Oct 23
Sometimes throwing money at problems works. As the Pentagon continues to struggle with cybersecurity
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Oct 17
Atlas Robot Breaks Ankle Upon Debut
Posted in: Today's Chili
Most debuts would have been thought through and through so that nothing untoward happens, but sometimes, even the best preparations made cannot sniff out an impending disaster. I guess with the Atlas robot that we first mentioned about sometime in the middle of this year, its debut at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) proved to be less than stellar – especially when it broke its ankle during a demonstration.
This robot is no ballet dancer by any means, since it tips the scales at a whopping 150kg, standing tall at 1.9 meters, while costing HK$15 million in the process. That amount of money would buy you what is deemed to be the most advanced humanoid robot at this point in time, and the HKU so happens to be the first institution outside the United States to own one. A short tai chi routine went as expected, but shortly afterwards, it lost its balance and fell, breaking its right ankle in the process. Not exactly the most auspicious of beginnings, but better have it screw up during a demonstration than when it is already on the field without living up to expectations, right? Hopefully the folks at DARPA would be able to fix things in due time.
Atlas Robot Breaks Ankle Upon Debut original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Oct 14
Sure, there are no mutants among us in the likes of the X-Men, so to find a telepath as powerful as Professor Xavier would be nigh impossible. However, this does not mean that technology cannot come in to assist us humans in our quest to be better than who we are at the moment. The Department of Defense might be looking into a highly affordable mind reading headset, where it will be able to feed EEG data from its wearer directly to a smartphone app.
The EEG readings that are collected will be the basis for a range of consumer products, enabling users to control objects with their minds. For example, Thinker Thing would allow its user to imagine followed by printing creatures out in 3D directly from their imagination. While it is not exactly a military application for such technology, we could more or less imagine that it would be headed in a somewhat similar direction sometime down the road. What do you think of an affordable mind reading headset?
I am quite sure that privacy advocates would not be too happy that there is such technology lying around, but the real advancement would come in the form of a headset that can read the minds of others around you. Now that’s real progress. [Press Release]
DARPA Wants Cheap Mind Reading Headset Developed original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Oct 05
Boston Dynamics’ Cheetah robot impressed people all over the world when it proved that it can outrun even the fastest of our species. But some of you may have been thinking, what’s to be afraid of? It’s tied down. Unless we’re on the same treadmill Cheetah isn’t touching anybody. Well, it’s not tied down anymore.
Meet WildCat, the latest generation of the Cheetah. While its tethered predecessor has a recorded top speed of over 29mph, WildCat can “only” get up to 16mph. Not enough to outrun Usain Bolt, but enough to catch up to the average human, running at a full out sprint.
Between drones and Boston Dynamics’ DARPA-funded cats and dogs, we should start looking into this Rapture thing.
[via Boston Dynamics via Gizmodo]
Oct 04
If the folks at Boston Dynamics didn’t terrify your most base instincts to flee from the oncoming robot armies of your nightmares yet, they’re about to now. This week the Boston Dynamics WildCat has been introduced – a four-legged running robot made not only to walk on all types of terrain, but to run at […]
Oct 04
As we creep closer to the Robotics Challenge officially getting under way, Boston Dynamics
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Oct 04
Last year, DARPA unveiled Cheetah
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Sep 17
DARPA’s XS-1 program aims for an unmanned spaceship with aircraft-like costs
Posted in: Today's Chili
The reusable spacecraft we’ve seen so far haven’t really lived up to their billing: vehicles like the Space Shuttle or SpaceShipTwo require elaborate, expensive launches. If DARPA succeeds with its just-announced XS-1 program, however, spaceflight could be an affordable, everyday occurrence. The agency plans to develop an unmanned spacecraft that requires a minimal ground crew, reaches speeds above Mach 10 and flies at least 10 times in as many days. Provided DARPA meets its goals, XS-1 would both speed up the deployment of small satellites and lower the cost per flight to an “aircraft-like” $5 million or less. Don’t count on seeing a ship in action anytime soon, though. DARPA will only receive some of the first design proposals on October 7th, and someone still has to build the winning project — it will likely be years before XS-1 slips the surly bonds of Earth.
Filed under: Transportation
Source: DARPA
Sep 17
Putting satellites into orbit is no easy task, especially with the demise of the Space Shuttle program. Which is why DARPA’s going to make itself a spacejet.
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Sep 14
DARPA’s always working on a bunch of crazy projects, whether it’s to find the next insane robot hero, or just Star Wars robot arms
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