Emergent Technology

[Robert]

Deflector shields on!

Shields up: New ideas might make active shielding viable​

Active shielding was first proposed in the '60s. We’re finally close to making it work.​

On October 19, 1989, at 12:29 UT, a monstrous X13 class solar flare triggered a geomagnetic storm so strong that auroras lit up the skies in Japan, America, Australia, and even Germany the following day. Had you been flying around the Moon at that time, you would have absorbed well over 6 Sieverts of radiation—a dose that would most likely kill you within a month or so.
This is why the Orion spacecraft that is supposed to take humans on a Moon fly-by mission this year has a heavily shielded storm shelter for the crew. But shelters like that aren’t sufficient for a flight to Mars—Orion’s shield is designed for a 30-day mission.
To obtain protection comparable to what we enjoy on Earth would require hundreds of tons of material, and that's simply not possible in orbit. The primary alternative—using active shields that deflect charged particles just like the Earth’s magnetic field does—was first proposed in the 1960s. Today, we’re finally close to making it work.

 

[Robert]

Latest creepy robot from Boston Dynamics:

 

[Robert]

You can now buy a flame-throwing robot dog for under $10,000​

Thermonator, the first "flamethrower-wielding robot dog," is completely legal in 48 US states.​

If you've been wondering when you'll be able to order the flame-throwing robot that Ohio-based Throwflame first announced last summer, that day has finally arrived. The Thermonator, what Throwflame bills as "the first-ever flamethrower-wielding robot dog" is now available for purchase. The price? $9,420.
Thermonator is a quadruped robot with an ARC flamethrower mounted to its back, fueled by gasoline or napalm. It features a one-hour battery, a 30-foot flame-throwing range, and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity for remote control through a smartphone.
It also includes a LIDAR sensor for mapping and obstacle avoidance, laser sighting, and first-person view (FPV) navigation through an onboard camera. The product appears to integrate a version of the Unitree Go2 robot quadruped that retails alone for $1,600 in its base configuration.

The company lists possible applications of the new robot as "wildfire control and prevention," "agricultural management," "ecological conservation," "snow and ice removal," and "entertainment and SFX." But most of all, it sets things on fire in a variety of real-world scenarios.

 

[redrumloa]

You can now buy a flame-throwing robot dog for under $10,000​

Thermonator, the first "flamethrower-wielding robot dog," is completely legal in 48 US states.​

If you've been wondering when you'll be able to order the flame-throwing robot that Ohio-based Throwflame first announced last summer, that day has finally arrived. The Thermonator, what Throwflame bills as "the first-ever flamethrower-wielding robot dog" is now available for purchase. The price? $9,420.
Thermonator is a quadruped robot with an ARC flamethrower mounted to its back, fueled by gasoline or napalm. It features a one-hour battery, a 30-foot flame-throwing range, and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity for remote control through a smartphone.
It also includes a LIDAR sensor for mapping and obstacle avoidance, laser sighting, and first-person view (FPV) navigation through an onboard camera. The product appears to integrate a version of the Unitree Go2 robot quadruped that retails alone for $1,600 in its base configuration.

The company lists possible applications of the new robot as "wildfire control and prevention," "agricultural management," "ecological conservation," "snow and ice removal," and "entertainment and SFX." But most of all, it sets things on fire in a variety of real-world scenarios.

 

[Robert]

Details are a little thin but it seems this guy was only caught because he was stupid enough to use the school network to search for & create the audio. Either way, we can expect to see a lot more of this kind of thing in the future.

School athletic director arrested for framing principal using AI voice synthesis​

 

[redrumloa]

Details are a little thin but it seems this guy was only caught because he was stupid enough to use the school network to search for & create the audio. Either way, we can expect to see a lot more of this kind of thing in the future.

School athletic director arrested for framing principal using AI voice synthesis​

I was actually going to resurrect the old "hate crime hoax" thread for that. The problem is that while with expert forensics it can be determined now, in a few short years AI will probably be able to fake it to fool everyone. Don't be surprised if the Dems drop one against Trump as an October Surprise this year and the liberal media run with it like the lapdogs they are.

 

[Robert]

Don't be surprised if the Dems drop one against Trump as an October Surprise this year ...

I'll be surprised if both sides aren't already indulging in such attempted deception. Don't kid yourself that your preferred party are somehow above it.

 

[Robert]

Elon Musk announces first Neuralink wireless brain chip implant​

Elon Musk says his Neuralink company has successfully implanted one of its wireless brain chips in a human for the first time.
Initial results detected promising neuron spikes or nerve impulses and the patient is recovering well, he said.
The company's goal is to connect human brains to computers and it says it wants to help tackle complex neurological conditions.
A number of rival companies have already implanted similar devices.

Neuralink reports trouble with first human brain chip​

In the weeks following the surgery, a number of threads retracted from the brain, resulting in a net decrease in the number of effective electrodes. This led to a reduction in BPS (Fig 04). In response to this change, we modified the recording algorithm to be more sensitive to neural population signals, improved the techniques to translate these signals into cursor movements, and enhanced the user interface.