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This week — a Bitcoin millionaire builds a working Dr Octopus suit; can a robot be divine; AI sees through walls and predicts World Cup winner; and more!

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More than a human

Why a 19-year-old Bitcoin millionaire built a working Dr. Octopus suit

Here’s a proof that we live in the future. Erik Finman made millions out of Bitcoins. But instead of spending them on fast cars and joys of life, he decided to build a real-life working Dr Octopus exosuit. And he didn’t do it for himself. He did it for a 10-year-old kid who suffers from hypermobility issues.

Amazing Prosthetics

Here’s a collection of pretty cool looking prosthetics. Which one is your favourite?

Engineers Created A New Bionic Arm That Can Grow With You

Daniel Melville presents his Deus Ex prosthetic arm designed by Open Bionics. The video shows how the process of creating a prosthetic arm looks like in Open Bionics.

This Army unit will be first to test an exoskeleton that lightens combat load

US soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division will be the first to test ONYX — the long-awaited exoskeleton created by Lockheed Martin. The company says the exoskeleton can reduce injuries, carrying loads and help troops move around the battlefield with ease.

Get Up To Speed on Life Extension

In his 2016 novel Eternal Sonata, Jamie Metzl described a near future in which scientists are reversing aging with stem cell treatments and the DNA of jellyfish. In this video, Metzl offers a handy primer on the most promising threads in longevity science and spins an engaging story along the way, ranging from the Epic of Gilgamesh to a 19th century fad for testicular transplants.

Artificial Intelligence

Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and the Feud Over Killer Robots

As the tech moguls disagree over the risks presented by something that doesn’t exist yet, all of Silicon Valley is learning about unintended consequences of AI — from privacy issues to the possibility of weaponizing AI.

Artificial intelligence senses people through walls

“No one can hide from my sight”, says this AI system from MIT that can sense people through walls like it was equipped with X-ray vision. Researchers used a neural network to analyze radio signals from wireless devices that bounce off people’s bodies, and can then create a dynamic stick figure that walks, stops, sits, and moves its limbs as the person performs those actions.

Machine learning predicts World Cup winner

Researchers have predicted the outcome after simulating the entire soccer tournament 100 000 times. The algorithm gives the biggest chances of winning the tournament to Spain (17.8%), followed by Germany (17.1%) and Brazil (12.3%). For more, check the paper and on page 21 you will find the results for each country participating in the tournament.

Why the Future of Machine Learning is Tiny

This post tries to convince that the future of machine learning on small devices that can run on tiny, low-power chips, and that this combination will solve a massive number of problems we have no solutions for right now.

Robotics

Can a Robot Be Divine?

Robots are entering more and more spaces in our lives. What hasn’t been explored nearly as much is the idea of robots in a religious context. We’ve seen a few examples of robots assisting in religious tasks, but what if robots could take things a step farther, and become sacred objects, embodying divinity within a robot itself? Researchers decided to find answers to this questions. Their work was theoretical but it is interesting nevertheless. Oh, and if you’d like to build your own “divine” robot, there are some tips in the article.

The World’s Police Robots

This infographic shows how police from different countries use robots to fight crime. The list has bomb-defusing robots, drones, robotic prison guards and more.

Drone delivery could make your medications cheaper

Drones delivering medicines and test kits can save lives of people living in rural areas. Researchers dig deeper into this idea and have created mathematical models to check how many drones are needed and where they should be located to maximize the output of the drone delivery network. This work can help design such networks and optimize them to deliver maximum value with minimal cost.

Scientists Develop Bird-like Robots That Can Morph in Flight

This is an interesting robot. Named Dubbed Quad-Morphings, it can change its shape mid-flight to better manoeuvre between obstacles. The robot does not use the type of heavy energy-consuming steering requiring a robotic platform featuring a low-inertia. Instead, it uses elastic and rigid wires to change its shape.

Biotechnology

China Is Genetically Engineering Monkeys With Brain Disorders

A visit to a facility in Guangdong province, where researchers are tinkering with monkey brains in order to understand the most severe forms of autism.

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Originally published at hplusweekly.com on June 15, 2018.

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A free, weekly newsletter with latest news and articles about robotics, AI and transhumanism.

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