UK Government Official Job Site Advertises Fake 007 Position
Would you like the life of Bond? The British Secret Intelligence Service posted a job opening online for a "Target Elimination Specialist," with the job code "007." Unfortunately, this was fake, and taken down rapidly after being published; but made for a rather humourous slip-up regardless.
Disney Creates Robot That Plays Catch
Disney Research have built a robot that plays a scarily humanlike game of catch, tracking the user and the ball with its eyes. Aimed for use in Disney's theme parks of the future, it can also juggle too.
Robot Book Scanner Captures 250 Pages Every Minute
Researchers in Japan have built a book scanner capable of capturing 250 pages-per-minute. To put that into perspective, it would take under ten minutes to scan the entire Oxford English Dictionary.
'Terminator 2' Pre-CGI Special Effects Explained By Film Crew
Offering a unique insight into the creation 1991 Terminator 2's masterful special effects before CGI, the Stan Winston School of Character Arts has published a behind-the-scenes feature into the creation of the film's villain: the T-1000.
Brain-Controlled Helicopter Takes Flight On Kickstarter
The Puzzlebox Orbit, a flying helicopter orb guided by brainwaves, has successfully exceeded its target funding on Kickstarter.
Brainwave data is transmitted via a NeuroSky MindWave Mobile EEG headset to software running on either the pyramid-shaped base (called the Puzzlebox Pyramid) for the helicopter, or a tablet/smartphone. Through this, your thoughts are turned into flight commands and your spherical helicopter takes to the skies.
'The WITCH.' World's Oldest Digital Computer Resurrected
After a three-year restoration project at The National Museum of Computing, the 61 year old Harwell Dekatron (aka WITCH) computer has been successfully rebooted, becoming the world's oldest original working digital computer.
Ban ‘Killer Robots’ Before It’s Too Late, Says Human Rights Watch
With a 50-page report outlining “concerns about fully autonomous weapons, which would inherently lack human qualities that provide legal and non-legal checks on the killing of civilians”, Human Rights Watch has called for governments of the world to pre-emptively ban what they are calling ‘killer robots’, fully autonomous killing machines.
'Faceshift' Delivers Markerless Motion Capture Via Kinect
So it might not deliver the kind of sophistication in motion-capture that was utilised by Team Bondi for its ground-breaking crime caper L.A. Noire – that, after all, relied on a studio set-up with 32 high-def cameras tracking a single actor’s face – but new facial animation software ‘Faceshift’ does more than an adequate job in replicating such techniques, and it relies solely on Microsoft’s Kinect.
Researchers Create Walking Biological Robots Using Heart Cells
A team of scientists at the University of Illinois have built tiny biological robots that walk to the beat of a thin sheet of rat heart cells.
'The Carp And The Seagull.' A Haunting Interactive Short Film
Designer Evan Boehm has launched the interactive film The Carp and the Seagull: an innovative Web-GL-Driven video that has been described "an experiment in space and user-driven narrative". This haunting, folktale-inspired journey between two overlapping worlds is told by rotating the scene, to reveal new insights and perspectives.
Grand Theft Auto: RISE. Amazing Live Action Short Film
The second official trailer for Grand Theft Auto V isn't the only entertaining free-roaming crime video this week. Director Gevorg Karensky has created a live action short film inspired by the series, simply called RISE.
Thieves Make Off With $1.5 Million iPad Mini Haul In JFK Heist
In a heist reminiscent of that pulled off in Goodfellas, a pair have made off with a haul of Apple iPad Mini's (3,600 of them to be precise) from a cargo building at New York City's JFK airport.
New Skyrim DLC Revealed: Dragonborn
Xbox players of Skyrim will be receiving an early Christmas present from Bethesda: the third DLC will be coming out on the 4th of December, and it looks awesome. Sadly there is no release date yet for PC or PS3.
Tom Hardy Attached To Lead Splinter Cell Movie
Bronson, Inception, Tinker Tailor Solider Spy actor and The Dark Knight Rises’ Bane, Tom Hardy has put pen to paper in signing up for the leading role in the upcoming videogame-to-movie adaptation Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell, according to reports.
Jellyfish-Inspired Microchip Captures Cancer Out Of The Bloodstream
A team of researchers have drawn inspiration from the Jellyfish to design a microchip coated with DNA tentacles, which can capture cancerous cells in the bloodstream and provide a new way of combatting this disease in patients.
Vuzix M100 Eyes Up Google Glass
It appears Google has some much-needed competition, then, in its efforts to develop an augmented-reality head-mounted display - Vuzix has just announced the M100 hands-free smartphone display and communications system.
The Infinite Jukebox: Your Favourite Song Mixed To Last Forever
Let's be honest, we call our music tastes "diverse;" but there is always that one favourite song that deserves multiple uses of that Repeat button. The Infinite Jukebox takes this concept in a new, algorythmic direction, remixing said song to continue playing forever.
Elliptic Labs Brings 'Minority Report' Gesture Control To Windows 8
Norwegian company Elliptic Labs has launched a new touch-less gesturing control that uses ultrasound technology to translate hand movements, and bring a 'Minority Report' style implementation to Windows 8.
'Alien: Engineers.' Early Prometheus Script Leaks Online
An early draft of the script for Prometheus has been published by a fan site this week. Titled Alien: Engineers, it reveals alien creatures and plot points never seen in the finished film.
'Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie' Trailer Released
The Angry Video Game Nerd has been a hit sensation on the Internet for over one hundred episodes, and the first trailer for its film adaptation has been released.