A machine is essentially a physical system that harnesses energy to exert force and direct motion, ultimately achieving a specific task. While we typically associate the word with mechanical devices like engines, motors, or turbines, the concept extends into the natural world to include biological structures on a microscopic scale.
Anyone who has seen the classic movie Terminator has most likely wondered if such cyborgs could potentially be created. While there is already the potential for software and hardware that could become self-learning, the question remains as to whether or not we have the power to develop cyborgs that could turn on, disregard, and even
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We got our first look at Japan’s Defense Ministry’s spherical flying machine earlier this year, but at a recent technology expo in Tokyo the hovering ball got the full coming-out treatment, complete with public demos eliciting “ooohs” and “aaaahs.” The video below shows the drone doing everything it was designed to do: zipping around omnidirectionally,
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Rob Spence is a Canadian filmmaker who lost the sight in his right eye following a shooting accident as a child. Years later the damaged eye was removed and replaced with a prosthetic. Rather than accept a purely cosmetic replacement, Spence worked with engineers to build a prosthetic eye containing a miniature wireless camera, and
The human body is unsurpassed in the complexity of its design, performance and efficiency, but there are definite limitations to what we can achieve with a frame that’s around 6ft high – we can only carry so much weight, jump so far or run so fast before we reach our physical boundary. Machines that overcome
BULLDOG: A MILITARY BIG DOG Early this week I wrote about the new robotic pack animal Big Dog. I have just found out that there is a military version called BullDog! It certainly is a bigger, scarier version that will be on the battle field. BullDog, like BigDog, is designed to carry hundreds of pounds
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The idea of small, man portable, soldier-launched aerial drones has been catching on for some time now with the military. Now there is a new drone aircraft that’s made by Aerovironment, the “Switchblade” drone packs neatly into its launch tube, which then packs easily into a backpack. When it’s time to deploy, soldiers quickly set
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An Exciting Update On The Martin Jet Pack. In May, inventor Glenn Martin—along with fire-rescue officers and crews on board a pair of chase helicopters—watched as his jetpack flew for nine minutes and 43 seconds, soaring 3,500 feet into the New Zealand sky. Had the machine been holding a live person instead of a 150-pound
In a striking display of military-like precision, the robotic team dubbed the “Swarmanoid“, attacks the problem with flying “eye-bots” and rolling “foot-bots”. A “hand-bot” then fires a grappling hook-like device up to the ceiling and scales the bookshelf. Footage of the experiment, conducted by Marco Dorigo at Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium, and colleagues. It’s
Finally, the dream of flying can be realized on an individual level. The Martin Jet Pack is the world’s first practical jetpack. It consists of a purpose-built gasoline engine driving twin ducted fans which produce sufficient thrust to lift the aircraft and a pilot in vertical takeoff and landing, enabling sustained flight. That’s right boys