On (most) Fridays I post here a roundup of interesting things I’ve read and/or posted on social media since my last roundup, generally stories about emerging technologies, experiential activations, interactive art, advances in scientific research, and other things I find interesting.
Featured Image: Disney Imagineering / Techcrunch
After 30 years, Honda is halting the development of its iconic Asimo humanoid robots in favor of more useful models:
Image: Evan Ackerman/IEEE Spectrum
Researchers have used copper nanoparticles to create a new antibacterial coating for medical clothing that kills bacteria to reduce infections:
Image: Getty Images/The Economist
Disney Imagineering has created autonomous robot stunt doubles called Stuntronics that can perform really active aerial stunts that current generations of animatronics can’t even approach:
Image: Disney Imagineering / Techcrunch
Want to understand experience design? Eat popcorn with chopsticks, drink water from a martini glass, or watch a movie through “finger-goggles”:
Image: Co.Design, Source Photos: Antonio Guillem/iStock (hand), Paket/iStock (popcorn)
Self-driving car startup Nuro is teaming up with Kroger on a pilot for same-day grocery delivery:
Image: Nuro/Kroger/Techcrunch
Lionsgate & Pepsi created a Snapchat augmented reality experience to promote the NBA star-packed movie ‘Uncle Drew’:
Image: Tommy Palladino/Next Reality
Physicists at Brandeis have created a robotic eel that can swim through human bodies for drug delivery:
Image: Brandeis University
Researchers in Hong Kong created a drug delivery system that uses magnetically-controlled microbots to deliver stem cells into hard-to-reach organs:
Image: University of Hong Kong/Science Robotics
Ikea created an augmented reality app for kids that suggests toys they can make out of discarded flat-pack cardboard:
Image: Ikea/Contagious
Facing wildfire threats, some cities in the West are choosing drone shows instead of the traditional 4th of July fireworks:
Image: Great Lakes Drone Company
Scientists in Singapore have demonstrated how to use CRISPR gene editing to change the colour, pattern and shape of butterfly wings:
Image: Mutsuoka & Monteira/Cell Reports
Harvard’s Ambulatory Microrobot (HAMR) is a cockroach-inspired robot that can swim on the water surface, break the surface tension to sink and also walk underwater:
Image: The Harvard Microrobotics Lab/Harvard University
Chemistry researchers are using virtual reality to manipulate molecules in three dimensions, recalling physical models used to visualize forests of atoms in the past:
Image: Helen Deeks and Matt Sutton/Interactive Scientific Ltd.
To see stories like this as I find them, follow me on Twitter: @josiah17