Japan is facing an aging population in the coming decades and that means more people requiring care, and less people to provide it. In an effort to meet the shortfall, RIKEN and Sumitomo Riko Company Limited have developed Robear, an experimental nursing care robot that combines advanced robotics and a non-threatening design.

Robear is based on Riken’s Robot for Interactive Body Assistance (RIBA) and RIBA II assistance robots that were unveiled in 2009 … Read More → "Robear robot care bear designed to serve Japan’s aging population"

Wish you hadn’t been so quick to give up violin practice as a kid? You may never get to turn back the clock, but retired engineer Seth Goldstein is showing that there’s still hope of reliving those musical ambitions through technology. He recently showed off Ro-Bow, a kinetic sculpture that uses robotic fingers (specifically, electromagnetic actuators) to play digital music files on a real violin. While the machine won’t have concert … Read More → "Watch a robot play the violin better than you can"

Designer Jenny Pokryvailo has created a series of kitchen towels that look like sushi when properly rolled. The design was submitted to Ototo, which previously produced Pokryvailo’s design for the Nessie Ladle, a soup ladle that resembled the Loch Ness Monster.
via Laughing Squid

Continue reading</ … Read More → "Kitchen towels designed to look like sushi when properly rolled"

In a galaxy far, far away—12.8 billion light-years away to be more exact—is a newly-discovered supermassive black hole that weighs as much as 12 billion of our suns. The most surprising thing about the black hole, though, is not its size but its age.

Black holes grow as they … Read More → "Astronomers discover mysterious black hole as massive as 12 billion suns"

Working with colleagues from Deakin University and CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation), researchers from Australia’s Monash University have created the world’s first 3D-printed jet engine. While they were at it, they created the world’ssecond one, too. One of them is currently on display at the International Air Show in Avalon, Australia, while the other can be seen at the headquarters of French aerospace company … Read More → "Researchers create world’s first two 3D-printed jet engines"

photo via Joe Stump

Among the artifacts at the British Museum in London is this ancient Babylonian customer service complaint which was inscribed on a clay tablet sometime around 1750 BC. The complaint is regarding problems with two shipments of copper ore, as the museum notes in their description:

Clay tablet; letter from Nanni to Ea-nasir … Read More → "An ancient Babylonian customer service complaint inscribed on a clay tablet around 1750 BC"

Researchers at Tufts University School of Engineering and the University of Pavia (Italy) have developed a three-dimensional tissue made from porous silk, that’s capable of producing platelets for clinical use. The development is expected to have a significant impact on treatment of blood diseases.

Platelets are cell fragments containing no nucleus, produced by megakaryocytes found in bone marrow. They’re an essential component in the blood clotting process, … Read More → "3D engineered bone marrow-like material produces functioning human platelets"

A new study has been published this week which suggests that artificial intelligence can now learn “human-level control.” The team of researchers come from Google’s DeepMind, where they’re using Space Invaders – the video game – to show how the search for truly human artificial intelligence isn’t too far off. The machine learns to play the video game, learns to win at the video game, and dominates all humans at the game they’ … Read More → "Google’s AI wins Space Invaders, proves “human-level control”"

Artist and director Isaiah Saxon has created a fantastic series of merit badges for nerdy achievements like rocketeer and surrealist. He created the badges for DIY, an online learning community for kids of which Saxon is a co-founder.
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Can you imagine having an instructor who peers over your shoulder all the time while you practice, say, cooking or coding? Awkwaaard. But if that’s the only way you can force yourself to learn something, then this device called Grasp was made for you. It was designed to perch on your shoulder like a parrot, so an instructor can monitor and guide your every move from anywhere in … Read More → "Meet Grasp, a wearable that helps instructors micromanage you"