io9: sweden

Robot Beats Man In Sweden, Grabbing His Head and Shaking Him

Annalee Newitz — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:11:55 PDT

A Swedish industrial worker was attacked by a malfunctioning robot two years ago in Sweden, and has this week won a lawsuit against the company that owned the vicious bot. Apparently, the man tried to fix the robot, which was designed to lift rocks. But he failed to turn the robot off first, and it grabbed him by the head and lifted him up. Could this be the beginning of the robot revolution?

Here is the story, translated from a Swedish newspaper:

A company must pay fines of 25,000 kronar because it has been deemed responsible for the [robot attack].
"I have never heard of a robot who beat a man in this way," said prosecutor Leif Johansson.

In June 2007, a man who is employed at a factory in Bålsta north of Stockholm took a look at a malfunctioning robotized machine. The machine was used for lifting heavy stones. When the man went into the building he thought that he had cut the power to the machine but he had not. Instead, the robot was activated and forcibly grabbed the man's head. He managed to defend himself, but received serious injuries on the body.

"The man was very lucky. He had four broken ribs and was almost killed," said Leif Johansson

via SvD (thanks, Lars!)

Store Your Data in a Swank, Swedish Eco-Bunker

Annalee Newitz — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 07:30:00 PST

This bunker is so hardened it can withstand an atomic blast, but it's so eco that it has a tiny built-in ecosystem of artificial sun, waterfalls, and plants. And the best part about this subterranean environment in Sweden is that it's packed with giant, shiny server cabinets throbbing with data. Want to poke around inside?

Here's the general layout.

Computers in the mist . . .

That glowing artificial waterfall makes me think I'd be happy to let civilization grow here for a few hundred years while the wasteland outside slowly goes green again.

This is what the atomic bomb-proof bunker looked like before it became a subterranean data paradise. It actually appears very similar to NORAD, which I visited a few months ago.

The world's most super-designed data center [via Royal Pingdom]

Biodegradable Containers for the Dead

Lisa Katayama — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 08:20:33 PST

One thing we know for certain about death is that we will definitely run out of room to bury people in the very near future. The switch to universal cremation is inevitable. But even after we switch to cremation, we're bound to run out of room on earth for all the urns. Funeral services, too, are heading towards obsolescence. Luckily Swedish firm Lots Design has a novel concept for the future of burials: A biodegradable, compressed paper pod for cremains.

Dying humans can etch their last words directly onto the urn or stick memorabilia into the slit at the top after they pre-purchase a pod. Then their relatives can throw them in the ocean, where the pod will eventually dissipate and their bone powder will sink to the bottom and stay there. And we don't have to worry about space. Image by Lots Design

Lots Design via Yanko Design

Body Heat from Train Station to Power Building

Annalee Newitz — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 13:40:21 PST

Plans are afoot to power a new building in Sweden entirely with the heat generated by moving bodies in Stockholm Central Station, the biggest train station in the Nordic region. How will it work? From Inhabitat:

Quite simply, the heat generated [by human bodies] will warm up water running through pipes which will be installed in the station. The water will be pumped to the new building and used to heat the spaces inside. "This is old technology, but used in a new way. It's just pipes, water and pumps, but we haven't heard of anyone else using this technology in this way before," said Karl Sundholm leader for the new project.

Human Body Heat to Heat Green Building in Sweden [Inhabitat]