News: ROCK-PAPER-SCISSORS ROBOT WINS HANDS DOWN

Rock-Paper-Scissors Robot Wins Hands Down

Whether you call it rock-paper-scissors, roshambo, ick-ack-ock, or any other name, one thing is certain: you will never win against Janken. For humans, the game is all about predicting what one’s opponent is going to do, but Janken does not just predict, it knows. Developed by Japanese scientists, Janken is a high-speed, intelligent robot that is able to analyze in just one millisecond what shape—rock, paper, or scissor—a human hand is making and then immediately choose a winning countermove, which it performs so quickly that it finishes at the same time as its human opponent. More… Discuss

 

Japan Finds Rare Earth Elements in Seabed

Japanese researchers have discovered an estimated 100 billion tons of rare earth minerals in the Pacific Ocean floor. These minerals are a vital component of many hi-tech devices, including hybrid cars, flat-screen TVs, iPods, superconductors, lasers, missiles, night-vision goggles, and wind turbines. Currently, China produces 97 percent of the world’s rare earth metals. In recent years, it has cut export quotas, citing environmental concerns and domestic demand. This has led to accusations of strategic hoarding and price gouging. If recovering the minerals from the seabed proves commercially viable, the deposits could expand the world’s reserves 1,000-fold. More… Discuss

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