Global Citizenship: Technology Is Rapidly Dissolving National Borders

FROM
http://singularityhub.com/2014/12/29/technology-is-rapidly-dissolving-national-borders/

Global Citizenship: Technology Is Rapidly Dissolving National Borders

• By Peter Diamandis
• ON Dec 29, 2014

Besides your passport, what really defines your nationality these days?

Is it where you were live? Where you work? The language you speak? The currency you use?

If it is, then we may see the idea of “nationality” quickly dissolve in the decades ahead. Language, currency and residency are rapidly being disrupted and dematerialized by technology.

Where you live, where you work…

Increasingly, technological developments will allow us to live and work almost anywhere on the planet… (and even beyond).

Soon, you’ll be able to live in the Greek Islands and work in Manhattan, London, and Los Angeles.

Telepresence & Virtual Environments

Today I use telepresence robots to telecommute around the globe, attend an XPRIZE meeting in India, or if I’m overseas, pop home for breakfast or dinner with my kids.

The product I personally use comes from Suitable Technology and is called the “Beam.” I have about 15 beams across my different companies, and I’ll be integrating another 20 beams into my Abundance 360 Summit.

Beyond these telepresence technologies, the biggest impact on dematerializing nationality will come from development of fully immersive, high fidelity, virtual worlds. Virtual workplaces you plug into using VR gear to interact with other virtual workers (perhaps even A.I.’s) on a daily basis.

The earliest example of a virtual world where people were “living” and “working” is Phillip Rosedale’s Second Life.

You can think of it as a proof of concept, an early prototype of what is coming.

Think of it as pong, compared to today’s video games.

Even as rudimentary as Second Life is today, its annual revenues have reached US$567 million, and since its inception, it has transacted over US$3.5 Billion as people build and sell virtual products in this virtual world. Not bad…

But what is coming next will be transformational.

With the creation of new VR technologies (Oculus Rift technology, Samsung Gear) and 360-degree camera technology (Immersive Media, Jaunt), we’ll be able to slide on a pair of Goggles and “go” anywhere in the real and virtual world.

Companies will forgo bricks and mortar, and instead allow its work-force, from around the world, to beam into the same environment and work cooperatively. Think about a ‘kinder-gentler ‘ version of The Matrix.

What language you speak…

We are headed toward a world where everyone will have the tools to speak every language, in real time.

Right now, Google Translate does a damn good job. The system built by Franz Och at Google over the last decade can now support translation between 80 language pairs. (Note: Franz is now heading machine learning at Human Longevity Inc, where he is helping to translate between the languages of genetics, phenotype and metabolome.)

In 2013, Google stated that Translate served 200 million people daily.

Another more recent example of simultaneous translation, this time between spoken word, is Skype’s recently announced “Live Translate.”

Skype’s embedded artificial intelligence promises to translate your voice into another language in close to real-time while you are video-Skyping someone else on the other side of the planet (right now, it only serves English/Spanish translations).

The bottom line: Star Trek universal translator is here and it’s going to be a game-changer.

What currency you use…

Decentralized, unregulated cryptocurrencies (like bitcoin) will make it MUCH easier to trade and transact both across and within borders.

While this year hasn’t been so great for bitcoin, the fact is, cryptocurrencies are here to stay and will find more and more useful applications.

Take the recent Russian ruble crisis for example.

In Q4 2014, the ruble had a rapid devaluation due to political instability and the crashing price of oil, ending up at a 14-year low.

So what happened?

Russians have started pouring money into bitcoin.

In mid-December 2014, CNBC reported, “Transaction volumes between the ruble and digital currency bitcoin enjoyed their biggest day of the year. This was close to a 250 percent increase in transactions.”

Bitcoin dematerializes the banks, and demonetizes transaction fees. It is global and unregulated. And it is easy to use.

With these characteristics, we will see a shift away from national currencies toward global cryptocurrencies that provide some level of stability and independence from your country’s political turmoil, or whether your country’s GDP is based on oil exports.

Consequences for the Entrepreneur/CEO

We live in the most exciting time ever. In my mind, a borderless world will be a more creative, lucrative, healthy, and frankly, exciting one.

Especially for entrepreneurs.

A world where you, as an entrepreneur can now become a ‘multinational corporation’, accessing 5 billion potential customers.

Why Neural Networks Look Set to Thrash the Best Human Go Players for the First Time

Why Neural Networks Look Set to Thrash the Best Human Go Players for the First Time
http://www.technologyreview.com/view/533496/why-neural-networks-look-set-to-thrash-the-best-human-go-players-for-the-first-time


Read also:
 
The Mystery of Go, the Ancient Game That Computers Still Can’t Win

http://www.wired.com/2014/05/the-world-of-computer-go/

Go (game)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_%28game%29

Retail robots: The droid at till number 7

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-30422675

Amazing Technology Invented By MIT - Tangible Media

This video demonstration in the beginning is  a form of telepresence.

China Already Has Robot Waiters and Waitresses .

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/food/article-2850186/Restaurant-employs-6-000-ROBOTS-replace-waiters-save-money-staff-costs.html

China Already Has Robot Waiters and Waitresses . . . They’ll be here soon!

Another restaurant in China is using robots to serve their food. People love them, especially the kids, and come just for the experience. The robots can speak 40 short simple sentences like “Please enjoy your meal,” and “I am sorry, I am busy working now,” and do it with a smile!





The machines navigate their way around the café using an optical sensing system. They cost just under $10,000 and are projected to last about 5 years. How can you compete with that kind of cost savings?

Beauto Balancer2 - From Japan

At crowdfunding web site "Makuake"https://www.makuake.com/project/robot_shop/


Inverted pendulum type robot teaching material "Beauto Balancer 2"
 
"Beauto Balancer 2", is the inverted pendulum robot teaching materials with two drive wheels.
http://www.vstone.co.jp/products/beauto_balancer_2/
Using the software that can parameter adjustment and sensor values displayed in GUI format, can be easily inverted experiment. In addition, sample source library for development also gratis, C language programming is also available.

Features of 02 this product

Excellent mobility and stability by two-axis motor bidirectional current detection circuit equipped

The robot is equipped with a motor of left and right two axes, you can move the turning behaviour before and after. Each motor is equipped with a bidirectional current detection circuit, can be inverted controlled by torque command of the DC motor, it is possible to perform a stable control regardless of the remaining amount of the battery.

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Lightweight and easy to assemble the vehicle body by the resin frame

And manufacturing the frame parts of the body with polycarbonate resin durable. The covers the entire functional parts including the control board, to ease the shock of a fall. The assembly of the body using only the Phillips screwdriver (# 2), you can assemble without the complicated work such as soldering.

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Publish easily handle software even inexperienced person

Software for control of the body "balancer 2 Programmer" is a software for carrying out such an inverted adjustment and the body of the behaviour experiments. Parameter adjustment of sensor gain, etc. in the GUI format can be easily performed, you can easily to be inverted the body also the first scholar of the inverted pendulum. In addition, or reads the parameters monitoring display (numeric-graph display) from the body, can log data output in CSV format, it is possible to take advantage of a simple experiment. Log data recorded during the operation in the body alone also can CSV output from this software, it has become easier to use in the experiment of PC-less wireless.

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And prepare a C-language development environment corresponding to each PC side and the body side

After the inverted pendulum of training in the GUI software, you can step up to the C language programming. The C language programming, you can choose and how to rewrite the firmware in the robot body, the two types of methods for communication control the body from a PC using a dedicated USB communication library.

The programming of the robot body side, NXP Semiconductors is using a C language integrated development environment "LPCXpresso" which was published free of charge, for the ARM microcontroller (NXP Semiconductors' made ARM Cortex-M3 LPC1343), which is the main CPU of the control board I will do the programming. Sample source for the inverted also public, is possible to control the acquisition and motor sensor values ​​by using a dedicated library, you can implement an inverted control with less code.

The programming on the PC side, it is done by using a dedicated communication library "balancer 2 SDK". Balancer 2 SDK is available in the Microsoft Visual C ++, etc., is a library for reading and writing the memory map of the body via the USB.

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And prepare the advanced options of Bluetooth, etc. and rich I / O port

The control board of the robot body UART, is equipped with a I2C port, etc., enables more sophisticated control by installing the option. Wireless controller "VS-C3" The options, SPP protocol-enabled Bluetooth module "VS-BT001" or the like can use the, by mounting them or remote control steer the body, it is possible to communicate control wirelessly from PC .

The Dark Side of Technology: Mounting Pressure on a Global Scale

John Hagel III describes the realities of a technology-driven economy : mounting pressure on workers and declining returns to capital, and offers his vision of the future.


The Dark Side of Technology: Mounting Pressure on a Global Scale from Constellation Research on Vimeo.

John Hagel is an author and former consultant who specializes in the intersection of business strategy and information technology. In 2007, Hagel, along with John Seely Brown and Lang Davison, founded the Deloitte Center for the Edge Innovation. Wikipedia

 

 

Drone pilot wanted: Starting salary $100,000

http://money.cnn.com/2014/11/25/news/drone-pilot-degree/index.html?sr=fbmoney112514dronejobs0330story

Past, Present and Future of Robotics

My talk from the Beijing Science Festival

- Past, Present and Future of Robotics.
At the Beijing Science Festival 9/19/2014


 




 http://youtu.be/9CQb59_tHA0

Knightscope K5

http://knightscope.com/about.html


http://wn.ktvu.com/story/27444958/mountain-view-company-ready-to-roll-out-robot-security

Artificial Intelligence Company Sentient Emerges From Stealth - Venture Capital Dispatch - WSJ

http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2014/11/24/artificial-intelligence-company-sentient-emerges-from-stealth/

Fwd: Robotics Exhibits Grow by 25 Percent at the 2015 International CES

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: International CES <press@ce.org>
Date: Monday, November 24, 2014
Subject: Robotics Exhibits Grow by 25 Percent at the 2015 International CES

Register today for the 2015 International CES

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Robotics Exhibits Grow by 25 Percent at the 2015 International CES
CES to feature full spectrum of robotics technologies changing the way we live, work and play
Arlington, Va., November 24, 2014 – From humanoid entertainment devices to robotic cleaning machines, robots promise to revolutionize the way consumers interact with the world and monitor their health and environment. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)® today announced that robotics exhibits at the 2015 International CES® have grown 25 percent from the 2014 CES. Owned and produced by CEA, the 2015 CES, the world's gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technologies, will run January 6-9, 2015, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Robotics Marketplace, presented by Robotics Trends, will feature more than 18 innovative companies showcasing the full range of intelligent, autonomous machines that are connected to the cloud, controllable by mobile device and capable of seeing, hearing, feeling and reacting to the environment in ways once thought impossible. Robotics exhibits at the 2015 CES are expected to cover 8,250 net square feet of exhibit space, an increase of more than 25 percent over robotics exhibit space at the 2014 CES. "Robots are changing the way consumers learn, do business, monitor their health, and maintain their households as they are capable of doing things that humans can't, or simply don't want to do," said Karen Chupka, senior vice president, International CES and corporate business strategy. "We're thrilled to see that the robotics footprint will expand at the 2015 CES, as it speaks to the category's growth and ability to disrupt and transform the consumer technology industry." The Robotics Marketplace will be located at CES Tech West within the Sands Expo (Sands). Tech West includes the Sands, The Venetian, The Palazzo and Wynn Las Vegas and Encore at Wynn (Wynn/Encore) exhibits. Major exhibitors currently located within the Robotics Marketplace include: ABB, Double Robotics Inc., Evollve, Inc d/b/a Ozobot, Lowe's Innovation Labs and Future Robot Co., Ltd. CES Tech West will also feature leading companies and the newest innovations in lifestyle technologies, including sports, fitness and health tech, 3D printing, smart home, sensors, startups and other high-growth technologies. The 2015 CES will feature 20 category-specific Marketplaces highlighting innovation across diverse product areas. Companies interested in exhibiting in the Robotics Marketplace should contact Pedro Vittes at pvittes@CE.org or 703-907-7751. Registration for the 2015 CES is open. For more information on the 2015 CES, visit CESweb.org.
Note to Editors: The official name of the global technology event is "International CES®."  Subsequent references to the event can be shortened to "CES."
About CES: The International CES is the world's gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technologies. It has served as the proving ground for innovators and breakthrough technologies for more than 40 years—the global stage where next-generation innovations are introduced to the marketplace. As the largest hands-on event of its kind, CES features all aspects of the industry. And because it is owned and produced by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the technology trade association representing the $211 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry, it attracts the world's business leaders and pioneering thinkers to a forum where the industry's most relevant issues are addressed. Follow CES online at www.CESweb.org and through social media:
UPCOMING EVENTS CES Unveiled Las Vegas January 4, 2015, Las Vegas, NV 2015 International CES January 6-9, 2015, Las Vegas, NV CES Unveiled Tokyo February 18, 2015, Tokyo, Japan CEA Winter Break March 5-8, 2015, Snowmass Village, CO 2015 International CES Asia May 25-27, 2015, Shanghai, China
Contacts:
Tara Dunion 703.907.7419 tdunion@CE.org	Krista Silano 703.907.4331 ksilano@CE.org

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Copyright © 2014 , All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Consumer Electronics Association 1919 S. Eads St. Arlington, VA

Robots to assist customers at San Jose Orchard Supply Hardware store - San Jose Mercury News

http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_26815593/robots-helping-customers-at-san-jose-orchard-supply

The rise of the machines vs. workers, in one chart

http://www.aei.org/publication/rise-machines-vs-workers-one-chart/

Formlabs Form 1+ SLA 3D Printer — Formlabs

http://formlabs.com/en/

tinkercad

https://www.tinkercad.com/


Sent from my iPad

Autodesk 123D - Free 3D Modeling Software, 3D Models, DIY Projects, Personal Fabrication Tools

http://www.123dapp.com/

Harvard Researchers Build $10 Robot That Can Teach Kids to Code | WIRED

AERobot (Affordable Education Robot)

Complete robot system and curriculum to inspire and help students learn
Based on an Atmega168a  CPU it's capable as running as an Arduino if the boot loads is installed.  and a A3901 Motor Driver.
the Sanyo NRD2574I Surface Mount Micro Motors designed for vibrating Cell Phones.  https://solarbotics.com/download.php?file=373

https://sites.google.com/site/affordableeducationrobot/home

http://wyss.harvard.edu/viewpage/539

AERobot, a bot that can help teach programming and artificial intelligence to middle school kids and high schooler. That may seem like a rather expensive luxury for most schools, but it's not. It costs just $10.70. The hope is that it can help push more kids into STEM, studies involving science, technology, engineering, and math.


http://www.wired.com/2014/11/10-dollar-education-robot/

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/bgxgdaOcKcU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Rise of the Robots: Interactive Tech Talk

Rise of the Robots: Interactive Tech Talk {Sponsored by GoEngineer}
http://www.meetup.com/TechinMotionSiliconValley/events/206212712/

Knightscope, develops technology that will predict and prevent crime with an innovative combination of large-scale robotics, predictive analytics and social engagement. The Knightscope K5 Autonomous Data Machine utilizes a combination of autonomous technology, robotics and predictive analytics to provide a commanding but friendly physical presence while gathering important real-time on-site data with its numerous sensors. Data collected through these sensors is processed through the K5's predictive analytics engine, combined with existing business, government and crowdsourced social data sets, and subsequently assigned an alert level that determines when the community and the authorities should be notified of a concern. If an alert is pushed, the K5 machine will turn on all of its sensors to not only allow the entire community to review the data, but to contribute important real-time information. 

Savioke (pronounced "savvy oak") is creating autonomous robot helpers for the services industry. Their first product, SaviOne (AKA "the Botlr"), is a delivery robot for hotels that brings amenities like toothbrushes, towels and cell phone chargers to guest rooms autonomously. Savioke is passionate about delivering easy-to-use yet sophisticated robots that can help people and aim to improve the lives of people by developing and deploying robotic technology in human environments - the places people live and work.

Aldebaran Robotics, founded in 2005, Aldebaran is a world leader in humanoid robotics. Currently there are over 6,000 of Aldebaran's flagship NAO robot being used for research and academics in K-12 curriculum and universities in over 70 countries. Aldebaran has it's sights on the personal robotics market, and is continuing to build custom robotics solutions for businesses. Aldebaran Supports a global community of engineers, developers and others interested in exploring the endless possibilities of how robots can be used in the home, workplace, schools, healthcare etc. The mission of their developer community is to inspire developers to challenge the future of social, emotional, and personal robotics; and develop the types of applications that will allow these and other robots to truly enrich the lives of humans around the world. 

OSHbot - Fellow Robots

Update:
     http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/lowes-robot-future-service-work


Read full Article Here:
http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/industrial-robots/oshbot-will-save-you-from-asking-for-help-in-a-hardware-store

Fellow Robots, back in 2012, they were called 9th Sense Robotics

Published on Oct 28, 2014

In partnership with Lowe’s Innovation Labs, Fellow Robots and Singularity University, Orchard is the first retailer to explore how Autonomous Retail Service Robot (ARSR) technology can improve and enhance in-store service and training. Our San Jose Midtown store will be the home to OSHbot, an associate and customer assistance device designed with a number of ground-breaking features that help customers navigate the store and associates work more effectively.

Combat robots to protect Russian oil and gas infrastructure in Arctic

http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=545385

Combat robots to protect Russian oil and gas infrastructure in Arctic - Foundation

MOSCOW. Oct 21 (Interfax-AVN) - Undersea combat robots will be protecting Russian oilrigs and transportation networks in the Arctic region at some point, Deputy General Director of the Russian Foundation for Advanced Research Projects, Chairman of the Foundation's Scientific and Technological Board Vitaly Davydov told Interfax-AVN.
"The Foundation is not designing robotic sharks but it is working on undersea robots and autonomous gadgets capable of protecting infrastructure, controlling the waters and detecting, tracking and, if necessary, destroying a potential enemy. The prospective machinery may be deployed on the sea bottom and specialized submersibles," he said.
So far, the Foundation is focused not so much on defense issues as on mineral development projects, Davydov said.
"The rivalry in this region will be centered on its natural resources. A key task to be solved in the Arctic is access to mineral resources, first and foremost, hydrocarbons. This goal can be achieved through the completion of numerous tasks in the discovery, production and transportation of resources, sub-glacial operations and infrastructural security. This is the target of the Foundation's research programs," he said.

New Li-ion anode achieves 70 percent charge in just two minutes

New Li-ion anode achieves 70 percent charge in just two minutes

http://www.gizmag.com/quick-charge-li-ion-battery/34347/

A proof of concept nanotube-based anode for lithium-ion batteries has been developed by researchers at the Nanyang Technological University

The Good Wife, double robotics out takes

http://youtu.be/N9TpHGLj0yA

Pentagon’s Project ‘Avatar’: Same as the Movie, but With Robots Instead of Aliens

http://www.wired.com/2012/02/darpa-sci-fi/

Soldiers practically inhabiting the mechanical bodies of androids, who will take the humans’ place on the battlefield. Or sophisticated tech that spots a powerful laser ray, then stops it from obliterating its target.

If you’ve got Danger Room’s taste in movies, you’ve probably seen both ideas on the big screen. Now Darpa, the Pentagon’s far-out research arm, wants to bring ‘em into the real world.

In the agency’s $2.8 billion budget for 2013, unveiled on Monday, they’ve allotted $7 million for a project titled “Avatar.” The project’s ultimate goal, not surprisingly, sounds a lot like the plot of the same-named (but much more expensive) flick.

According the agency, “the Avatar program will develop interfaces and algorithms to enable a soldier to effectively partner with a semi-autonomous bi-pedal machine and allow it to act as the soldier’s surrogate.”

These robots should be smart and agile enough to do the dirty work of war, Darpa notes. That includes the “room clearing, sentry control [and] combat casualty recovery.” And all at the bidding of their human partner.

Freaky? Um, yes. But the initiative does strike as the next logical step in Darpa’s robotics research. For one thing, the agency’s already been investigating increasingly autonomous, lifelike robots, including Petman (a headless humanoid), designed to mimic a soldier’s physiology, and AlphaDog (a gigantic, lumbering, four-legged beast), meant to lug gear during combat.

And just last week, when Darpa released a new video of AlphaDog cavorting through the forest, the agency noted that they wanted the ‘bot to “interact with [soldiers] in a natural way, similar to the way a trained animal and its handler interact.” AlphaDog is even being designed to follow a human commander using visual sensors, and respond to vocal commands.

Based on Darpa’s description of the “Avatar” project, which notes “key advancements in telepresence and remote operation of a ground system,” it sounds like the agency’s after an even more sophisticated robot-soldier synergy. They don’t specify the means, but Darpa’s already funded successful investigations into robots that are controlled with mind power alone. Granted, that research was performed on monkeys. But it does raise the tantalizing prospect that soldiers might one day meld minds with their very own robotic alter egos.

And the “Avatar” project isn’t Darpa’s only nod to sci-fi in their new budget plan. The agency’s “Counter Laser Technologies” project, on which they’re spending $4.1 million, seeks to develop “laser countermeasures” that’d protect the military’s weapons from high-energy lasers, and maybe even thwart potential attacks. No, Death Stars are not specifically mentioned.

Of course, such super-powerful blasters aren’t yet combat-ready. (Just ask the Army, which has a $38 million laser cannon — without a laser; it’s complicated.) But once they are, the lasers could do some serious damage to existing weapons systems, which is why the Pentagon’s already been after methods that’d safeguard its existing arsenals. In 2008, for example, the Air Force asked scientists to develop laser-proof coatings for weaponry. The Navy in 2009 also launched its own counter-laser initiative, looking for ideas to protect against myriad different blasters, high-energy lasers included.

Darpa’s project will try to accomplish some of those same goals. For example, the agency mentions an interest in “material treatments” that’d protect weaponry from a laser able to “melt through, fracture or weaken the body.” But Darpa’s also looking for a more comprehensive array of tools. It wants “warning systems” that can detect high-energy lasers, and “determine the attributes of the threat” (including wavelength and power). Plus, the agency’s after technology that can thwart a laser attack entirely, by “altering the laser’s internal optics or modifying the laser’s line of sight.”

Clearly, a leaner Pentagon budget hasn’t stopped Darpa’s dreamers from watching too much sci-fi. We’re just hoping nobody at the agency’s seen Source Code.

What is Telerobotics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telerobotics

Telerobotics is the area of robotics concerned with the control of semi-autonomous robots from a distance, chiefly using Wireless network (likeWi-Fi, Bluetooth, the Deep Space Network, and similar) or tethered connections. It is a combination of two major subfields, teleoperation and telepresence.

Video Friday: George Takei Meets Baxter, Jibo Origins, and Underwater Cake

http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/diy/video-friday-george-takei-baxter