Exoskeletons for commercial use on the way, my estimation 25 years till commonplace. We have yet another example where single technologies are available to aid in some pretty neat projects, but lacking on the integration know how to implement each system into a combined final machine. This exoskeleton is by far one of the best I have seen, it has all the potential of becoming the prototype to grandfather newer generations. This one is being catered to the military, not surprisingly, because the military is one of the few branches who can feasibly afford to financially subsidise a project of this nature. Nonetheless I see much more potential for its uses elsewhere, ie: Paralyzed people, automated urban vehicles, industrial uses, commercial entertainment and so forth.
*Exoskeleton Demo*
With this hardware becoming more efficient and becoming smaller and less bulky it will need an intuitive Operating system for the average untrained user. This software being developed in Japan for the game "Second Life" could easily be translated into a System Controller for the hardware we saw above. Imagine only thinking about walking and your mechanical skeletons software recognizes your brain wave input as such and then acted accordingly. This could dynamically change transportation issues, people with mal functioning bodies, athletics, war, and industrial work related efficiency, by making this whole Exo Systems easy and usable to the common public.
*Software*
Next step that needs to be address is how to power the unit. The easiest possible solution would be the newest generation of Hydrogen fuel cells. As their power output in ratio to size increases these could offer clean renewable and cheap power for the entire unit. The weight of the fuel cells is irrelevant because after all the suit is designed to be massively load bearing.
Portable Fuel Cell Hydrogen
If I were to put a price on one of these complete systems as we laid out above, given the rate of inflation, a first generation one for the commercial sector in 25 years from now would set you back around $30-40k depending on options. I suggest start saving now for your retirement, if nothing else shoveling snow will never be as easy.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Submission 003a:
The exoplanet is five times the mass of the Earth and orbiting a red dwarf star only 20 light-years away. In the last few days this new discovery has been on every major online news site, re-igniting the ancient question, "Are we alone"?
To be able to come close to an answer, we must first dissect its meaning. Usually the question is in context that enables us to clearly imply three things. First it is assumed that "we", is referring our conscious human race. Next, being "alone" refers to the possibility that we could be the only conscious and aware species within known space and time. Lastly, we can now deduce that the question is directed to being alone in the Universe.
In 1961 Dr. Frank Drake, a well known astrophysicist, set up a think-tank and invited some of the greatest minds of that generation. Their mission was to develop a mutual formula to calculate the percentage chance of intelligent life occurring within the universe. The final equation, dubbed "Drakes equation", uses seven variables to determine the most accurate probability of the event.
N = (R*) x (fp) x (ne) x (fl) x (fi) x (fc) x (L)
where:
N is the number of civilizations in our galaxy with which we might expect to be able to communicate at any given time
and
R * is the rate of star formation in our galaxy
f p is the fraction of those stars that have planets
n e is average number of planets that can potentially support life per star that has planets
f l is the fraction of the above that actually go on to develop life at some point
f i is the fraction of the above that actually go on to develop intelligent life
f c is the fraction of the above that are willing and able to communicate
L is the expected lifetime of such a civilization for the period that it can communicate across interstellar space.
When the think-tank plugged their conservative parameters into the formula it appeared as follows:
N = (10) × (0.5) × (2) × (1) × (0.01) × (0.01) × (10,000) = 10
At that point we finally had available a likely statistical answer to that ancient question. Where N = 10, that means within our own Milky Way galaxy there may be as many as ten other intelligent and technologically capable species. It is estimated that the Milky Way is roughly 100,000 light-years (distance light travels in a year, around 5,878,625,373,183.61 miles) in diameter. This implies that the statistical likelihood of this new planet harboring intelligent life is very small, not impossible, however unlikely.
Primordial species, Extremophiles, are believed by Astrobioligists to be more likely what we should expect to find on near by planets and moons. Extremophiles are the single or multiple celled organisms that live on Earth in areas so extreme it forces us to redefine our understanding of livable habitats for evolving species.
Regardless of whether we make contact with a type 3 civilization ( a topic of later discussion) or find Extremophiles on Jupiter's moons, humanity will undoubtedly change. Better understanding our place amongst the stars will aid us in making clearer decisions about our future.
To be able to come close to an answer, we must first dissect its meaning. Usually the question is in context that enables us to clearly imply three things. First it is assumed that "we", is referring our conscious human race. Next, being "alone" refers to the possibility that we could be the only conscious and aware species within known space and time. Lastly, we can now deduce that the question is directed to being alone in the Universe.
In 1961 Dr. Frank Drake, a well known astrophysicist, set up a think-tank and invited some of the greatest minds of that generation. Their mission was to develop a mutual formula to calculate the percentage chance of intelligent life occurring within the universe. The final equation, dubbed "Drakes equation", uses seven variables to determine the most accurate probability of the event.
N = (R*) x (fp) x (ne) x (fl) x (fi) x (fc) x (L)
where:
N is the number of civilizations in our galaxy with which we might expect to be able to communicate at any given time
and
R * is the rate of star formation in our galaxy
f p is the fraction of those stars that have planets
n e is average number of planets that can potentially support life per star that has planets
f l is the fraction of the above that actually go on to develop life at some point
f i is the fraction of the above that actually go on to develop intelligent life
f c is the fraction of the above that are willing and able to communicate
L is the expected lifetime of such a civilization for the period that it can communicate across interstellar space.
When the think-tank plugged their conservative parameters into the formula it appeared as follows:
N = (10) × (0.5) × (2) × (1) × (0.01) × (0.01) × (10,000) = 10
At that point we finally had available a likely statistical answer to that ancient question. Where N = 10, that means within our own Milky Way galaxy there may be as many as ten other intelligent and technologically capable species. It is estimated that the Milky Way is roughly 100,000 light-years (distance light travels in a year, around 5,878,625,373,183.61 miles) in diameter. This implies that the statistical likelihood of this new planet harboring intelligent life is very small, not impossible, however unlikely.
Primordial species, Extremophiles, are believed by Astrobioligists to be more likely what we should expect to find on near by planets and moons. Extremophiles are the single or multiple celled organisms that live on Earth in areas so extreme it forces us to redefine our understanding of livable habitats for evolving species.
Regardless of whether we make contact with a type 3 civilization ( a topic of later discussion) or find Extremophiles on Jupiter's moons, humanity will undoubtedly change. Better understanding our place amongst the stars will aid us in making clearer decisions about our future.
Submission 002a: Human to computer interface systems
When researchers at the Stanford Research Institute developed the first GUI (graphic user interface) three decades ago, they forever changed the way we interact with technology. The development of the mouse and a hyperlinked OS (operating system) increased the efficiency of the users' interaction with the computer. This in turn utilized the existing hardware more resourcefully, and opened up a new dimension for programmers. We would like to think that since the dawn of the first GUI, such technology would have far-surpassed its beginnings. Unfortunately this is not the case; we still use a modernized version of the mouse (instead of a track ball, they now use short wavelength lasers). There are many reasons why we still use the mouse to navigate our OS's, mostly because it's cheap and relatively efficient.
Over the years there have been many attempts to maximize interactive efficiencies with computer operating systems. Most of which never produced a product that integrated into mainstream applications. However, some projects have been recently adapted for a the popular market. Windows Vista and Mac OSx have both begun designing their respective operating system's UI to maneuver within a three dimensional environment. Because of the 3d operating environment, the new GUI's enable the user to access whole new levels of interactions. I have found some videos of just a few of these 3d interfaces:
sphereXP shell for WindowsXP-
Beryl on Linux-
Project looking glass from SunMicrosystems-
The only problem with these new developments is that they still utilize a primitive input device, the mouse. Don't worry though, engineers and scientists have been hard at work for many years to invent new powerful ways of getting what we want from our devices. Hollywood has portrayed these science fiction ideas for a while now. Movies and shows like Star Wars, Star Trek, Minority Report, The Matrix, and so forth, all featured futuristic concepts for computer systems. The graphic user interface seen in the movie Minority Report likely shows us an accurate portrayal of how we can expect to interact with our computers and the internet. Here is a video of an interface utilizing the human sense of touch to execute desired functions:
Another idea is to use 3d laser tracking hardware to follow the movements of human hands to operate computer interfaces.
Other sources of input such as the human eye, offer us another dimension of communicating with our technology.
Another idea is to use 3d laser tracking hardware to follow the movements of human hands to operate computer interfaces. With everything we have just seen, we can now begin to compile a vision of what future systems will look like. With the 3d laser tracking system monitoring our hand movements in real-time, we could wear special designed glasses to view the depth of field of a display screen. The screen along with the glasses will be designed to be in sync with the multidimensional GUI as well as the tracking system. This would give the user unprecedented navigation information in a real-time manipulative 3d environment. The new complete "four-in-one" system will offer programmers the ability to design applications that we can only imagine. The best part of all this is that the technology is here! The last hurdle is to put it all together!
Over the years there have been many attempts to maximize interactive efficiencies with computer operating systems. Most of which never produced a product that integrated into mainstream applications. However, some projects have been recently adapted for a the popular market. Windows Vista and Mac OSx have both begun designing their respective operating system's UI to maneuver within a three dimensional environment. Because of the 3d operating environment, the new GUI's enable the user to access whole new levels of interactions. I have found some videos of just a few of these 3d interfaces:
sphereXP shell for WindowsXP-
Beryl on Linux-
Project looking glass from SunMicrosystems-
The only problem with these new developments is that they still utilize a primitive input device, the mouse. Don't worry though, engineers and scientists have been hard at work for many years to invent new powerful ways of getting what we want from our devices. Hollywood has portrayed these science fiction ideas for a while now. Movies and shows like Star Wars, Star Trek, Minority Report, The Matrix, and so forth, all featured futuristic concepts for computer systems. The graphic user interface seen in the movie Minority Report likely shows us an accurate portrayal of how we can expect to interact with our computers and the internet. Here is a video of an interface utilizing the human sense of touch to execute desired functions:
Another idea is to use 3d laser tracking hardware to follow the movements of human hands to operate computer interfaces.
Other sources of input such as the human eye, offer us another dimension of communicating with our technology.
Another idea is to use 3d laser tracking hardware to follow the movements of human hands to operate computer interfaces. With everything we have just seen, we can now begin to compile a vision of what future systems will look like. With the 3d laser tracking system monitoring our hand movements in real-time, we could wear special designed glasses to view the depth of field of a display screen. The screen along with the glasses will be designed to be in sync with the multidimensional GUI as well as the tracking system. This would give the user unprecedented navigation information in a real-time manipulative 3d environment. The new complete "four-in-one" system will offer programmers the ability to design applications that we can only imagine. The best part of all this is that the technology is here! The last hurdle is to put it all together!
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Submission 00x:
I have compiled and organized research for some upcoming submissions. The topics to expect are as follows: "What is biofeedback technology and its purpose.", "What to expect from future computer interfaces and how we communicate with technology.", "The truth about alternate energy vehicles. Discussion including; hydrogen, bio-fuels, and electric fuels.", "Building off the grid and sustainable homes.", "What is the future of nanotech, how it integrates into modern technology.", "What discoveries of earthlike planets mean for the search of distant life."
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Submission 001b:
When we view the extended history of humans and our relationship to technology, we can see that technology is a key foundation defining our species. It is a paradigm to think that humans created technology and has done nothing to benefit us yet only to aid in the destruction of our planet. However when looked at more clearly we see that technology through the origins of consciousness in simply a manifestation of nature in her purest form. How then can we say one of nature’s greatest evolutionary paths is inefficient and unnecessary? The answer is simple, we cannot. In Darwin’s work and related studies, technology can be understood as an aspect of human evolution; meant to help us to harmonize with the world that surrounds us.
-Michai
-Michai
Submission 001a:
First I would like to welcome everyone to my new blog-space. This is my first attempt at creating and maintaining an online journal, so please be patient with my choice of content and writing style.
With this blog I hope to improve my readers’ understanding of how humans, technology, consciousness, and the Universe are all operating on fundamental patterns of nature. As time progresses and I begin to catalog and analyze new scientific headlines, recent technological advancements, innovative research, and lastly the human psyche we will begin to see how following these trends (or patterns) can enable us to make very clear and precise predictions.
In the last several years I have been collecting, from a diversity of sources, information about cutting edge sciences and technologies. All this assembling has given me the opportunity to better value the age in which we live. Thank you very much for cognitively accompanying me in this journey.
-Michai
With this blog I hope to improve my readers’ understanding of how humans, technology, consciousness, and the Universe are all operating on fundamental patterns of nature. As time progresses and I begin to catalog and analyze new scientific headlines, recent technological advancements, innovative research, and lastly the human psyche we will begin to see how following these trends (or patterns) can enable us to make very clear and precise predictions.
In the last several years I have been collecting, from a diversity of sources, information about cutting edge sciences and technologies. All this assembling has given me the opportunity to better value the age in which we live. Thank you very much for cognitively accompanying me in this journey.
-Michai
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