“Exploration is in our nature. We began as wanderers, and we are wanderers still.” – Carl Sagan



You might think that Humans are a noun, but in reality we’re actually a verb – we’re an action; an occurrence; a state of motion! As a noun, Humans would have to be redefined constantly throughout history. The question you should ask yourself is: Are we as we once were?

Are we still those hairless apes, who stood upright, wandering the African plains during sunlight? No. Once we discovered fire, how we defined our own species changed forever – we then became a species that could wander at both night and day, extending our reach during shorter periods of time.

“I live on Earth at present, and I don’t know what I am. I know that I am not a category. I am not a thing — a noun. I seem to be a verb, an evolutionary process — an integral function of the universe.”

– R. Buckminster Fuller

Which then raises the question: When did our species start taking control of our own evolution? Plenty of people today would say that we likely began taking control of our evolutionary development at the start of the 21st century, which included the successful mapping of the entire human genome. Though I would argue that our species began taking control of our own evolutionary development when we first discovered fire.

We hear plenty of discussion about robots taking over our jobs, so it's a refreshing change to hear about a robot designed to create them instead. Its name is Nobot, and what makes this machine unique is that it's largely controlled remotely by a human being rather than by a set of software algorithms.

The Indiegogo campaign describes the concept as being "like a person in a robot suit," which is a helpful way of understanding it – as long as you realize the person is sat behind a computer somewhere else in the world. Nobot owners get a clever robot to help around the house without needing to spend time programming; Nobot operators get to earn money from home.

Childcare, healthcare, gardening ... there's conceivably no limit to what Nobot could do. The plan is to set up a marketplace for operators and owners, so if you've bought a shiny new Nobot you can easily find someone with the skills and expertise to work it for you – even if you just want some company in the evening or someone to fold the laundry.

The days of using your hands to play video games could be in the past. Called FOVE, this headset uses advanced eye tracking to provide the wearer with an immersive and completely hands-free virtual reality. Two in-built cameras seamlessly track the wearer's eyes, with the head mounted display presenting targets or buttons that are activated with a simple glance. Lochlainn Wilson, FOVE's co-developer and chief technology officer, says it's an experience only previously possible in science fiction.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) LOCKLAINN WILSON, CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER AND CO-FOUNDER OF FOVE, SAYING: "In the control sense, we enable science fiction-like user interfaces like Tony Stark's Ironman and Jarvis; just at a glance user interface respond and updates information, targets an enemy, hits another button and they're blown up. It's pretty cool in that sense." The developers say their device allows for much more complex and subtle interaction than other virtual reality headsets.

A Daimler-built autonomous truck can now legally operate on the highways of Nevada. Gov. Brian Sandoval has officially granted the "Freightliner Inspiration Truck" a license for road use in the state, making it the first of its kind to navigate public roads in the US. The Inspiration's "Highway Pilot system" is loaded with cameras, radars, other sensors and computer hardware like most autonomous vehicles. However, it's not completely self-driving -- it still needs a human driver behind the wheel.

According to the big rig's official website, when the semi-autonomous systemtakes over, its sensors and computers are "responsible for maintaining legal speed, staying in the selected lane, keeping a safe braking distance from other vehicles, and slowing or stopping the vehicle based on traffic and road conditions." That frees up the driver to do other tasks, like doing the inventory, route planning and scheduling. Certain conditions require it to transfer control back to the driver, though, particularly when exiting a highway, driving on local roads and docking to drop off deliveries.

The truck had to undergo rigorous testing before it was granted a license and had to drive over 10,000 miles on a circuit in Germany. At the moment, there are two operational Inspiration trucks, and it's unclear if Daimler's making more of them.


Source: 2045.com

A laser in the fabric printer burns shapes into material suspended by a vacuum (Photo: Disney Research)


We're used to 3D-printed objects being hard and unyielding, or perhaps a little rubbery. Thanks to work being done by scientists at Disney Research and Carnegie Mellon University, however, we may soon be seeing things like soft and squishy 3D-printed teddy bears, made from layered pieces of fabric. What's more, those items could be electrically conductive.

The prototype fabric printer contains rolls of cloth, which are coated with a heat-activated adhesive on one side. Here's how the printing process works ...

The Vulcan rocket will use a reusable booster engine configuration

The United Launch Alliance (ULA) has entered the reusable launcher race with its Next Generation Launch System (NGLS), also known as the Vulcan rocket. This replacement for the current generation of launch systems will incorporate a rocket engine assembly that jettisons from the first stage and is snared in mid-air by a helicopter after reentering the Earth's atmosphere.

Unveiled at the 31st Space Symposium, the Vulcan was named by popular vote last month that garnered one million entries. According to ULA, the new launch system will be able to deliver payloads to low-Earth orbit and deep space at reduced cost.

At the heart of the Vulcan is ULA's Sensible, Modular, Autonomous Return Technology (SMART) initiative. Unlike the SpaceX Falcon 9, which is designed to fly back to the launch site, the SMART initiative involves developing an engine assembly that reuses the booster main engines. The assembly uses twin BE-4 engines burning methane and liquid oxygen, producing 1.1 million lb of thrust. The BE-4 was developed by Blue Origin, which is providing the engines to ULA in a partnership to replace the Russian-made RD-180.

In flight, the Vulcan lifts off like a conventional system, but after releasing its payload, the first-stage booster engine assembly detaches and re-enters atmosphere using an inflatable heat shield. After parachute deployment, the booster engine assembly is hooked and captured by a Chinook helicopter. The assembly is then recertified and reattached to a new Vulcan first stage. ULA says that this results in a 90 percent savings in propulsion costs because the engine assembly makes up 25 percent of the booster weight and 65 percent of the booster cost.

The American-made Vulcan is based on the Atlas and Delta launch vehicles and will use ULA's Centaur second stage with either a 4- or 5-m (13/16 ft) payload fairing and four to strap-on solid boosters on the first stage. In the Stage Two version, the Centaur will be replaced by a new, more powerful Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage (ACES); giving the Vulcan the lift capability of the Delta IV Heavy rocket. ULA says that the ACES can make almost unlimited burns, so its on-orbit time extends from hours to weeks

"More capabilities in space mean more capabilities here on Earth," says Tory Bruno, president and CEO of United Launch Alliance. "Because the Next Generation Launch System will be the highest-performing, most cost-efficient rocket on the market, it will open up new opportunities for the nation’s use of space. Whether it is scientific missions, medical advancements, national security or new economic opportunities for businesses, ULA’s new Vulcan rocket is a game-changer in terms of creating endless possibilities in space."

The video below introduces the Vulcan.

Source: 2045.com

Right now, as I write, my arm hurts. I just want to take it off. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, just some tendonitis and tennis elbow, due to overuse. But had I been a car, I hope my owner would have changed that faulty part a long time ago. Also, trying to figure out what to do with the arm that isn’t hugging my girlfriend when we try to fall asleep, has perpetually made me wish I could take my arm off and put it next to the bed. I just want a smarter arm.

Of course, considering the horrifying trauma of losing a limb in an accident, to disease, or sacrificing it on the battlefield, one could argue that wishing one’s arm away is equally ungrateful and disrespectful. Yet if things turn out the way some researchers are predicting, giving up an arm voluntarily may not be quite as socially unacceptable in the future. In fact, it may well be worth the initial investment of dollars and human flesh and bone.

Humans have long been obsessed with reversing ageing. Source: Supplied

IT is likely the first person who will live to be 1,000 years old is already alive today.

This is according to a growing regiment of researchers who believe a biological revolution enabling humans to experience everlasting youthfulness is just around the corner.

At the epicentre of the research is Aubrey de Grey — a Cambridge gerontologist and co-founder or the California-based Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS) Research Foundation.

Yesterday's failed attempt by SpaceX to land Falcon9 on a sea barge marked another setback in the company's attempt to build a reusable rocket. But a newly released video shows just how close the rocket came to making a successful landing. They're definitely getting closer.

The video shows the rocket descending quite quickly, and just as it's about to land it starts to go astray. A last second adjustment almost seems to work, but then everything goes to hell.

Hoping for success on the next attempt!

Source: 2045.com