Selfie sticks are probably not going away soon, but a company called Zero Zero Robotics is prepared to up the ante. The Hover Flying Camera is a small folding drone that can, as the name suggests, hover in place and take pictures for you. The book-like design is actually pretty incredible, and so is the technology powering it. But has our selfie obsession gone too far? Selfie technology seems to be advancing a lot faster than our uses for it. The Dutch plan of using eagles to combat drones may be looking better all the time.
Amazon has been planning on making deliveries with drones for quite a while. However, according to the PGA, the Camel Golf Resort is already implementing the process. Golfers will now be able to order golf items and snacks to be delivered by drones, while out on the course. This sounds like a great idea, but how many bets will be placed on trying to hit one out of the sky with a golf ball?
SpaceX has consistently been in the headlines this year, but its latest plan – to send a spacecraft called the Red Dragon to Mars by 2018 – may be its most ambitious yet. This would beat NASA’s plan by two years! It’s all part of his goal to eventually take humans there and colonize the planet. There are a lot of complications that need to be worked out before that, but it’s fantastic that space travel is once again exciting the general public.
China’s National Defense University (a real thing) is putting itself at the forefront of service robots, with its AnBot. The autonomous security robot, is tasked with both “protecting and servicing humans” and at 5 feet tall and 170 pounds, provides a formidable presence. Oh, did we mention that it also has the ability to tase people? As Edward Snowden tweeted regarding the AnBot, “Surely this will end well.”
Additional ridiculous topics on today’s show include Coke vs. Mr. Pibb, how falconry should make a comeback, and what we would name our own city on Mars. Let us know what you would name yours, in the comments below.
Today’s episode features Dan Gaul, Rick Stella, Caleb Denison and Greg Nibler.
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