Google, NASA Back D-Wave Quantum Computer
In March, Engineering on the Edge covered Lockheed Martin’s investment into the D-Wave quantum computer. At the time, although Lockheed Martin seemed impressed with the system, the verdict was still out on how much faster (if at all) D-Wave’s machine was compared to conventional computers.
Since then, an independent study has confirmed that the quantum computer is as fast, or faster, than other computers. Google and NASA were intrigued enough by the results to partner in order to start an artificial intelligence (AI) lab at NASA’s Advanced Supercomputing Facility at the Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley. Continue reading
Under Armor Developing Interactive Clothing
Most of the mobile technology being developed today can fit in a pocket, or at the very least in a briefcase, but that doesn’t make remembering to take it with you any easier. I know either my wife or myself has to make a trip back into the house to fetch a forgotten cell phone or iPod at least once a week.
Flexible technology won’t make remembering to bring your tech with you any easier, as I know plenty of people who forget to put on their watch, let alone a flexible phone. Wearable technology, though, might be a different story. How many times do you forget to put on a shirt before leaving the house? Continue reading
Kurzweil Focuses on AI at Google
In a recent interview with Singularity Hub, inventor and new Google Director of Engineering Ray Kurzweil dished on his latest pet project: a way to leverage Google’s resources to create intelligent computers that can understand human language on a “deep level.” Doing so would enable the company to create a type of artificial intelligence that would greatly improve search engines.
Would You Like to Drive a Lunar Rover?
How many of you out there have been paying attention to Curiosity even after it failed to spatter into Mars? I’ve been checking out what the rover is up to every couple of days or so, looking at pictures and reading about future plans. Has all of that back seat driving given you a desire to take the wheel of a rover for yourself? Here’s your chance. Sort of.
The Google Lunar X Prize is offering $30 million to the first privately funded company to safely deliver a rover to the moon. Google is not, of course, helping with the funding, which has led one team to launch a Kickstarter page to get its rover off the ground. Part-Time Scientists (PTS) is offering people a chance to contribute a mere $15 to the cause for the chance to test pilot (here on Earth) its lunar rover for 20 minutes.
Google Glasses Enter Testing Phase
I read a book not all that long ago titled Halting State set in the near future. In this particular universe, the digital divide that existed was less about people with access to the Internet, but rather more about the manner in which people could access the Internet. The story featured a common piece of technology that projected an augmented reality heads up display (HUD) through a pair of glasses or goggles.
The interface for the glasses was controlled mainly by eye movements. Older people who hadn’t grown up with the technology found it difficult to use and were subsequently at a disadvantage. With that little nugget of information in mind, let’s take a look at the newest invention to hit the testing stage from Google: Project Glass.
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