Friday Futures: evolution on Mars, smelling bots and flying taxis

Mars, evolution
Image credit: HQuality / Shutterstock.com

Welcome to Friday Futures, our weekly guide to the latest visions of The Future from around the web. This week: evolution on Mars will not go well; AI as an extension of your mind; robots that smell, well; Salvador Dali and a flying taxi.

On Mars humans may evolve in weird ways

Scientists have set their sights on getting humans to Mars — and maybe even terraforming the Red Planet. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s goal is to send humans to Mars by 2024, and NASA plans to launch astronauts there after the Moon. Read more…

AI could become an extension of your mind

Seeking a bot that can smell as well as a dog

The dogs still make Andreas Mershin angry. “I mean, I love dogs,” says the Greek-Russian scientist, in his office at MIT. “But the dogs are slapping me in the face.” Read more…

Facebook just announced a couple of robotic projects

According to the blog post, one project centers on enabling a six-legged robot to teach itself to walk. Another explores how equipping robots with “curiosity” could improve the learning process, while a third focuses on enabling robots to learn through tactile sensing, or “touch.” Read more…

There were volcanos on Mars

In a finding that is soon to be ground-truthed by NASA’s next Mars rover, researchers show that a Martian mineral deposit was likely formed by ashfall from ancient volcanic explosions. Read more…

Salvador Dali lives again, thanks to AI

And here’s the maiden voyage of a flying taxi

While many companies in the same space have focused on developing flying cars with just two seats, the startup has spent the past two years working on the Lilium Jet, an air taxi that seats five. See the video…

(Compiled by Alex Leslie, edited by Tony Poulos)

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