Archive for the ‘Cyborgs’ Category

Drummer Rocks Amazing Drumming Prosthetic

Thursday, March 6th, 2014

As the mechanical components that make up robotic prosthetics shrink, they’re integrating more easily into the lives of those that need them.

Drummer Jason Barnes built his own crude drumming hand but, after meeting an engineer who felt he could create something much more, Barnes now sports a pretty incredible robo-drumming arm. Using a technique called electromyography, the device responds to electrical signals as Barnes flexes his bicep. A secondary attachment for another drumstick was added that actually listens to what Barnes is playing and responds by playing along with what it’s hearing!

Giving talented people like Jason Barnes the ability to continue doing what they love and what they’re talented at is a fantastic way to get physically challenged people back to what they do best…

n this case it’s also the heralding of a whole new future for band battles.
[New Scientist]

Posted in Android, Bionic, Cyborgs, Experiment, Future, Robots | Comments Off on Drummer Rocks Amazing Drumming Prosthetic

Disturbing Robot ‘Baby’ Makes Ultra-Realistic Faces – Smiles at the End of Mankind

Wednesday, January 9th, 2013

In our article about the other new toddler robot called Roboy we mentioned Diego-san. Here’s your first look into the robotic wagon-train that’s leaving Uncanny Valley slowly but surely.

When John Connor shows up and SkyNet goes live it won’t be the T1000s we’re worried about.

Why?

We’ll be too terrified by something that’s already been here.

Robot babies.

And you can tear that cute baby robot picture off the wall of your imagination…because robot babies are about as far as you can get from being ‘cute’.

Because we’re not satisfied with making skeletal robots that look like mechanical grim reapers, the University of San Diego has created a ridiculously amazing and disturbingly realistic over-sized one-year-old in order to study the cognitive development of infants.

“Its main goal is to try and understand the development of sensory motor intelligence from a computational point of view. It brings together researchers in developmental psychology, machine learning, neuroscience, computer vision and robotics. Basically we are trying to understand the computational problems that a baby’s brain faces when learning to move its own body and use it to interact with the physical and social worlds.”

As we continue grinning and patting ourselves on the back about our advances in robot technology and march ourselves into our own demise, you can rest assured that the armies of creepy robot babies are just going to keep on smiling that same frightening smile that’ll remind us of ourselves when we were so excited about our accomplishments in robotics.

Until then just keep hitting the replay button and shuddering at Diego-san’s facial expressions.

[Gizmag.com]

Posted in AI, Android, Baby, Cyborgs, Robot, Technology, Terminator | Comments Off on Disturbing Robot ‘Baby’ Makes Ultra-Realistic Faces – Smiles at the End of Mankind

Canadian ‘Eyeborg’ Films What He Sees

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

Eyeborg Phase II from eyeborg on Vimeo.

Canadian Filmmaker Rob Spence has turned tragedy into tragedy-aide with his new invention.

Spence lost his eye in a shooting accident when he was a teenager. With the proliferation of cheap miniature cameras he realized he could record true first-person footage with a little tinkering. He’s installed the camera into a prosthetic eye, and while it’s doesn’t give him binocular vision it does allow him to shoot and stream footage of everything he sees. He’s also included a red light to enhance the creepy factor.

You can find out more about Spence’s futuristic project by checking out his blog.

Posted in Cyborgs, Robots, Super Powers | 2 Comments »