By Matthew Knight, CNN
(CNN) - It might look like science fiction but the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) hopes to turn this humanoid robot into a seafaring fact in an effort to improve firefighting capabilities on board military vessels.
Currently at the development stage, the Shipboard Autonomous Firefighting Robot (or SAFFiR for short) is intended to combat fires in the cramped conditions of a ship, saving lives and costly equipment.
Armed with cameras and a gas sensor, the battery-powered SAFFiR will be "capable of activating fire suppressors" and throwing "propelled extinguishing agent technology (PEAT) grenades," says the NRL.
By Brandon Griggs, CNN
Austin, Texas (CNN) – Any author or filmmaker seeking ideas for a sci-fi yarn about the implications of artificial intelligence - good or bad - would be smart to talk to Ray Kurzweil.
Kurzweil, the acclaimed inventor and futurist, believes that humans and technology are blurring - note the smartphone appendages in almost everyone's hand - and will eventually merge.
"We are a human-machine civilization. Everybody has been enhanced with computer technology," he told a capacity crowd of more than 3,000 tech-savvy listeners Monday at the South by Southwest Interactive conference. "They're really part of who we are.
By John D. Sutter, CNN
(CNN) –- File this in the don't-know-why-someone-thought-of-this-but-it's-amazing drawer:
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania developed flying robots - they kind of look like fat, square hummingbirds - that play the theme song from "James Bond" films. Not "play" in a passive sense. These little guys (or gals, since robot voices are usually female, as Brandon Griggs writes) actually hit notes on keyboards and drag sticks across chimes. One dips up and down onto a cymbal to accent the piece.
It's all pretty incredible. Check out it out in this video, shown recently at the TED conference in California:
Dale Dougherty has a simple idea: all of us are makers. We’re born makers. We don’t just live - we make.
Dale believes that America used to be a nation of makers. People were proud to tinker in their garages and basements and pass on the tradition of “making” to future generations. These days, Dale thinks we’ve strayed to far from that way of life, and have focused more on being consumers.
Dale says, it’s time to get back to making. It doesn’t matter what it is: cheese, wine, sculptures, robots, rockets, 3D printers - even electric muffins! As simple or as bizarre as a person wants to get, Dale believes everyone should be passionate about making something. So Dale decided over a decade ago to create a grassroots festival called Maker Faire. There’s one every year in the Bay Area, NYC, and all over the world. There’s one in Africa. Tens of thousands of people attend, showing off all of the spectacular things they’ve made. Things like a basketball bikini, art sculptures made from car parts and wooden catapults, large and small. Simply, makers are enthusiasts, amateurs and hobbyists.
Dale also created MAKE magazine. The magazines are jam-packed with ideas and exact plans for making things. One issue might be dedicated to making robots, or rockets. Anyone with an interest can pick up a magazine and get right to work.
Dale is passionate about making a new generation of makers. He just received a DARPA grant. His task: to bring the philosophy of making to high schools around the country with what he calls Maker Spaces. He believes the concept of students sitting quietly at a desk reading is archaic and the best way for kids to learn is to engage, to act and to make. Dale hopes to one day have these maker spaces in high schools across the country.
Simply put, Dale’s mission is to make more makers. He says you don’t have to be a genius to make things. You just have to follow your natural curiosity - and begin.
Tune into CNN 2 P.M. E.T. February 12th to see the full 30-minute profile of Dale Dougherty.
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Over the past few weeks CNN's new show The Next List has profiled innovators, visionaries and agents of change. They’re not household names just yet, but they’re movers and shakers in their own world. We’re introducing them to you because these individuals are steadily mapping the course to the future with their new ideas. Like our "Next Listers," we aim to be as innovative, visionary and passionate about telling you their stories. Here are some clips from a special episode of The Next List devoted to defining our idea of "agents of change":
Heather Knight is an intelligent, outgoing, bubbly tech geek. Oh, and did we mention she's also a social roboticist?
So, what's a social roboticist, you ask? Heather says the best way to explain what she does, is to show you herself. So take a look at "The Next List's" amazing profile of Heather Knight and her robot, Data. She'll dazzle you with her ability to merge techy robotics with inspiring art, acting and choreography. Plus, she and Data, make a terrific standup comedy duo.
Together she and Data explore the roles of how humans and robots interact. And Heather's using that information to make better technology that can help people flourish — now and for years to come.
By Matthew Gray, Special to CNN
Editor's Note: Matthew Gray is an Assistant Professor of Theater at the College of Arts, Media and Design at Northeastern University. He teamed up with social roboticist Heather Knight to teach her robot, Data, the art of acting and gestures. You can see more of Heather and Matthew's training this Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on the CNN show The Next List.
I’ve long aspired to put robots on stage, which is strange to say since the first appearance of a "robot" was on a stage.
The play, which was called "Rossum’s Universal Robots," by the Capek Brothers, introduced the word ‘robot’ into the lexicon in 1920. Ever since, that word - and the themes of the play - have been embraced by science.
But not by art. At least until recently. FULL POST
By Thom Patterson, CNN
Not long ago, a pair of Harvard scientists hit on an "aha" moment in the most unexpected place: while waiting in line at a post office.
Robert Shepherd and Filip Ilievski were trying to help the rest of their research team create a new generation of bendable rubbery robots called soft robots.
They already had a design that allowed their bendy robot to undulate, or move in a wavy motion. But they were looking for a design that offered more movement.
Each week, CNN's "The Next List" profiles innovators, visionaries and agents of change. They’re not household names just yet, but they’re movers and shakers in their own worlds. We’re introducing them to you because these individuals are steadily mapping the course to the future with their new ideas.
WHO: Host Dr. Sanjay Gupta
WHEN: Saturdays at 2:30 p.m. ET - All new time!
WHERE: Only on CNN
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