Science Made Cool

Origami + Robotics = Awesome

The Harvard Microrobotics Laboratory, better known for building tiny robots that fly and crawl, has built a robot that can fold itself into different shapes.  

OK, it only folds into two shapes: the classic paper boat and paper airplane. But it does it automatically when electrical current is applied to the Nitinol hinges bridging the stiff fiberglass triangles in the robot’s flat body. (The edges of each triangle are lined with a flexible silicone rubber to give the robot joints). There’s no reason that other shapes aren’t possible – researchers just have to figure out the folding pattern and make a sheet large enough to include all the folds.

 Just think – paper boats today could eventually lead to refoldable hats, reconfigurable toys, or fantastically intricate and mobile folded sculptures. (I’d like a movable version of this fantastic owl by Robert Lang, please.)

 

(photo © Robert J. Lang)

UPDATE 7/31/10: Members of the lab will be demonstrating some of their robots at the Museum of Science in Boston next Saturday (August 7th, 2010). If you're in town, stop by to see them in action.

 

Bad Idea? Or WORST IDEA EVER?

A pair of M.I.T. grad students have devised the Cornucopia, a "food printer" which uses 3-D printing technology to create . . . well . . . I don't know what. 

Fortunately for everyone, the Cornucopia currently exists as nothing more than a concept and some groovy renderings. There isn't a working model yet, and let us all hope there never will be. Why am I being so harsh? Because this is the worst idea (not devised by politicians) I have seen in a decade. Apparently Amit Zoran and Marcelo Coelho, the inventors of the Cornucopia, live entirely on intravenous glucose solutions or something, because they seem to have a very odd idea of what food is and what qualities are important.

Best. Title. Ever.

Here's a pretty good press release from the PhysOrg site about an upcoming talk by a British skeptic about Paul, the famous World Cup predicting octopus. It has the most awesome title ever:  "Professor Risk Vs. the Psychic Octopus."

It's a damned shame Lester Dent isn't still around to write that story.

ZZZAP!

Next time somebody dusts off the "It's the 21st Century, where's my flying car?" schtick, ask 'em if they think ships blasting robots with lasers is futuristic enough. Because that's what the U.S. Navy tried out in secret tests last May. Here's the UPI story.

The Navy loves the idea of directed-energy weapons, because warships can generate tons of power but have limited space for ammunition. Currently the state of the art in close-in defense systems is the awesome Phalanx gatling gun device, which basically fires a beam of bullets at approaching missiles. It apparently works well in tests, but at 4,500 rounds per minute the gun can only fire for a couple of minutes before it uses up all the ammo. Even the biggest warship can only carry a finite amount of 20mm rounds, but they can keep generating photons forever. Defensive lasers could even engage incoming shells, not just missiles.

Presumably it's only a matter of time before Raytheon gets together with the mad geniuses at DARPA to combine this technology with the cyborg sharks. Laser cyborg sharks are even better than flying cars.

Big Day

Tomorrow is July 20, a big day in outer space. 

Forty-one years ago on July 20, Neil Armstrong stepped out onto the surface of the Moon. Since that momentous day, American space exploration has progressed from flights to the Moon, to flights to low Earth orbit, to no flights at all, starting next year. Future plans for NASA will presumably involve sending out astronauts to sabotage airplanes and elevators. But enough carping.

Thirty-four years ago on July 20, the first Viking probe set down on the surface of Mars. It found inconclusive evidence about life on Mars. After three decades and half a dozen more spacecraft, we still don't know if there's life on Mars. We do, however, know a heck of a lot more about the planet aside from that.

Sixteen years ago on July 20, the physical Universe decided to celebrate Apollo 11's 25th anniversary by blowing the bejeezus out of the planet Jupiter with the spectacular Comet Shoemaker-Levy impact. A large comet broke into 21 fragments and plowed into Jupiter over the course of a week. I was watching through my little telescope at the time of the first impact, but I can't say I saw anything.

So if Betelgeuse happens to explode tonight, I won't be too surprised. 

Monday Debunking

As I'm just back from a fabulous weekend at Readercon, here's a nifty link to tide you over for the day. Popular Mechanics tackles some myths about energy. They're entirely skeptical about biofuels and shale oil, realistic about wind power, surprisingly bullish on tidal electricity, and strong on nukes.

The Annual Pilgrimage

Once again, our own Jim Cambias (who feels rather odd writing about himself in the third person) will be a guest at Readercon. Readercon has been running since 1989, and in that time has earned a reputation as a top-notch conference on the literary side of fantastic fiction. If you want to dress up like a Klingon or swap bootleg Indonesian vampire film cassettes, you'll be disappointed at Readercon. But if you want to talk about writing and writers, this is your Mecca. Come to Burlington, Mass., and prostrate yourself toward the glory that is Readercon.

And if you want to throw a few genuflections at JLC, here's his schedule:

Friday 3:00 PM:  Reading (30 min.)
"How Seosiris Lost The Favor of the King."  A new fantasy short story about an Egyptian wizard and a troublesome foreign sorcerer.

Friday 6:00 PM: Workshop (60 min.)
Brainstorming Inclusive Immersive Worlds.  A workshop on creating an imaginary world with realistic social divisions.

Saturday 12:00 Noon:  Talk / Discussion (60 min.)
Travel Literature.  James L. Cambias, Michael Dirda, Debra Doyle, Fred Lerner (L), Howard Waldrop.  Panel discussion on the connection between travel writing and SF/Fantasy.

Saturday 2:00 PM: Talk / Discussion (60 min.)
Great War Geeks Unite.  Victoria Janssen with discussion by Leah Bobet, James L. Cambias, Don D'Ammassa, Debra Doyle, Walter H. Hunt, Barbara Krasnoff, Barry B. Longyear, Alison Sinclair, Howard Waldrop, Paul Witcover.  Panel discussion about World War I in SF and fantasy, along with grumbling about why it's so neglected.

Sunday 2:00 PM: Talk / Discussion (60 min.)
The Appeal of Lovecraft.  Mike Allen with discussion by James L. Cambias, Michael Cisco, Amanda Downum, Theodora Goss, Donald G. Keller, John Langan, Faye Ringel, Diane Weinstein.  Why H.P. Lovecraft is so popular even though he's so flawed.

UPDATE:  All of this wonderful Cambias activity starts this Friday, July 9 at Readercon in Burlington, MA.