Monthly Archives: August 2015

Watch How Philae Landed on a Comet

The European Space Agency has released a GIF of the Philae Comet Lander's descent.

The pictures show the Rosetta lander on its way to Agilkia, the first landing site, on 12 November 2014. A number of images were taken at 10 second intervals between distances of 3km and 9m from the surface.

Descending_to_a_comet.0

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Final Fantasy 12 HD Remaster or Remake in the Works

Update: Following intense speculation caused by his words, conductor Arnie Roth has now issued a statement via the Distant Worlds Facebook page.

"In response to comments posted by fans, I want to rectify a statement made from the stage Saturday night at our Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY concert in Pittsburgh," it reads. "Following conversations with composer Hitoshi Sakimoto regarding new concert arrangements of music from FINAL FANTASY XII, regrettably, the term ‘remake’ was used in error during one of the announcements that took place from the stage during the concert. We sincerely regret any confusion this has caused."

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Hitchbot Ends US Tour after Meeting Its Demise in Philadelphia

hitchBOT won’t be reaching its west coast destination as the hitchhiking robot was vandalized beyond repair somewhere in Philadelphia over the weekend.

The robot left Marblehead, Massachusetts, mid-July in a quest to reach San Francisco before it met its demise in Philadelphia. The Canadian researchers behind the social experiment unfortunately don’t know its exact location because its battery is dead.

A statement from the hitchBOT team reads:

hitchBOT’s trip came to an end last night in Philadelphia after having spent a little over two weeks hitchhiking and visiting sites in Boston, Salem, Gloucester, Marblehead, and New York City. Unfortunately, hitchBOT was vandalized overnight in Philadelphia; sometimes bad things happen to good robots. We know that many of hitchBOT’s fans will be disappointed, but we want them to be assured that this great experiment is not over. For now we will focus on the question “what can be learned from this?” and explore future adventures for robots and humans.

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Debris From Columbia and Challenger On Display

The Kennedy Space Center has opened an exhibit honoring the astronauts from the Challenger and Columbia space shuttle missions.

The exhibit is called Forever Remembered, and is a collaboration between the families of the crews and NASA.

14 lives were lost in the Challenger and Columbia shuttle disasters in 1986 and 2003. This exhibit is designed to be an emotional experience about remembering them and learning from the past.

Real pieces of the ships are being displayed for the first time. A section of Challenger's fuselage and the flight deck windows of Columbia are placed in a gallery at the end of the first hall of the exhibit, each bearing scars of the explosions.

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Returning to Animal Crossing

It’s been countless months since I played Animal Crossing New Leaf. I say countless because I lost track, not because I can’t count. I can totally count. Whoever says I can’t count is a liar. Who told you that anyway? Was it Jason?

As has been documented, Animal Crossing exists in a strange world of magic, coercion and nascent violence. This is a place in which you’re a puppet mayor, axolotls open nightclubs (in between chewing off their own limbs, apparently) and trees will grow and fruit in two days. It’s weird and unpredictable - to a point.

He haunts me every night in my dreams. He haunts me every night in my dreams.

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Robot Controlled by a Wearable Lego Exosuit

Designer Daniele Benedettelli has developed a system where he can remotely control humanoid robot Cyclops MK II using an exoskeleton of Lego.

Benedettelli began the project in 2011 and has made overhauls to the robot’s design over the years. The most recent test footage posted May (shown below) demonstrates the latest version of the humanoid robot being remote controlled by a wearable exosuit made of Lego Mindstorms NXT hardware.

The exoskeleton is equipped with potentiometers that captures the user's movements that is then sent to the robot via Bluetooth using an Arduino board.

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Epic’s Tim Sweeney: Augmented Reality is The Future

Chief Executive of Epic Games Tim Sweeney believes that in ten years time, augmented reality will have rendered traditional displays null and void.

“I believe that augmented reality will be the biggest technological revolution that happens in our lifetimes,” Sweeney said during a speech at the Chinajoy trade show, as reported by Venturebeat. “If we had this AR display, the deep thing to realize is this. Once you have an augmented reality display, you don’t need any other form of display. Your smart phone does not need a screen. You don’t need a tablet. You don’t need a TV. You just take the screen with you on your glasses wherever you go.”

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SPECTRE’s Léa Seydoux Up for Role in Gambit

The Ragin' Cajun might be spending time with 007's latest Bond Girl, as actress Léa Seydoux (SPECTRE) has reportedly been screen-testing for a role in 20th Century Fox's Gambit movie.

In a report from TheWrap about Channing Tatum's complicated casting in Gambit, they also indicated that Seydoux was screen-testing with director Rupert Wyatt -- and nearing a deal -- for a role in the film, before Tatum dropped out. While Tatum's back in the film, it's unclear if a final deal with Seydoux has been made.

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MI: Rogue Nation Is Series’ 2nd Best at Box Office

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation proves that audiences still want a dose of Ethan Hunt in their lives, as the Tom Cruise-led film topped this weekend's domestic box office, and gave Paramount its second-highest debut in the series.

On its opening Friday, Rogue Nation earned $20.3 million, and over the course of its three-day weekend debut, grossed $56 million domestically.  Combined with big numbers overseas -- an additional $60 million, internationally -- Rogue Nation is poised to earn over $116 million globally by the end of the weekend.

As The Hollywood Reporter notes, Rogue Nation is now the second most successful opener in the series, behind Mission: Impossible II, which raked in $70.8 million over the course of its Memorial Day weekend debut back in 2000. Rogue Nation is Paramount's second-biggest opening day ever, behind Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and is also the second-best of this year, after Avengers: Age of Ultron.

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