The Snarchitect

CaaS may soon mean concierge-as-a-service. Japan to open first hotel with robotic staff.

In addition to the robot staff, the hotel will be equipped with other advanced technologies, such as the use of facial recognition scanners in lieu of room keys. Temperatures within guests’ rooms will be measured via a sensor that monitors body temperature rather than thermostat, and rooms will be equipped with tablets with which to communicate with the front desk.
The robots, meanwhile, will provide a variety of services, according to the company, including room cleaning, front desk and porter services, meaning you could be checked in by robots and have robots carry your bags to your room.
The automaton workforce is being supplied by Kokoro Co. Ltd., according to a report in the Telegraph. The company, which is part of the same conglomerate that provides the license for Hello Kitty, is using technology developed at Osaka University. Kokoro has been developing its android models, which it calls “actroids,” since they first debuted in 2003. The robots will have the ability to make eye contact, gesture with their hands, and will speak Japanese, English, Korean and Chinese.

+ Iwazume is looking a little bit creepy here.

www.sci-tech-today.com

Rapid advances in digital manufacturing, particularly additive manufacturing, are changing aviation design and testing.

The aviation company Pratt & Whitney is exploring whether technology known as additive manufacturing could be used to develop more compact jet engines that could make commercial airplanes lighter and more fuel efficient.+
Pratt & Whitney already uses two additive manufacturing techniques to make some engine components. Instead of casting metal in a mold, the methods involve forming solid objects by partially melting a metal powder with either a laser or an electron beam. Other aircraft makers use similar technology; GE, for example, creates fuel nozzles for jet engines using its own additive manufacturing techniques.

www.technologyreview.com

The future of wearables is not a smart watch or a dorky pair of glasses.

You won’t have just one wearable—you’ll have dozens. The biggest mistake everyone makes is assuming we’re going to wear the same one all the time.
That’s because, traditionally, wearables have done bits and pieces of what our phones already do. Aside from tracking movements, what are these bands and glasses besides proxy screens for our phones?
Well, wearables are about to explode into an array of novel, single-function devices. They will suit discrete situations rather than peeling off multiple functions from your phone—it’s use-case engineering. Think of activity-specific clothing, like Hexoskin, that monitors workouts. Or medical devices like Vital Connect, a patch that tracks your vital signs and lets doctors access the data. Or earbuds that aren’t quite hearing aids but which you can wear when there’s too much background noise.

www.wired.com