The Future Is Here Today...Robots, Genetics, AI, Longevity, Singularity

Cyborg Insect Spies to Become Nuclear Powered

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by Aaron Saenz on February 1st, 2010
mothra vs godzilla

Nuclear batteries could help power the electronics attached to insect spies...they may also prove effective against Godzilla.

They don’t have the pomp and flair of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but Nuclear Cyborg Insect Spies are still shell-shocking researchers in the world of miniaturized electronics. We’ve already reported on how DARPA funded research teams are using electrodes to control insects in flight to adapt them for surveillance. The associated group at Cornell, however, is trying to solve the problem of getting cyborg bugs to carry heavy batteries. The solution: ditch traditional chemical cells and use light weight nuclear power instead. Amit Lal and his team are adapting a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) that generates electricity from radioactive decay to work with the flying insect project. They recently presented their work at the International Electron Devices Meeting sponsored by IEEE. The nuclear powered MEMS doesn’t use fusion or fission but rather harnesses the natural release of power from an unstable isotope, Nickel-63, as it turns into copper. These MEMS nuclear batteries won’t just power the insect spies of the future, they could provide electricity for all sorts of micro devices, allowing them to run for a hundred years without a recharge.

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DARPA Gathering Minds for Flying Car Production

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by Aaron Saenz on January 6th, 2010
DARPA's starting work to develop a flying car. Yeee-HAW!

DARPA's starting work to develop a flying car. Yeee-HAW!

We live in an age of invention, my friends. DARPA, the research branch of the US Department of Defense, is hosting a workshop on January 14th for many of its developers. The topic: flying cars. That’s right, nearly fifty years after the debut of the Jetsons, we’re finally getting serious about getting people into the sky. DARPA is aiming to eventually have a prototype vehicle, to be named the Transformer or TX, which will spend the majority of its time traveling on land, but is capable of sustained flight. The proposed 1 to 4 passenger craft will need vertical take off and landing (VTOL) capabilities and be able to complete a mission on a single tank of fuel. Proponents hope that such a hybrid should help soldiers in the field avoid road side bombs and ambushes by giving drivers the ability to choose unique and dynamic paths to their destination. If the TX succeeds, it would pave the way for non-military commercial vehicles. In other words, pray that DARPA gets this done right, because it could mean flying cars for all of us.

Timetables for the TX production don’t seem to be in discussion yet. There’s certainly a lot of work to be done: development of enabling technologies, coordinating production across several contractors, and finally building a prototype. DARPA has provided a list of technologies that may be used: adaptive wing structures, ducted fan propulsion, lightweight composite materials, advanced flight control technology, hybrid electric drives, and advanced batteries. That list gives us some idea of what the TX may look like: a gas/electric rover with fold down (or other wise non-fixed) wings and fan propulsion. Definitely a cool concept.

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One Step Closer to Suspended Animation for Wounded Soldiers in 18 Months?

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by Aaron Saenz on December 22nd, 2009
Rushing wounded soldiers in MedEvac helicopters could become more successful if a suspended animation drug could extend the time they can survive.

Rushing wounded soldiers in MedEvac helicopters could become more successful if a suspended animation drug could extend the time they can survive.

It’s known as the golden hour. After a bullet wound or other massive trauma, soldiers in the field have about one hour to get intense medical attention. After that time, the chances of survival drop drastically. The research arm of US armed forces, DARPA, has long been interested in extending that golden window of opportunity to five or six hours, enough time to medevac someone from a remote location to a hospital. Earlier in December, DARPA announced that the Texas A&M Institute for Preclinical Studies (TIPS) would be receiving $9.9 million in funding to determine if previously successful suspended animation programs for rodents could work with pigs. According to Wired, the 15 person team lead by Dr. Matthew Miller hopes to have positive results in just 18 months. That sort of quick paced research could soon pave the way to preserve trauma victims the world over as they make their way to help.

There are many mammals that hibernate, from chipmunks to grizzly bears, and each is able to preserve its cells despite a drop in heart rate and available oxygen. DARPA has funded researchers like Matthew Andrews who investigated how certain pancreatic enzymes allow squirrels to hibernate. Mark Roth, another DARPA funds recipient, has experimented with using hydrogen sulfide on mice to restrict the cells reception of oxygen. Using this chemical treatment, Roth was able to get mice to live 6+ hours with only 60% of their blood (analogous to a bullet wound). The pig research at TIPS will focus on getting techniques such as these to work with a cardiovascular system closer to that of humans. Suspended animation is a tricky process, as cells “wake-up” there are free radicals and poor reactions in mitochondria to deal with. Despite the likely difficulties, Matthew Miller envisions a time when every soldier could go into the field armed with a syringe filled with a hibernation cocktail. By treating injured squad mates with the cocktail, a soldier could preserve their colleague for later treatment. When adapted into civilian use such a drug could serve as a vital tool for paramedics, or preserve organs for transplant. When perfected, we may see suspended animation become a vital tool in space exploration or chronic illness management. Let’s just hope that such treatments will keep our loved ones among the living…and not the living dead.

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Nothing Can Stop the Blob Bot

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by Aaron Saenz on December 7th, 2009
iRobot's newest creation: the blob bot

iRobot's newest creation: the blob bot

Like some sort of pulsating alien soccer ball, iRobot’s blob robot expands and contracts to roll around and creep you out. Part of the chemical robots (chembots) $3.3 million project funded by DARPA, the blob bot is a prototype designed to one day squeeze through openings much smaller than it’s fully inflated size. Great idea, iRobot, give the mechanical monstrosity the ability to seep under doors. Now, nowhere is safe. The robot recently debuted at IROS, the joint IEEE and RSJ conference on intelligent bots. Make sure to check out the video from IEEE Spectrum after the break, but if you just want to see the bot in action go to 1:49 and skip an explanation on how it all works.

There are many things the modern soldier is capable of, but traveling through the cracks in a wall isn’t one of them. DARPA commissioned the chembots project to help find novel ways that robots could move such that they could get to places where humans, and conventional wheeled robots, cannot. If iRobot, or another manufacturer is successful, such new chembots could help locate injured people after a building collapse, or find secreted explosives, or perform reconnaissance in a building the enemy thinks is secure.

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Deka’s Luke Arm In Clinical Trials, Is it the Future of Prosthetics? (Video)

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by Aaron Saenz on December 1st, 2009
Deka's Luke Arm is in clinical trials. Will it find favor with amputees?

Deka's Luke Arm is in clinical trials. Will it find favor with amputees?

The future of prosthetics isn’t certain, and we’ve seen so many different next generation devices, it’s hard to know which will ultimately arise as the standard. For legs, there are spring like mechanical struts that can outperform their biological counterparts, and there are complex electronic knees and feet that contain narrow artificial intelligence. Prosthetic hands, however, haven’t evolved much in the past 60 years. But that’s about to change. We’ve seen many different robotic hands in development, and one of the most popular in the press has been Deka’s Luke Arm. Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway scooter and head of Deka, helped design the electronic arm to fit the needs and desires of modern amputees. The Luke Arm went into clinical trials this summer and could become the prosthetic limb of choice for US soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet, despite the Luke Arm’s media presence (check out the 60 Minutes segment video after the break), I’m not certain it’s going to beat the competition.

For those who missed our first story on Deka’s Luke Arm, I should explain that it is controlled by pads under the feet and attached to shoulders muscles. Like a complex video game, users press on these pads to get the limb to perform desired actions. This is a robust system that allows for a precise level of control. It also takes a while to get used to. Competing prostheses, like i-Limb, use myoelectric sensors that can read nerve signals in muscles. Essentially, you think about moving your missing hand, and the prosthetic performs the action. The two approaches, joystick versus mind-control, seem grossly mismatched in the favor of the myoelectric sensors. How is the Deka arm staying competitive?

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Military Surveillance Bot Jumps Over 25 Foot Walls

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by Aaron Saenz on September 21st, 2009
This little robot can jump 25 feet in the air!

This little robot can jump 25 feet in the air!

Holy crap that’s cool! Earlier this week, Sandia National Labs debuted a four wheeled surveillance bot the size of a shoe box that can navigate urban environments by jumping walls. And not just those dinky chain fences with razor wires, we are talking 25 foot high urban bunkers leaped in a single bound. The Precision Urban Hopper uses a powerful piston-leg to launch itself into the air up to 30 times in a mission. That’s a lot of wall-jumping. Check out the short but awesome video. Thanks to BotJunkie for providing the slow-motion replay.

The Precision Urban Hopper was developed at Sandia as part of DARPA’s plans to help minimize soldier casualties in urban warfare . By leaping into battle, the Hopper can relay a view of the battle field back to soldiers so they won’t have to leave cover. That’s a great way to save lives and may be adopted by domestic law enforcement and homeland security as well as armed forces overseas. DARPA plans on having the robot available for testing and delivery starting at the end of 2010.

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MIT Helps Little Dog Navigate Rough Terrain

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by Aaron Saenz on September 15th, 2009
MIT is teaching Little Dog new tricks in navigation.

MIT is teaching Little Dog new tricks in navigation.

Sometimes robot videos just make me laugh. CSAIL at MIT has been working with Boston Dynamics’ robot Little Dog, helping it navigate rough terrain in novel ways. The scrappy quadruped can dynamically shifts its weight on two legs at a time, helping it climb slopes and stairs, and generally get around.And as soon as Little Dog gets where it’s going, it promptly flops down on its belly much like a real canine. The careful steps followed by exhausted collapse gets me every time. Check out the video from BotJunkie below, and look towards the end (1:44) to see for yourself.

Little Dog’s journey is part of Phase 2 of DARPA’s Learning Locomotion Program. As those who read our War 2.0 story know, a larger version of the robot, aptly named Big Dog, is being bred to work as a mule for soldiers in the field. That bot can haul loads and keep walking even after a hefty kick (see its video below). The navigating and stepping routines that CSAIL teaches Little Dog are going to be directly portable over to Big Dog.
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IEEE Spectrum Special Report on Prosthetic Arms

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by Keith Kleiner on July 29th, 2008

In Feb 2008 IEEE Spectrum released a fantastic special report on some of the latest work being done on prosthetic arms.

The special report covers a lot of ground, but mostly focuses on DARPA’s Revolutionizing Prosthetics program:

“The program was created in 2005 to fund the development of two arms. The first initiative, the four-year, US $30.4 million Revolutionizing Prosthetics contract, to be completed in 2009, led by Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., seeks a fully functioning, neurally controlled prosthetic arm using technology that is still experimental. The latter, awarded to Deka Research and Development Corp., Kamen’s New Hampshire–based medical products company (perhaps best known for the Segway), is a two-year $18.1 million 2007 effort to give amputees an advanced prosthesis that could be available immediately “for people who want to literally strap it on and go.” Kamen’s team designed the Deka arm to be controlled with noninvasive measures, using an interface a bit like a joystick.”

Because there are only about 6,000 prosthetic arms needed per year, the market has not been big enough to justify the large investment required to make next generation prosthetic arms. As a result it is amazing to note that commercially available prosthetic arm technology has not changed much in 100 years and is stuck in the “stone age”! Meanwhile prosthetic legs have seen significant investment and are extremely advanced and capable today.

The DARPA funding has literally changed the game by providing the investment necessary to propel prosthetic arms into the current era and beyond. In subsequent posts I will highlight some of the more notable aspects of this report.

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