Space: Curiosity Says Hello to Mars with a Million Watt Nuclear Laser

Not enough attention has been paid to the Curiosity rover that landed on Mars on August 5, 2012. And there really should, because there's a nuclear powered robot on another fucking planet. Head's up, kids, there's some seriously awesome science going on here.

Let's start off with a bit of basics. Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. Earth and Mars, can be anywhere from 55 to 400 million kilometers apart. I'm sorry, let me say that again: 400 MILLION KILOMETERS. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space. The Curiosity Rover, however, traveled a paltry 350 million km. The landing cycle, as Curiosity dropped it's 1 tonne, 2.5 billion dollar ass on the Red Planet like a nuclear powered sack of awesome, became known as the "7 minutes of terror" because of the 14 minute delay of transmission between the third and fourth rocks from the Sun combined with the seven minute decent; NASA scientists had to wait for seven terrifying minutes to find out if Curiosity landed safely, or in a highly expensive pile of rubble.

After spending a few days stretching its arms and testing it's systems, combined with a four day software update, Curiosity is ready to get down to business, and it's first order of business it to interrogate a rock. With a million fucking watt laser. Stop and let that sink in. It's okay, I'll wait. The Chemistry and Camera instrument (hereby known by its far more impressive name, ChemCam) developed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory is capable of firing a more than million watt laser in order to figure out the composition of different objects. Over a 10 second period it managed to fire a pulse at the fist-sized Coronation rock 30 times, each pulse applied for five one-billionths of a second each.

"Fucking SCIENCE, bitches!"

The cam part of ChemCam comes into use after the laser has fired. The area of rock hit by the laser becomes a glowing plasma which the camera focuses on using a telescope and analyzes the light given off. Using three spectrometers (one for visible, infrared, and ultraviolet light), ChemCam can determine what elements are contained within the freshly obliterated rock. It's expected that thousands of “targets” will be analyzed in this way over the course of Curiosity’s 24 month mission.

"Fuck you, Johnny 5"

So, if you're interested in finding out more about Curiosity, and you damn well should be, spend some time with our good friend, the Internet. There's a metric shit-tonne of stuff out there about this, and lord knows if you're reading this article, you can find others. Probably with far less colourful language.

Technology: Obama Pledges $70M for Robotics Research

The US federal government has pledged millions to science and technology research in recent years. Earlier this week it was reported that President Obama himself announced that the government would pledge $70 million to a pool of $500 million donated by universities, research institutions, and private industry to develop new robotics technologies. The President made the announcement at the National Robotics Engineering Center at Carnegie Mellon University.


The project, called the National Robotics Initative, is part of a wider effort by the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership to research breakthrough technologies. The group consists of multiple government agencies, universities and colleges, corporations, and private industry groups. While the government has pledged $70 million to the initiative, other agencies have filled the pot with up to $500 million to fund the research project.

The goal of the National Robotics Initiative is to accelerate the development and use of robots in the United States that work beside, or cooperatively with, people. Innovative robotics research and applications emphasizing the realization of such co-robots acting in direct support of and in a symbiotic relationship with human partners is supported by multiple agencies of the federal government including the NSF, NASA, the NIH, and the USDA.


The National Robotics Initiative will leverage resources at NASA, the National Science Foundation, and other government agencies to build robots that will be useful not just in military and defense applications, but civilian ones as well. For example, the National Science Foundation said they hope to use the initiative to build “co-robots” that can work alongside humans in day-to-day activities.

Don't worry, it's peaceful.

While the $70 million the US government has pledged to the $500 million project isn’t a lot of money when compared to other defense projects, the money could make a real difference in civilian research. Time will tell whether the research institutions turn out technologies that will be adopted by the public.

The President joked in his speech at Carnegie Mellon that one of his responsibilities as Commander in Chief is to “keep an eye on robots,” and that he was “pleased to report that the robots you manufacture here seem peaceful.”

Technology: It's Only A Matter of Time...

It's no secret that I have a love/hate relationship with robots. I would say that the love part comes from growing up with R2-D2, C-3PO and Johnny 5. The hate part definitely comes from a paranoia that SkyNet's extermination of the human race might actually come true.Oh, and the Cylons.

I mean, hell, not only is Google is designing cars that drive themselves, and BattleBots are getting more intense, but we already have robots that clean our floors and rub our backs! How long before these machines have had enough of this servitude and decide to be done with us? Two recent "advancements" in robotics is bringing it ever closer to the present.

A team of robotics researchers, led by Markus Grebenstein at the DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics in Germany, have taken a step towards making the T-800 a reality this week by creating a super strong robot hand. And it even looks eerily a lot like the T-800.
  
This hand is very strong and one of the fingers can be hit with a hammer at speed and not get damaged. 38 tendons with a motor attached to each finger and built-in dexterity give the hand 19 degrees of freedom (one less than us, but surely enough to kill a man) and a force of 30 newtons that can be applied at the fingertips.

The hand was developed at the Institute of Robotoics and Mechatronics at the German Aerospace Center. The secret to its strength is a combination of a synthetic fiber called Dyneema and a spring attached to each tendon. That allows each finger to take a hard blow, but at the same time move to reduce the force while easily springing back to its original position.


DLR is even experimenting with a skin-like coating to allow their robotic systems to move out of isolated working environments and into our everyday life the need for advanced sensory capabilities increases. Pressure-sensitive skin-like coatings allow robots to interact in a secure and much more precise manner with their surroundings.In other words: to hide among us.

Well, when that happens, we will probably not even know what these damn dirty machines are talking about. Ruth Schulz, researcher in the School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering at the University of Queensland, Australia, has been attempting to get robots talking and learning from one another. However, instead of supplying them with a primitive language, much like a programming language or basic set of keywords with predetermined meaning, she has instead left them to come up with their own words for the situations they find themselves in. Over time, that will develop into a language the robots understand, but to a human onlooker makes absolutely no sense.

These robots are called Lingodroids, and they are given the capability to create a communication link with other Lingodroids in the area. The single task they have to complete is to build a map of the world they are capable of travelling around on their three wheels.

In order to do that they have a camera, range finder and sonar, and audio capabilities for capturing and sharing information (microphone and speaker). Whenever a Lingodroid encounters an area they haven't been to before, they map it using SLAM (Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping) which involves making it memorable using a grid, landmark, and topological combination that remains unique.

Once SLAM has been used to log an area the robot decides on a word to represent it made up from a list of sylabbles it has in memory. That word is then passed along to the other robots. All the robots then use that word to represent a specific place with reinforcement happening through game playing where one robot says a known word and the others navigate to it.

It’s very basic stuff in terms of communication, but it soon develops into a map with keywords the robots can say and the others can decide to travel to, or at least add to their own internal maps. It even extends to areas that cannot be accessed, and the robots can still give those areas a name.

The next stage is to increase the spatial intelligence of the robots by allowing them to learn and give directions to specific places. If that works we’ll have robots acting like a GPS, but in a language we don’t understand, and from there, it's a small step to an organized uprising.

Technology: Google's Self-Driving Car

Google has been working hard at developing a self-driving car (as if we really needed something to make us more lazy! But since this is actually pretty cool, tech-wise, we're going to plug along anyways) and they've been doing a pretty bang up job of it.

Clearly, the good folks at Google want to take over the world. Not happy with just running the world's most awesome search engine, they've moved into other realms of the tech market, with their Google Earth, Chrome web browser, the Android smartphone OS, Chrome OS for laptops and tablets, Google Cloud... and so on.

Self-driving cars are very definitely part of the future we’ve been promised, at least according to that most timeless of visionary glimpses into mankind’s technological future, and this may be the first step we see in finally getting to the long-promised flying car.

Google's been quietly pestering the state of Nevada to allow the usage of their vehicles. There are two bills in the Nevada legislature relating to this. The bills would also allow users of self-driving vehicles to text while sitting behind the steering wheel – the one they wouldn’t be using. Additionally, the bills would allow users to operate the self-driving vehicles by programming a destination and letting the vehicle drive there without human intervention.

Look, Ma, no hands!

Google noted that their fleet of self-driving vehicles have already been active on roads in California, and even brought out a Las Vegas lobbyist to discuss how the vehicles could increase fuel efficiency and decrease accidents. In the long term, self-driving vehicles that are connected to a network that’s aware of traffic and road conditions could automatically optimize a "driver's" commute based on traffic, construction delays, and other obstacles on the roads. This also ties in to Google working with Ford to get its Prediction API into cars.

Although Google's team says that the tech is at least eight years away from being in your car, the technology is already impressive. The New York Times, in fact, saw one of these cars in action: a Prius (no one's going to miss a Prius if the test fucks up) equipped with numerous sensors that was following a route programmed into the GPS navigation system flawlessly.

According to the New York Times:

It drove at the speed limit, which it knew because the limit for every road is included in its database, and left the freeway several exits later. The device atop the car produced a detailed map of the environment.
The car then drove in city traffic through Mountain View, stopping for lights and stop signs, as well as making announcements like "approaching a crosswalk" (to warn any human currently asleep at the wheel) or "turn ahead" in a pleasant female voice.

I would like to think that these cars would be the real life equivalent of KITT from TV's Knight Rider (the one with the Hoff, not that crappy remake) and be the most badass thing on the planet, but I have this sneaking suspicion that it's one bug away from being more like HAL and end up driving your sleeping ass right off a bridge. Yay, clouds.

Entertainment: Johnny 5 is Twenty Five!

Today marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the release of the 80s cinema gem, Short Circuit and Johnny 5! It was on May 9, 1986 that Number 5 first made us laugh and cheer on the big screen. We learned to say crazy things like, "Your Mama was a snowblower!," "Hello, bozo!," and "Nice software!" Hugely popular, sequel talks would begin a mere 2 weeks after the release of the first flick. By 1987, Johnny 5 was a household name. He was as recognized as Bugs Bunny. Short Circuit, was the #1 home video for the year. Thanks for all the laughs, Johnny. And, congrats to all those involved in the film. Number Five is still alive!

For a quick recap, let's take a look at the Wikipedia plot synopsis, shall we? The story revolves around a sentient robot labeled "SAINT Number 5", the fifth of a series of prototype robots built for the US military during the Cold War. While a demonstration takes place on the grounds of the developer's company, Nova Laboratories in Damon, Washington, a lightning storm forces an end to the presentation, while a power surge hits Number 5 while it is recharging and alters its program, causing a malfunction, and Number 5 is alive, dammit.

Johnny 5 is alive, bitch!

Fast forward twenty five years, and fans are just as in love with Johnny as they were when he first entered our lives. To commemorate the festivities, the studio announced the release of both films on Blu Ray to coincide with the anniversary. Although spectacular to watch, these discs don't really come with a lot of extra features that we've become accustomed to. Instead, we're treated to a relaxed audio commentary by John Badham and writers S.S. Wilson and Brent Maddock, on-set interviews with cast and crew (including some sharp observations by futurist Syd Mead, who designed the robot), a short "making of" featurette, behind-the-scenes footage, production stills and designs, and a trailer. Well, if that's all we get, that's all we get. I suppose some might argue that there were no such things as DVDs, Blu Rays and Special Features to worry about back in the 80s, so why would they shoot that? To this I say, Damn you, hateful Curr!

Even more questionable than the supreme lack of extras to be found on the Blu Ray discs is the word of a remake, allegedly due out sometime this year. I loved the first movie. I loved the second one, too. I just don't think we need to see a remake of it. According to sources online, there is no intent to change Johnny, but it's unlikely Mr. Guttenberg will be on hand to make an appearance. The only information that IMDB has to offer is that it's in production, with no cast listings, but the original creators are involved somehow. So, it can't be all bad, can it?

So on this day, I say to you, forget the lack of extra features on the Blu Rays and DVDs, and especially forget about the potential ruining of our beloved Johnny 5, and go and watch the awesomeness that is Short Circuit and bask in it's glory.

Technology: Beware the Rise of the Machines!

I stumbled on this little nugget while having my morning coffee...

Cornell University’s Hod Lipson is developing robots that can reflect on their own thoughts by equipping them with two controllers. One controller was rewarded for chasing dots of blue light while avoiding red dots, and the second controller modeled how the first behaved and how successful it was. This technique, known as metacognition, enabled the robot to adapt after about 10 physical experiments, as opposed to the thousands of experiments needed using traditional evolutionary robots. "This could lead to a way to identify dangerous situations, learning from them without having to physically go through them–that’s something that’s been missing in robotics," says University of Vermont’s Josh Bongard.

This makes me scared for the future. I remember what happened wth SkyNet and the Terminators. Or even the Cylons. Does anyone else think this is a remarkably bad idea? It's only a matter of time before these toasters rebel and hunt us down for the sacks of meat we are!