Technology is Evolving

Think about the world 15 years ago. Ask your self how you used to accomplish these tasks and how they were different back then:

  • Coordinating and meeting friends in a public place
  • Discovering what an acquaintance has been up to
  • Finding and buying a good appliance for the best price around you
  • Driving and navigating yourself in a new city
  • Contacting a person you heard of, but never contacted or knew even how to
  • Taking a photo

Now think about mobile phones, Facebook, Skype, Amazon and GPS. Those consumer-oriented services are powered by advances in fiber optics, satellites, wireless, chip minimization, distributed systems, CCDs and CMOS photography and tons more. Science and technology have been progressing; Physics, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, signal processing, biology, medicine […]  and the pace of change is increasing.

Videos to start the week

Here’s a bunch of videos that gives us a hint on some of the technologies worth keeping an eye on in the next 10-15 years. The future looks… different.

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Quadcopters that can bounce a ball

This is one of the most mindblowing videos you’ll see on quadcopters this year. The combinations of quadcopters, sensors and algorithms takes these mini-drones to new heights.

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Flying Robots mimicking nature

When it came to flying robots, we’ve seen more of the quadcopter type. The following system, developed in the Maryland Robotics center, tries to mimic how birds fly. Did they get it? You be the judge:

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Deus Ex: Human Revolution

(Sources: [1] [2])

Human augmentation used to be science fiction. Books, movies and games touched on how life would look like if we could augment ourselves with robotics. One game that I’m fond of is Dues Ex, where human augmentation is at the center stage of the story, and the following video reminded me of the backstory of Dues Ex:

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Robot got skills

Robots have been replacing humans in jobs for years now. Building cars, sorting vegetables, prepping your snacks and soon building our cameras.

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Creativity however, we believe is harder to synthesize. When’s the last time you thought about a Robot Poet, or Painter? ‘Oh, DaVID v0.55 really understands the human psyche! What a prodigy’, said no one ever.

But if we’re moving towards simulating a human brain, and eventually the mechanics that make us human, will we be as confident about our creative genius?

Answering that question is still premature, but in the meanwhile, it seems we’re at least capturing some of the skill set:

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“Quick everybody!!!! evolve!!!! the robots are catching up”

DARPA. The market for robo-builders, robo-humans, robo-animals, and robo everything is clear. It’s growing, and it’s going to be a hit for helping the elderly, doing your mundane home tasks (8 million Roomba units sold, 11 years old), serving you in diners, and helping you through tough times.

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The pace in which Boston Dynamics, funded by DARPA, has been improving robotics, is mind blowing. How long is it going to take for these robots to start helping out you ask? Realistically sooner than it looked like 15 years ago. Skip to 00:45 for the more interesting parts

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And who doesn’t like babies? The following video might either wow you, or make it harder for you to sleep tonight:

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What Next?

In the next post, I’ll be touching on next-gen technologies available now like the Oculus Rift, Leap Motion, and a few other more mundane yet cool devices.

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