A new brain-computer-interface technology could turn our brains into automatic image-identifying machines that operate faster than human consciousness. Researchers at Columbia University are combining the processing power of the human brain with computer vision to develop a novel device that will allow people to search through images ten times faster than they can on their own.
James Auger envisions animals, birds, reptiles and even fish becoming appreciative techno-geeks, using specially engineered gadgets to help them overcome their evolutionary shortcomings, promote their chances of survival or just simply lead easier and more comfortable live.
Researchers at the University of the West of England, Bristol, are working on creating autonomous robots that power themselves using substances found in the environment. Professors Chris Melhuish and John Greenman plan to give robots their very own guts -- artificial digestive systems and the corresponding metabolisms that will allow robots to digest food.
Scientists at the University of Florida made a living 'brain' by extracting 25,000 neurons from a rat's brain and culturing them inside a glass dish. The scientists were able to train the 'brain' to control the plane in the simulator and to react to conditions of the plane.
A researcher at the USC Center for Neural Engineering is creating a silicon chip implant that mimics the hippocampus. It could replace its biological counterpart, enabling people who suffer from memory disorders to regain the ability to store new memories.
Working from their university labs in two different corners of the world, American and Australian researchers have created what they call a new class of creative beings: "the semi-living artist".
Scientists are developing a new breed of genetically engineered plants that can sense the presence of harmful chemical or biological agents. The hope is to deploy these leafy recruits in the fight against terrorism.
Allen Moshfegh, a researcher at the U.S. Office of Naval Research, is building a network that would support swarms of unmanned, unattended and untethered drones on the ground, in the air and underwater. These machines would be capable of independently handling events in a hostile combat zone, such as surveillance, strike and even capture and detention. Aiming to create an adaptive, dynamic, self-healing network of drones, Moshfegh intends to rework the whole idea of military structure.