Ray Kurzweil reviews History of Neural Nets

Ray Kurzweil reviewed the history of Neural Nets. Ray knew the both of the two leaders of the competing Artificial intelligence factions (Symbolic vs. Connectionist) in the 1960s. The connectionists were supporting neural networks. They could only handle single layer neural networks and had limited solution capacity. A mathematic proof by Minski in the Symbolic …

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New brain implant design is meant to restore vision to the blind

Experiments that let a paralyzed person swig coffee using a robotic arm, or that let blind people “see” spots of light, have proven the huge potential of computers that interface with the brain. But the implanted electrodes used in such trials eventually become useless, as scar tissue forms that degrades their electrical connection to brain …

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Bilayer Graphene Quantum Tunneling transistors are ultralow power and could achieve 100 gigahertz operations

Scientists have developed a new type of graphene-based transistor and using modelling they have demonstrated that it has ultralow power consumption compared with other similar transistor device. They could eventually achieve 100 gigahertz clock speeds. Building transistors that are capable of switching at low voltages (less than 0.5 volts) is one of the greatest challenges …

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Bilayer Graphene Quantum Tunneling transistors are ultralow power and could achieve 100 gigahertz operations

Scientists have developed a new type of graphene-based transistor and using modelling they have demonstrated that it has ultralow power consumption compared with other similar transistor device. They could eventually achieve 100 gigahertz clock speeds. Building transistors that are capable of switching at low voltages (less than 0.5 volts) is one of the greatest challenges …

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World Aquaculture production increased by 10 million tons in 2012 compared to 2010

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) reports around 80 million tonnes of fish were caught “wild” in 2011-12 and global aquaculture production set another all-time high at more than 90 million tonnes, including nearly 24 million tonnes of edible plants like seaweeds. In total, the world harvested an extra 10 million tonnes of aquatic food …

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Inflatable AirBeams for Aerospace Structures

The AirBeam is a proprietary technology originally developed for aerodynamic structures then applied to military shelters and a wide range of other structures relevant to aerospace applications. Potential Inflatable AirBeam Aerospace Applications * Aerodynamic – Hypersonic and Supersonic inflatable decelerators – Inflatable Wings – Subsonic Stabilizers * Space – Orbital habitat truss-work and connecting structures …

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China successfully landed robot rover on Moon and it is the first of a new wave of moon rovers

China is set to land a robotic rover on the surface of the Moon, a major step in the Asian superpower’s ambitious programme of space exploration. UPDATE – The lander has successfully landed on the moon. On Saturday afternoon (GMT), a landing module will undergo a powered descent, using thrusters to perform the first soft …

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World oil update and North Dakota hits another record

IEA monthly oil report is up. The estimate of global oil demand for 2013 has been revised up by 130 kb/d, to 91.2 mb/d, on stronger-than-expected 3Q13 OECD demand growth of 320 kb/d. Global demand is now seen advancing by 1.2 mb/d in both 2013 and 2014, to reach 92.4 mb/d in 2014. Global oil …

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Europe approves breakthrough drug to treat multiple sclerosis by rebooting the immune system

A transformational new treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) – the result of over three decades of research in Cambridge – was approved today by the EU agency responsible for regulating new drugs. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has approved the drug Alemtuzumab, to be known by the brand name Lemtrada and previously called Campath-1H (for …

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Some Futurists predict the end of smartphones by about 2030

Paul Saffo predicts that robust AI-based voice recognition will enable wearable devices that mainly do not have screens to replace smartphones. Even better versions of Apple SIRI and Google Voice over the next few years will let users discovered what they knew all along: We would much rather talk than tap. Driving directions were so …

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