Boston Dynamics’ Atlas Robot Shows Off Parkour Skills

Erico Guizzo | IEEE Spectrum

“The remarkable evolution of Atlas, Boston Dynamics’ most agile robot, continues. In a video posted today, Atlas is seen jumping over a log and leaping up steps like a parkour runner. The robot has come a long way.”

Google’s AI Bots Invent Ridiculous New Legs to Scamper Through Obstacle Course

George Dvorsky | Gizmodo

“Sure, many of the solutions conceived by these virtual bots are weird and even absurd, but that’s kind of the point. As the abilities of these self-learning systems increase in power and scope, they’ll come up with things humans never would have thought of. Which is actually kind of scary.”

IBM Pushes Beyond 7 Nanometers, Uses Graphene to Place Nanomaterials on Wafers

Dexter Johnson | IEEE Spectrum

“Four years ago, IBM announced that it was investing US $3 billion over the next five years into the future of nanoelectronics with a broad project it dubbed ‘7nm and Beyond.’ With at least one major chipmaker, GlobalFoundries, hitting the wall at the 7-nm node, IBM is forging ahead, using graphene to deposit nanomaterials in predefined locations without chemical contamination.”

BRAIN-MACHINE INTERFACES

The Pentagon’s Push to Program Soldiers’ Brains

Michael Joseph Gross | The Atlantic

“DARPA has dreamed for decades of merging human beings and machines. …Within decades, neurotechnology could cause social disruption on a scale that would make smartphones and the internet look like gentle ripples on the pond of history. Most unsettling, neurotechnology confounds age-old answers to this question: What is a human being?”

TRANSPORTATION

Why You Have (Probably) Already Bought Your Last Car

Justin Rowlatt | BBC

“Yes, it’s a big claim and you are right to be skeptical, but the argument that a unique convergence of new technology is poised to revolutionize personal transportation is more persuasive than you might think.”

So Much Genetic Testing. So Few People to Explain It to You.

Megan Molteni | Wired

“Today, with precision medicine going mainstream and an explosion of apps piping genetic insights to your phone from just a few teaspoons of spit, millions of Americans are having their DNA decoded every year. That deluge of data means that genetic counselors—the specialized medical professionals trained to help patients interpret genetic test results—are in higher demand than ever.”

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