Robotics Introduction

Government urged to investigate impact of robots on UK workforce

Labour’s Tom Watson says George Osborne should set up commission looking at how to benefit from technological advances

George Osborne should establish a royal commission on robots, to examine the impact of new technologies such as driverless vehicles on Britain’s workforce, Labour’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, has said.

The chancellor is expected to announce a trial of driverless lorries as part of next Wednesday’s budget. Writing for the Guardian, Watson argued that the government should launch an investigation into how to make the most of the benefits of rapid advances in technology, which he believes could be as profound as those unleashed by the industrial revolution.

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via Government urged to investigate impact of robots on UK workforce

Will a lack of trust in robots hold back automation?

A company making horse saddles and another making personal rape alarms highlight how automation brings benefits but also provokes concern

Rebecca Pick wants to ensure that a human eye is closely focused on the first of her personal protection alarms when they are being put together in a factory over the coming months.

Set to launch in June, the Personal Guardian will be a small device that attaches to a bra strap or belt which, when two buttons are pressed, will alert the police to an attack by connecting to the user’s mobile phone.

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via Will a lack of trust in robots hold back automation?

SRI's Micro Robots Can Now Manufacture Their Own Tools

These tiny robots can reconfigure themselves in a custom tool shop that's just a few square inches in size
via SRI's Micro Robots Can Now Manufacture Their Own Tools

Driverless lorries to be tested on UK motorways

M6 earmarked for trial of ‘HGV platoons’ aimed at cutting down on fuel consumption and improving road safety

Driverless lorries are to be tested in “platoons” on British motorways as part of a government drive to bring major improvements to journeys.

According to reports, the chancellor, George Osborne, is expected to confirm funding for the initiative in his budget next week.

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via Driverless lorries to be tested on UK motorways

Who will care for us in the future? Watch out for the rise of the robots | Madeleine Bunting

With care work underfunded and devalued, we may be tempted to outsource a key part of our humanity

The haunting genius of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four is that it suggests how some ideas can become literally unimaginable when the language that describes them is destroyed. He wrote of freedoms that political power could make simply impossible to talk, write and think about – because there was no language in which to do so.

It’s a brilliant idea with multiple applications in every age – suggesting that we need always to be ready to interrogate the reasons why ideas are being reconfigured, compromised or destroyed.

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via Who will care for us in the future? Watch out for the rise of the robots | Madeleine Bunting

Video Friday: Robot Scorpion, Jibo A Capella, and Anti-Drone Bazooka

Your weekly selection of awesome robot videos
via Video Friday: Robot Scorpion, Jibo A Capella, and Anti-Drone Bazooka

Free Aerial Photography EBook from 3DR

Want to learn how to shoot aerial stills? Want to shoot them better? Want to know what the pros know? Want to give your Instagram followers TMJ from all the jawbreaking you’ll be doing?

We sure did. And now we’ve pooled our knowledge and put together the first 3DR instructional ebook. It’s dedicated entirely to aerial photography, a complete guide to getting the shot, with tips, tricks and shot breakdowns from some of the world’s top influencers and aerial photographers.

For instance, learn the techniques behind a shot from a photographer with less than 1,000 followers that was featured on over 30 huge Instagram accounts, attracting numerous licensing inquiries from major brands.

And it’s free.

What’s inside: