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Here are some sobering statistics to mull over on the day after Labor Day: according to InsideScience.org, U.S. manufacturers have cut nearly 5 million manufacturing jobs (about 33%) since 2001, "yet the value of manufactured goods rose 27 percent, and U.S. exports reached their highest level in 20 years." Will automated technology soon remove the need for factory workers entirely? More »
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Would you let your car drive itself? The US Department of Transportation wants to know. This month, the DOT is having volunteers from around the country drive cars equipped with short-range car-to-car communication systems that allow the vehicles to not only "talk" to one another, but warn their passengers of impending danger and even engage in evasive maneuvers should their operators fail to act. More »
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Modern biomimesis makes solar cells grow like plants, molecules walk like people, and art run like centipedes. But it's a very old science. Take a look at ancient engineers who made lifelike machines fight, sing, flirt, and yes, poop. More »
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The next time you have to go under the knife, a robot may be doing the cutting. Engineers at Duke University are pushing the envelope of cutting edge surgery with a robot arm they've built that can perform simple procedures all by itself. The system guides itself using 3-d ultrasound imaging as its eyes, and has shown it can accurately guide two needle probes through tissue in a simulated biopsy and blood vessel graft. The bot's still in its experimental phase, but ultrasound specialist Stephen Smith and his research team believe the day is near when robots will autonomously conduct surgery without the need for human guidance. More »
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