Category: Technology

Tesla Motors is developing an automated metal ‘snake’ that would emerge from the wall and connect itself to the battery port on Tesla cars. Such an advancement would essentially create a hands-free car charging system for owners of the sleek electric vehicles.

CEO and chief product architect Elon Musk tweeted the announcement, promising a “solid metal snake” that automatically moves from the wall and connects to the car.

He followed up with a second tweet to elaborate that the technology would be backwards compatible to work with existing models as well as those released in the future. It’s uncertain whether this automatic robot snake charger would be available only for supercharging stations or at home as well.

If it’s available for residential installation, the robotic charging snake would be a great benefit for Tesla owners. It eliminates the need to remember to plug your car’s battery in for charging, so electric car owners would never wake up to a dead battery. In the long line of technological advancements in motoring, this is just one more step toward a world where cars do everything for themselves.

Engineers have had their sights on robotic snakes for some time. OC Robotics has already developed a prototype robotic snake arm. Carnegie Mellon University’s Biorobotics Lab has been working on a modular robotic snake as well. Neither of those teams has electric vehicle charging specifically on their agendas, and there is no indication at this time whether Tesla’s hands-free charging snake will rely on any of these previously developed technologies.

Human Technology is an artistic short movie celebrating the uniqueness and the distinction of every Beretta premium gun.

This movie by Ancarani Studio, under the creative direction of Paola Manfrin, reveals through the minutia of the manufacturing process, the genesis of a luxury Beretta shotgun. A poetic journey through sterile robotic rooms is blended with five centuries of Beretta’s history, culminating in the final assembly by the gunsmith, ever the wise guardian of the art of manufacturing.

Learn more on http://HumanTechnology.Beretta.com

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America’s primary anti-ship missile, the Harpoon, has been in service now for close to 40 years and the Navy has been very reluctant to evolve when it comes to its anti-ship capabilities. Times are changing, with China’s Navy on the rise and Russia flexing its muscle, the Cold War staple just won’t do. Enter Lockheed’s Long Range Anti-Ship Missile to save the day.

The Harpoon was once the ‘gold standard’ of anti-ship cruise missiles, but its subsonic flight profile, limited range, less than stealthy design, and relatively simple targeting and navigation methodology have left it as almost an afterthought in the Navy’s quiver. Sure, it is still able to strike ships at sea, but its ability to safely do so against an advanced foe with anti-access capabilities and advanced defenses is highly questionable. Lockheed’s LRASM program began in 2009 in hopes of righting this wrong and was originally part of a two-pronged anti-ship missile procurement concept.

This two-prong next generation anti-ship missile approach saw the development of the LRASM-A, the subsonic, low-flying and stealthy weapon that is still in development today. The other was the LRASM-B, a high-altitude supersonic, ramjet powered anti-ship missile, similar to the Russian Brahmos supersonic anti-ship missile. LRASM-B was cancelled in 2012 under tightening defense budgets, with DARPA focusing on the lower risk and more pressing LRASM-A concept.

LRASM is a cousin of Lockheed’s stealthy JASSM cruise missile and is aiming to replace and expand the mission of both the AGM-84 aircraft-launched and RGM-84 ship-launched Harpoon. The video above depicts generally how LRASM works and some of the capabilities it brings to the table. In it you will see its most prominent feature is that it will “intelligently” sense and avoid hostile threats via an on-board passive radio frequency and threat warning receiver. Additionally, LRASM is equipped with an on-board data-link, advanced artificial intelligence software, low probability of intercept radar, imaging infrared sensor and an inertial navigation system with embedded GPS. All of this is tied to the sneaky missile’s autopilot and cutting-edge computing core.

Generally, using a GPS on a plane should do no harm to the plane or the security on board, since the GPS device does only receive data and not send anything itself. Because it doesn’t send, it has no way of interfering with instruments in the cockpit.

Secondly, GPS is also used up front in cockpits, so it is a save and common technology used in aviation every day. Many airline pilots use their own devices in the cockpit or allow passengers they know to place theirs in the cockpit. However, some airlines prohibit GPS on board of their planes.

Fun fact: Commerce Department regulations on self-guided missile technology keep GPS receivers from reporting speeds greater than 999 MPH, or altitudes in excess of 60,000 feet. As this is higher than Mount Everest, and nearly 20,000 feet higher than airline cruise altitudes, you won’t see it on your typical commute.

Feeling is believing. A system that uses sound waves to project “haptic holograms” into mid-air – letting you touch 3D virtual objects with your bare hands – is poised to bring virtual reality into the physical world.

Adding a sense of touch as well as sight and sound will make it easier to completely immerse yourself in VR. And the ability to feel the shape of virtual objects could let doctors use their hands to examine a lump detected by a CT scan, for example. What’s more, museum visitors could handle virtual replicas of priceless exhibits while the real thing remained safely behind glass.

Ben Long and his colleagues at the University of Bristol, UK, improved on a previous version of their UltraHaptics technology, which projected 2D outlines of map contours above a screen, for example. Now, high-frequency sound waves emitted by an array of tiny speakers create the sensation of touching an invisible, floating object. When the sound hits the hand, the force of the waves exerts pressure on the skin.

To make the jump from outlines to full shapes, the team added a Leap Motionsensor to track the precise position of a user’s hands. Knowing where the hands are in relation to the virtual object means the system can direct ultrasound at the right time and frequency to produce the sensation of touching different parts of the object – the top, say, or the side. This creates the impression that you are exploring the surface of an object as you move your hands around in empty space.

“Without haptics, it’s like you’re in a dream and you cannot feel the environment,” says Sébastien Kuntz of I’m in VR, VR developers in Paris, France. “You can only look at it, you don’t have any feedback.”

So far, the researchers have tested several shapes, including spheres and pyramids. They appear to be gently vibrating in space, says Long. The level of detail in the virtual objects is limited, but using more, smaller, speakers should improve the resolution of what can be projected, says Long. The shapes do not need to be perfect to conjure an immersive experience, though. “Even if there are discrepancies, the brain will bend what it sees and feels to fit the overall picture,” says Kuntz.

The team says it has already been approached by companies interested in developing the technology for commercial applications. The work will be presented at interactive tech conference SIGGRAPH Asia in Shenzhen, China, on 3 December.

Stuart Cupit, technical director at Inition, a design studio in London, is also impressed by the technology. “Touch is a missing element in virtual interfaces today,” he says.