Up in Canada the diamond mines are revving up production and HRA Investments Ltd. is gearing up too, with a venture for automating the cutting of diamonds. Computer software examines a rough gem and suggests the optimum cut. A robot can then be programmed to actually perform the cutting, and it can do in an hour what would take a human cutter one day to complete. How long will it be before we have a fully automated system with a diamond making machine attached to a robotic cutting device? Is it DeBeers’ worst nightmare or their vision for a sparkly future? (via Gizmodo)