Lifeboat Foundation

Robotic finger. Illustration showing the cutting and healing process of the robotic finger (A), its anchoring structure (B) and fabrication process ©. ©2022 Takeuchi et al.

Researchers from the University of Tokyo pool knowledge of robotics and tissue culturing to create a controllable robotic finger covered with living skin tissue. The robotic digit has living cells and supporting organic material grown on top of it for ideal shaping and strength. As the skin is soft and can even heal itself, the finger could be useful in applications that require a gentle touch but also robustness. The team aims to add other kinds of cells into future iterations, giving devices the ability to sense as we do.

Professor Shoji Takeuchi is a pioneer in the field of biohybrid robots, the intersection of robotics and bioengineering. Together with researchers from around the University of Tokyo, he explores things such as artificial muscles, synthetic odor receptors, lab-grown meat, and more. His most recent creation is both inspired by and aims to aid medical research on skin damage such as deep wounds and burns, as well as help advance manufacturing.

My Sony Music interview is now out. 40 min of #transhumanism adventures, AI, Transhumanist Bill of Rights, & politics. A professional team of producers and host Katherine Rowland put this together! It’s really fun and unique!

In 2015, journalist Zoltan Istvan became the first person to run for president on a transhumanist platform. His campaign centered a right to unlimited life for all humans…as well as cyborgs and robots. Zoltan Istvan believes that how people treat AI will become the civil rights battle of our time. And that he would be the right leader to help guide America through the singularity.

That is, of course, until the AI revolution actually began.

Continue reading “Run for the Hills on Apple Podcasts” »

VIDEO : Masahiko Inami and his team at the University of Tokyo have created a wearable — and exchangeable — multi-armed device to explore the social interaction between multiple users of the robotic limbs. The bot has six sockets that can hold fingers, arms or a claw.

I want one so I can do my chores better. But.

Seriously, this is cool.

Continue reading “Imagine a multi-limbed cyborg world, made possible by these wearable robot arms” »

Summary: A ‘smart hand exoskeleton’, a custom-made robotic glove, can aid stroke patients in relearning dexterity-based skills like playing music. The glove, equipped with integrated tactile sensors, soft actuators, and artificial intelligence, can mimic natural hand movements and provide tactile sensations.

By applying machine learning, the glove can distinguish between correct and incorrect piano play, potentially offering a novel tool for personalized rehabilitation. Although the current design focuses on music, the technology holds promise for a broader range of rehabilitation tasks.

TOKYO (Reuters) — What would society look like if cyborg body parts were freely available for use like roadside rental bicycles? Masahiko Inami’s team at the University of Tokyo have sought to find out by creating wearable robotic arms.

Inami’s team is developing a series of technologies rooted in the idea of “jizai”, an Japanese term that he says roughly denotes autonomy and the freedom to do as one pleases.

The aim is to foster something like the relationship between musician and instrument, “lying somewhere between a human and a tool, like how a musical instrument can become as if a part of your body.”

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Modern IT networks are complex combinations of firewalls, routers, switches, servers, workstations and other devices. What’s more, nearly all environments are now on-premise/cloud hybrids and are constantly under attack by threat actors. The intrepid souls that design, implement and manage these technical monstrosities are called network engineers, and I am one.

Although other passions have taken me from that world into another as a start-up founder, a constant stream of breathless predictions of a world without the need for humans in the age of AI prompted me to investigate, at least cursorily, whether ChatGPT could be used an effective tool to either assist or eventually replace those like me.

The A17 Bionic chip initially used in the iPhone 15 Pro and ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ Max later this year will fundamentally differ from a version of the same chip set to be manufactured in 2024, a new rumor claims.

The A17 Bionic is expected to be Apple’s first chip manufactured with a 3nm fabrication process, resulting in major performance and efficiency improvements over the 5nm technique used for the A14, A15, and A16 chips. The initial version of the A17 Bionic chip will reportedly be manufactured using TSMC’s N3B process, but Apple is planning to switch the A17 over to N3E sometime next year. The move is said to be a cost-cutting measure that could come at the expense of reduced efficiency.

CB Insights has unveiled the winners of the seventh annual AI 100 — a list of the 100 most promising private AI companies across the globe.

Around one-third of this year’s winners are focused on AI applications across specific industries — such as visual dubbing for the media & entertainment sector or textile recycling for fashion & retail. A total of 40 vendors are focused on cross-industry solutions, like AI assistants & human-machine interfaces (HMIs), digital twins, climate tech, and smell tech.

Additionally, 27 companies in this cohort are developing tools like vector database tech and synthetic datasets to support AI development.