanned Aerial System (XFC) was launched in the Bahamas from the Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Providence (SSN 719) using a system that allowed the drone to be deployed without modifications to the boat, or requiring it to surface.
Continue reading “US Navy launches drone from submerged submarine” »
Dec 4, 2013
Congress members push privacy bills in response to Amazon delivery drones
Posted by Seb in categories: drones, ethics, government, law, policy, privacy
Will drones give you better shopping recommendations by watching your house?
By Adi Robertson on
Since Jeff Bezos announced Amazon’s hypothetical delivery-by-octocopter service earlier this week, its drones have become a point of focus for existing debates over privacy, regulation, and “disruptive” technology. The plan has given a sense of urgency to questions about widespread governmental and commercial drone use, and a new hook for members of Congress trying to answer those questions through legislation. Yesterday, Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) became the second member of Congress to raise the specter of Amazon Prime Air to support an anti-surveillance bill, giving a sometimes colorful account of how the drones could change our future.
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