3D printing technology currently allows replacement of almost any human part

This testifies the first ever implant operation of a 3D-printed skull to a human, replacing the upper part of the natural skull as its abnormal thickening put exceeding pressure to the person' s brain. The operation was recently performed in a Dutch hospital in Europe for a 22 year old woman who has now reportedly completely recovered and is back to her natural activities.

3D printing is already revolutionalizing diverse fields including medicine, robotics and military, as it brings manufacturing to a whole new level by globalizing the potential of producing physical objects that could otherwise cost multiple times more, since their production was geographically attached.

This essentially implies that a digitization of a domain in combination to 3D printing will bring the corresponding technology to the hands of anyone with an internet access and a 3D printer. This has immense implications in our understanding of the functioning of the world and the organization of the society as we knew it, is now, as a result, being completely transformed.

To conclude, and to satisfy the readers of the blog that might wonder about the relevance of this to robotics, here is a video that could make the above thesis more convincing.

Open Hand Project

Robot arm rings NASDAQ stock exchange's bell

A robotic arm rings the stock exchange bell and inaugurates the ROBO-STOX index.

KUKA ping pong duel with world champion Timo Boll

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Robotics market data in Europe and worldwide; INNOROBO spotlight

INNOROBO 2014 exhibition will soon be hosted in Lyon. France between 18 and 20 of March. INNOROBO is an international event that hosts industry as well as academic exhibitors that showcase their latest products and results in all fields of robotics. It is an initiative that aims in increasing collaboration in Europe for research and development through the organization of workshops, presentations and general assemblies.

Here is a link that gives a spherical overview of the state of the market and research in Europe in various sectors, in comparison to the main players at the international level. Some figures date back at 2011, but still data are quite informative of the growth of robotics and their increasing integration at various levels.

An interview with Google' s director of engineering Ray Kurzweil

Amidst the recent series of robotics and AI companies being integrated by Google, clearly, there exist long-term plans for making extremely influential technological breakthroughs in the forthcoming years. But what exactly is really being prepared? Is it just about plans for new products, bigger market shares, or is there something bigger being envisioned?

To understand better these questions and reach out for answers, a recent interview from Google' s director of engineering Ray Kurzweil is quite revealing (and accessible from this link), that i recommend you to go on and read.

Picture of Ray Kurzweil

Besides any extracted facts or conclusions made after reading that article, i can certainly highlight the immense responsibility and role of scientists in shaping human society and tomorrow' s world. Which is, a COLLECTIVE responsibility. As it won't matter what one individually pursues as long as the overall scientific research system' s trend follows a clear distinctive pattern.

Plenty of food for thought, that is, regarding the impact of robotics and AI' s research. Which motivates me to conclude this post with the following quote:

'Research responsibly'