‘Campaign to Stop Killer Robots’ calling for ban on ‘fully autonomous weapons’

from rawstory.com: The idea of autonomous killer robots may seem like the stuff of science fiction, but human rights groups are already preparing for what appears to be the future of weaponry. The Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, a coalition of international groups, is preparing for a global summit in Geneva Switzerland on Wednesday, May 29 that will review a U.N. report on these types of weapons that was released earlier this week. The Campaign hopes to convince nations to sign on to an international ban on autonomous weapons.

Raw Story spoke with Mary Wareham of the Arms Division of Human Rights Watch, who is the coordinator of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots. The Campaign also includes representatives of Association for Aid and Relief Japan, the Nobel Women’s Initiative, the International Committee for Robot Arms Control and others. Wareham began by explaining that there is a difference between these autonomous weapons and armed drones.

“We’re calling the weapons we’re talking about ‘fully autonomous,’” she said. “The U.N. report calls them ‘lethal autonomous robotics.’

“Fully autonomous weapons have complete autonomy in terms of who they target and how they engage force,” she said. “And by autonomy, I mean no human operation, intervention or involvement. With armed drones, there is still what they call ‘the man in the loop.’ Unlike autonomous weapons, drones are still controlled by a human.”

She said that while some people might find the campaign’s focus far-fetched or outlandish, this is the direction weaponry in which weaponry is moving, toward greater and greater autonomy.

NASA taps 3-D printer firm for ‘Star Trek’-style food replicator

from rawstory.com: U.S. space agency NASA has tapped 3-D printer firm Systems & Materials Research Corporation (SMRC) to create the first-ever “Star Trek”-style food replicator using 3-D printing technology.
 
According to Quartz, NASA gave the company a six month, $125,000 grant contract to focus on developing 3-D printers that use cartridges full of carbohydrates, protein powders and oils that can be combined in layers to produce food.

The tech could dramatically cut down on food waste here on Earth while making it much easier to transport nutrients in bulk through space. Grocery stores could be gradually transformed to ultra-cheap cartridge retailers while non-nutrient edible products are phased out by market forces. 

Of course, that’s all a radical, highly speculative version of the future, but it’s what SMRC mechanical engineer Anjan Contractor envisions for 3-D printed foods. He’s already successfully used a 3-D printer to spit out chocolate bars; an admittedly rudimentary accomplishment. 

One day, however, more advanced printers could be used to customize nutrition for individuals, and whole meals could be downloaded over the Internet. But that’s all still fantasy until SMRC, or some other company, steps up to fill this void that most people don’t even know exists.

Sci-Fi Audio: 'A Martian Odyssey'

Gregg Margarite, a prolific audio book reader, provides description at Librivox website of science fiction writer Stanley G Weinbaum:  "...best known for his short story 'A Martian Odyssey' which has been influencing Science Fiction since it was first published in 1934. Weinbaum is considered the first writer to contrive an alien who thought as well as a human, but not like a human."  Weinbaum died from lung cancer only 18 months after writing story, a promising career cut short.

OK Drone: Vietnam Enters the UAV Market

from apperspective.net: Vietnam flight tested six indigenously made Unmanned Aerials Vehicles (UAVs) over the weekend, Xinhua News Agency reported.

“After three days of tests, from May 17-19, in Da Lat city and Lac Duong district of Lam Dong province, six vehicles made by the Vietnam Space Technology Institute, under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), successfully made 37 flights,” Xinhua News reported, citing local media outlets.

The tests reflect an effort by Vietnam to penetrate the UAV market, with many of its neighbors, including China and Japan, beefing up their own UAV forces in recent years.

Earlier this month the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) had announced that it had built five indigenous UAVs, the first of their kind for Vietnam. The first of the drones—AV.UAV.MS1, AV.UAV.S1, AV.UAV.S2, AV.UAV.S3 and AV.UAV.S4— was initially tested in early May. The Vietnamese scientists who built the drones began researching them back in 2008, and the project was picked up by the state in 2011.

Related:
Vietnam to purchase drones from Belarus

Fireballs in the Skies

American Meteor Society reported sightings of fireballs over the nights of May 18 and May19.  Fireballs were reported in the skies above Virgina, Missouri, Colorado and Arizona.  Does this represent an increase in meteor activity?  Is it a sign of Nibiru?

Major Hollywood Studios All Sent Bogus DMCA Takedowns Concerning The Pirate Bay Documentary

from techdirt.com: We see so many bogus DMCA (Digital Millenium Copywright Act) takedowns, and we hear the big copyright holders insisting that it's just an accident each and every time -- and not to worry about the collateral damage and censorship it leads to. 

So it seems interesting that TorrentFreak has uncovered a series of bogus DMCA takedown notices to Google from four different giant Hollywood players -- Viacom, Paramount (owned by Viacom), Fox and Lionsgate -- that each ask it to remove links to Simon Klose's excellent documentary about The Pirate Bay TPB AFK. As TorrentFreak notes, Fox, via DtecNet (another total failure for the "six strikes" company), asked Google to remove a link to the movie on Mechodownload. Viacom asked for links to be removed to the movie on Mrworldpremiere and Rapidmovies. Lionsgate asked for to remove a link to the movie from The Pirate Bay of all places. Needless to say, all of these were authorized copies that the movie studios were seeking to have hidden.

Beyond the obvious concern about censoring a movie that shows, perhaps, a more sympathetic side of the TPB crew and their legal situation, these kinds of take downs serve another, more nefarious purpose: making sure there is less value for authorized works on these various sites. You hear it all the time from these companies that these sites are "all bad" and must be taken down. Having authorized content really looks bad, so it's nice for them that they can remove it by filing bogus DMCA claims with no real recourse. No wonder the MPAA is so vehement that it shouldn't need to consider fair use before sending bogus takedowns.

Biggest meteor hits Moon

from ITwire.com: The U.S. space agency NASA has been watching the Moon for about eight years, looking for signs of meteoroids hitting the lunar surface.
 
The results show that hundreds of recorded impacts occur each year. However, the biggest one ever recorded occurred on March 17th.

Bill Cooke, of the Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA, stated, “On March 17, 2013, an object about the size of a small boulder hit the lunar surface in Mare Imbrium. It exploded in a flash nearly 10 times as bright as anything we've ever seen before."

According to the March 17, 2013 NASA article Bright Explosion on the Moon, the impact was viewable by anyone who happened to be looking at the Moon at the time of the explosion. Binoculars or telescopes were not needed, only naked eye observations. 

The impact site appeared to be as bright as a 4th magnitude star for a moment when the 0.98- to 1.3-foot (0.3- to 0.4-meter), in width, 88-pound (40-kilogram), in mass, meteor hit the Moon going about 56,000 miles (90,000 kilometer) per hour. NASA stated that the explosion “packed as much punch as 5 tons of TNT.”

Hi-tech contact lenses show texts and maps

from trueactivist.com: Imagine texting while driving, or placing a call while showering, without holding your phone in your hands. 

It’s not sci-fi any more – a new technology allows information like text messages and driving directions to be projected onto a contact lens.

The hardware behind this invention is a spherical curved LCD display that can fit into a contact lens, developed by Ghent University’s Centre of Microsystems Technology in Belgium.

“This is not science fiction,” chief researcher for the project Jelle De Smet told the Telegraph. “This will never replace the cinema screen for films. But for specific applications it may be interesting to show images such as road directions or projecting text messages from our smart phones straight to our eye.”

These lenses may hit the market within the next few years. In an upgrade from previous models, a new LCD display allows the entire curved surface of the lens to be used.

Earlier versions were based on LEDs, where the display resolution would be limited to only a small number of pixels.

The University of Washington has also been developing new generation of contact lenses that would receive emails and would be able to project information from the Internet, much like in the movie ‘Terminator.’

Other uses of the lens include the concept of adaptable sunglasses – the contact lenses would darken on exposure to light. The lenses could also be used in the fields of medicine and cosmetics.

Sci-Fi Short Weekend: 'Cockpit: The Rule of Engagment'

A film festival finalist Sci-Fi video, "Cockpit: The Rule of Engagment" stars Ronny Cox. An excellent storyline makes for great viewing. "'COCKPIT' is the story of a squadron of space fighter pilots, stranded in their cockpits deep in enemy space, struggling with reality and delusion as they are hunted by mind controlling aliens.'COCKPIT: THE RULE OF ENGAGE- MENT' is a standalone chapter from the same universe which follows the Carrier Captain (Ronny Cox) who must decide if it is worth risking the security of Earth to save a suffocating pilot who may or may not have been corrupted by the mind controlling aliens,"  reveals You Tube summary.  You may visit cockpitthemovie.com website to learn more.

Sci-Fi Short Weekend: 'Stealing Time'

Sci-Fi Short Weekend presents "Stealing Time" a Finite Films Production. This short sci-fi video follows theme in similar style to "Primer," a 2004 film.  "When a down- on-his-luck inventor builds a time machine to change the past, he unwittingly sets off a disastrous chain of events," explains You Tube summary. It's well-produced video that tests your mental acuity whether you spot the clues?  Video captures attention but admit in the end - to not getting  it.  You can view, however, to see if you do.  Admission is free.

Aussie scientists print flexible solar panels

from smh.com.au: Australian scientists have found a way to print large but extremely lightweight and flexible solar panels like money.

World-leading scientists at the CSIRO said the A3-sized panels, which are created by laying a liquid photovoltaic ink onto thin, flexible plastic could soon mean everyone has the ability to print their own solar panels at home.

"It would definitely be feasible to do that," said CSIRO materials scientist Dr Scott Watkins.

"The general concept of being able to manufacture on demand, in a house or in a workplace, is really a key feature of what we're doing."

It comes as scientists around the world continue to develop 3D printing - a method of making three-dimensional objects using a digital design.

The potentially revolutionary method could be used to make just about any object from scratch.

Experts from the University of Wollongong and Melbourne's St Vincent's Hospital are already testing the idea of printing human body parts, such as replacement organs and tissues.

UAVs are searching for oil in Norway

from stratrisks.com: Like an army, science needs the high ground. This is true when it comes to oil exploration and especially so in the rugged landscape of Norway. The Virtual Outcrop Geology (VOG) group at the Norwegian Centre for integrated petroleum research (CIPR) is working to capture this vantage point in a distinctly 21st century way, by using UAVs to seek out oil by helping geologists build 3D models of the terrain.

We tend to think of oil exploration as taking place on desert plains or out in the ocean, but finding oil deposits depends on having a comprehensive understanding of local geology, which is one reason why the question of how much oil we have left sparks so much argument – there’s still so much we don’t know about most of the Earth. By studying the Norwegian terrain and matching it up with other data, such as that gathered from seismographs and core drilling, geologists can build up a three-dimensional picture of what’s going on beneath the ground – both on land and under the sea.

Active sunspot fires solar flares, CME toward us

from ZDnet.com: Four powerful solar flares and CMEs have erupted from a sunspot over the past few days, and one could affect us on late Friday.

The sun is sending fireworks to perhaps celebrate the debut of the latest Star Trek Into Darkness movie, which has been released this week.

Sunspot AR1748 has discharged four powerful solar flares in the past few days, is expected to be more active, and is rotating into more direct view across the sun's near side. Flares are also connected with coronal mass ejections (CMEs).

Of the four CMEs created this week, NOAA space weather forecasters say there's a 40 percent chance that the most recent one could bounce off Earth on May 17.

Solar flares are powerful bursts that send light and radiation into space. CMEs, usually produced in conjunction with solar flares, erupt from the sun and send billions of tonnes of solar material into space. They are not directly dangerous to us, but can disrupt atmospheric communications services such as GPS and cell phones. While personal disruptions can be annoying, GPS airline navigation and extremely accurate clocks that govern financial transactions could be affected.

The current quartet of solar flares has been categorized to reach the highest measuring category, X-class, with the highest of the four given an X-3.2 rating. It is the 18th X-class flare of the current solar season.

The good news is that NASA's observation satellites and NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center are constantly monitoring space activity, and can give warnings, similar to hurricane warnings, when potentially dangerous solar activity is approaching.

Another highlight is the appearance of auroras.

Blue Kachina and Its Moon

Could you climb above clouds in Costa Rica for a clear view of the Blue Kachina from Hopi Prophecy? Marshall Masters has done just that and provides latest develop- ments.  You Tube summary notes:  "This ancient pro- phecy tells us the Blue Kachina, appears first with some disruptions. Then comes the Red Kachina and the end of life as we know it. Based on a detailed study of hundreds of images, this video show a planet with a predictable orbit, a moon and that it is closing on us."  You may not buy Masters' case for the Blue Kachina closing on Earth?  You will be forced to think, however, as Masters delivers challenging arguments! 

Australian police to use surveillance drones to "combat crime" ahead of G20 conference

from apperspective.net: Australian police plan to send drones into the skies for bikie and anti-terror surveillance ahead of the G20 conference in Brisbane.

The $30-an-hour drones would also be used for covert drug crop identification, traffic operations and natural disasters following a successful trial last year.

The Courier-Mail can reveal Police Minister Jack Dempsey wants the aircraft, possibly second-hand ex-military drones used in Afghanistan, in time for the trans-national G20 conference in November next year.

But the plans have angered privacy advocates, with the head of the Australian Council for Civil Liberties saying they amount to "Big Brother in the sky".

Mr Dempsey said drones would be a "cost-effective" measure in police aerial intelligence, with an hourly operating fuel price-tag of $30 compared to $500 per hour for a helicopter.

"Originally even basic drones cost upwards of a million dollars but today they can be purchased for as little as $50,000 and the price continues to fall," Mr Dempsey said.

"Furthermore, with many countries continuing their withdrawal from various theatres of war we may see their high-end surplus military drones come on to the market at very low prices."

US seizes top Bitcoin exchange as crackdown begins

from RT.com: The US Department of Homeland Security seized a payment processing account Tuesday belonging to Mt. Gox, the largest international Bitcoin trader, claiming the monetary exchange service falsified financial documents.

The American government has previously made it clear that officials are watching Bitcoin, a decentralized economic currency that international regulators have not yet been able to control. Many of those who favor Bitcoin use Dwolla, an Iowa-based startup that allows customers to transfer their dollars into Bitcoins.

Unfortunately for those consumers, the Department of Homeland Security issued a warrant Tuesday effectively shutting down Dwolla’s ability to process Bitcoin payments, as reported by CNET. 

Whether because of the DHS’ charge of operating an “unlicensed money transmitting business,” the sudden timing of the allegations, or another reason, Dwolla and Mt. Gox officials have been reluctant to comment. 

iRobot military bots to patrol 2014 World Cup in Brazil

from BlackListedNews.com: FIFA may be implementing goal-sensing technology in international soccer games, but the World Cup is getting even more high-tech with military robot security.

iRobot announced today $7.2 million in contracts to provide Brazil with military PackBot robots for security at the 2014 World Cup.

PackBots have been deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq, and even inside Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.

As part of the deal, Brazil will get 30 PackBot 510 units, which usually cost about $100,000 to $200,000 apiece. The contracts include services, spares, and associated equipment.

The camera-equipped, remote-operated robots can give users a close-up look at suspicious objects, or explore dangerous environments, while keeping operators safe from harm.

The PackBots will be working alongside thousands of soldiers deployed to each of the 12 host cities in Brazil.

To spot troublemakers, Brazilian police will be equipped with facial-recognition camera glasses that reportedly can capture 400 facial images per second, storing them in a central database of up to 13 million faces.