Lifeboat Foundation

The jury may still be out on the usefulness of the Internet of Things, but payments giant Visa is 100 percent sure that it doesn’t want to miss out. Today, it announced plans to push Visa payments into numerous fields. We’re talking “wearables, automobiles, appliances, public transportation services, clothing, and almost any other connected device” — basically anything that can or will soon connect to the internet.

Visa imagines a future where you’ll be able to pay for parking from your car dashboard or order a grocery delivery from your fridge. It makes sense, then, that Samsung is one of the first companies to sign up to the Visa Ready Program, alongside Accenture, universal payment card company Coin and Fit Pay. Chronos and Pebble are also working to integrate secure payments inside their devices.

To show off the technology, which works with any credit card, Visa or otherwise, the company has teamed up with Honda to develop an in-car app that helps automate payments. Right now they have two demos, the first of which concerns refueling. It warns the driver when their fuel level is low and directs them to the nearest gas station. Once the car arrives at the pump, the app calculates the expected cost and allows the driver to pay for the fuel without having to leave the vehicle.

This story reminds me of the building of ancient pyramids in Egypt as well as the building of ancient temples and cities in Mexico and India.

China has relocated 9K people to build their new giant telescope — in 2000 years from now the robots and Ray Kurzweil (who plans never to die) will be looking at the ancient telescope. And, Ray (the grand earth historian) can tell them all about the process and the reason why it was built.

The Chinese government plans to relocate some 9,000 people to make space for the world’s largest radio telescope. Photo: ChinaPhotoPress.

Continue reading “China relocating thousands to build record-size telescope” »

Does the connected self driving car, mean a connected work car as well?

SAN FRANCISCO — In the balancing act between business and pleasure, the modern connected car is mostly about pleasure. Drivers can easily stream music from the Internet and dictate text messages to friends, but staying connected to the office is still cumbersome, as anyone who has tried to join a teleconference while driving can attest.

People tired of checking corporate email around the clock may prefer it that way. After all, a request from the boss can still be reasonably deflected with a simple: “Sorry, I’m driving.”

Continue reading “Challenge for Microsoft: Could we get more work done in our cars? (Should we?)” »

A new fully-automated farm in Japan can be used to grow vegetables anywhere on Earth with little human input, but it may not yet be a solution to solve hunger, the company’s CEO told Sputnik Japan.

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“No offense; but your robots are ugly”

Robots today (especially for home and care giver usage) will need to improve drastically. We’re still designing robots like the are a CPU for homes which frankly freaks some kids out, scares some of the elderly population that it’s too fragile to operate, and my own cat will not come near one. If robotics for home use is ever going to be adopted by the large mass of the population they will need to look less like they are a robot part of a manufacturers’s assembly line, will need a softer/ low noise sound with volume controls for those with hard of hearing, will need modifications for the deaf and blind, will all need to be a multi purpose robot that can do 2 or more types of work inside the home vacumn/ dust/ cook/ wash dishes/ wash clothes, etc., not complicated to set up and operate, reliable (not needing repairs all the time & not over heat), less bulky, better sensors to determine stairs and can climb stairs, etc.

From mowing the lawn to cooking dinner, experts say automatons are set to take over some of our most tedious tasks.

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Unfortunately, much of this (teaching morals, developing a defense plan in case of a preemptive strike, etc,) is not going to work and key reason is simple. Robots are and will always be a machine at it’s core foundation. And, as a result, criminals and terrorists will be able to pay enough money to someone to over ride the technology; therefore, enabling criminals and others to do whatever they wish with the technology.

Instead of trying to promote book reading as a means to preventing an up rising; let’s be a little more realistic in this by stating we’re teaching the machine to have more of an interpersonal approach in its communications and interactions with people. Also, I highly encourage robotic companies need to include a well diverse engineering team especially where robotics is being developed for domestic usage and caregiver usage; otherwise, you will be only as good as the next competitor’s product that did include a right mix of engineers and deliver a better product that meets both male and female needs as well as cultural needs.

In other words, it will be hard for a robot designed & created with a dominate male (20 to 30 something year olds) minded to relate how a female 50 yr old thinks about her house. Again, I would love to see more females get into this space especially female owned companies because they could truly own this market.
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Continue reading “Researchers Propose a Simple Way to Prevent a Robot Uprising” »

Where robotic companies are really messing up

The domesticated robot market is a hot market; could be dominated by female owned and operated robotic companies. When we look at the companies building robots today for home use; it is very male dominated meaning a woman that is in her 30’s, 40’s, 50’s and 60’s is stuck with robotics for her home designed and developed by 20 & 30 year old males.

Now, how does a 20 or 30 something year old understands how a female in her 30’s, 40’s, … thinks and “feels” about her house? They don’t so this is a huge gap and a problem in this space.

Continue reading “Meet the man building Herb, the closest thing we have to Rosie the Robot” »

Nice gadget; however, still trying to understand it’s benefit. Some may say takes pics; well why I would have a drone. Maybe good for soccer.

Let’s talk about balls for a second. They’re super handy. They’ve done a lot for humans. And because of spherical objects, we have sports and automobiles. Heck—even the Earth is a giant ball.

But LG just took ball technology to the next level.

Continue reading “This LG Robot Ball Thing Is Insane” »

I could see dry cleaners in the future being one that you drive up, drop your clothing in a bin (like a drop off box), key in your name and phone number on a kiosk, you get a ticket, a self driving van/ truck collects from the drop off box, the robotics cleaner cleans and processes your clothes. You come to the dry cleaning center, you pay, and collect your clothes.

Also, if you opt to have your clothes delivered; at time of drop off you will be required to prepay and enter in your address at the drop off point. And, a drone delivers to your address.

Ironing sucks, but it’s the kind of precise activity that usually stumps robots. But no longer, because a wonderful team of engineers has developed a robot that can smooth the creases right out of your most wrinkled pair of pants.

Continue reading “We All Need A Robot Like This To Iron Our Clothes” »