Tech News Digest: Robots and Blood

By Maya Schmidt

Dear Reader,

Welcome to the fourteenth bi-weekly Tech News Digest, provided by the GISA Technology and Security Initiative. Our goal here is to give you an easy-to-read update on what has been happening lately in the world of technology and security. To do so, we pick the top news stories from the last two weeks and present a short summary. Should you be interested in knowing more, just follow the links below the respective paragraphs.

The Robots are Taking Over!

Amazon’s new robot Sparrow may be replacing Amazon picker jobs soon. The company is currently testing the machine in Texas. It cannot currently handle all objects in the warehouse, but it is currently able to pick and pack approximately sixty-five percent of the objects in stock.

Read more about it on WIRED.

Experimental Red Blood Cells!

Scientists coordinated by NHS Blood and Transplant and Bristol University have successfully built red blood cells in a lab and transfused them into two healthy volunteers. This could have profound implications for those with rare blood types, who are at a disadvantage when it comes to receiving sufficient health care in a crisis. If all goes well, the trial will expand to include ten volunteers moving forward. 

Read more about this in The Economist.

Conquering the Uncanny Valley

We tend to think of humanoid robots as disturbing or amusing, but not as anything truly viable for human interaction. This, however, is beginning to change. Enter Ameca, one of the newest humanoid robots beginning to enter the market of the uber-rich; experts estimate that prices will fall to approximately $20,000 with mass production. Fifty years from now, who knows?

Read more on The Economist.