Here’s an interesting round-up of info about the work being done on developing UAVs that fly in swarms. The swarm is a great model of operations for flying robots, as it allows for complex behaviours without centralised control of the individuals, by using a form of communication referred to as ‘stigmergy’. Not convinced? Think of a flock of birds at dusk, and the way they can all move with a uniform fluidity, never crashing into one another, and seemingly thinking as one. We’ll probably see military apps first, but this technique could be applied to planetary exploration too.
Category Archives: Blog
Second Genesis
Flushed with the success of the first version, Robert Bigelow has announced the launch date for the second Genesis experimental inflatable space habitat. It appears he’s a CEO with a heart, unless there’s more to his chosen date of late January 2007 than his stated wish to not keep his staff away from home over the holidays.
Conscious Machines
Professor Igor Aleksander works at University College, London, researching in the field of Neural Systems Engineering – basically, he’s trying to build conscious machines. In this interview at Velcro City Tourist Board, he discusses the difference between his work and that of artificial intelligence researchers, the definition of non-animal consciousness, whether or not we will need to define a set of rights for machine entities, and his hopes and fears for the next few decades of science and technology.
Another Bright Idea
Why is it no-one thinks anything right through before filing the patent? On the surface, the idea of a ‘watchdog’ system to keep track of (and authorise the operation of) all your household appliances and technology is a great idea…until you consider what happens if you decide you want to sell one of the items on, or take it to a friend’s house. Would it really deter burglary? Or would it just mean that burglars would have to do more jobs to raise the odds of seizing objects that actually worked beyond the building they came from?
Remote Control
Stimulating various parts of the head with electrical currents or magnetic fields seems to be a popular theme in science at the moment. And it’s generating results, too – one group of researchers have discovered a way to ‘remote control’ their subject while they walk, without making them lose balance. Meanwhile, another group has found a way to stimulate the frontal cortex of the brain that appears to improve the subject’s peripheral vision. The human body is increasingly becoming another piece of hackable hardware – the transhumanists must be feeling fairly smug.