Welcome to the Age of Surprise

Awesome video...

Smart Sand & Robot Pebbles

This video is a bit dry, but the idea is that you can program pebbles, or sand, to assemble into any shape at all... pretty cool!

Learn About Tissue Regeneration and Organ Printing

From Wikipedia

Tissue engineering is the use of a combination of cells, engineering and materials methods, and suitable biochemical and physio-chemical factors to improve or replace biological functions. While it was once categorized as a sub-field of bio materials, having grown in scope and importance it can be considered as a field in its own right.

While most definitions of tissue engineering cover a broad range of applications, in practice the term is closely associated with applications that repair or replace portions of or whole tissues (i.e., bone, cartilage, blood vessels, bladder, skin etc.). Often, the tissues involved require certain mechanical and structural properties for proper functioning. The term has also been applied to efforts to perform specific biochemical functions using cells within an artificially-created support system (e.g. an artificial pancreas, or a bio artificial liver). The term regenerative medicine is often used synonymously with tissue engineering, although those involved in regenerative medicine place more emphasis on the use of stem cells to produce tissues.

Aubrey de Grey: The Economics Of Immortality

Aubrey de Grey discusses the expenses of failing health in our advancing years and how radical life extension will resolve it by living in good health indefinitely. He also posits his opinions on over-population and the economics of ending aging.

From Wikipedia:

Indefinite lifespan or, indefinite life extension, is a term used in the life extension movement to refer to the longevity of humans, and other life-forms, under conditions in which aging can be effectively and completely prevented and treated. Such individuals would still be susceptible to accidental or intentional death by trauma or infectious diseases, but not death from aging. Their lifespans would be "indefinite," because protection from the effects of aging on health does not guarantee survival. Some life extensionists consider the term "indefinite lifespan" technically more correct than "immortality" which, especially in religious contexts, implies an inability to die.

Man Controls Robotic Hand with Mind

Watch this guy control his prosthetic robotic hand - using his mind!

Nanofactory Movie

This short video shows how desktop nanofactories will work someday.

New Laser Zaps Mosquitoes in Slow Motion

Watch this high tech method for zapping mosquitoes with lasers!

Aliens Attack?

Dr. Michio Kaku discusses the reality of an possible alien invasion.

Do You Want To Live To Be 1,000 Years Old?

Scientist Aubrey de Grey discusses the question of living to the age of 1000 years.

Wireless Power Technology

Watch this guy (who has no problem waiting for applause) talk about powering devices without any cords.

First Step Towards Cloaking Device

Watch scientists operate a very small cloaking device.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cloaking devices are advanced stealth technologies still in development that will cause objects, such as spaceships or individuals, to be partially or wholly invisible to parts of the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum. Fictional cloaking devices have been used as plot devices in various media for many years, but developments in scientific research show that real-world cloaking devices can obscure objects from at least one wavelength of EM emissions. Scientists already use artificial materials called metamaterials to bend light around an object.

Singularity University

In 2009 Ray Kurzweil discussed the future of information technology as well as the formation of Singularity University. From their website -

A number of exponentially growing technologies will massively increase human capability and fundamentally reshape our future. This warrants the creation of an academic institution whose students and faculty will study these technologies, with an emphasis on the interactions between different technologies. Our mission is to assemble, educate and inspire a new generation of leaders who strive to understand and utilize exponentially advancing technologies to address humanity’s grand challenges.

Sebastian Thrun: Google's Driverless Car

 Sebastian Thrun helped build Google's amazing driverless car.

An autonomous car, also known as robotic or informally as driverless, is an autonomous vehicle capable of fulfilling the human transportation capabilities of a traditional car. As an autonomous vehicle, it is capable of sensing its environment and navigating on its own. A human may choose a destination, but is not required to perform any mechanical operation of the vehicle.

Autonomous cars are not in widespread use, but their introduction could produce several direct advantages:

• Fewer crashes, due to the autonomous system's increased reliability compared to human drivers
• Increased roadway capacity due to reduced need of safety gaps and the ability to better manage traffic flow.
• Relief of vehicle occupants from driving and navigation chores.
• Removal of constraints on occupant's state - it would not matter if the occupants were too young, too old or if their frame of mind were not suitable to drive a traditional car. Furthermore, disabilities would no longer matter.
• Elimination of redundant passengers - humans are not required to take the car anywhere, as the robotic car can drive empty to wherever it is required.

Indirect advantages are anticipated as well. Adoption of robotic cars could reduce the number of vehicles worldwide, reduce the amount of space required for vehicle parking, and reduce the need for traffic police and vehicle insurance.

Autonomous vehicles sense the world with such techniques as laser, radar, lidar, GPS and computer vision. Advanced control systems interpret the information to identify appropriate navigation paths, as well as obstacles and relevant signage. Autonomous vehicles typically update their maps based on sensory input, such that they can navigate through uncharted environments.

Autonomous vehicles are only legal to operate on public roads in one jurisdiction in the world: the U.S. state of Nevada. The law to authorize the use of autonomous vehicles was passed in June 2011, with the support of Google. The Google driverless car is one of the leading projects in this field.

Shocking Facts You Did Not Know A Minute Ago

Learn a few things that you surely don't know.

TED | Markus Fischer: A Robot That Flies Like A Bird

This is worth watching just to see the mechanical bird flying at the end... truly amazing!