Read the latest articles from Futurism (Page 1025)

SpaceX was hoping to launch a cargo mission to the ISS today. But moldy food bars meant for some 40 mice on board is delaying the mission by a day.
SpaceX

SpaceX Just Delayed Its Next Cargo Launch Because of Mold

Somebody forgot to check the expiry date.

By Victor Tangermann

NASA's Near-Earth Object Camera (NEOCam), a crucial tool for spotting asteroids on a collision course with Earth, hasn't been fully funded since 2006.
NASA

Retired Astronaut: NASA Left Earth Defenseless Against Asteroids

Unfortunately, funding the Near-Earth Object Camera is low on the agency's list of priorities.

By Dan Robitzski

He Jiankui, the researcher behind the controversial gene-editing of a pair of twin babies in China, is currently nowhere to be found.
Prosthetics and Devices

The Scientist Who Gene-Edited Babies Is Missing

Is He being detained in China?

By Kristin Houser

Millie, an AI avatar built by Canadian startup TwentyBN, is trained to compliment people trying on new clothes so they're more likely to buy them.
Artificial Intelligence

This AI Avatar Compliments While You Shop So You’ll Buy More Stuff

"Are you a model?"

By Dan Robitzski

How Google Challenged Coders to Make AI More Culturally Aware
Google

How Google Challenged Coders to Make AI More Culturally Aware

The Inclusive Images Competition's winners made progress against algorithmic bias.

By Dan Robitzski

A self-driving vehicle named Lotte is taking autonomous delivery to the next level, eliminating the need for a human to immediately retrieve their package.
Self-Driving Vehicles

This Self-Driving Car Uses a Fold-Out Robot Arm to Deliver Parcels

It does more than just handle transportation.

By Kristin Houser

By the end of January 2019, Walmart plans to deploy 360 "robot janitors" capable of autonomously cleaning its stores' floors.
Artificial Intelligence

Walmart Is About to Deploy Hundreds of Robot Janitors

The bots will scrub floors without human supervision.

By Kristin Houser

In a video clip, Cimon, an AI bot designed to test robot-astronaut interactions, refuses to respond to commands and acts defensive — just like a teenager.
Artificial Intelligence

Watch the ISS’s New AI Robot Companion Act Like Kind of a Brat

Like a testy teen, it just wants to listen to music.

By Kristin Houser

100 capsules of cremated remains are about to be packed into a CubeSat and launched into orbit, fulfilling the last wishes of many who wanted to see space.
SpaceX

Elysium and SpaceX to Launch Cremated Remains of 100 People Into Orbit

A small cubesat will carry capsules of ash through the heavens.

By Dan Robitzski

NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft arrived at Bennu on Monday, a huge milestone in the agency's effort to return asteroid samples to Earth.
Science & Energy

NASA’s First-Ever Asteroid Return Mission Just Reached Its Target

Next up: actually snatching samples from Bennu.

By Kristin Houser

Amazon Is Testing Its Cashierless Tech in Big Box Stores
Future Society

Amazon Is Testing Its Cashierless Tech in Big Box Stores

Stores without checkout lanes are here to stay.

By Victor Tangermann

NVIDIA's latest AI technology can recreate an entire 3D scene by learning from a real-life video.
Artificial Intelligence

New AI Dreams Up Trippy Video Games Based on Real Life Video

All it took was a graphics card, a game engine, a software engineer, and AI.

By Victor Tangermann

The InSight team at JPL have discovered that the spacecraft landed at a four degree angle in a large, sand-filled impact crater.
Mars

NASA’s InSight Mars Lander Landed in a “Large Sandbox” at a Slight Angle

But that's not necessarily a bad thing.

By Victor Tangermann

Researchers from MIT built a cyborg houseplant that can sense light and move toward its source via a pair of attached wheels.
Robots and Machines

MIT Researchers Built a Cyborg Houseplant

The augmented plant rolls around on two wheels.

By Kristin Houser

In its most recent annual report, Roscosmos blames SpaceX — which promises to shuttle astronauts to the ISS — for its declining fortunes.
SpaceX

Russian Space Agency Roscosmos Blames SpaceX For Its Woes

Russia's space program is rattled by SpaceX's promise of cheap spaceflight.

By Jon Christian

China is officially launching its Chang'e--4 rover and probe on December 8, and it's planning to land them on the far side of the moon near the South Pole.
Moon

China to Land First-Ever Rover on Dark Side of the Moon

It'll also set up a lunar container of seeds and silkworm larvae.

By Victor Tangermann

The new generation of the Porsche 911 sports car will include a hybrid model — and it could be the highest-performance version of the iconic vehicle.
Advanced Transport

The Highest Performance Next-Gen Porsche 911 Could Be a Hybrid

Electric power has advantages.

By Jon Christian

A new patent application by commerce giant Amazon describes a smart doorbell that monitor neighborhoods and report suspicious activity to the authorities
Future Society

A New Amazon Camera Patent Is Straight Out of “1984”

An idea for a smart doorbell has privacy advocates up in arms.

By Jon Christian

When two Australian chains banned plastic bags three months ago, it led to an 80 percent reduction in the country's overall consumption of plastic bags.
Science & Energy

An Australian Ban Kept Billions of Plastic Bags From Polluting

"I think there’s going to be a lot more pressure on all of us."

By Jon Christian

U.K. researchers say they've finally found a way to vent super-heated plasma, which can be as hot as the Sun, out of a tokamak fusion power reactor.
Energy

Researchers Just Overcame a Key Barrier to Fusion Power

"We're here to commercialize fusion power."

By Jon Christian