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How to protect our future (when AI gets too smart)
The future of AI looks promising, but it doesn’t come without risks. How can we keep the technology in check, before it outsmarts us?
Pocket-sized bot can perform surgery better than humans
A tiny origami-inspired robot assists surgeons in a mock surgery.
This massive farm robot is helping secure the future of food
A massive farm robot is analyzing crops in Arizona, helping identify ones that could grow in hotter climates to help secure the future of food.
Stanford’s ankle exoskeleton lets you walk 40% faster
An ankle exoskeleton that significantly increases self-selected walking speed could make it easier for older people to get around.
Autonomous boats could move people and goods
MIT launches a new autonomous boat — a fleet of floating platforms that could come together to build bridges, taxi people across a river, or create a party platform.
New optical sensor imitates the human eye
Researchers have created an optical sensor, designed to mimic the human eye. The team says this is a major breakthrough in neuromorphic computing
An IBM quantum computer is being built at a US hospital
An IBM quantum computer is being installed at the Cleveland Clinic as part of the organizations' Discovery Accelerator collaboration.
CRISPR could save billions of baby chicks before they hatch
Male chicks are killed as soon as they hatch, in a gruesome process called chick culling. Gene editing could save them.
Adidas’ sustainable shoes are string art made by a robot
The Adidas Futurecraft team has unveiled a pair of sustainable shoes made by a robot that weaves individual threads like it's creating string art.
Training a home robot to see — and hear
Facebook's AI lab has released new tools for its embodied AI training platform, including one to train a home robot to respond to sounds.
Meet snatcher, the chameleon lizard robot with an ultra-fast tongue
The chameleon lizard has a highly specialized tongue. Now, a team of engineers created a quick-tongued robot.
Nerve-stimulator helps people walk after MS and strokes
The EvoWalk wearable uses electrical stimulation, sensors, and AI to combat foot drop, a condition commonly linked to MS and strokes.
A humanlike brain means this smart robot can see, feel, and think
A smart robot that uses neuromorphic computing, may one day “think” like humans.
Japan automates construction with the first bot-built dam
A Japanese construction company has robots taking over jobs that are understaffed, due to a labor shortage.
We're floating in 6,000 tons of junk
There's a lot of trash in outer space. We need to clean it up before it becomes unusable.
Wireless brain-computer interface moves out of the lab
A new wireless brain-computer interface was able to record and transmit brain signals as effectively as the “gold standard” wired systems.
These microbots may one day crawl through the body
Researchers have designed semiconductor legs for microbots. Laser activated, they are the first capable of being controlled by standard electronic signals.
Underwater robots may be the future of deep sea mining
Tech requires raw material, and some lays at the bottom of the sea. Could underwater robots be the future of deep sea mining?
You can now order a 3D printed, mind-controlled prosthetic arm
By scanning amputees’ limbs with a 3D scanner, Unlimited Tomorrow is making custom prosthetic arms that can be controlled with the mind.
Building infrastructure on Mars is tricky — these bugs could help
Landing on Mars is just the beginning — to live there, we'll need to invent Martian concrete.
Robots are running COVID-19 drug development
IBM’s new online platform, RoboRXN, combines artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and robotics to automate the COVID-19 drug development process.
Liverpool and DeepMind are bringing AI to the beautiful game
AI in sports has taken off in recent years. Now, Liverpool and DeepMind are teaming up to see how AI may impact the world’s most popular sport.
FDA authorizes mind-controlled exoskeleton for stroke rehab
Neurolutions’ IpsiHand — a brain-computer interface that uses an exoskeleton to assist with stroke rehab — has been authorized by the FDA.
Underwater gliders could soon run off of the ocean’s changing temperatures
California company Seatrec wants to bring their temperature-harnessing generator technology to underwater gliders.
Robotic surgery unlocks a new era of medicine
In partnership with Intuitive
The advancement of robotic surgery systems is expanding physical limitations to allow for minimally invasive procedures and improved patient recovery.
A massive iceberg is about to crash into an island of penguins
A massive iceberg is expected to hit South Georgia Island. To assess the impact of the collision, researchers are deploying a pair of robot submarines.
ESA is building its first reusable spaceplane
ESA is officially building Space Rider, a spaceplane designed to give scientists cheaper access to microgravity for their experiments.
Cracking the mystery of how insects fly — with robots
Scientists made a robot that can keep up with flying insects, helping researchers understand flight physics.
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Challengers
The driverless future of construction robotics
Innovation in the construction industry has been stagnant for decades, but the use of construction robotics could radically alter the way we build.
The "Creative Singularity" came and went. Now what should we do?
The emergence of generative AI signals an important inflection point for artists.
This AI robot could become your favorite coworker
European researchers have developed an AI robot to safely work alongside humans, anticipating their needs and providing a strong pair of extra hands.
The world's first living machines
The world's first living robots may one day clean up our oceans.
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Just Might Work
Catching the most dangerous thing in space
More than 8,000 tons of space debris orbit Earth, endangering our astronauts and satellites. Can we clean up space before it’s too late?
Scientists found a coral reef bigger than a skyscraper, hidden in plain sight
Researchers used an underwater robot to explore a new coral reef near Australia. The coral reef is the first reef discovery in 120 years.
Ultraviolet cleaning robots kill coronavirus at US airport
Pittsburgh International Airport is using cleaning robots modified with ultraviolet light fixtures in an effort to kill the coronavirus.
Can a robot really freestyle?
Engineers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have designed the first robot capable of not only playing music, but creating it.
Autonomous trucks are taking to the highways
Self-driving cars get all the love, but autonomous trucks are already hitting the road, with a “driver-out” demonstration scheduled for 2021.
The metaverse is coming. Cathy Hackl explains why we should care.
We're about to enter the metaverse. This will completely change how we interact with our environment, says Futurist Cathy Hackl.
A French company is building the world’s biggest insect factory farm
Ÿnsect is building the world’s largest insect farming facility in Amiens, France. The mealworms grown there may end up feeding your pets and the salmon on your plate.
Delivery robot distributes supplies during coronavirus
Chinese company Neolix’s delivery robot has proven to be an instrumental — and versatile — weapon in China’ fight against the novel coronavirus.
NASA’s Mars helicopter phoned home. Here’s what’s next.
NASA’s Mars helicopter Ingenuity has survived the journey to the Red Planet. Here’s what’s next for the first-of-its-kind aircraft.
Spain will use robots to increase coronavirus testing
Spain is buying a fleet of robots to increase coronavirus testing from 20,000 COVID-19 tests daily to 80,000, according to officials.
Immersive technology will revolutionize our daily life
Extended reality technologies are quickly becoming better and cheaper, suggesting they may soon become part of daily life.
AI navigation system teaches itself to steer internet balloons
Loon is using a new AI navigation system trained via reinforcement learning to control its fleet of internet-beaming balloons in Kenya.
Prosthetic leg uses AI to adjust to different terrains
A new computer vision system developed to work with a prosthetic leg predicts the type of terrain ahead so that the limb can adjust accordingly.
Nokia is building a 4G network on the moon
As part of NASA's "Tipping Point" program, Nokia will establish a 4G network on the moon to help astronauts communicate with each other and Earth.
The coronavirus hospital staffed by robots
A robot-run coronavirus hospital in Wuhan, China, is just one remarkable example of how technology is helping combat the global COVID-19 outbreak.
Undescribed deep sea creatures discovered in the great barrier reef
Researchers discovered undescribed deep sea creatures, spotted rare fish, and gathered geological samples from the deepest part of the Great Barrier Reef.
Robots can read your p-p-p-poker face
Emotion-detecting technology could be the next frontier of personalization. But what does this mean for privacy?
The world's first floating 3D printed house
A group in the Czech Republic is using a 3D printing robot to construct what it claims will be the world’s first floating 3D printed house.
Meet NASA's autonomous vehicle — for Mars
When Perseverance lands on Mars, it will hopefully drive further faster than any rover before. NASA’s autonomous vehicle’s secret? A dedicated “pilot.”
We can grow 60% more food by hacking photosynthesis
By improving photosynthesis, we can get more food from our farmland.
Robot artist challenges our definition of art
Artists have a history of subverting expectations and mainstream culture, but the world’s first humanoid robot artist is taking it to a new level. So far, she has sold over $1 million worth of art.
The daily coronavirus news roundup – friday, march 27th
Slowing infection rates in New York, a robot that's delivering vital supplies, and other fresh coronavirus news updates.
New brain implant reads minds from inside a blood vessel
A first-of-its-kind neural interface called the Stentrode sits in a blood vessel in the brain, picking up signals it can wirelessly transmit to a computer.
The material that could help humans become cyborgs
Coating implantable electronics in the polymer PEDOT can extend their life, which could make cyborgs more common in the future.
Smart farm equipment can spot weeds among crops
Facebook’s facial recognition AI will turn ordinary farm equipment into precision agriculture machines by training it to spot the weeds among the crops.
Exploring the ocean floor with autonomous underwater vehicles
Efficient, autonomous, and economical, the AUV is quickly becoming essential for underwater research.
Every significant breakthrough that’s stemmed from the pandemic
A timeline of coronavirus solutions from the people on the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19.
New exosuit helps stroke survivors walk farther and faster
A new exosuit helps stroke survivors overcome hemiparesis by assisting them in making two key walking motions with their feet.
Trash-talking robots get under our skin
Can robots control us? Probably not, but they can influence our actions, as this recent study on human-robot interaction by Carnegie Mellon shows.
Elon Musk: Neuralink brain implant detects pigs' movements
During a livestream, CEO Elon Musk presented the latest Neuralink brain implant, as well as what he claimed were several pig recipients of the device.
How to radically biohack your mind
Brain-computer interfaces could enable humans to "merge with AI."
Robot bees could one day save your life
For the first time, a microbot powered by soft actuators has achieved controlled flight.
How a paralympic swimmer helps advance AI bionic limbs
Morgan Stickney shares about her experimental Ewing amputations and training for the 2024 Paralympics.
Exploring Earth’s final frontier with AUV technology
NASA engineers are using swarms of underwater drones to learn about our most important and least understood natural resource.
The construction robots building space colonies
Sending construction robots into outer space will help pave the way for human exploration, but there are some real challenges that lie ahead.
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Uprising
Killer robots will fight our wars: Can they be trusted?
The issue with completely taking humans out of warfare? Our ability to feel and evaluate complex situations, using human judgement and moral understanding, is not something an artificial intelligence can easily learn.
Building an artificially intelligent, open-source prosthetic leg
We've come a long way since the first prosthetic leg, and "smart" limbs, equipped with computing capabilities and...
Robots for autism teach human emotion
Meet the classroom assistant of the future, a robot for autism therapy that’s teaching special needs students about empathy and emotions.
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Uprising
These search and rescue robots could save your life
These robots can lift heavy objects, crawl through rugged terrain, and climb challenging structures to save lives. But search and rescue robots won’t be rendering human first responders obsolete anytime soon. They’re designed to assist and protect them from unnecessary harm.
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Uprising
Meet your future caretaker: BUDDY the companion robot
Meet BUDDY, an advanced robot designed with an expressive face and gentle voice. With human-like emotions and different moods, BUDDY has the ability to care for the elderly and his human companions.
The most impressive language generator yet
OpenAI’s GPT-3 is currently the talk of Twitter. The powerful language generator is writing everything from sci-fi to code.
You can now live forever. (Your AI-powered twin, that is).
Mind Bank AI wants to create a “personal digital twin” of you to forever be around. Is AI eternity around the corner?
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Uprising
“Collaborative” robots are taking our jobs, but it might be a good thing
An ever-increasing number of robots in the workplace may force us to change our perception of the sort of work we deem worthy of human minds and hands. Instead of stealing our jobs, think of robots as taking on the duties nobody really wants, anyway.
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Uprising
Fear not, the robots are already here
From the "cobots" that could steal your job to the cuter, emotional robots already living in our homes, this series provides an in-depth look at what’s to come in the not-too-distant future of robotic technology.
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The Edge
This coach cut football concussions in half
Long-term health risks threaten to derail America’s favorite sport, but one coach may have found an innovative solution to save the game – a robotic tackling dummy.
"Moral Machine" picks up on human ethics
By feeding an AI a diet of books, news articles, and religious texts, researchers were able to create a “moral machine” reflecting the ethics of a society.
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Uprising
Nick Bostrom on superintelligence and the future of AI
Beyond the brains of even the most intelligent human beings lies artificial superintelligence, which could pose serious threats to the human race. Nick Bostrom is attempting to fathom the unfathomable so we can be ready.
Freethink's favorite behind the scenes insights from 2019
Join Freethink's directors behind the scenes to discover the experiences and insights that went into creating some of our favorite videos from 2019.
The robot racing to study Antarctica’s massive ice melt
Icefin, a semi-autonomous research vessel, is on a mission to search for clues about one of the continent’s fastest melting glaciers, the Thwaites Glacier.
High-tech art exhibit looks at life through the eyes of AI
In this Chicago museum, artists explore some of the most polarizing forms of imagery at the moment: surveillance and facial recognition.
Freethink recognized with 11 Telly awards
This year, Freethink was honored to receive 11 Telly Awards for excellence and creativity in storytelling.
Robotic birth simulator saves lives in the delivery room
Meet the group of medical professionals that’s delivering babies from robots to prepare for real-life emergencies in the hospital room.
This nail gun wielding drone looks terrifying, but could save lives
According to OSHA, one in five workplace deaths in 2017 were in construction. Can nail gun drones help save lives?
Stimulating monkeys’ brains snaps them out of unconsciousness
Researchers found that they could induce a state of consciousness in an unconscious monkey by electrically stimulating a specific part of the animal’s brain.
Chico MacMurtrie's art transcends the southern border
If all goes to plan, six robotic sculptures will arc across the border dividing El Paso and Ciudad Juárez in the fall of 2020.
Wearable robotic suits could be coming to a store near you
What can lift 500 pounds in each hand, walk for miles and miles with a heavy load, or leap over obstacles in a single bound? Humans - with the help of wearable robotics.
$100 genome sequencing has finally arrived
China-based genome sequencing company MGI says it can sequence a human genome for just $100, a cost that could make the service available to all.
What's special about cancer-killing nanobots? precision.
These tiny, robotic machines can deliver drugs directly to infected cells, and they're changing the future of medicine.
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Catalysts
3D printed homes for the homeless
In partnership with Stand Together
This 51-acre neighborhood for the homeless will be the first of its kind in the U.S. to have 3D printed homes.
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Superhuman
The emerging cyborg
Alec McMorris is testing one of the world’s most advanced prosthetics - an AI powered bionic leg.
Y Combinator startups turn resources toward coronavirus
More than 25 Y Combinator startups have joined the COVID-19 response effort — find out how you can help these businesses fighting the coronavirus.
AI device helps wheelchair users control their world
These assistive devices are equipped with 360 cameras and eye-tracking technology to help those with mobility and speech impairments find independence.
9 ways the 2010s decade changed the world
From Tinder to CRISPR, these are the top moments, movements, and ideas through which the 2010s decade shaped the world as we know it.
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Guardians of the Apocalypse
Could the human race survive a supervolcano?
The eruption of Mount Tambora pushed humanity to the brink of extinction. Today, active supervolcanoes still have the power to nullify our future. What can we do to prepare?
The final Maker Faire
The maker movement is grieving a big loss with the shutdown of Maker Media. Freethink's Alexandra Cardinale spoke...
Run faster, think better: Hugh Herr on the future of bionics
Hugh Herr, head of Biomechatronics research at MIT and hailed as a bionic pioneer, is working to close the gap between synthetic limbs and the brain.
Dad builds amusement park for daughter
This dad couldn’t find a theme park that worked for his daughter with special needs - so he built one.
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Superhuman
Electric skin gives sensation back to amputees
Touch is a sensation that connects us all. This scientist created electronic skin that lets people with prosthetic limbs feel.