Rage From the Machine: Robot Attacks Swedish Industrial Worker
Attack Robot: Image courtesy of à voir etc via Flickr.com From Popsci.com:
The robot uprising has begun! Seriously, stock up on pipe bombs. Or at least avoid European factories for a while. Last June, a Swedish industrial worker was attacked by a defective machine just outside of Stockholm.
The worker was attempting to repair a machine that lifts heavy rocks when the violence ensued. He thought he disconnected the machine’s power source, but he was mistaken. When the worker approached the machine, it turned on, and grabbed its victim’s head.
Read more ....
Grammar School
Do you remember learning basic pronouns with the verb 'to be' in grade school? First, the class would recite each pronoun after the teacher: I, you (singular), he, she (first person), we, you (plural), they. Then, the teacher would guide the students through a reprise with conjugations of the verb 'to be': I am, you are, he/she is, we are, you are, they are. A few years later, students would find themselves doing the same exercises during a mandated year of French, German or Spanish..
By the third year of high school, long homework assignments became longer and required papers of 3-5 pages turned into 8-12 page endurance tests. Many simply rephrased the opening paragraphs over and over to meet the minimum page requirement. Others, using a bit more creativity, resorted to pointless digressions to complete the task, and a precious few actually undertook the assignment with verve and planned to explore a topic of genuine interest for intellectual fulfillment. Imagine!
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These more serious-minded and mature students were likely to have opened a classic guide to good writing to achieve clarity and forestall grammatical errors, and the name of that little book was often The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White. Although it is now in its fiftieth year of publication, the book, often dubbed 'Strunk and White', has a profound history.
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Decades prior to its first publication with E.B. White at the end of the Eisenhower presidency, William Strunk Jr., a professor at Cornell University, wrote the original manuscript alone for publication in 1918. In 1935, a revised second edition appeared with the help of a colleague. By the time E.B White entered the picture in 1959, The Elements of Style had been circulating in numerous classrooms for more than forty years. As its author died in 1946, the little writing guide seemed destined for 'the ashbin of history'. Indeed, the young, up-and-coming World War II generation, only a year away from electing John F. Kennedy to the presidency, had its own ideas of 'good' writing. E.B. White, a former student of Strunk's at Cornell and journalist for The New Yorker, had another idea. As a presumably devoted apostle of his mentor's maxims on writing, White decided to revise and expand the classic guide for a new edition in 1959. From that point forward, The Elements of Style became a staple for secondary schools and institutions of higher learning alike.
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While assigned as a required text by departments over a broad range of classes, the book was often used selectively or simply ignored entirely. Strunk and White won plaudits for issuing strict punctuation rules and received criticism for narrowing 'good' writing down to using a limited number of acceptable grammatical constructions.
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In its 50th year of publication, Strunk and White continue to polarize the pedagogical world. Patricia O'Connor, a grammarian and author of Woe Is I, believes the opening chapter on 'good' writing to still be relevant and summarizes the wisdom of the first fourteen pages into four points: 'Omit needless words', 'Use concrete language', Be clear', 'Revise and rewrite'. Unquestionably, few would disagree with those timeless truths on writing. Other areas, however, have become quite contentious.
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Geoffrey Pullum, a linguistics professor at the University of Edinburgh, accuses Strunk and White of sheer hypocrisy in pointing out, 'The section warning against the passive, for example, is replete with passives.' What is Pullum talking about?
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In most conversation and writing, the subject appears before the verb and direct object to convey an action or description. This is known as 'active voice'. Here are some examples in different tenses:
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1) Did you check the stove? (past tense)
2) Have you checked the stove? (past perfect tense)
3) Are you checking the stove? (present progressive tense)
4) Will you check the stove? (future tense)
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In contrast, passive voice omits the subject entirely, inverts the direct object and the verb and only implies the person involved in the action. Can you successfully convert the four interrogative (question) statements into passive voice? Here are the same questions in the passive form:
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1) Was the stove checked?
2) Has the stove been checked?
3) Is the stove being checked?
4) Will the stove be checked?
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Stunk and White inveigh against passive voice. In their view, it should rarely be used at all. However, critics of Strunk and White argue that passive voice plays a unique and significant role in language. An owner of a company would not likely ask his manager 'Have you washed the fleet of cars?'. Why? Managers usually do not wash cars. They tell employees to wash them. Thus, a manager would more likely inquire 'Has the fleet of cars been washed?' (implying 'by the staff').
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Consider the following active voice and passive voice statements:
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1) Hitler invaded Poland in 1939. (active voice)
2) Poland was invaded by Hitler in 1939. (passive voice)
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Strunk and White believe the clearest expression to be 'Hitler invaded Poland in 1939', but how is 'Poland was invaded by Hitler in 1939' any different in meaning or clarity?
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Although not deserving of sacrosanct status, Strunk and White's The Elements of Style has proved invaluable to the evolution and progress of the English language. As a base of reference, linguists have debated countless language-style issues including:
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1) Should a comma be included after 'green' in a phrase such as 'orange, green, and blue' or does the presence of 'and' omit the need for the comma after 'green'?
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2) Can a complex sentence begin with the word 'Because': i.e. 'Because he couldn't find his glasses, he was unable to see the show.'
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3) Can a sentence or a question end with a phrasal verb (a two or more word verb). Some examples: a) What are you looking at?, b) I don't know what she is putting up
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Despite scholarly disagreements over their maxims for good writing, Strunk and White deserve to be remembered as pioneers of English-language standardization.
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A robust debate on effective language exchange should be welcomed by all educators. When it comes to conveying meaning well, however, sometimes breaking the rules is wholly justified.
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And that is the truth of the matter.
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J Roquen
Robot-Assisted Surgery Appears Useful For Removal Of Some Head And Neck Tumors
From Science Daily:
ScienceDaily (Apr. 24, 2009) — Robot-assisted surgery appears feasible for treatment of selected head and neck cancers, according to a new article.
"Since the introduction of the surgical robot in 1999, robot-assisted cardiac, gynecologic and urologic procedures have become widely accepted throughout the country," the authors write as background information in the article. In these specialties, robotic procedures have been associated with less blood loss, fewer complications, shorter surgery durations and fewer days in the hospital or in intensive care compared with traditional open procedures. "Robotic surgery in the head and neck offers the possibility of limited surgical morbidity [illness], reduced hospital stay and improved lesion visualization over open approaches and traditional transoral [through the mouth] techniques."
Read more ....
ScienceDaily (Apr. 24, 2009) — Robot-assisted surgery appears feasible for treatment of selected head and neck cancers, according to a new article.
"Since the introduction of the surgical robot in 1999, robot-assisted cardiac, gynecologic and urologic procedures have become widely accepted throughout the country," the authors write as background information in the article. In these specialties, robotic procedures have been associated with less blood loss, fewer complications, shorter surgery durations and fewer days in the hospital or in intensive care compared with traditional open procedures. "Robotic surgery in the head and neck offers the possibility of limited surgical morbidity [illness], reduced hospital stay and improved lesion visualization over open approaches and traditional transoral [through the mouth] techniques."
Read more ....
Computer Program to Take on ‘Jeopardy!’
From The New York Times:YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, N.Y. — This highly successful television quiz show is the latest challenge for artificial intelligence.
What is “Jeopardy”?
That is correct.
I.B.M. plans to announce Monday that it is in the final stages of completing a computer program to compete against human “Jeopardy!” contestants. If the program beats the humans, the field of artificial intelligence will have made a leap forward.
I.B.M. scientists previously devised a chess-playing program to run on a supercomputer called Deep Blue. That program beat the world champion Garry Kasparov in a controversial 1997 match (Mr. Kasparov called the match unfair and secured a draw in a later one against another version of the program).
Read more ....
Spew
Hutch Makes Me Sick, originally uploaded by Hutch.
My wife and I are in full-on panic mode preparing for the Craftstravaganza, which is a week from today. We run this craft fair in our spare time. Suddenly, there's no time to spare, and a thousand things to do. So here's a grab-bag post today.
The personal tweeting wasn't going so well and I gave it up. We set up a new Twitter feed for our craft show and I link to that one on the sidebar now. It will be about local arts events and handmade stuff. This blog will still sometimes be about babies.
Speaking of arts & crafts, the St. Paul Art Crawl is this weekend. It's fun times! We're going today. You might even see some tweets about it over there.
Ashley cut her molars and she takes great joy in biting anything she can wrap her little jaws around. That includes mommy (who is still breast feeding) but daddy's arm and the dog are also fair game. She's basically crawling now and has entered the destructive phase of babyhood. Look out world, here she comes.
Robot Sailing Boat Can Reach Any Given Destination Completely Autonomously
The sail is a lot heavier than one might think. An unusually thick material was used to enable it to withstand the Caribbean storms. (Credit: Image courtesy of SSA/ETH Zurich)From Science Daily:
ScienceDaily (Apr. 19, 2009) — Mechanical engineering students from ETH Zurich have developed an unmanned sailing boat in a focus project that can reach any given destination completely autonomously. The Avalon robot sailing boat is due to set sail from Ireland in the fall and head for the Caribbean.
The Caribbean is still a long way off. But at least Avalon has already had a taste of the water on Lake Zurich. Admittedly, the first run ended on a sandbank, but that – and everyone agrees – can happen to any sailor. And Avalon has a good excuse: the software program that really enables it to sail by itself is still very much in its infancy. However, the “Students Sail Autonomously” team (SSA) is confident that they can overcome the teething problems.
Read more ....
Killer Robots And A Revolution In Warfare
From Reuters:
WASHINGTON, April 22 (Reuters) - They have no fear, they never tire, they are not upset when the soldier next to them gets blown to pieces. Their morale doesn't suffer by having to do, again and again, the jobs known in the military as the Three Ds - dull, dirty and dangerous.
They are military robots and their rapidly increasing numbers and growing sophistication may herald the end of thousands of years of human monopoly on fighting war. "Science fiction is moving to the battlefield. The future is upon us," as Brookings scholar Peter Singer put it to a conference of experts at the U.S. Army War College in Pennsylvania this month.
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My Comment: Reuters reporting on a story that bloggers .... including this one .... have been talking about for the past year. The main stream media .... sigh .... delivering the news a year later.
WNU Editor Confession: I posted this story because it gave me an excuse to post the above picture. Yes .... I am a Terminator fan. Now I need an excuse to post on the babes from Battlestar Galactica.
Robots Are Narrowing The Gap With Humans
From McClatchy News:WASHINGTON — Robots are gaining on us humans.
Thanks to exponential increases in computer power — which is roughly doubling every two years — robots are getting smarter, more capable, more like flesh-and-blood people.
Matching human skills and intelligence, however, is an enormously difficult — perhaps impossible — challenge.
Nevertheless, robots guided by their own computer "brains'' now can pick up and peel bananas, land jumbo jets, steer cars through city traffic, search human DNA for cancer genes, play soccer or the violin, find earthquake victims or explore craters on Mars.
Read more ....
Medical Micro-Robots Made As Small As Bacteria
Artificial bacterial flagella are about half as long as the thickness of a human hair. They can swim at a speed of up to one body length per second. This means that they already resemble their natural role models very closely. (Credit: Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems/ETH Zurich)From Science Daily:
ScienceDaily (Apr. 19, 2009) — For the first time, ETH Zurich researchers have built micro-robots as small as bacteria. Their purpose is to help cure human beings.
They look like spirals with tiny heads, and screw through the liquid like miniature corkscrews. When moving, they resemble rather ungainly bacteria with long whip-like tails. They can only be observed under a microscope because, at a total length of 25 to 60 µm, they are almost as small as natural flagellated bacteria. Most are between 5 and 15 µm long, a few are more than 20 µm.
Read more ....
Decaf
coffee!, originally uploaded by susanrudat
When I was in college I felt awake, alert, and productive most of the time. It seems like I've lost a lot of energy since then. I started to wonder what had changed that should make it so. Of course six years ago I didn't have a wife, a baby, or a full-time job. Those things would make anyone sleepy, but they aren't things I can change (or want to!).
One more thing I wasn't doing back then: drinking a cup of coffee every morning. That's something I can quit. Coffee screws up your natural energy levels and makes you tired and cranky. At least that's what it did to me. I thought that maybe my morning cuppa was the culprit of my pep deficit.
So I gave up drinking coffee as an experiment. The first couple of days were rough, but now my body is taking control again. I wake up gradually but fully (it helps that I do yoga daily), and stay balanced throughout the day; no more spike in the morning followed by afternoon naptime. I still drink caffeine as a special treat, but I am no longer an addict!
A Beautiful Soul
Although April is 'National Poetry Month' in the United States, few Americans read and fewer ever attempt to write poetry. That is unfortunate. Poetry is a timeless language of the 'soul' - a mysterious place between the heart and the mind - and should be considered a necessary component any education. No other form or medium is capable of distilling both the dimensions of the human condition and the fleeting character of life into an efficient body of transcendent words . In reading or writing only a few lines, poetry can inspire, impart compassion or offer solace to its seekers..
Beyond the personal realm, some have argued for poetry to be included in civic life as well. Four years prior to his historic election to the presidency, John F. Kennedy stated in a commencement address, 'if more politicians knew poetry, and more poets knew politics, I am convinced the world would be a better place to live'.
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For the largely uninitiated, it is particularly difficult to decide upon a starting point. Should a newcomer to the world of poetry begin with one of the famous sonnets of Shakespeare, the French romantic poetry of Arthur Rimbaud or perhaps an ancient classic from Aeschylus?
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While any of these famous poets would serve well, the verse of Emily Dickinson (1830-86) is particularly well-suited to attract new readers to the genre due to its 'modern' appeal and accessibility. On a biographical note, Emily Dickinson, a native of Amherst, Massachusetts, spent her entire life tending to a flower garden and writing poems in the seclusion of her room. From her writings, a wise and sophisticated human being (and woman) emerges - replete with conflicting desires, moments of melancholia and an abiding passion for life itself.
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The following two poems by Dickinson revolve around the common themes of love and loss. As commentary tends to detract rather than add to great works of literature, only two definitional footnotes have been included for reference.
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Poem #1
You left me, sweet, two legacies
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You left me, sweet, two legacies
A legacy of love
A Heavenly Father would content
Had He the offer of
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You left me boundaries of pain
Capacious as the sea
Between eternity and time
Your consciousness and me
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Poem #2
If you were coming in the fall
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If you were coming in the fall
I'd brush the summer by
with half a smile and half a spurn
as housewives do a fly
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If I could see you in a year
I'd wind the months into balls
And put them into separate drawers
until their time befalls
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If only centuries delayed
I'd count them on my hand
subtracting till my fingers dropped
Into Van Diemen's land
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If certain, when this life was out
That yours and mine should be
I'd toss it yonder like a rind
And taste eternity
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But now, all ignorant of the length
of time's uncertain wing
It goads me, like a goblin bee
That will not state its sting
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Notes
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1. 'Van Diemen's land': the former name of Tasmania
2. 'rind': a piece of tree bark
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These poems on the dual character of love (joy and pain) and the pangs of lost or unrealized love (poem #2) serve to prove two timeless truths. Poetry is a worthwhile endeavor as a reader or a writer, and - Emily Dickinson has a beautiful soul.
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Thank you, Emily.
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(Picture: Emily Dickinson)
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J Roquen
Things I learned from the fast
2008.04.11 :: bento diary :: day 2, originally uploaded by vingt_deux
Easter happened, so Lent is over and so is my fast. I wasn't very good at it! Here's what I learned:
- Milk is in everything. When I started reading the ingredients of my boxed and processed foods, nearly everything contained milk. Even food you wouldn't think contains milk. My normal diet is packed with milk and dairy byproducts. Ergo:
- Veganism is hard. I kept it up for about three days. It turns out that beyond meat, I have trouble giving up delicious food. Kudos to you, vegans, you are better than me.
- I'm not an alcoholic. Good news mom! I can't go a week without cheese, but I skipped liquor for 40 days (except Sundays when I had one beer each in the great tradition of feast days). The rest of the time, I barely noticed that I wasn't drinking.
So my fast didn't go the way I planned, it was a journey in self-discovery anyway.
Sneakers
Fashionista / Manuel Viejo ©, originally uploaded by Manu Viejo ©
Our baby can't stop moving. I was sitting on the floor with her and she started pulling herself towards my cordless drill that I had left lying around after doing manly projects.
"Uh oh," I thought. "She's crawling towards my drill."
Then I said, "wait a minute... she's crawling towards my drill!" So I called for my wife and we both watched her go. She's an unstoppable force.
Robotic Task Force: A Two-Robot, Bomb-Defusing, Riot-Controlling, Firefighting Team (With Video!)
From Popular Mechanics:
Segway presented two robots at Robobusiness 2009 that can defuse dirty bombs, take on riots and fight fires—giving their operators comfortable distance from dangerous situations. Here is an up-close look at the robots from the show floor.
Fact: Two new robots unveiled at the 2009 Robobusiness conference in Boston are specifically designed to steal jobs from hard-working, flesh-and-blood Americans.
More relevant fact: As usual, the jobs in question are the sort of thankless, dangerous and unsavory work that most humans would run screaming from.
Read more ....
BRAVO
On 5 April, President Barack Obama delivered an eyebrow-raising speech in the beautiful city of Prague. In a dramatic departure from his last two predecessors, Obama virtually declared the existence of nuclear weapons an historical travesty and pledged to lead diplomatic negotiations to reduce arsenals around the world. He also stated his intention to enforce and expand the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in order to forestall potential threats from state and non-state actors (i.e. Al-Qaeda)..
His laudable aspirations to minimize the risks of nuclear war or accident will encounter several roadblocks. Several key nations with nuclear weapons were not signatories to NPT in 1968 and still have no intention of signing on the dotted line today. Among them are Pakistan, India, Israel (who officially denies its nuclear capability) and the rogue regime of North Korea. Indeed, the complex politics of nuclear weapons in the early 21st century hearkens back to the volatile Cold War era of the 1950s. From 1945-55, the advancement of science in devising weapons of mass destruction greatly surpassed the ability of man to rationalize their existence and use. Fortunately, an unexpected event on 1 March 1954 forced the world to take a step back from annihilation.
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During one period of the Korean War (1950-53), several high-level government officials and military commanders, including Douglas MacArthur, strongly considered or advocated the deployment of nuclear weapons for 'tactical' use on the battlefield. MacArthur had brilliantly outmaneuvered his North Korean adversary by landing behind enemy lines at Incheon. When waves of Chinese soldiers entered the war to drive the Americans away from the North Korean-Chinese border, however, policymakers realized that nothing could stop the Chinese advance short of a series of devastating nuclear strikes. Fortunately, President Eisenhower ruled out the nuclear option, and the war ended in a stalemate that exists to this very day.
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A year after hostilities ended on the Korean peninsula, a test of a 'super' bomb was scheduled for the first day of March. Because the Soviet Union had achieved parity with their own nuclear weapons capability, the United States had decided to forge ahead with an even more powerful device than the 'Atom' bomb. Projected to be five times greater in destructive capability, the 'Hydrogen' bomb was set to be tested in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in an operation termed BRAVO. Rather than an expected five megaton blast, however, its explosive power measured at fifteen megatons and resulted in the death of a Japanese fisherman and significant environmental damage. The event sent shock waves through Washington, London and Moscow. Man had truly created a 'Frankenstein', and he was out of control.
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After BRAVO, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Head of State Georgii Malenkov (one of the successors to Stalin), both came to the conclusion that the use nuclear bombs transcended conventional weaponry and warfare. Since a nuclear war would mean the end of civilization itself, a nuclear quid pro quo had resulted. As no state could use nuclear weapons without inviting annihilation, they would likely never be used, and nations would continue fighting wars with conventional weapons. Churchill was the first to recognize the 'benefits' of what would come to be called 'Mutually Assured Destruction' or MAD.
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Some in the US government, however, still harbored ideas of incorporating the nuclear option into warfare. Despite his restraint in the Korean War and knowledge of the BRAVO outcome, Eisenhower stated in 1955, 'in any combat these things (nuclear bombs) can be used on strictly military targets and for strictly military purposes, I can see no reason why they should not be used as you would a bullet or anything else.' (Gaddis, p.64 - see below) More than likely, the President was making an off-the-cuff remark based on wish-fulfillment rather than reality. A year later, Eisenhower was often heard to remark on the infeasibility of nuclear warfare.
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Henry Kissinger, then a rising Harvard-graduated star in the State Department, was another story altogether. In his book Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy, Kissinger argued that the nuclear option was feasible in warfare and ought to be retained to protect American interests. While outlined in trenchant academic analysis, the future National Security Advisor and Secretary of State under Richard Nixon could not furnish a satisfactory answer to the ultimate question: 'How could the use of nuclear weapons protect American interests if they were bound to provoke a massive nuclear response from China or the Soviet Union upon civilian populations in American cities?'
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In August 1945, more than 200,000 innocent civilians died from the US nuclear attacks at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Hundreds of thousands more had their life-spans shortened by radiation poisoning. The question of whether Truman was justified in unleashing the destructive power of nuclear physics will be debated for years to come, but no rational person wants history to witness another similar event. Hence, the debate on nuclear weapons has long been over. Not only should they be outlawed from use in warfare, but their existence should be limited as much as possible.
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For that reason, the reduction of nuclear stockpiles and the containment of nuclear technology must be a first priority of not only the Obama administration but of every government.
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(Picture: the mushroom cloud created from BRAVO on 1 March, 1954)
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To view an Eisenhower White House public relations film on the American way of life and the hydrogen bomb, click the picture to the right
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Recommended Reading
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Gaddis, John Lewis. The Cold War: A New History. Penguin Press, 2007.
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J Roquen
Researchers Develop Laser-Guided Microhoverbot, Engadget Coins New Word
From Engadget:
We could have sworn that one of our commenters had already invented this, but maybe not. Researchers at the University of Waterloo in Ontario -- led by Professor Mir Behrad Khamesee -- has developed a microbot weighing in at about three-hundredths of an ounce that hovers and moves about on a three dimensional parabolic magnetic field. Altering the flow of the electromagnetic current distorts the field and propels the robot. Additionally, the device has pincers that open when heated by a laser, closing once they're allowed to cool. The device is monitored by laser sensors and by camera, and since the it floats free of any sort of wiring (and power is supplied from outside the robot) it is ideal for working in clean rooms or hazardous environments. Not too shabby, eh? At the very least, we got to use the word "microhoverbot."
Read more ....
Researchers Develop World's First Flying Microrobot For Microscale Applications
A newly developed microrobot defies the force of gravity by flying or levitating, powered by a magnetic field. It moves around and dexterously manipulates objects with magnets attached to microgrippers, remotely controlled by a laser-focusing beam. (Credit: Image courtesy of University of Waterloo)From Science Daily:
ScienceDaily (Apr. 14, 2009) — A University of Waterloo engineering research team has developed the world's first flying microrobot capable of manipulating objects for microscale applications.
The microrobot discovery provides researchers with more control over the microscale environment, allowing them to move and place tiny objects with far greater precision. The microscale deals with tiny objects, at levels that are too small to be manipulated by humans.
Read more ....
Robots to Fight Autism
From PopSci.com:
One little yellow robot is a hot contender for cutest medical device.
Two years ago, a yellow spongiform robot named Keepon became a minor YouTube sensation when one of its creators programmed it to do a squishy, twisty dance in time to the Spoon song "I Turn My Camera On." The video has garnered more than 2 million hits. Now Keepon's keepers, Marek Michalowski, a Ph.D student in robotics at Carnegie Mellon University, and Hideki Kozima of Miyagi University in Japan, are turning Keepon's attention to a more serious task: to study how children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) interact socially and to see if the robot may be able to help in therapy.
Read more ....
Secret Law of Flying Could Inspire Better Robots
From Wired News:
A unifying theory of winged locomotion could explain the magical mid-air maneuvers of birds and insects, and guide the design of flying robots.
Using high-speed video, biologists modeled how hummingbirds and hawkmoths use asymmetrical flapping to make slow, mid-air turns. The model predicted how five other flyers turned at full speed, hinting at a universal turning technique for flying creatures.
"It's basically an exponential damping system," said Ty Hedrick, a University of North Carolina animal aerodynamics expert. "The strength of braking increases in proportion to speed."
Read more ....
Cyborg Rolls A Little Closer: The Chariot Which Lets Amputees 'Stand Tall And Walk'
It's the way I walk: The Chariot allows a wearer to move in an upright position and carry a briefcase thanks to the hands-free controlsFrom The Daily Mail:
Amputees and people with difficulty standing could soon move using a ‘wearable transportation device’ that gives the effect of walking.
Exmovere Holdings has unveiled a self-balancing, hands-free concept vehicle called the Chariot, which is controlled by subtle movements of the lower torso and hips.
Sensors inside the cocoon-like shell of the vehicle interpret gentle pressure changes from the wearer’s body to predict their intended motion and carry out the action.
Read more ....
Science's Most Powerful Computer Tackles First Questions
Jaguar is the second most powerful computer ever built and the fastest dedicated to science (Image: National Center for Computational Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory)From New Scientist:
In cult sci-fi tale Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the most powerful computer in the universe was charged with finding the answer to life, the universe, and everything.
In the real world, a newly built supercomputer that is the most powerful ever dedicated to science will be tackling questions about climate change, supernovas, and the structure of water.
The projects were chosen in a peer-reviewed process designed to get the computer producing useful science even during the period when its performance is still being fine-tuned by engineers.
Read more ....
Poster
I made this poster for our upcoming craft show in St. Paul. My wife did the background and layout. She also created our logo which we have used for the past three years. I did the illustration and color.There are things I would change but the nice thing about a deadline is that it forces you to finish. I hope it makes sense what it is. See, this girl has taken her hot rod and bolted a sewing machine on where the blower would go. The blow torch is just for fun.
We print these up as gig posters and hang them all around town. You might see one if you're around the Twin Cities in the next few weeks. If you're here on May 2, you should totally come to the fair!
Artificial Intelligence To Tackle Rogue Traders
From Science Daily:
ScienceDaily (Apr. 8, 2009) — As the Credit Crunch continues to affect the worldwide markets the need for efficient methods to combat financial fraud has become more important than ever. Now researchers at the University of Sunderland are working on a smart computer that they believe will be able to detect insider trading fraud within the stock exchange almost instantly.
CASSANDRA (Computerised Analysis of Stocks and Shares for Novelty Detection of Radical Activities) aims to create a prototype software tool to tackle financial fraud. The project has been awarded £90,000 by Northstar Funding to investigate the feasibility of combining Artificial Intelligence technologies with headline analysis techniques to track suspicious share dealing.
Read more ....
Generation Gap: Robo-Kids Are the Future
From Live Science:
Many people may scoff at stories of a Chinese farmer building robots that he considers more precious than his children, or a Canadian inventor creating a life-size female android companion. Then they go back to peering at their cell phones or PDAs with vision-enhancing contact lenses, iPod buds in their ears, as they query Google's search 'bot for their next destination.
The fact is modern humans increasingly rely on sophisticated, wearable technology which has enhanced or sometimes replaced our senses, organs and limbs — making us appear more like artificial constructs. At the same time, robots have begun learning to think, experience sensations and perhaps even understand emotions.
Read more ....
Many people may scoff at stories of a Chinese farmer building robots that he considers more precious than his children, or a Canadian inventor creating a life-size female android companion. Then they go back to peering at their cell phones or PDAs with vision-enhancing contact lenses, iPod buds in their ears, as they query Google's search 'bot for their next destination.
The fact is modern humans increasingly rely on sophisticated, wearable technology which has enhanced or sometimes replaced our senses, organs and limbs — making us appear more like artificial constructs. At the same time, robots have begun learning to think, experience sensations and perhaps even understand emotions.
Read more ....
Little House On The Moon? Robot Being Created For First Moon Construction Project
Modells of robot Roony and the cottage. The mechanical design of the cottage has not yet been completed, the aim is a mass of 5kg and transport size about 6 liters, with a final living space of 10 square meters. (Credit: Image courtesy the Swedish Research Council)From Science Daily:
ScienceDaily (Apr. 5, 2009) — Mälardalen University is working with the multi-artist Mikael Genberg to create a robot to be sent to the moon to construct a house. The House on the Moon is a project that aims to put a little read cottage on the moon as a symbol of what one man can achieve. The robot will roll out Genberg’s little cabin from the space rocket, find a stable vacant lot, and erect the planet’s first building.
“We want to teach students who think creatively, work together, use the very latest technology, and dare to set their sights high. The most important thing is not always to reach the goal. If you aim for the stars, at least you’ll reach the treetops or even the moon,” says Lars Asplund.
Read more ....
Japan Child Robot Mimicks Infant Learning
Photo: A "Child-robot with Biomimetic Body" or CB2, follows an object with his eyes at a laboratory in Osaka University From Breitbart/AP:
The creators of the Child-robot with Biomimetic Body, or CB2, say it's slowly developing social skills by interacting with humans and watching their facial expressions, mimicking a mother-baby relationship.
A bald, child-like creature dangles its legs from a chair as its shoulders rise and fall with rythmic breathing and its black eyes follow movements across the room.
It's not human -- but it is paying attention.
Below the soft silicon skin of one of Japan's most sophisticated robots, processors record and evaluate information. The 130-cm (four-foot, four-inch) humanoid is designed to learn just like a human infant.
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