Abruptly, I enter the cab escaping the arctic weather to confront something worse than freezing rain – body odor. Luckily, another taxi pulled to the curb and I continued my journey to last Tuesday’s RobotLab forum on Cybersecurity & Machines. Moderating a panel at the new Global Cyber Center, with John Frankel of ffVC and Guy Franklin of SOSA, I […]
Cool Tech
Network Next Raises $3.2M for the Internet Fast Lane for Gaming and Interactive Content
The internet may not be as smart as you think. It currently treats all internet traffic exactly the same, which is a big problem for gamers because gaming traffic needs to be in real-time and highly responsive. The solution to this problem is the internet fast lane startup Network Next. This Santa Monica-based startup, founded […]
Technology and Covert Operations
Covert Operations has long relied on a mix of the most current technology available, and the need for an “old-school,” hands-on approach. No covert operative worth his salt would rely entirely on technology, as opening up an operation to an easy hack is almost the first danger one is warned against in training. I ran […]
The Viability of Toilet Cleaning Robots
The 1996 discovery of Allan Hills 84001 changed the world of science, and by extension robotics. I am referring to the meteorite that Dave McKay of NASA found on Earth, which hinted at life on Mars. Fast forward to the AI Summit two weeks ago, when I sat down with Stephen Gorevan of HoneyBee Robotics to discuss NASA’s Mars […]
Accessing The Power Of Quantum Computing, Today
Two weeks ago, I participated on a panel at the BCI Summit exploring the impact of quantum computing. As a neophyte to the subject, I marveled at the riddle posed by Grover’s Algorithm. Imagine you are assigned to find a contact in a phonebook with a billion names, but all you are given is a telephone number. A […]
VR Will Be Fun and Useful But it is Still Far, Far Away From Reality
I’ve been going to CES with my dad for the last 10 years, seeing almost every gadget, gizmo and widget before they came mainstream. Wearables, VR and AR really only started to garner traction and attention a few years back and while it’s come a long way since, it still has a long way to […]
This is Why Investing in Art is Providing Unparalleled Returns
If you’re thinking about investing in non-traditional asset classes, fine art should be high on your list of options to explore. Over a span of several decades, fine art’s favorable investment characteristics, such as its ability to act as a store of wealth to hedge against inflation and currency devaluation, have made it an increasingly […]
The Race For Robot Clairvoyance
This week a Harvard Business School student challenged me to name a startup capable of producing an intelligent robot – TODAY! At first, I did not understand the question, as artificial intelligence (AI) is an implement like any other in a roboticist’s toolbox. The student persisted, she demanded to know if I thought that the […]
The New Restaurant Experience: Robot Servers, Cooks And Hostesses
Rising labor costs and rents worldwide are driving retail establishments toward a mechanical future, potentially leaving 66 million human workers in jeopardy.
Ice-Bot Cometh: Building Self-Reliant Unmanned Systems
Last June, a massive dust storm engulfed Mars and immobilized the most famous robots in the galaxy, Opportunity and Curiosity. This is not the first time that Martian dirt has prevented Opportunity from recharging its solar panels. Its creators originally predicted that the planet’s harsh weather conditions would limit the rover’s mission to ninety sols (the […]
Disney Launches New Era Of Autonomy With Gravity-Defying Stickmen And More
Ever since the première of “Steamboat Willie” in 1928, The Walt Disney Company has pushed the envelope of imagination. Mickey Mouse is still more popular worldwide than any single human actor. In fact, from that one cel an entire world of animated characters was birthed. The entertainment powerhouse demonstrated last week a new generation of […]