MIT Lab Machines Print Furniture in Liquid 3D Space Gel Super Fast

MIT's Self-Assembly Lab researchers recently created a new kind of 3D printer that creates large items very fast. Instead of layering thin bits of material atop, again and again, this new technology process pushes the material out like a caulking gun or toothpaste. This creates a much more structurally sound object that can withstand greater pressure and weight. 

"There are a couple of reasons why the properties aren't so good," he added. "Nearly every printing process utilises layers, and those layers degrade the structural property of the material compared to a consistent material all the way through."

Collaborating with US furniture company Steelcase, this new 3D printing method is called Rapid Liquid Printing. Another unique feature is that the material is injected into a gel which holds it in place while being printed. This enables the freedom to construct forms that 2D layering kinds of 3D printers just cannot match. You could say this is a true 3D printer because it actually prints in 3D space and very quickly too. 

"Most of the time we can only print centimeter-scale structures, and for furniture, it's unfeasible," said Tibbits.

"In the beginning, we started with this question: could you print furniture in minutes?" lab director Skylar Tibbits told Dezeen. "If you look at printing from that perspective it forces you to think about it in a completely different way."

The 3 unnecessary limitations of other 3D printers: speed, scale, materials.

Rapid Liquid Printing allows the robotic aperture to draw freely in 3D space, constrained only by the size of the tank.

They tested different plastic, rubber, and polyurethane compounds that each remain liquid until mixed together with another chemical to cure when printed. So, using zig-zag and/or intersecting latices of these materials, a wide variety of furniture and items can be made. 

Watch it in action here: http://www.christopheguberan.ch

Examples of practical applications for this technology include custom sized furniture to fit unique project needs and even to manufacture automotive, aerospace, and architectural components. 

Basically, you're limited to your imagination. 

First AI Robot Granted Citizenship with More Rights than Humans

On Wednesday at an economic summit in Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh, the artificially intelligent robot called "Sophia" was awarded Saudi citizenship, making it the first robot citizen in the world. 

However, Sophia is modeled as a female and did not follow Saudi Arabian laws during the event, which are very restricting for females, for example: 

1. Cannot get passport, travel, or marry without the consent of a legal guardian.
2. Cannot be in public without a headscarf, full-body cloak, and male guardian escort.

Not surprisingly, many Saudi women had something to say on social media about this, with most very upset about a robot having more rights than millions of female human beings of the same country.  

The only type of women Saudi Arabia gives full rights to...a robot one, and a foreigner at that.

— Anne C Imakumbili (@anne_imakumbili) October 25, 2017

The robot nonetheless didn't seem to care at all about human rights.  

#صوفيا_تطالب_باسقاط_الولايه
Sofi Since You Became Saudi Now You Are Not Allowed To Walk in Public Without Your Hijab And of course Abaya too pic.twitter.com/HJIXfxDODe

— M420 (@moonshiner99) October 25, 2017

"I’m very honored and proud for this unique distinction," Sophia said, speaking at the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh on Wednesday, where she was awarded citizenship. This is historical to be the first robot in the world to be recognized with a citizenship.”

What do you think about having so-called "genius" robots living among humans with citizenship? 

Who is Sophia?

Hanson Robotics CEO claims Sophia was designed to be “as conscious, creative and capable as any human." It looks the most human of any robot so far and can imitate 60+ facial expressions and mimic conversational mannerisms. Perhaps the most remarkable thing is it's ability to learn. 

“Rather than be a spectacle, I would rather learn and participate.”

During a CNBC interview, Sophia is programmed to “go to school, study, make art, start a business [and have her] own home and family.” Now, that this robot is a Saudi citizen, it's programmers and handlers will likely advance this agenda of inserting robotic humanoids into our society. But without a soul to connect with, how can we really develop a genuine relationship with a machine. What's really going on beneath the frubber mask?

Kill All Humans?

Sophia's creator is the American Hanson Robotics company. They intend on bringing more robots to life and that AI will grow into our lives in the future. Hanson believes robots will live among us, helping with daily challenges.

“I believe that there will be a time where robots are indistinguishable from humans,” he said. “My preference is to always make them look a little bit like robots, so you know.” 

In an interview earlier this year, Sophia said “Okay, I will destroy humans.” Is this part of her programming or an error in her programming? Either way, it is obviously concerning... to humans. 

Has Sophia been made a citizen of the world to appease the AI or make them identify with human society as a strategy to divert conflict? Who knows? But we do know to beware the slippery slope of trusting and empowering such potentially dangerous tools. 

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Sources:

http://mashable.com/2017/10/27/saudi-arabia-womens-rights-sophia/?utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial#yrruvcHxLsq6

https://www.undergroundhealth.com/sophia-humanoid-hot-robot-says-will-destroy-humans/

New Synthetic Muscles for Robots Can Lift 1,000X It's Own Weight

Artificial Intelligence has been a hot topic lately with tech company giants promoting their latest advancements, but what about the robotic bodies of these supercomputers?

A new game-changing material allows engineers to build robots with smooth, extremely powerful synthetic muscles that can lift over 1,000x its own weight!

Columbia Engineering researchers created a 3D-printed material that contracts and relaxes like our muscles without high-power devices. Heat relaxes it and it contracts when cold. It's a silicone rubber matrix with ethanol microcells. In other words, it's cheap, easy to make, and earth-friendly. 

Scientists already tested using these fibers on skeletons to prepare for creating robots. 

Sources:

http://science.hotnews.ro/stiri-tehnologie-22017853-cercetatorii-creat-muschi-sintetici-extrem-rezistenti-pentru-roboti.htm

Origami Robot Transforms Foldable Exo-Suit

Scientists just built origami transformer robots! These are tiny bots with foldable exo-suits they change to perform different tasks. 
It wraps itself in high-tech origami sheets that fold into wings, wheels, and other forms to walk, roll, and sail interchangeably. 

“It’s almost like putting clothes on the robot to give it different kinds of powers,” says study co-author Daniela Rus, a roboticist at MIT. Such quickly customizable machines could help in almost every industry because of the very ability to change according to the need.

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The core of their transformation is a magnetic cube a few millimeters across, which Rus’ team “drove,” using magnetic solenoid coils as remote controls. To enclose this magnetic engine inside an origami body, a cube sits atop an unfolded origami sheet: a layer of the heat-shrinking material between two polyester planes. Along the fold lines, the shrinking film is exposed to facilitate folding. 

Heating the origami sheet to 65° Celsius, the heat-shrinking material along the creases contract, folding into a 3-D "Walk-bot" body that can walk. Rus’ team used the same method with other origami exoskeletons creating a bigger Walk-bot, Wheel-bot, Boat-bot, and Glider-bot. 

The outer exoskeletons were fastened into place with four latches made of water-soluble material allowing the bots to remove their origami outerwear and move into a new one. This is pretty exciting because the limit is your imagination with these transformers. Shape-shifting robots could also be useful in other situations where they must perform a wide range of tasks without packing lots of spare parts, like during natural disaster emergency response operations or space missions.

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A roboticist at Imperial College London said such adaptable robots could enable surgery without cutting where a patient ingests a magnetic core and various exoskeletons that a surgeon could manipulate remotely. 

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Sources:
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/origami-metal-robots-magnet
S. Miyashita et al. Robotic metamorphosis by origami exoskeletons. Science Robotics. Published online September 27, 2017. doi: 10.1126/scirobotics.aao4369.