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Nimble-fingered robot hands could help clean up nuclear waste

New Scientist

Nimble-fingered robots that exactly mimic the movements of a human hand could soon be used to help decommission nuclear power stations. Remote-controlled robots with hand-like manipulators are used in many situations that are difficult or dangerous for humans, such as bomb disposal. However, their movements are typically controlled by human operators via joysticks, which limits their dexterity. To address this, Miika Perรค and Hamid Reza Zaheri at London firm Cambrian Intelligence have built a system that lets robotic arms and hands emulate hand movements exactly. To guide the robot, a human carries out the desired actions either in front of a video camera or while wearing a glove that captures movement.


Robotic lifeguard aids in first response around the world

#artificialintelligence

A robot assistant lifeguard called EMILY is making waves by helping migrants cross the Mediterranean Sea safely. In the wake of unrest, over 500 refugees have drowned attempting to cross the Mediterranean from Turkey to Greece. Members from the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station's (TEES) Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue (CRASAR) and Roboticists Without Borders gathered at the Greek island of Lesvos to assist the local Coast Guard and lifeguard organizations to prevent this from happening in the future. Dr. Robin Murphy, Raytheon Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Texas A&M University, aided authorities in Lesvos alongside CRASAR, of which she is an active member. She is working with students to continually improve the lifesaving device, which can carry up to eight people at once.


Solar Impulse 2: Sun-powered plane journey is proof of human endurance as well as renewable energy, pilots say

The Independent - Tech

Nasa has announced that it has found evidence of flowing water on Mars. Scientists have long speculated that Recurring Slope Lineae -- or dark patches -- on Mars were made up of briny water but the new findings prove that those patches are caused by liquid water, which it has established by finding hydrated salts. Several hundred camped outside the London store in Covent Garden. The 6s will have new features like a vastly improved camera and a pressure-sensitive "3D Touch" display


Every single movie coming out this summer

Los Angeles Times

The 2016 Summer Movie Preview is a snapshot of the films opening through early September. Release dates and other details, as compiled by Kevin Crust, are subject to change. The view of Earth from space and the information it reveals about humanity's effect on the planet are examined in this large-format science documentary. Business suddenly picks up for a London kosher baker when his young Muslim apprentice accidentally drops a stash of pot into the mixer. Written by Yehudah Jez Freedman and Jonathan Benson. The kidnapping of a beloved kitty forces two naive cousins to infiltrate a street gang. Written by Peele & Alex Rubens. In 1913 Cambridge, England, a young Indian math genius joins forces with an eccentric professor. Written and directed by Matthew Brown. Written by Lily Hollander, Anya Kochoff Romano. After an auto accident, a young woman finds herself in a life at odds with the one she remembers. Written by Doc Pedrolie and Victoria Arch. The famous writer's downward spiral is witnessed by a young reporter during the revolution. With Minka Kelly, Giovanni Ribisi, Joely Richardson, Adrian Sparks. A lonely lombax and a tiny robot team with the Galactic Rangers to save their world in this animated adventure.


Starshot Project: Stephen Hawking and Mark Zuckerberg to send tiny rockets to Alpha Centauri in most ambitious space exploration project ever

The Independent - Tech

Tiny rockets are going to be sent into space to study the far universe in the most ambitious space exploration project in history. Scientists including Stephen Hawking and backers such as internet investor Yuri Milner and Mark Zuckerberg will send "nano craft" deep into space to explore the most remote regions that humans have ever seen, by far. The hugely ambitious project could reveal deep secrets of the universe and will allow people to photograph one of the most likely places to hold life on other worlds. The Starshot Project hopes to get the tiny robots out to the Alpha Centauri star system, 25 trillion years away. Getting there through normal means would take 30,000 years โ€“ but the new project hopes that using the tiny rockets will allow them to get there in just 20.


SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket arrives at Port Canaveral

USATODAY - Tech Top Stories

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The first stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched Friday has returned to the Space Coast. SpaceX confirmed the booster's early morning Tuesday arrival at Port Canaveral on its official Twitter and Instagram accounts around 2:30 a.m. In a photo, the charred first stage of the rocket stands tall on the "Of Course I Still Love You" autonomous ship near the port's 273-foot-tall cranes. A crane will lift the 14-story rocket stage off the boat onto a stand, before it is transported to a hangar at Kennedy Space Center or Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The operation's exact timeframe is unclear, but the stage probably will be at the port for at least Tuesday before it is moved. If the rocket stage is deemed in good enough condition after inspections and multiple test firings of its nine Merlin 1D engines, CEO Elon Musk said SpaceX could try to launch it again as soon as June.


Space X's Falcon 9 rocket successfully lands on Atlantic Ocean barge

Daily Mail - Science & tech

SpaceX made history on Friday after successfully landing its Falcon 9 rocket on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean. Images of the tall, narrow rocket gliding down onto a droneship sparked applause and screams of joy at SpaceX mission control in Hawthorne, California. It was its fifth attempt at landing the rocket upright - a feat that the company says could pave the way for cheaper space travel. Now, new footage from an onboard camera released by founder Elon Musk shows the near-perfect landing in stunning detail. After four failed bids SpaceX finally stuck the landing Friday in the Atlantic Ocean. Now, new footage from an onboard camera released by founder Elon Musk shows the near-perfect landing in stunning detail. Primary school teacher sacked over this'inappropriate' dance SNL has fun with Clinton's subway gaffe earlier this week'What the f***?': Terrified boy haunted by ghost in bedroom The liftoff at 4:43 p.m. from Cape Canaveral was the first time that SpaceX has resupplied the ISS since the company's last cargo mission in June, which ended in disaster.


SpaceX delivers inflatable room that could be future of Mars exploration to International Space Station

The Independent - Tech

SpaceX has delivered an inflatable bedroom for astronauts to the International Space Station. The soft compartment is the first of its kind to go into space. But it could be far from the last: its makers hope that it will allow for inflatable habits on Mars, revolutionising the way that astronauts live on space. The company that made the small room, Bigelow Aerospace, hopes that within four years it can launch inflatable space stations made with the same technology that can then be leased out to commercial companies. The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module -- BEAM for short -- is able to be packed into much smaller spaces than traditional habitats.


Elon Musk: SpaceX rocket landing 'another step toward the stars'

Christian Science Monitor | Science

The epic rocket landing SpaceX pulled off today (April 8) is a big step forward in humanity's march out into the cosmos, company founder and CEO Elon Musk said. SpaceX managed to land the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket on a robotic "drone ship" in the Atlantic Ocean during the successful launch of the company's uncrewed Dragon cargo capsule toward the International Space Station from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station this afternoon. The first-of-its-kind touchdown is an important milestone in SpaceX's quest to develop completely reusable rockets, which Musk has said could revolutionize spaceflight by reducing launch costs by a factor of 100. "I think it's another step toward the stars," Musk said during a post-launch press briefing today. "In order for us to really open up access to space, we've got to achieve full and rapid reusability. And to be able to do that for the primary rocket booster is going to [have] a huge impact on cost."


SpaceX delivers world's first inflatable room to ISS

Al Jazeera

SpaceX has arrived at the International Space Station (ISS), delevering the world's first inflatable tent for astronauts. The US aerospace company's unmanned Dragon cargo ship, carrying lettuce seeds, lab mice and an inflatable pop-up room, arrived on Sunday at the space station where six spacecraft are now docked. British astronaut Tim Peake reached out with the station's robotic arm and grappled the Dragon, carrying its nearly 3,175kg of gear, at 7:23am (11:23 GMT). "It looks like we've caught a Dragon," said Peake. Four Russian spaceships - two Progress cargo carriers and two Soyuz capsules which ferry astronauts - are docked at the space station, along with Orbital ATK's Cygnus cargo ship and SpaceX's Dragon. Not since 2011, during the final flight of the space shuttle Discovery, have there been six vehicles parked at the ISS at the same time, NASA said.