ICYMI
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ICYMI: The NYPL's book train and better-bouncing 'bots
Today on In Case You Missed It: The New York Public Library will unveil a brand new "book train" at its Bryant Park branch that will ferry research materials up 11 floors from a subterranean storage vault to a newly refurbished reading room. Also, MIT's CSAIL lab has developed a 3d-printed, "tuneable" shock absorber that can protect anything from autonomous drones to cellular phones from violent impacts. Finally, we bring you the mesmerizing aerial ballet that is the world indoor skydiving championships. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd. try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}
ICYMI: Harnessing mother nature's fury for energy
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: A Japanese engineer created a wind turbine that can harness energy from both typhoons and hurricanes, watch the video of it here. Meanwhile, researchers at Northwestern University developed a 3D printed bone made of ceramic and polymer materials that can encourage bone to regrow itself once it's implanted. Scripps Institution for Oceanography had bad news for humanity this week after the group said the world's carbon levels went over 400 parts per million. There are three RIP items in the news this week, so get acquainted with the Rosetta Probe's storied history, Blackberry's decision to stop making its own handsets, and camera wearable company Narrative deciding to call it a day. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
ICYMI: Channel your Wall-E future with self-driving tech
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Nissan created smart chairs that autonomously move themselves while people are seated in them, modeled off of the car maker's ProPILOT driving system. The chairs are being used in Japan to keep people neatly in line outside of restaurants and when one chair has been vacated, it will move itself to the end of the row, while everyone else is bumped up.
ICYMI: Holograms for the home and a drone to plant trees
Today on In Case You Missed It: A company has developed a 'personal volumetric display" which is apparently science-sounding for a Princess Leia machine in your very own home. Looking Glass is marketing its Volume machine for $1,000, though so far, they're only available for pre-order.
ICYMI: All aboard the world's largest boat elevator
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: The Three Gorges Dam in China is home to the largest ship elevator, hauling up to 3000 tons of cargo from one lower level of water to the higher stream at the top. Meanwhile, Georgia Tech engineers believe their new fabric, which can harvest energy from both movement and the sun, will revolutionize how we keep devices charged. The three baby parent video is here, and the crystallizing salts are here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
ICYMI: Roller coasters will be recommended by urologists
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Researchers at Michigan State created a lifelike 3D model of a patient's kidney, with stones inside, and took it on a roller coaster after the man said the crystals cleared after riding Big Thunder Mountain. Turns out, the model backed it up and now, doctors will probably start recommending folks with smaller kidney stones ride roller coasters as treatment. The inner child of every adult just did a happy dance.
ICYMI: Animals can communicate better than we'd realized
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: We are adding horses to the list of animals who can communicate via some form of symbolic language, now that researchers taught a group of horses how to understand three symbols related to whether they wanted a blanket covering on or not. With that, horses, primates, dolphins and birds can all communicate with us -- and suddenly old masterpieces like Mister Ed and The Birds have a whole new significance.
ICYMI: All aboard the hydrogen fuel cell train!
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: A French company just introduced a hydrogen fuel cell train that it plans to install on a line in Germany in 2017. The train can carry 300 passengers reaching speeds of 87 miles an hour, all while emitting water rather than the usual diesel fumes that go along with such routes. We think the Casper insomnia chatbot is probably just a PR stunt by the company, but it may also be functional so you're guess is as good as ours as to why a mattress company would want to talk about people (likely their own customers) who struggle with going to sleep at night. If you're interested, the truck clock video is here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
ICYMI: Another thing likely to survive with the cockroaches
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Scientists just mapped the DNA of a microscopic organism that can survive both oxygenless places and the Antarctic. Researchers believe they might help humans survive too much radiation, which is a thing we'll probably need soon enough so get hyped, people. Meanwhile a Danish car company is showing off its prototype of a tiny carpooling electric vehicle that will one day be modified for autonomous rides. In case you're interested, you can see the Japanese Pokemon Go video here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
ICYMI: Finally, cars can morph into robots!
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: A Turkish company says that for millions of dollars, it'll make you your very own Autobot (called a LeTrons) and while whether the car is actually driveable may be in question the video is still fairly incredible. No less an advancement for conductive thread, a $34 million grant from the National Science Foundation is letting a group of doctors, scientists and fashion designers create clothing that at-risk pregnant women can wear to track their health. If you're into augmented reality, this Pong game should get you going. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
ICYMI: The US Marines want your robots
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: The US Marine Corps announced its latest Innovation Challenge for robots that can handle dull, dirty or dangerous work autonomously, leaving humans free for more important tasks. Meanwhile the University of Pennsylvania has a researcher flying a quadcopter through 45-degree angle window openings at top speeds, with few extra onboard sensors. The algorithm behind it is neat, even if the potential applications make us uncomfortable. You may already know why we should be covering up our computer webcams, but here's more ammo if that's needed. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
ICYMI: Hawaiian crows are our new favorite animal
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Scientists filmed young Hawaiian crows and discovered that they're so smart, they figured out how to use tools to get food without ever having been taught by adult crows. There are very few Alala in the world, but some are about to be released back into the wild so researchers are excited they'll bring their stick engineering ways with them.
A totally new energy source in slow moving rivers
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: University of Michigan researchers spent years creating a water-harnessing river turbine to create electricity, called the VIVACE. It's the first time electricity appears to be effectively generated in slower rivers rather than oceans, but that's because the developers used physics to get turning turbines to agitate the water enough to create more energy for their neighboring cylinders. It's an as-yet prototype but a promising new development in the realm of water-powered electricity. If you're interested in the giant balloon video from China, that's here, and the JibJab app can be downloaded from an app store. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
ICYMI: Dolphins speak in sentences and brand new bee species
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Scientists in the Ukraine say they tracked bottlenose dolphins and found that they speak in up to five-word sentences and politely listen to each other before responding. Since dolphins are pretty much the coolest thing on the planet (Japanese horror show notwithstanding), we are excited about the latest dolphin intelligence findings.
ICYMI: Soon flying UAVs could pick stuff up; carry it away
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: A large format hexacopter with mechanical gripper arms is all set to swoop in on your backyard and move some chairs around. Going by the Prodrone's YouTube video, it can carry 10 kilograms.
ICYMI: NASA is going to colonize a space rock
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){} Today on In Case You Missed It: Nasa launched the OSIRIS-Rex craft this week to begin its long and lonely mission to visit the Bennu asteroid. It'll return to Earth in seven years full of space rocks and hopefully nothing else. Meanwhile, Harvard Medical School has devised a way to see how bacteria evolves to become resistant to antibiotics.
ICYMI: Delivery drone inception and China's 'Spruce Goose'
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Starship Technologies teams up with Mercedes-Benz to use the latter's Sprinter vans as "motherships" for the former's package delivery drones. China announced that it will buy the only existing Antonov An-225 airplane -- the largest and heaviest aircraft to ever fly -- and will finish construction on a second before using both to deliver construction equipment and aid in humanitarian relief efforts.
ICYMI: Finger speakers and sumo-bots and mini-silk screens
Today on In Case You Missed It: The SIGNL strap Kickstarter campaign wants to put a private phone speaker at the tip of your finger. Plus, Japan combines its two favorite past times -- the graceful art of sumo and autonomous robots -- into a kickass, white-knuckle sport. try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}
ICYMI: Autonomous drone prototypes take flight
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: The Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation at UC Berkeley has developed augmented reality power tools to help DIY-ers with a variety of actual home repairs by projecting information and providing feedback. Meanwhile, the Pentagon's new tech focused project has awarded a contract to Shield AI for its Autonomous Tactical Airborne Drone which requires no instructions or remote controls to scout the interior of buildings.
ICYMI: Sorting crops with artificial intelligence
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Google's Tensor Flow machine learning technology helped create a device to sort through massive amounts of cucumbers at a farm in Japan, sorting the vegetables by quality grade so that humans don't have to do it manually. Meanwhile, an Australian scientist created an ink that changes colors when exposed to sunlight, which could theoretically help people from getting a sunburn. We also touched on the new internet-connected pet toy from Acer and rounded up the biggest headlines of the week for you in TL;DR. Be sure to check out IBM Watson's movie trailer and read about SpaceX's rocket explosion. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
