Top Stories
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Drinks-On With The World's Biggest, Baddest Bartending Robot
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Unglamorous Space Catastrophes That You'll Never See In A Movie
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How Much Would It Cost To Build The Starship Enterprise?
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Why 3D Printing Is Overhyped (I Should Know, I Do It For A Living)
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Kogan Outs Android 4.2 3D TV For Under $500
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Google Just Went And Fixed The Samsung Galaxy S4
Regulars
Printable Self-Assembling Bots Will One Day Be Our Affordable Minions
There seem to be two major camps when it comes to robotic research these days: those working to create the most capable and human-like robots with no concern over cost, and those looking to build useful robots but on the cheap. And the researchers at Harvard and MIT behind this printable inchworm, obviously fall into that latter category.
Rain Man Robot Builds Ramps With Randomly Tossed Toothpicks
In what has to be one of the most wasteful ways to traverse stairs, Harvard’s Self-organizing Systems Research Group has designed a robot that builds its own access ramps by randomly flinging thousands of glue-covered toothpicks. When the pile eventually solidifies, it provides a sturdy support for the robot to climb.
Flight Of The (Robotic Spy Drone) Bumblebee
Harvard researchers have spent the past five years developing a robotic bee. While it may never serve as a backup for whatever is wiping out colonies across the United States, it could serve as an inconspicuous alternative to spy drones. Particularly now that they’ve figured out how to steer the tiny winged bots during flight.
Paper-Thin, Distortion-Free Lenses Could Make Pint-Sized Pro Cameras Possible
Using an ultrathin wafer of silicon and gold to focus lightwaves, researchers at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have created a revolutionary new kind of camera lens that completely eliminates the image distortion created by traditional glass lenses. It could not only pave the way for lighter cameras that are still as capable as today’s swappable lens models, but even cameraphones that snap images as impressive as a DSLR.
Busted Freezer Melts 150 Brains
A freezer malfunction at Harvard’s McLean Hospital has damaged about a third of the world’s biggest collection of autism brain samples, potentially setting back research by as much as a decade.
Why Women In Computer Science Matter
Harvard Medical School’s H1N1 App Let’s You Panic On The Go
Swine flu! It’s the panic du jour, far less dangerous than eating poorly cooked chicken or getting in a car, yet apparently infinitely more scary. And now Harvard will take $2.49 to scare you on your iPhone.
