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A couple of months ago, a Emerj podcast featured Augmate CEO Pete Wassell predicting that the first mainstream uses of Augmented Reality might be a bit more "blue collar" than "Buck Rogers." And now, in addition to Augmate's digital eyeware, a new "Smart Helmet" from Daqri is helping to put AR to work in the workplace, wherever that work site may be.

According to the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, almost one in 50 people live with some form of paralysis. Imagine being paralyzed after a stroke or serious accident and no longer being able to move your arms, then one day your doctor tells you of a new device that is going to empower you to move again. Researchers at Battelle Memorial Institute have developed groundbreaking technology that can do just that; it can help paralyzed patients regain conscious control of their arms, wrists, hands and fingers.

Bacterial Robotics Create Minute Robots for Tumor Treatment

According to a report from Reuters, Cincinnati-based biotechnology firm Bacterial Robotics is developing a series of miniature medical robots called BactoBots™. Inspired by swarms of bacteria, the BactoBots are designed to destroy cancer cells in cases of cholesteatoma. This is a form of benign cancer which affects the skull, temporal bone and ear. It can cause dizziness, deafness, brain abscess, facial palsy and meningitis. The BactoBots may also have a number of uses in industry, such as cleaning municipal wastewater and assisting with the production of food and beverage production.

As the gaming community eagerly awaits the Oculus Rift, the virtual reality headset that will allow gamers full, 360° immersion into their games and virtual worlds, the medical community is also developing a wide variety of applications for the new VR device. And, as a recent Forbes article points out, the use of virtual reality as a therapeutic aid is just beginning.

Hyperlayer provides a free, open source application that combines cloud computing with facial recognition and next-generation mobile devices. The system can be used for safety, geomapping, consumer research and also has many other potential applications. The acquired data can be transmitted to any device that can connect to the Internet, which gives it great potential for the future of augmented reality (AR).

PowerLoader Exoskeleton for Super Strength

If you've seen the movie Aliens, you are familiar with the exoskeleton suit that Sigourney Weaver dons to fight the predator. A team at Activelink, one of Panasonic's subsidiary companies has developed a PowerLoader exoskeleton suit reminiscent of Hollywood. According to a report from Reuters, the PowerLoader exoskeleton has been dubbed the "Ninja," and is designed to give the user extra strength. This translates as being able to life around 90 kilos (three times its own weight). Strength is added specifically to the arms and legs as the suit is designed for daily use in factories, farms and warehouses where repetitive lifting is a necessity. This suit is an advancement on Activelink's heavier predecessor, which was designed in 2009 specifically for military and disaster relief use.

What is intelligence? Is it possible to create intelligence, and if so, what will be our role be as the stewards of what we create? Will our creation eventually come to dominate us? The ramifications of the creation and shaping of consciousness itself are impossible to understate, and it can be argued, to understand. It is an ethical question that is potentially vaster by orders of magnitude than any other question humanity has ever faced.

The Atlantic razor clam has the ability to burrow vertically into the sand at a rapid pace, using very little energy. Inspired by this creature, Amos Winter, the Robert N. Noyce Career Development Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT has developed a device known as the RoboClam, which can dig itself into the ground.

Guardbot, the all around robot sentry of the future

What has the capability to strengthen homeland security, produce a ball's-eye view of a soccer match and swim underwater with dolphins? GuardBot: the latest development in unmanned amphibious vehicle systems.

Normally on Fridays I go over some kind of technology, theme, or shift that we'll just have to get used to. Prosthetics and brain-machine interfaces are part of a general trend towards extending our physical capacities.