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Studying social animals will unlock the potential of swarm robotics

Apr03
by on April 3, 2019 at 3:01 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, robots, syndication, world


From flocks of birds to fish schools in the sea, or towering termite mounds, many social groups in nature exist together to survive and thrive. This cooperative behavior can be used by engineers as “bio-inspiration” to solve practical human problems, and by computer scientists studying swarm intelligence. “Swarm robotics” took off in the early 2000s, an early example being the “s-bot” (short for swarm-bot). This is a fully autonomous robot that can perform basic tasks including navigation and the grasping of objects, and which can self-assemble into chains to cross gaps or pull heavy loads. More recently, “TERMES” robots have…

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Cryptocurrency mining firm posts massive $58M loss

Apr03
by on April 3, 2019 at 2:25 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, blockchain, cryptocurrency, Hard Fork


Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies might have had a good week so far, but it’s not quite enough to make up for this Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency mining firm‘s 2018 losses. In its 2018 financial report, released yesterday, cryptocurrency mining firm Riot Blockchain posted a $58 million loss. According to the report, the firm generated $7.7 million in mining revenue, earning 1,081 Bitcoin (including conversions from Bitcoin Cash) and 3,023 Litecoin. This was done at its facility in Oklahoma City, where it’s been operating 8,000-plus miners since last June. Despite the huge losses, Riot was able to maintain a positive gross margin of…

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The most offbeat and awesome inventions we found at Lille’s Maker Faire

Apr03
by on April 3, 2019 at 1:54 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Plugged


TNW took a trip to the Maker Faire in Lille to find the weirdest and wackiest devices around – and we discovered just that. We’re releasing a new video every couple of days and this is where you can find them all. If you’re unfamiliar with the Maker Faire, it’s a worldwide event where people come to share their inventions. These can be anything from furniture made out of old oil drums, all the way through to DIY drone racing. Basically, it’s a hotbed of creativity. Best of all, we were lucky enough at TNW to go and visit one of…

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Video: Yep, this long-overdue device lets you play music on exotic fruit

Apr03
by on April 3, 2019 at 1:51 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Plugged


This video is part of our series on Lille’s Maker Faire. To stay up-to-date on releases (and to find out more), check out our master post here. Sometimes an idea is so simple and pure, you’re shocked that no one has done it before. This is not one of those ideas. So, welcome one and all, to the world of musical pineapples. This concept comes from Playtronica, a company that aims to educate people through the use of – as they put it – audio experiences. And, well, it’s cool. But back to the musical pineapples. They work with a…

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