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Freethink recognized with 11 Telly awards
This year, Freethink was honored to receive 11 Telly Awards for excellence and creativity in storytelling.
Prosthetic leg uses AI to adjust to different terrains
A new computer vision system developed to work with a prosthetic leg predicts the type of terrain ahead so that the limb can adjust accordingly.
"Moral Machine" picks up on human ethics
By feeding an AI a diet of books, news articles, and religious texts, researchers were able to create a “moral machine” reflecting the ethics of a society.
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Catalysts
Business boot camp for low-income entrepreneurs
In partnership with Stand Together
By developing the skills of entrepreneurs in low-income communities, this nonprofit is empowering people to generate sustainable income and become a force for economic growth in their neighborhoods.
New exosuit helps stroke survivors walk farther and faster
A new exosuit helps stroke survivors overcome hemiparesis by assisting them in making two key walking motions with their feet.
Every significant breakthrough that’s stemmed from the pandemic
A timeline of coronavirus solutions from the people on the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19.
Real-time data can save lives in a disaster
Researchers are working on new algorithms that could provide emergency response managers with real-time data to save more lives.
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Catalysts
Learning to code in prison
In partnership with Stand Together
This progressive organization is on a mission to break the cycle of recidivism, using coding. Incarcerated individuals can now spend their sentences acquiring marketable skills.
Y Combinator startups turn resources toward coronavirus
More than 25 Y Combinator startups have joined the COVID-19 response effort — find out how you can help these businesses fighting the coronavirus.
The daily coronavirus news roundup – friday, march 27th
Slowing infection rates in New York, a robot that's delivering vital supplies, and other fresh coronavirus news updates.
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Catalysts
Open source textbooks save students $1 billion
In partnership with Stand Together
Many college students’ ability to realize their full potential is hampered by insurmountable expenses, so OpenStax is turning the tide by providing access to free textbooks.
How a paralympic swimmer helps advance AI bionic limbs
Morgan Stickney shares about her experimental Ewing amputations and training for the 2024 Paralympics.
AI device helps wheelchair users control their world
These assistive devices are equipped with 360 cameras and eye-tracking technology to help those with mobility and speech impairments find independence.
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Catalysts
3D printed homes for the homeless
In partnership with Stand Together
This 51-acre neighborhood for the homeless will be the first of its kind in the U.S. to have 3D printed homes.
Building an artificially intelligent, open-source prosthetic leg
We've come a long way since the first prosthetic leg, and "smart" limbs, equipped with computing capabilities and...
$100 genome sequencing has finally arrived
China-based genome sequencing company MGI says it can sequence a human genome for just $100, a cost that could make the service available to all.
Run faster, think better: Hugh Herr on the future of bionics
Hugh Herr, head of Biomechatronics research at MIT and hailed as a bionic pioneer, is working to close the gap between synthetic limbs and the brain.
Scientists engineered “cyborg grasshoppers” to sniff out bombs
By implanting electrodes into the brains of grasshoppers, scientists were able to harness the insects’ sense of smell for the purpose of explosive detection.
Stimulating monkeys’ brains snaps them out of unconsciousness
Researchers found that they could induce a state of consciousness in an unconscious monkey by electrically stimulating a specific part of the animal’s brain.
High-tech art exhibit looks at life through the eyes of AI
In this Chicago museum, artists explore some of the most polarizing forms of imagery at the moment: surveillance and facial recognition.
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Guardians of the Apocalypse
Could the human race survive a supervolcano?
The eruption of Mount Tambora pushed humanity to the brink of extinction. Today, active supervolcanoes still have the power to nullify our future. What can we do to prepare?
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The Edge
This coach cut football concussions in half
Long-term health risks threaten to derail America’s favorite sport, but one coach may have found an innovative solution to save the game – a robotic tackling dummy.
Deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s, Tourette’s
Deep brain stimulation surgeries have the power to relieve the symptoms of Parkinson’s, Tourette’s, and other involuntary movement disorders.
Freethink's favorite behind the scenes insights from 2019
Join Freethink's directors behind the scenes to discover the experiences and insights that went into creating some of our favorite videos from 2019.
9 ways the 2010s decade changed the world
From Tinder to CRISPR, these are the top moments, movements, and ideas through which the 2010s decade shaped the world as we know it.
What's special about cancer-killing nanobots? precision.
These tiny, robotic machines can deliver drugs directly to infected cells, and they're changing the future of medicine.
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Through the Looking Glass
AR in use: NASA's Dragonfly mission to Titan
With a keen curiosity to learn more about how life formed on Earth, NASA has plans to send a spacecraft called the Dragonfly to Saturn’s largest moon, and they’re using augmented reality to make it happen.
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Uprising
Nick Bostrom on superintelligence and the future of AI
Beyond the brains of even the most intelligent human beings lies artificial superintelligence, which could pose serious threats to the human race. Nick Bostrom is attempting to fathom the unfathomable so we can be ready.
This nail gun wielding drone looks terrifying, but could save lives
According to OSHA, one in five workplace deaths in 2017 were in construction. Can nail gun drones help save lives?
In the midst of a crisis, Venezuelans are training self-driving cars
Hundreds of thousands of formerly middle class Venezuelans, thrown into poverty by economic collapse, are now sitting at computers as they help train self-driving cars to identify and avoid obstacles.
Chico MacMurtrie's art transcends the southern border
If all goes to plan, six robotic sculptures will arc across the border dividing El Paso and Ciudad Juárez in the fall of 2020.
Dad builds amusement park for daughter
This dad couldn’t find a theme park that worked for his daughter with special needs - so he built one.
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Superhuman
Electric skin gives sensation back to amputees
Touch is a sensation that connects us all. This scientist created electronic skin that lets people with prosthetic limbs feel.
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Superhuman
The emerging cyborg
Alec McMorris is testing one of the world’s most advanced prosthetics - an AI powered bionic leg.
Advanced prosthetics are not only powerful, they’re beautiful
"There's a deep, deep relationship between the functionality of the device and a person's identity of what their body is."
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Superhuman
The exoskeleton marathon racer
How do you bounce back from a life-changing car accident? Adam Gorlitsky decided he would break a world record.
The final Maker Faire
The maker movement is grieving a big loss with the shutdown of Maker Media. Freethink's Alexandra Cardinale spoke...
The first private moonshot is ready to launch
The Israeli group's moon mission will be ride-sharing on a SpaceX rocket.
Teaching engineering with dirt bikes
This teacher is using dirt bikes to help Baltimore's kids learn STEM.
What we learned from a decade of commercial space travel
Businesses have gotten to space; now what?
Could freezing your body offer a chance at immortality?
In a lab in Arizona, dozens of bodies sit preserved at 320 degrees below zero. They each paid $200,000 to be frozen...
Bionic prosthetic grants amputee musician a rocking encore
How might your life change if you lost an arm? After losing his right arm in an electrical accident, Jason wasn’t...
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Superhuman
The world’s first bionic drummer
Jason Barnes lost his arm in a horrible accident. Then he became the fastest drummer in the world...
Self-driving Uber fatality: Video shows tech failure & human error
The only way to make self-driving cars safer is to take the risk of more testing.
This week in ideas: Saying goodbye to lab rats and replacing bees with drones
Breakthrough could mean the end of test animals, violent crime nearly cut in half, and drones that pollinate flowers.
Five insights: Scott Phoenix on creating AI and building a company around a crazy idea
Scott Phoenix, founder of Vicarious, shares insights on the development of artificial intelligence and why this is...
This is the new space race
It’s been 44 years since a human stepped on the moon, and a new generation of entrepreneurs is laying the...
Can this startup give everyone access to the moon?
With advanced navigational technology, Astrobotic wants to provide a routine, affordable, and accurate delivery...
Why this startup believes 3D printing in space will be a game changer
Sending things into space is really expensive. But what if we didn't have to? What if everything in space was made...
Where did the commercial space sector come from?
Private companies have worked with NASA for decades. Can the next generation of space companies get by without the...
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The New Space Race
A delivery service for the moon
This startup wants to offer the world insanely accurate shipping to the moon.
This computer can write 2,000 snarky articles per second
What does it mean for the future of journalism when a computer can turn mounds of data into a cohesive narrative?
Self-driving cars are finally here. Sort of.
Uber rolled out self-driving cars in Pittsburgh, but they're not totally autonomous. Yet. Under Pennsylvania law,...
Meet the wounded veteran using bionics to take back his independence
Jerral lost his left arm in Iraq. Now he's working with a team from Johns Hopkins to test a prosthetic arm that...
Can tech giants get ahead of AI?
Companies gather to discuss impact of A.I. A possible neural lace breakthrough. And unmanned cargo ships. This is...
How do we scale bionic technology?
Right now, assistive bionic technology is really cool and really expensive. This is how it will get better and...
What to expect at the first Cyborg Olympics
The event will seek to answer one of the most interesting technology questions of the early 21st century: How close...
Could your brain regenerate like skin?
Brain regeneration used to be considered a medical fantasy. But research shows that fantasy could eventually become...
Meet the paralyzed man who can walk again
Robert is paralyzed from the chest down. But now a robotic exoskeleton is giving him what he calls "a second chance...
Assistive tech doesn't have to be high tech
The story of how 3D printing gave Ryan Hines a chance to regain his independence for $150. And how he's now...
The world's most advanced bionic arm
A fascinating interview with Michael P. McLoughlin, the chief engineer of research and exploratory development at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab.
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Superhuman
The real bionic man
After losing part of his arm to cancer, Johnny now has one of the world's most advanced prosthetics.