Microsoft Predicts The Future Using News Headlines Of The Past
Scientists from Microsoft Research and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have developed software, which could predict future events such as disease outbreaks with 70%-90% accuracy.
The Art Of Databending
Databending, a concept somewhat akin to circuit bending, is the purposeful creation of glitches within sound files, text, images or videos through esoteric computer wizardry. What started out as an accidental by-product of fickle technology has now evolved into a deliberate aestheticization of damaged information.
Prominent musicians such as Trent Reznor and Detroit-based rapper Danny Brown have employed glitches in their album artwork and music videos, respectively, and various bloggers have dedicated themselves solely to this niche artform.
There are various methods of inducing glitches in your photography, most of which are deceptively simple. I'll be running through these processes using my own work as examples, because I relish any opportunity that allows for flagrant self-promotion. This isn't a tutorial, but since I'm a fundamentally good person I have provided links to some handy guides at the bottom of this article.
NASA's 'RASSOR' Robot Could Help Us Colonise The Moon
NASA is working on a robot that will help them find water on the moon. Named RASSOR (Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot), this excavator has been built to extract water, ice, and other resources from lunar soil.
Stanford Researchers Build Million-Core Supercomputer
As you're aware, most computers have four processor cores, some have eight; but a team at Stanford have built a supercomputer that contains over a million cores.
This behemoth of a machine is called 'Sequoia,' and can be found at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), in California. It contains a whopping 1,572,864 cores, and 1.6 petabytes of memory - that's 1.6 million gigabytes, almost enough to store the data of every academic library in the US.
£1 Billion Supercomputer To Reconstruct And Simulate 'Entire Human Brain'
An international group of researchers have secured over £1 billion to fund the incredibly ambitious 'Human Brain project.' Scientists will spend the next decade understanding, mapping, and virtually simulating the network of over a hundred billion neuronal connections that illicit thought, emotion, and consciousness.
Chinese Hacker Creates Voice-Controlled R2-D2
All the women out there whose men just don't cut it in the gift department, gaze upon the glory of Lingxiang Xiang and despair at your man yet again handing you the same old wilted roses and chalky chocolates. For this is a man who has given his girlfriend the gift of R2-D2.
'ATHLETE.' NASA's Next Robot Walker To Build A Moon Base
In NASA’s continued ambition to further space exploration, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory has designed the next rover to build and supply a future lunar base. The ATHLETE (All-Terrain Hex-Limbed Extra-Terrestrial Explorer) is designed to tackle any terrain the moon could throw at it, while transporting tools, equipment and personnel in the process.
'Hello Lamp Post!' Talk To Bristol's Street Furniture In Award Winning 'Playable City'
A project that allows people to have "secret, digital conversations" with lamp posts, post boxes, bus stops, or various other pieces of street furniture in Bristol is to be installed after being declared winner of the first Playable City award.
Functional Iron Man Laser Gauntlet Brings Life To Stan Lee's Imaginations
After causing chaos in Liberty City, the shadowy agents of Tony Stark seek to get their technology out into the real world. Patrick Priebe of Laser Gadgets has created an impressive replica of Iron Man’s gauntlet.
'Beatoven.' Make And Mix Music With A Cooking Pot
Korean artist Viktor Jan has combined music and cooking in a way you've never known before with Beatoven. We understand that their rather similar in their craft of blending certain ingredients for the perfect sound; but this is a more literal transition of that idea, adding a music interface to a cooking pot.
UK University To Research Stroke Victim Recovery Using The Kinect
Nottingham Trent University is to conduct research using Microsoft's Kinect to help stroke victims.
Kinect Concept 'IllumiRoom' Turns Your Entire Room Into A Video Game
Microsoft Research have lifted the veil on its latest concept named IllumiRoom, which uses a Kinect and a projector to expand video game graphics beyond the boundaries of the television, augmenting the room around it to amazing effect.
Robotic Band 'Compressorhead' Is The Literal Definition Of Heavy Metal
Presenting Compressorhead: a three-piece robotic heavy metal band, who have taken the world of "meatbags" on YouTube by storm with their cover of Motörhead’s "Ace of Spades." The technology that allows each of these robots to play the music you see is nothing short of amazing.
Blocking Pirate Websites Does Not Stop Online Piracy
Research conducted by Boston Northeastern University has determined various anti-piracy strategies, including censorship and blockades, are not effective in stopping the downloading of pirated content.
A 'Steam Box' Emerges At CES 2013
We all knew a 'Steam Box' of some sort was coming – Valve boss Gabe Newell recently said as much – but exactly what that mysterious console-cum-PC would look like or how indeed it would stack up against the competition, little was known. CES 2013 has already given us one or two shock announcements, but one alluding to Valve's much-discussed Steam-based home console is certainly the best of the bunch as yet.
'PaperTab' Flexible Tablet Prototype Aims To Replace Paper
Flexible displays are commonplace when it comes to conceptual technology; but Plastic Logic, Queen's University and Intel Labs have stepped closer to making this a reality with the PaperTab.
Using flexible e-paper technology with touch sensitivity, these 10.7-inch plastic displays are strongly interconnected via the desk they are placed on. Each display shows a different app (naturally), representing a 'digital' stack of papers.
Lego Master Builds Giant NES Controller That Actually Works
Ever wondered what to do with a few thousand leftover Lego bricks? New York-based multimedia artist "Baron" Julius von Brunk has made a giant, fully functioning NES controller that actually works with the games system.
NVIDIA Unveils Android-Based Handheld 'Project Shield'
Forgive our ignorance that alluded CES 2013 would be missing its share of shock announcements - this is one that we certainly didn’t see coming. Chip manufacturer NVIDIA has just unveiled its very own handheld gaming system called ‘Project Shield’ that it says is capable of delivering console-quality games on the go, and even has the functionality to stream full PC games to the device over Wi-Fi.
'Google Time' Smart Watch Concept Presents Bright Future Of Wearable Tech
User Interface designer Adrian Maciburko has created a concept dubbed 'Google Time.' As the idea of wearable computing rapidly becomes a technological trend in 2013, this shows a really nice and simple take on the smart watch, using Google's latest design language.
Researchers Use Electricity To Release Human Brain's Strongest Opioid Painkillers
A team of international researchers have used a form of electro stimulation called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to release endrogenous opioids - the human body's most powerful painkillers that are similar in strength to morphine.
This noninvasive procedure is especially significant and rather scary, as this is an immediate natural high, which can be accessed using damp sponges on your scalp, attached to a 9-volt battery.