The fact that most insects (except for the really freaky ones) are very small doesn't stop them from getting everywhere they want to, especially all of those places that you try to keep them out of. Roboticists have been experimenting with bug-sized robots, but they're still pretty large, about the size of giant beetles or moths. Most insects are far smaller than that, which means that they experience the world much differently, and that can be a hard thing to study effectively. At ICRA last month, Ryan St. Pierre and Professor Sarah Bergbreiter from the University of Maryland presented a paper on the gait characteristics of magnetically actuated legged robots weighing less than 2 grams, which was very cool to see. It's only the beginning, though: robots like these are about to get way, way smaller.

Social media and interplanetary mission -- what do they have in common? Well, they have in common the Mars Orbiter Mission, also known as'Mangalyaan'. It was launched on 5th November by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). It generated a lot of interest across the globe among millions of people on Social Media networks. In this blog, we analyze how Twitterati reacted to this news. Asia was by far the most interested in the subject, covering 74% of all the tweets on'Mangalyaan'.

Hollywood can take almost anything and adapt it into gold. It's common knowledge these days that a movie based on a Marvel comic book can grow into a billion-dollar franchise, and producers have found lucrative source material in everything from theme park rides to toys. But movies based on video games have yet to hit the same stride, despite the fact that the global gaming industry is expected to generate close to 100 billion this year, more than Hollywood itself. The history of failed movie adaptations serves as a cautionary backdrop for "Warcraft," based on the popular Activision Blizzard game series, which will be released in North America June 10. At a time when all things geek are considered mainstream, there's still much uncertainty about whether "Warcraft" will be the one to end the cycle of bad video game movies.

Much of that success can be attributed to the game's open structure and limitless potential. Players can build anything they imagine, provided its outward-facing geometry is made up of simple, colorful blocks. The focus on creativity is why so many players, young and old, have been drawn to the game and continue to play years after its release. Mojang has supported the game with a steady stream of updates that have added new mechanics, creatures and materials. The game's flexibility has also made it a smash-hit in the classroom, teaching art, geology, coding and other subjects.

Uber is facing challenges in acquiring drivers, paying drivers and managing the liability of drivers, but these issues will vanish, along with a good chunk of its costs, if Uber can establish a massive fleet of self-driving cars,

BOSTON, MA – June 2, 2016 – Neurala, Inc., a creator of artificial intelligence, deep learning software for robots, drones, self-driving cars, toys, consumer electronics, and smart devices (ioT), today announced that it has completed a 1.2-million round of financing lead by the fund run by well-known venture capitalist Tim Draper, Draper Associates Investments, LLC, and by Haiyin Capital, a Beijing-based venture capital firm. This second round of financing brings the total external investment in Neurala to 2 million. Haiyin Capital is a new investor in Neurala. The firm actively invests worldwide in technology teams whose innovations are, in their opinion, poised for global impact. In addition to their financial investment in Neurala, Haiyin will provide access to its network of OEM and technology companies in China.

A team out of Waseda University in Japan has unveiled some pretty cool images from the first half of the 20th century, given new depth with full colorization thanks to an artificial intelligence. Unlike colorizing black and white photos using software, which can be a lengthy process of repeated cleaning and coloring – this AI samples similar photos and applies those colors and tones to the photo at hand. So, for example, if you have an old black and white photo of your grandparent's house – and that house is still standing today – you can take a photo of it and the AI will learn how to color the old photo based on the tones and levels from the modern day one. Similarly, if you have an old photo of an area or people that don't exist, the program can still learn and adapt those colors from similarly colored images. The more photos and images it has to pull from, the greater detail and true to color matching it will be able to provide.

Lee Se-dol, the 33-year-old South Korean who is the 18 time world champion of Go, finally beat Google's artificial intelligence program. It marks his first win in the ongoing challenge. Since the AI already won three games in the five-game series, a series which is taking place in Seoul, the victory is already secured; however, the final matches are still being played out. It is hoped that these games will help the Google team get some valuable insights into how well the program functions. And it seems that people like knowing that humanity can put up a good show in the face of artificial intelligence. Indeed, Lee's win was met with uncharacteristically enthusiastic applause.

My son was seven when a paediatrician diagnosed him on the autism scale – but really, we had known for years. There was his limited vocabulary – a handful of words by the time he was three, and a habit of mixing up letters or relying on stock sentences. He found it hard to get on with other children at his nursery, and later, when he went to a much bigger school, it was obvious the experience was terrifyingly loud, hectic and incomprehensible to him. Meanwhile, if there was something he was interested in, whether it was Peppa Pig or Superman, he would fixate on it to the detriment of absolutely anything else. We knew where all the signs were pointing.

As I detailed back in November in Sharp: A Cautionary Tale, the former electronics giant Sharp (OTCPK:SHCAY; OTCPK:SHCAF) has seen better days. Over the past several years, Sharp's financial statements have been like a disaster zone of its own making. Predictably, Sharp's most recent and final full year performance statement was also disastrous. The strength of the yen1 and weakness of the global economy will continue to make sure of that. However, on March 30th, 2016, after state-sponsored Japan Display Inc. (OTC:JPDYY) of the Innovation Network Group failed to make a competing offering, Hon Hai/Foxconn Technology Group (OTC:HNHAF; OTC:HNHAY; OTC:FXCOF) finalized a much talked-about deal to acquire a 66% stake in Sharp - priced at 3.5 billion2, about 2.75 billion less than its original offer but 1.22 billion higher than Sharp's market cap at the time of the purchase.