From the shock return of the DeLorean to a red letter day for robots, it's been another fascinating week in the world of science, tech and geeky entertainment – and as usual, our Agents have rounded up all the most interesting stories for your reading pleasure!
Monday 25th January
The day of robot uprising?
Monday marked the anniversary of both the first appearance of the word 'robot' and the first human death by robot. If the events of The Terminator (and the predictions of certain futurologists) are to be believed and humanity really is threatened by our mechanical brethren, it will probably occur on the 25th of January!
The term 'robot' was first introduced to the public vernacular by Karel Capek's play Rossum's Universal Robots, which debuted in Prague on this day in 1921. While the play's robots are more like cyborgs or androids by today's definitions, Capek's robots did what all robots inevitably do –and staged an uprising against their human oppressors.
The term 'robot' stems from the Czech 'robota', meaning 'forced labour' or 'toil', and is derived from the Czech word for 'slave'. This may go some way towards explaining why robots are always trying to overthrow humanity...
58 years later and on a different continent, a robot was found responsible for the death of Robert Williams at an industrial plant in Michigan, U.S.A. on the 25th of January 1979. It's important to note that no intention or motive was found. The death was entirely accidental, a result of inadequate safety measures to warn humans of the dangerous robot working nearby.
This was the first recorded death by robot – and unfortunately, not the last – but hopefully in future we'll see robots being programmed according to Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics:
- A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
- A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
- A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
Tuesday 26th January
The very first TV transmission and a fantastic gaming launch
The precursor to one of the 20th century’s defining technologies, the television, made its first public appearance on January 26th 1926 – which was, coincidentally, also a Tuesday!
Primarily mechanical rather than electronic, the 'Televisor', as John Logie Baird named it, was shown to an eager audience of Royal Institution members, who were joined by a reporter from the Times.
Baird had tried an earlier experiment with a transmitter and receiver in the same room, just a few feet apart. What was different about this demonstration was that the two parts of the equipment were in different rooms – ensuring that the instant reproduction of the subject on the receiver’s screen could not be any kind of trick or illusion. The Television Age had begun!
Within a year, Baird had transmitted a moving image over a telephone line from London to Glasgow – a distance of over 430 miles. By 1928, he had demonstrated both colour and stereoscopic transmissions developed from the same technology, and in the same year he made the world’s first transatlantic television transmission. Progress indeed!
For me, the most telling line printed in the Times on the 28th January was this: “It has yet to be seen to what extent further developments will carry Mr Baird’s system towards practical use.” I think it’s fair to say that nobody back then saw Geordie Shore coming!
(The video above is obviously not of the original transmission – how could it be? – but was shot in 1937 with the equipment used in 1926.)
Originally announced in 2009, Braid developer Jonathan Blow’s latest game The Witness was finally released on Tuesday to mostly positive reviews.
Set on a beautiful but mysterious island, you awake alone with no idea how you got there or what happened. It’s a puzzle game set across a completely open world, where you’re free to explore from the get-go. WIth the mystery of the island being a major selling point, it’s best to go into the game blind for maximum enjoyment.
The game has more than 650 puzzles – but only a portion of those are necessary to complete the game. Completionists will be happy to know, however, that the developer estimates it will take up to 80 hours to complete – with one puzzle in particular said to be so difficult that less than 1% of players will be able to solve it!
Wednesday 27th January
Free games for PlayStation and Xbox – and more great news for Amazon Prime subscribers
Another new month approaches – which can only mean that those of us who subscribe to the Sony or Microsoft game services can check in to find what free games we’ll be getting with our subscriptions!
For February, PlayStation owners will get to play Helldivers (PS4/PS3/PS Vita), Nom Nom Galaxy (PS4), Persona 4 Arena Ultimax (PS3), Grid Autosport (PS3), Lemmings Touch (PS Vita) and Nova 111 (PS4/PS3/PS Vita).
Microsoft’s offerings include Hand of Fate and Styx: Master of Shadows as Xbox One freebies for Gold subscribers. Xbox 360 games on offer are Sacred Citadel and Gears of War 2. Both of these are also playable on Xbox One thanks to the new backwards-compatibility feature.
Amazon Prime subscribers have a new reason to be happy with the service, now that 'Prime Stations' have been added to Amazon Music in the UK!
Having been available to American Prime subscribers for almost a year, these bespoke radio stations are now available to UK subscribers through the Amazon Music app, meaning users no longer have to create their own playlist of songs to listen to.
It’s now possible to choose your favourite artist and have the app produce an ad-free playlist of tracks based on your initial choice. You can even vote on each track, helping the app learn your individual preferences and further personalising the station to your taste. This feature has been around for a while in services like Spotify– so it’s great to see that Amazon are managing to keep their service just as feature-packed as the rest.
Thursday 28th January
Back to the present for DeLorean, and an all-new high-tech bandage
Hot on the heels of last year's widely celebrated Back to the Future day, on Thursday we learned that the classic DeLorean car, the DMC-12, is being brought back to a road near you. It may only be in limited numbers, but the announcement is sure to bring joy to geeks everywhere!
The last few DMC-12s to be produced left the factory in 1983 – and since then their numbers have dwindled as replacement parts have become more scarce. The new reproductions of the car are going to be manufactured in the town of Humble, Texas and should go on sale in early 2017.
As pretty much everyone knows, the DeLorean DMC-12 was made into a cult car after appearing in a modified form as the time machine in Back To The Future.
Last year saw the arrival of the DMC-EV – an electric DeLorean that costs around £70,000 and looks very much like the original DMC-12, aside from its fuel-efficient engine. It may be another few years before we get a Mr. Fusion to convert household waste into DeLorean fuel, but it’s definitely a start!
Also on Thursday, we learned that a new material called 'alchite' is set to change the way bandages heal our wounds – and it's all thanks to crabs. Let me explain...
One of the ingredients, a compound called 'chitosan', can actually help heal wounds faster and cleaner than ordinary bandages can, thanks to its impressive anti-microbial, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties. Chitosan is derived from crab shells, which are made out of chitin, which in turn is a derivative of glucose. Break down chitin using a strong alkaline substance and you get chitosan!
As well as chitosan, the material contains another compound called 'alginate', which has a large list of uses in both the medical and food industries. Alginate forms a type of gum when bound with water, which makes it excellent for dressing wounds. It can also be removed from wounds much more easily and without as much pain as more conventional wound dressings – which sounds great to anyone who’s had to rip off a particularly bad plaster.
Friday 29th January
A very special anniversary for Mr Benz!
Finally, on this day in 1886, the Benz Patent Motorwagen– the world's first petrol-powered auto – was patented. You can see one in action in the video above!
Granted, there had been earlier propelled vehicles, but they were often horse-carriages or stagecoaches to which plucky inventors had attached small engines. The Motorwagen was the first automobile designed to generate its own power – and, as such, was deemed worthy of receiving the patent, cementing Karl Benz’s place in history as the inventor of the automobile.
Sporting a water-cooled four-stroke 958cc petrol engine, the Motorwagen went through rapid development which saw many modifications before it was exhibited at the Paris Expo just a year later. Benz continued to improve the vehicle with the assistance of his wife, Bertha, who suggested improvements such as a second gear and leather facings on the brake blocks.
The Benz Motorwagen came to the attention of the world at the 1889 World's Fair in Paris, and petrolheads the world over have been enraptured since. Thanks Karl, you’re our hero!
That wraps things up for another Week in Geek – but we'll be back next Sunday with another fantastic selection of stories! And in the meantime, why not get your name down below for the Geek Squad newsletter and enjoy more brilliant articles in your inbox each month?