Thursday, December 10, 2009
Researchers Hope to Mass-Produce Tiny Robots
The researchers, from institutes in Sweden, Spain, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland, explain that their building approach marks a new paradigm of robot development in microrobotics. The technique involves integrating an entire robot - with communication, locomotion, energy storage, and electronics - in different modules on a single circuit board. In the past, the single-chip robot concept has presented significant limitations in design and manufacturing. However, instead of using solder to mount electrical components on a printed circuit board as in the conventional method, the researchers use conductive adhesive to attach the components to a double-sided flexible printed circuit board using surface mount technology. The circuit board is then folded to create a three-dimensional robot."
RI-MAN And Roujin-Z Robots: Elder Care Fact And Fiction : Science Fiction in the News
Intel says shape-shifting robots closer to reality
Intel says shape-shifting robots closer to reality: "Imagine a day when you can make your cell phone smaller to fit more comfortably in your pocket, then make it larger so you can text more easily.
Now, imagine that you could make your cell phone take the shape of a headset when you want to talk on it or re-shape it like a bracelet so you can wear it while jogging."
Now, imagine that you could make your cell phone take the shape of a headset when you want to talk on it or re-shape it like a bracelet so you can wear it while jogging."
RFID 'Powder' - World's Smallest RFID Tag: Science Fiction in the News
The world's smallest and thinnest RFID tags were introduced
The previous record-holder, the Hitachi mu-chip, is just 0.4 x 0.4 millimeters. Take a look at the size of the mu-chip RFID tag on a human fingertip. That is 60 times BIGGER than the new Hitachi chips.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Open Book Alliance to oppose Google Book deal
Relevant Results - CNET News Industry group fights Google's attempt to digitize copyrighted materials: "With less than two weeks remaining until a key deadline in the Google Books settlement, Google's opposition is circling the wagons.
The Open Book Alliance, a consortium that includes nonprofit author groups, library institutions, and Google rivals Amazon, Microsoft, and Yahoo, launched Wednesday to 'insist that any mass book digitization and distribution effort be open and competitive.' As reported last week by the Wall Street Journal, the group will be led by Peter Brantley of Internet Archive and veteran antitrust lawyer Gary Reback of Carr & Ferrell.
Google's proposed settlement with book rights holders last October gave it the sole legal authority to scan and distribute digital books that are still in copyright but out of print, and library groups and privacy activists have been up in arms ever since."
The Open Book Alliance, a consortium that includes nonprofit author groups, library institutions, and Google rivals Amazon, Microsoft, and Yahoo, launched Wednesday to 'insist that any mass book digitization and distribution effort be open and competitive.' As reported last week by the Wall Street Journal, the group will be led by Peter Brantley of Internet Archive and veteran antitrust lawyer Gary Reback of Carr & Ferrell.
Google's proposed settlement with book rights holders last October gave it the sole legal authority to scan and distribute digital books that are still in copyright but out of print, and library groups and privacy activists have been up in arms ever since."
After the Transistor, a Leap Into the Microcosm - NYTimes.com
After the Transistor, a Leap Into the Microcosm - NYTimes.com: "Dr. Ross, an I.B.M. researcher, is growing a crop of mushroom-shaped silicon nanowires that may one day become a basic building block for a new kind of electronics. Nanowires are just one example, although one of the most promising, of a transformation now taking place in the material sciences as researchers push to create the next generation of switching devices smaller, faster and more powerful than today’s transistors."
"The reason that many computer scientists are pursuing this goal is that the shrinking of the transistor has approached fundamental physical limits. Increasingly, transistor manufacturers grapple with subatomic effects, like the tendency for electrons to “leak” across material boundaries. The leaking electrons make it more difficult to know when a transistor is in an on or off state, the information that makes electronic computing possible. They have also led to excess heat, the bane of the fastest computer chips."
"The reason that many computer scientists are pursuing this goal is that the shrinking of the transistor has approached fundamental physical limits. Increasingly, transistor manufacturers grapple with subatomic effects, like the tendency for electrons to “leak” across material boundaries. The leaking electrons make it more difficult to know when a transistor is in an on or off state, the information that makes electronic computing possible. They have also led to excess heat, the bane of the fastest computer chips."
Microsoft Research Keeps Dreaming Big
Microsoft Research Keeps Dreaming Big - BusinessWeek: "Rick Rashid, head of Microsoft's (MSFT) research arm, oversees 850 of the brainiest people in the technology industry. But he doesn't push them to help the Microsoft groups working on the next Windows operating system or upcoming Xbox. Instead, he gives researchers wide leeway to pursue their own interests and write papers about ideas that may not pay off for 10 or 20 years—if at all. 'We're about doing things that frankly people may not want,' says the 57-year-old Rashid, tilting back in the desk chair in his modest office on Microsoft's Redmond (Wash.) campus. 'The point of a basic research group is really to do the things you don't know you'll need.'"
Using Flash Memory to Increase Performance
SDSC Dashes Forward with New Flash Memory Computer System: "“Dash’s use of flash memory for fast file-access and swap space – as opposed to spinning discs that have much slower latency or I/O times – along with vSMP capabilities for large shared memory will facilitate scientific research,” said Michael Norman, interim director of SDSC. “Today’s high-performance instruments, simulations and sensor networks are creating a deluge of data that presents formidable challenges to store and analyze; challenges that Dash helps to overcome.”"
Open Source Approach to DNA Privacy
American Friends of Tel Aviv University: Open Source DNA: "In the chilling science fiction movie Gattaca, Ethan Hawke stars as a man with 'inferior genes' who assumes another's genetic identity to escape a dead-end future. The 1997 film illustrates the very real fear swirling around today's genome research — fear that private genetic information could be used negatively against us."
"Working with colleagues at the University of California in Berkeley, Dr. Halperin devised a mathematical formula that can be used to protect genetic privacy while giving researchers much of the raw data they need to do pioneering medical research. Reported in this month's issue of Nature Genetics, the tool could keep millions of research dollars-worth of DNA information available to scientists."
Not all robots are electromechanical...
Bristol UWE - NewsBuilding biological robots: "Scientists at the University of the West of England are to design the first ever biological robot using mould."
"Researchers have received a Leverhulme Trust grant worth £228,000 to develop the amorphous non-silicon biological robot, plasmobot, using plasmodium, the vegetative stage of the slime mould Physarum polycephalum, a commonly occurring mould which lives in forests, gardens and most damp places in the UK. The Leverhulme Trust funded research project aims to design the first every fully biological (no silicon components) amorphous massively-parallel robot."
"Researchers have received a Leverhulme Trust grant worth £228,000 to develop the amorphous non-silicon biological robot, plasmobot, using plasmodium, the vegetative stage of the slime mould Physarum polycephalum, a commonly occurring mould which lives in forests, gardens and most damp places in the UK. The Leverhulme Trust funded research project aims to design the first every fully biological (no silicon components) amorphous massively-parallel robot."
Exoskeletons enhance natural physical abilities
August 2009 Newsletter | CITRIS: "In the 1986 sci-fi classic Aliens, Sigourney Weaver’s character defeats her nemesis with a huge exoskeleton device that she operates from inside with buttons and a joystick. Twenty-two years later, Tony Stark steps inside Iron Man, a much sleeker and more agile version of a wearable robot. How was Iron Man manipulated? Possibly with sensors that could read electrical signals coming from the brain with an EEG-like device embedded in the helmet or implanted into the motor cortex of the brain. Or maybe it was a simpler touch interface that would simply read the contact force applied by the body itself and amplify or convert its motions into movement of the robotic exoskeleton."
"All of those approaches are feasible and, in fact, being investigated or implemented by engineers around the world in efforts to explore alternative ways to operate the coming generation of wearable machines."
"All of those approaches are feasible and, in fact, being investigated or implemented by engineers around the world in efforts to explore alternative ways to operate the coming generation of wearable machines."
If You’re Not Seeing Data, You’re Not Seeing
Gadget Lab | Wired.com If You’re Not Seeing Data, You’re Not Seeing: "As you shove your way through the crowd in a baseball stadium, the lenses of your digital glasses display the names, hometowns and favorite hobbies of the strangers surrounding you. Then you claim a seat and fix your attention on the batter, and his player statistics pop up in a transparent box in the corner of your field of vision.
"It’s not possible today, but the emergence of more powerful, media-centric cellphones is accelerating humanity toward this vision of “augmented reality,” where data from the network overlays your view of the real world. Already, developers are creating augmented reality applications and games for a variety of smartphones, so your phone’s screen shows the real world overlaid with additional information such as the location of subway entrances, the price of houses, or Twitter messages that have been posted nearby. And publishers, moviemakers and toymakers have embraced a version of the technology to enhance their products and advertising campaigns."
"It’s not possible today, but the emergence of more powerful, media-centric cellphones is accelerating humanity toward this vision of “augmented reality,” where data from the network overlays your view of the real world. Already, developers are creating augmented reality applications and games for a variety of smartphones, so your phone’s screen shows the real world overlaid with additional information such as the location of subway entrances, the price of houses, or Twitter messages that have been posted nearby. And publishers, moviemakers and toymakers have embraced a version of the technology to enhance their products and advertising campaigns."
Robofish Takes To Water
Discovery News Robofish Takes To Water: "A school of small, robotic fish has been developed by MIT scientists. Made with a only handful of parts and a blend of polymers, the fish wiggle their way through water like trout and tuna.
"These new robofish could be equipped with sensors to monitor oil spills or other environmental contaminants.
"'The interesting aspect of this research is that we are the first group to tailor different polymers in different parts of the body with different dampening and stiffness properties,' said Kamal Youcef-Toumi, a scientist at MIT who, along with Pablo Vildivia Y Alvarado, is developing the robofish."
"These new robofish could be equipped with sensors to monitor oil spills or other environmental contaminants.
"'The interesting aspect of this research is that we are the first group to tailor different polymers in different parts of the body with different dampening and stiffness properties,' said Kamal Youcef-Toumi, a scientist at MIT who, along with Pablo Vildivia Y Alvarado, is developing the robofish."
Stimulus package to support Electronic Health Records
Discovery Tech Electronic Health Records: "In this age of electronic devices, the Internet, iPhones and TiVo, it's hard to believe that some hospitals, doctors' offices and health clinics still rely on paper. But that's all going to change. The stimulus package has allocated more than $20 billion for assistance, grants and incentives that will help physicians and hospitals convert to electronic health records. But will e-records save money and improve efficiency? And what about patient privacy? This Wide Angle series will explore the questions, concerns, reasons and debate surrounding Electronic Health Records."
An intelligent system avoids forgetting things
Artificial Intelligence applied to help care for the aging: "An elderly lady is about to go to bed. She goes into her room, sits down on the bed, takes off her slippers and turns off the light. Suddenly, before getting into bed, a small alarm goes off and a mobile device reminds her that she has not taken her tablets.
This is how the new intelligent system developed by researchers from the Department of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence of the UGR works. Maria Ros Izquierdo is from the Higher Technical School of Computer Engineering of the UGR and the co-author of a study which is published this month in the Expert Systems with Applications magazine. 'It is a prototype which, in a non-intrusive manner, facilitates the control of the activity of people with special needs and increases their independence', she explained to SINC."
"A team of researchers from the University of Granada (UGR) has created a system with Artificial Intelligence techniques which notifies elderly people or people with special needs of the forgetting of certain everyday tasks. This system uses sensors distributed in the environment in order to detect their actions and mobile devices which remind them, for example, to take their keys before they leave home."
This is how the new intelligent system developed by researchers from the Department of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence of the UGR works. Maria Ros Izquierdo is from the Higher Technical School of Computer Engineering of the UGR and the co-author of a study which is published this month in the Expert Systems with Applications magazine. 'It is a prototype which, in a non-intrusive manner, facilitates the control of the activity of people with special needs and increases their independence', she explained to SINC."
"A team of researchers from the University of Granada (UGR) has created a system with Artificial Intelligence techniques which notifies elderly people or people with special needs of the forgetting of certain everyday tasks. This system uses sensors distributed in the environment in order to detect their actions and mobile devices which remind them, for example, to take their keys before they leave home."
Singularity University taps students' technology ideas
Singularity taps students' technology ideas: "The inaugural graduates of Singularity University, a Silicon Valley school backed by NASA, Google Inc., and tech industry luminaries like Ray Kurzweil, unveiled their grand visions on Thursday for leveraging emerging technologies to solve humanity's great challenges."
"Before a filled conference room at NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, the students faced the dual pressures of presenting what were both final class projects for the faculty on hand, as well as business pitches to the venture capitalists and business leaders in attendance. Most, if not all, of the four teams hope to secure the funding necessary to transform their ideas into viable ventures.
"Before a filled conference room at NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, the students faced the dual pressures of presenting what were both final class projects for the faculty on hand, as well as business pitches to the venture capitalists and business leaders in attendance. Most, if not all, of the four teams hope to secure the funding necessary to transform their ideas into viable ventures.
Robot with bones moves like you do
24 August 2009 - New Scientist Robot with bones moves like you do: "YOU may have more in common with this robot than any other - it was designed using your anatomy as a blueprint.
Conventional humanoid robots may look human, but the workings under their synthetic skins are radically different from our anatomy. A team with members across five European countries says this makes it difficult to build robots able to move like we do.
Their project, the Eccerobot, has been designed to duplicate the way human bones, muscles and tendons work and are linked together. The plastic bones copy biological shapes and are moved by kite-line that is tough like tendons, while elastic cords mimic the bounce of muscle."
Conventional humanoid robots may look human, but the workings under their synthetic skins are radically different from our anatomy. A team with members across five European countries says this makes it difficult to build robots able to move like we do.
Their project, the Eccerobot, has been designed to duplicate the way human bones, muscles and tendons work and are linked together. The plastic bones copy biological shapes and are moved by kite-line that is tough like tendons, while elastic cords mimic the bounce of muscle."
Advances in Humanoid Robots
Inventor Demonstrates Humanoid Robot's Latest AI Abilities: "In August 2007, Le Trung invented Aiko, a Yumecom, or 'Dream Computer Robot.' Although it took only a month and a half to build Aiko's exterior, the artificial intelligence software has been a work in progress ever since. Recently, Le Trung has demonstrated his most recent improvements to the software, called BRAINS (Bio Robot Artificial Intelligence Neural System).
In the video below, Le Trung demonstrates Aiko's internal operating system, which gives the robot many abilities, including the ability to speak two languages (English and Japanese), solve high school math problems, communicate the weather forecast, understand more than 13,000 sentences, sing songs, identify objects, focus on objects or people of importance, read newspapers and other materials, and mimic human physical touch."
In the video below, Le Trung demonstrates Aiko's internal operating system, which gives the robot many abilities, including the ability to speak two languages (English and Japanese), solve high school math problems, communicate the weather forecast, understand more than 13,000 sentences, sing songs, identify objects, focus on objects or people of importance, read newspapers and other materials, and mimic human physical touch."
Machines computing morality
Moral machines: "Researchers from Portugal and Indonesia describe an approach to decision making based on computational logic in the current issue of the International Journal of Reasoning-based Intelligent Systems which might one day give machines a sense of morality."
"Morality no longer belongs only to the realm of philosophers. Recently, there has been a growing interest in understanding morality from the scientific point of view," the researchers say.
"Morality no longer belongs only to the realm of philosophers. Recently, there has been a growing interest in understanding morality from the scientific point of view," the researchers say.
"They have turned to a system known as prospective logic to help them begin the process of programming morality into a computer. Put simply, prospective logic can model a moral dilemma and then determine the logical outcomes of the possible decisions. The approach could herald the emergence of machine ethics.
"The development of machine ethics will allow us to develop fully autonomous machines that can be programmed to make judgements based on a human moral foundation. "Equipping agents with the capability to compute moral decisions is an indispensable requirement," the researchers say, "This is particularly true when the agents are operating in domains where moral dilemmas occur, e.g., in healthcare or medical fields."
Friday, August 21, 2009
“Rich interaction” may make computers a partner, not a product
News and Communication Services: "In the movie “2010,” while trying to salvage the mission to Jupiter, the Hal 9000 computer noted, “I enjoy working with human beings, and have stimulating relationships with them.”
Well, 2010 is just around the corner, and as usual Hollywood was a little ahead of its time – but in this case, not by much. Oregon State University researchers are pioneering the concept of “rich interaction” – computers that do, in fact, want to communicate with, learn from and get to know you better as a person.
The idea behind this “meaningful” interaction is one of the latest advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence, in which a computer doesn’t just try to learn from its own experiences, it listens to the user, tries to combine what it “hears” with its internal reasoning, and changes its program as a result. When ordinary users spot the machine’s errors they should be able to step in and explain directly to the machine the logic it should be using."
Well, 2010 is just around the corner, and as usual Hollywood was a little ahead of its time – but in this case, not by much. Oregon State University researchers are pioneering the concept of “rich interaction” – computers that do, in fact, want to communicate with, learn from and get to know you better as a person.
The idea behind this “meaningful” interaction is one of the latest advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence, in which a computer doesn’t just try to learn from its own experiences, it listens to the user, tries to combine what it “hears” with its internal reasoning, and changes its program as a result. When ordinary users spot the machine’s errors they should be able to step in and explain directly to the machine the logic it should be using."
Study Finds That Online Education Beats the Classroom
Bits Blog - NYTimes.com: "A recent 93-page report on online education, conducted by SRI International for the Department of Education, has a starchy academic title, but a most intriguing conclusion: “On average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction."
"The report examined the comparative research on online versus traditional classroom teaching from 1996 to 2008. Some of it was in K-12 settings, but most of the comparative studies were done in colleges and adult continuing-education programs of various kinds, from medical training to the military.
"Over the 12-year span, the report found 99 studies in which there were quantitative comparisons of online and classroom performance for the same courses. The analysis for the Department of Education found that, on average, students doing some or all of the course online would rank in the 59th percentile in tested performance, compared with the average classroom student scoring in the 50th percentile. That is a modest but statistically meaningful difference.
"The report examined the comparative research on online versus traditional classroom teaching from 1996 to 2008. Some of it was in K-12 settings, but most of the comparative studies were done in colleges and adult continuing-education programs of various kinds, from medical training to the military.
"Over the 12-year span, the report found 99 studies in which there were quantitative comparisons of online and classroom performance for the same courses. The analysis for the Department of Education found that, on average, students doing some or all of the course online would rank in the 59th percentile in tested performance, compared with the average classroom student scoring in the 50th percentile. That is a modest but statistically meaningful difference.
Autonomous machines prompt debate - News - The Engineer
Autonomous machines prompt debate - News - The Engineer: "Legislators and opinion-formers need to start thinking about how autonomous machines like driverless trucks, surgical robots and smart homes that keep an eye on their occupants could affect society, according to the Royal Academy of Engineering.
"In a new report, the Academy points out that the technology to develop such systems is either already available or closer to reality than many people think — and the legal system needs to catch up fast."
"Autonomous trucks are a good example; as Lambert Dopping-Hepenstal, a member of the Academy’s engineering ethics working group and BAE Systems’ Military Air Solutions’ science and technology director pointed out, autonomous vehicles already operate in mines and warehouses. Such trucks would use lasers and radar to monitor their surroundings and neighbouring cars, and would have the Highway Code programmed into them.
‘They’d be much more predictable than trucks driven by humans; they wouldn’t pull out suddenly, they would always pull in if there was a problem; they’d give way where they were supposed to,’ Dopping-Hepenstal said. ‘But also, there are bound to be problems. If there’s an accident involving one of these things, who’s responsible? The system's engineer? The manufacturer?’
"In a new report, the Academy points out that the technology to develop such systems is either already available or closer to reality than many people think — and the legal system needs to catch up fast."
"Autonomous trucks are a good example; as Lambert Dopping-Hepenstal, a member of the Academy’s engineering ethics working group and BAE Systems’ Military Air Solutions’ science and technology director pointed out, autonomous vehicles already operate in mines and warehouses. Such trucks would use lasers and radar to monitor their surroundings and neighbouring cars, and would have the Highway Code programmed into them.
‘They’d be much more predictable than trucks driven by humans; they wouldn’t pull out suddenly, they would always pull in if there was a problem; they’d give way where they were supposed to,’ Dopping-Hepenstal said. ‘But also, there are bound to be problems. If there’s an accident involving one of these things, who’s responsible? The system's engineer? The manufacturer?’
Friday, August 14, 2009
IBM gets $16 million to bolster its brain-on-a-chip technology - Network World
IBM gets $16 million to bolster its brain-on-a-chip technology
- Network World: "According to DARPA, the SyNAPSE program will create useful, intelligent machines. In DARPA language: the agency is looking to develop electronic neuromorphic machine technology that is scalable to biological levels. The goal is to develop systems capable of analyzing vast amounts of data from many sources in the blink of an eye, letting the military or civilian businesses make rapid decisions in time to have a significant impact on a given problem or situation."
"According to DARPA, programmable machines are limited not only by their computational capacity, but also by an architecture requiring (human-derived) algorithms to both describe and process information from their environment. In contrast, biological neural systems such as human brains, autonomously process information in complex environments by automatically learning relevant and probabilistically stable features and associations, DARPA stated.
- Network World: "According to DARPA, the SyNAPSE program will create useful, intelligent machines. In DARPA language: the agency is looking to develop electronic neuromorphic machine technology that is scalable to biological levels. The goal is to develop systems capable of analyzing vast amounts of data from many sources in the blink of an eye, letting the military or civilian businesses make rapid decisions in time to have a significant impact on a given problem or situation."
"According to DARPA, programmable machines are limited not only by their computational capacity, but also by an architecture requiring (human-derived) algorithms to both describe and process information from their environment. In contrast, biological neural systems such as human brains, autonomously process information in complex environments by automatically learning relevant and probabilistically stable features and associations, DARPA stated.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Nanoelectronic transistor combined with biological machine could lead to better electronics
Nanoelectronic transistor combined with biological machine could lead to better electronics: "If manmade devices could be combined with biological machines, laptops and other electronic devices could get a boost in operating efficiency.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers have devised a versatile hybrid platform that uses lipid-coated nanowires to build prototype bionanoelectronic devices."
Mingling biological components in electronic circuits could enhance biosensing and diagnostic tools, advance neural prosthetics such as cochlear implants, and could even increase the efficiency of future computers.
While modern communication devices rely on electric fields and currents to carry the flow of information, biological systems are much more complex. They use an arsenal of membrane receptors, channels and pumps to control signal transduction that is unmatched by even the most powerful computers. For example, conversion of sound waves into nerve impulses is a very complicated process, yet the human ear has no trouble performing it.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers have devised a versatile hybrid platform that uses lipid-coated nanowires to build prototype bionanoelectronic devices."
Mingling biological components in electronic circuits could enhance biosensing and diagnostic tools, advance neural prosthetics such as cochlear implants, and could even increase the efficiency of future computers.
While modern communication devices rely on electric fields and currents to carry the flow of information, biological systems are much more complex. They use an arsenal of membrane receptors, channels and pumps to control signal transduction that is unmatched by even the most powerful computers. For example, conversion of sound waves into nerve impulses is a very complicated process, yet the human ear has no trouble performing it.
BBC NEWS | Technology | Computer 'agents' take to the web
BBC NEWS | Technology | Computer 'agents' take to the web: "Software 'agents' that automatically negotiate on behalf of shoppers and sellers are about to be set free on the web for the first time.
The 'Negotiation Ninjas', as they are known, will be trialled on a shopping website called Aroxo in the autumn. The intelligent traders are the culmination of 20 years' work by scientists at Southampton University.
'Computer agents don't get bored, they have a lot of time, and they don't get embarrassed,' Professor Nick Jennings, one of the researchers behind the work, told BBC News."
The 'Negotiation Ninjas', as they are known, will be trialled on a shopping website called Aroxo in the autumn. The intelligent traders are the culmination of 20 years' work by scientists at Southampton University.
'Computer agents don't get bored, they have a lot of time, and they don't get embarrassed,' Professor Nick Jennings, one of the researchers behind the work, told BBC News."
Robots to get their own operating system - tech - 10 August 2009 - New Scientist
Robots to get their own operating system - tech - 10 August 2009 - New Scientist: "king them are not. Each robot is individually manufactured to meet a specific need and more than likely built in isolation.
"This sorry state of affairs is set to change. Roboticists have begun to think about what robots have in common and what aspects of their construction can be standardised, hopefully resulting in a basic operating system everyone can use. This would let roboticists focus their attention on taking the technology forward."
"This sorry state of affairs is set to change. Roboticists have begun to think about what robots have in common and what aspects of their construction can be standardised, hopefully resulting in a basic operating system everyone can use. This would let roboticists focus their attention on taking the technology forward."
Monday, August 3, 2009
Technology-Using Professors Group News
Technology-Using Professors Group News
"'Crowdsourcing,' the notion of using the wisdom of the crowd for sites like Wikipedia, could be making its way into academe as a grading method that holds students more accountable.
"A professor at Duke University plans to test just that this fall, when she leaves the evaluation of class assignments up to her students, using crowdsourcing to make students responsible for grading each other.
GR: Don't mistake this for an attempt to reduce the professor's workload -- there are sound pedagogical reasons why this is a great idea! Of course there are dangers to be avoided, as with any sort of peer review or peer feedback system. I also suspect the work required of the educator to implement the system would not be insignificant...
"'Crowdsourcing,' the notion of using the wisdom of the crowd for sites like Wikipedia, could be making its way into academe as a grading method that holds students more accountable.
"A professor at Duke University plans to test just that this fall, when she leaves the evaluation of class assignments up to her students, using crowdsourcing to make students responsible for grading each other.
GR: Don't mistake this for an attempt to reduce the professor's workload -- there are sound pedagogical reasons why this is a great idea! Of course there are dangers to be avoided, as with any sort of peer review or peer feedback system. I also suspect the work required of the educator to implement the system would not be insignificant...
Want Responsible Robotics? Start With Responsible Humans
Want Responsible Robotics? Start With Responsible Humans: "When the legendary science fiction writer Isaac Asimov penned the “Three Laws of Responsible Robotics,” he forever changed the way humans think about artificial intelligence, and inspired generations of engineers to take up robotics.
In the current issue of journal IEEE Intelligent Systems, two engineers propose alternative laws to rewrite our future with robots."
"But while evidence suggests that Asimov thought long and hard about his laws when he wrote them, Woods believes that the author did not intend for engineers to create robots that followed those laws to the letter.
“Go back to the original context of the stories,” Woods said, referring to Asimov’s I, Robot among others. “He’s using the three laws as a literary device. The plot is driven by the gaps in the laws -- the situations in which the laws break down. For those laws to be meaningful, robots have to possess a degree of social intelligence and moral intelligence, and Asimov examines what would happen when that intelligence isn’t there.”
In the current issue of journal IEEE Intelligent Systems, two engineers propose alternative laws to rewrite our future with robots."
"But while evidence suggests that Asimov thought long and hard about his laws when he wrote them, Woods believes that the author did not intend for engineers to create robots that followed those laws to the letter.
“Go back to the original context of the stories,” Woods said, referring to Asimov’s I, Robot among others. “He’s using the three laws as a literary device. The plot is driven by the gaps in the laws -- the situations in which the laws break down. For those laws to be meaningful, robots have to possess a degree of social intelligence and moral intelligence, and Asimov examines what would happen when that intelligence isn’t there.”
Friday, July 31, 2009
Can a machine claim legal rights to authorship?
How Wolfram Alpha could change software | Developer World - InfoWorld: "In other words, Wolfram Research is claiming that each page of results returned by the Wolfram Alpha engine is a unique, copyrightable work, like a report or term paper. That makes Wolfram Alpha different not just from classic search engines, but from most software. While software companies routinely retain sole ownership of their software and license it to users, Wolfram Research has taken the additional step of claiming ownership of the output of the software itself. It's a bold assertion, and one that could have significant ramifications for the software industry as a whole."
InfoWorld (07/30/09) McAllister, Neil: "Works produced by machines are copyrightable, at least in theory."
InfoWorld (07/30/09) McAllister, Neil: "Works produced by machines are copyrightable, at least in theory."
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
'Doctor' particle decides when to release drug payload - tech - 28 July 2009 - New Scientist
'Doctor' particle decides when to release drug payload - tech - 28 July 2009 - New Scientist: "Nanoparticles able to make basic decisions about whether to release their contents offer the prospect of delivering drugs exactly when and where they are needed, say chemists."
""Our dream is to be able to use our mechanised nanoparticles for anti-cancer drug delivery," lead researcher Jeffrey Zink at the University of California, Los Angeles, told New Scientist.
""Our dream is to be able to use our mechanised nanoparticles for anti-cancer drug delivery," lead researcher Jeffrey Zink at the University of California, Los Angeles, told New Scientist.
: Trust me, I'm a robot | The Economist
: Trust me, I'm a robot | The Economist:
"Indeed, despite the introduction of improved safety mechanisms, robots have claimed many more victims since 1981. Over the years people have been crushed, hit on the head, welded and even had molten aluminium poured over them by robots. Last year there were 77 robot-related accidents in Britain alone, according to the Health and Safety Executive.
"With robots now poised to emerge from their industrial cages and to move into homes and workplaces, roboticists are concerned about the safety implications beyond the factory floor. To address these concerns, leading robot experts have come together to try to find ways to prevent robots from harming people. Inspired by the Pugwash Conferences—an international group of scientists, academics and activists founded in 1957 to campaign for the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons—the new group of robo-ethicists met earlier this year in Genoa, Italy, and announced their initial findings in March at the European Robotics Symposium in Palermo, Sicily.
"Regulating the behaviour of robots is going to become more difficult in the future, since they will increasingly have self-learning mechanisms built into them, says Gianmarco Veruggio, a roboticist at the Institute of Intelligent Systems for Automation in Genoa, Italy. As a result, their behaviour will become impossible to predict fully, he says, since they will not be behaving in predefined ways but will learn new behaviour as they go."
"Indeed, despite the introduction of improved safety mechanisms, robots have claimed many more victims since 1981. Over the years people have been crushed, hit on the head, welded and even had molten aluminium poured over them by robots. Last year there were 77 robot-related accidents in Britain alone, according to the Health and Safety Executive.
"With robots now poised to emerge from their industrial cages and to move into homes and workplaces, roboticists are concerned about the safety implications beyond the factory floor. To address these concerns, leading robot experts have come together to try to find ways to prevent robots from harming people. Inspired by the Pugwash Conferences—an international group of scientists, academics and activists founded in 1957 to campaign for the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons—the new group of robo-ethicists met earlier this year in Genoa, Italy, and announced their initial findings in March at the European Robotics Symposium in Palermo, Sicily.
"Regulating the behaviour of robots is going to become more difficult in the future, since they will increasingly have self-learning mechanisms built into them, says Gianmarco Veruggio, a roboticist at the Institute of Intelligent Systems for Automation in Genoa, Italy. As a result, their behaviour will become impossible to predict fully, he says, since they will not be behaving in predefined ways but will learn new behaviour as they go."
Monday, July 27, 2009
Remote controlled learning: MSU computer engineering labs going online as part of pilot program
Remote controlled learning: MSU computer engineering labs going online as part of pilot program: "Montana State University computer engineering students will soon have the ability to control real laboratory equipment from the convenience and comfort of their home computers, thanks to a $148,000 grant from the National Science Foundation."
"Online courses tend to be more convenient for students, more popular and less expensive to operate, LaMeres said. But engineering has struggled to deliver online offerings because so much of the field requires hands-on work with machines and other instruments.
"Engineering programs across the country have tried to overcome this difficulty by distributing "lab kits" or making computer simulations available for online courses. MSU is one of the first universities in the country to make it possible for students to control real equipment remotely using their computers, LaMeres said.
"Online courses tend to be more convenient for students, more popular and less expensive to operate, LaMeres said. But engineering has struggled to deliver online offerings because so much of the field requires hands-on work with machines and other instruments.
"Engineering programs across the country have tried to overcome this difficulty by distributing "lab kits" or making computer simulations available for online courses. MSU is one of the first universities in the country to make it possible for students to control real equipment remotely using their computers, LaMeres said.
BBC NEWS | Technology | Artificial brain '10 years away'
BBC NEWS | Technology | Artificial brain '10 years away': "A detailed, functional artificial human brain can be built within the next 10 years, a leading scientist has claimed. Henry Markram, director of the Blue Brain Project, has already simulated elements of a rat brain. He told the TED Global conference in Oxford that a synthetic human brain would be of particular use finding treatments for mental illnesses. Around two billion people are thought to suffer some kind of brain impairment, he said. 'It is not impossible to build a human brain and we can do it in 10 years,' he said."
Scientists Worry Machines May Outsmart Man - NYTimes.com
Scientists Worry Machines May Outsmart Man - NYTimes.com: "Impressed and alarmed by advances in artificial intelligence, a group of computer scientists is debating whether there should be limits on research that might lead to loss of human control over computer-based systems that carry a growing share of society’s workload, from waging war to chatting with customers on the phone."
"The researchers — leading computer scientists, artificial intelligence researchers and roboticists who met at the Asilomar Conference Grounds on Monterey Bay in California — generally discounted the possibility of highly centralized superintelligences and the idea that intelligence might spring spontaneously from the Internet. But they agreed that robots that can kill autonomously are either already here or will be soon."
"The researchers — leading computer scientists, artificial intelligence researchers and roboticists who met at the Asilomar Conference Grounds on Monterey Bay in California — generally discounted the possibility of highly centralized superintelligences and the idea that intelligence might spring spontaneously from the Internet. But they agreed that robots that can kill autonomously are either already here or will be soon."
Smart machines: What's the worst that could happen? - tech - 27 July 2009 - New Scientist
Smart machines: What's the worst that could happen? - tech - 27 July 2009 - New Scientist: "An invasion led by artificially intelligent machines. Conscious computers. A smartphone virus so smart that it can start mimicking you. You might think that such scenarios are laughably futuristic, but some of the world's leading artificial intelligence (AI) researchers are concerned enough about the potential impact of advances in AI that they have been discussing the risks over the past year. Now they have revealed their conclusions."
Friday, July 24, 2009
Brain Develops Motor Memory For Prosthetics
Brain Develops Motor Memory For Prosthetics: "Stunning new research now reveals that the brain can also achieve this motor memory with a prosthetic device, providing hope that physically disabled people can one day master control of artificial limbs with greater ease."
"In this study, macaque monkeys using brain signals learned how to move a computer cursor to various targets. What the researchers learned was that the brain could develop a mental map of a solution to achieve the task with high proficiency, and that it adhered to that neural pattern without deviation, much like a driver sticks to a given route commuting to work.
"In this study, macaque monkeys using brain signals learned how to move a computer cursor to various targets. What the researchers learned was that the brain could develop a mental map of a solution to achieve the task with high proficiency, and that it adhered to that neural pattern without deviation, much like a driver sticks to a given route commuting to work.
Robo-Ethicists Want to Revamp Asimov’s 3 Laws | Gadget Lab | Wired.com
Robo-Ethicists Want to Revamp Asimov’s 3 Laws | Gadget Lab | Wired.com: "Two years ago, a military robot used in the South African army killed nine soldiers after a malfunction. Earlier this year, a Swedish factory was fined after a robot machine injured one of the workers (though part of the blame was assigned to the worker). Robots have been found guilty of other smaller offenses such as an incorrectly responding to a request."
"“If you build artificial intelligence but don’t think about its moral sense or create a conscious sense that feels regret for doing something wrong, then technically it is a psychopath,” says Josh Hall, a scientist who wrote the book Beyond AI: Creating the Conscience of a Machine.
"Accordingly, robo-ethicists want to develop a set of guidelines that could outline how to punish a robot, decide who regulates them and even create a ”legal machine language” that could help police the next generation of intelligent automated devices."
"“If you build artificial intelligence but don’t think about its moral sense or create a conscious sense that feels regret for doing something wrong, then technically it is a psychopath,” says Josh Hall, a scientist who wrote the book Beyond AI: Creating the Conscience of a Machine.
"Accordingly, robo-ethicists want to develop a set of guidelines that could outline how to punish a robot, decide who regulates them and even create a ”legal machine language” that could help police the next generation of intelligent automated devices."
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Robot Surgeon Finds Tiny Shrapnel: Discovery Channel
Robot Surgeon Finds Tiny Shrapnel: Discovery Channel: "A robotic surgeon at Duke University has successfully found and guided a needle to a sliver of steel shrapnel, completely without human help. The technology could reduce the cost and time necessary to complete a biopsy and other surgical operations."
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Living Safely with Robots, Beyond Asimov's Laws
Living Safely with Robots, Beyond Asimov's Laws: "(PhysOrg.com) -- 'In 1981, a 37-year-old factory worker named Kenji Urada entered a restricted safety zone at a Kawasaki manufacturing plant to perform some maintenance on a robot. In his haste, he failed to completely turn it off. The robot’s powerful hydraulic arm pushed the engineer into some adjacent machinery, thus making Urada the first recorded victim to die at the hands of a robot.'"
"In situations like this one, as described in a recent study published in the International Journal of Social Robotics, most people would not consider the accident to be the fault of the robot. But as robots are beginning to spread from industrial environments to the real world, human safety in the presence of robots has become an important social and technological issue. Currently, countries like Japan and South Korea are preparing for the “human-robot coexistence society,” which is predicted to emerge before 2030; South Korea predicts that every home in its country will include a robot by 2020. "
"In situations like this one, as described in a recent study published in the International Journal of Social Robotics, most people would not consider the accident to be the fault of the robot. But as robots are beginning to spread from industrial environments to the real world, human safety in the presence of robots has become an important social and technological issue. Currently, countries like Japan and South Korea are preparing for the “human-robot coexistence society,” which is predicted to emerge before 2030; South Korea predicts that every home in its country will include a robot by 2020. "
Monday, June 22, 2009
Plan to teach military robots the rules of war - tech - 18 June 2009 - New Scientist
Plan to teach military robots the rules of war - tech - 18 June 2009 - New Scientist: "Technology has always distanced the soldiers who use weapons from the people who get hit. But robotics engineer Ron Arkin at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, is working to imagine wars in which weapons make their own decisions about wielding lethal force.
He is particularly interested in how such machines might be programmed to act ethically, obeying the rules of engagement.
Arkin has developed an 'ethical governor', which aims to ensure that robot attack aircraft behave ethically in combat, and is demonstrating the system in simulations based on recent campaigns by US troops, using real maps from the Middle East."
He is particularly interested in how such machines might be programmed to act ethically, obeying the rules of engagement.
Arkin has developed an 'ethical governor', which aims to ensure that robot attack aircraft behave ethically in combat, and is demonstrating the system in simulations based on recent campaigns by US troops, using real maps from the Middle East."
Sunday, May 31, 2009
The Grill: Dawn M. Taylor on brain-computer interfaces
The Grill: Dawn M. Taylor on brain-computer interfaces: "What are you doing at the FES Center? The goal at the center is to restore movement and function to people with paralysis from spinal cord injury, stroke or other neurological disorders. Movement is restored by applying low levels of electrical current to the peripheral nerves to activate paralyzed muscles. My particular role is to decode one's intended arm and hand movements from the brain. Basically, we are reconnecting the brain to the muscles so people can control their paralyzed limb just by thinking about doing so. Intended movements can also be used to control other technologies, such as prosthetic limbs, assistive robots or a computer mouse."
Agents which haggle and resolve conflict
Agents which haggle and resolve conflict: "A new series of algorithms which enables computerised agents to haggle and to resolve conflict have been devised by a team led by Professor Nick Jennings."
Monday, May 11, 2009
Evolving autopilots could boost space slingshots
11 May 2009 - New Scientist Evolving autopilots could boost space slingshots: "COULD space probes use genetic algorithms as autopilots to help them navigate the complexities of the solar system?
Deep-space missions such as NASA's veteran z Voyager probes often rely on gravity assists. They use a planet's gravitational field as a slingshot, which allows them to visit other celestial bodies without using up too much fuel. But programming a probe with its trajectory years ahead of time can be a problem, says Ian Carnelli of the European Space Agency in Noordwijk, the Netherlands."
"Missed launch windows, unexpected winds and misbehaving rockets mean that probes hardly ever leave Earth in the planned position or velocity, and radiation pressure from solar flares can perturb the craft's course in deep space. If the probe is out of position when it starts a gravity-assisted manoeuvre, the slingshot will be inefficient.
"In the Journal of Guidance, Control and Dynamics (DOI: 10.2514/1.32633), Carnelli and colleagues Bernd Dachwald and Massimiliano Vasile suggest that a probe could navigate for itself using a genetic algorithm (GA).
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Next Age of Discovery
WSJ.com Next Age of Discovery: "In a 21st-century version of the age of discovery, teams of computer scientists, conservationists and scholars are fanning out across the globe in a race to digitize crumbling literary treasures."
"In the process, they're uncovering unexpected troves of new finds, including never-before-seen versions of the Christian Gospels, fragments of Greek poetry and commentaries on Aristotle. Improved technology is allowing researchers to scan ancient texts that were once unreadable -- blackened in fires or by chemical erosion, painted over or simply too fragile to unroll. Now, scholars are studying these works with X-ray fluorescence, multispectral imaging used by NASA to photograph Mars and CAT scans used by medical technicians."
"By taking high-resolution digital images in 14 different light wavelengths, ranging from infrared to ultraviolet, Oxford scholars are reading bits of papyrus that were discovered in 1898 in an ancient garbage dump in central Egypt. So far, researchers have digitized about 80% of the collection of 500,000 fragments, dating from the 2nd century B.C. to the 8th century A.D. The texts include fragments of unknown works by famous authors of antiquity, lost gospels and early Islamic manuscripts."
"In the process, they're uncovering unexpected troves of new finds, including never-before-seen versions of the Christian Gospels, fragments of Greek poetry and commentaries on Aristotle. Improved technology is allowing researchers to scan ancient texts that were once unreadable -- blackened in fires or by chemical erosion, painted over or simply too fragile to unroll. Now, scholars are studying these works with X-ray fluorescence, multispectral imaging used by NASA to photograph Mars and CAT scans used by medical technicians."
"By taking high-resolution digital images in 14 different light wavelengths, ranging from infrared to ultraviolet, Oxford scholars are reading bits of papyrus that were discovered in 1898 in an ancient garbage dump in central Egypt. So far, researchers have digitized about 80% of the collection of 500,000 fragments, dating from the 2nd century B.C. to the 8th century A.D. The texts include fragments of unknown works by famous authors of antiquity, lost gospels and early Islamic manuscripts."
Friday, April 24, 2009
Simulated brain closer to thought
BBC News Simulated brain closer to thought: "A detailed simulation of a small region of a brain built molecule by molecule has been constructed and has recreated experimental results from real brains.
The 'Blue Brain' has been put in a virtual body, and observing it gives the first indications of the molecular and neural basis of thought and memory."
Just think to tweet!
Researchers use brain interface to post to Twitter (April 20, 2009): "In early April, Adam Wilson posted a status update on the social networking Web site Twitter — just by thinking about it.
Just 23 characters long, his message, 'using EEG to send tweet,' demonstrates a natural, manageable way in which 'locked-in' patients can couple brain-computer interface technologies with modern communication tools."
Just 23 characters long, his message, 'using EEG to send tweet,' demonstrates a natural, manageable way in which 'locked-in' patients can couple brain-computer interface technologies with modern communication tools."
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Robots are narrowing the gap with humans
Robots are narrowing the gap with humans | McClatchy: "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."
"A Japanese housekeeping robot can move chairs, sweep the floor, load a tray of dirty dishes in a dishwasher and put dirty clothes in a washing machine.
"Intel, the worldwide computer-chip maker, headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., has developed a self-controlled mobile robot called Herb, the Home Exploring Robotic Butler. Herb can recognize faces and carry out generalized commands such as "please clean this mess," according to Justin Rattner, Intel's chief technology officer.
"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."
"A Japanese housekeeping robot can move chairs, sweep the floor, load a tray of dirty dishes in a dishwasher and put dirty clothes in a washing machine.
"Intel, the worldwide computer-chip maker, headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., has developed a self-controlled mobile robot called Herb, the Home Exploring Robotic Butler. Herb can recognize faces and carry out generalized commands such as "please clean this mess," according to Justin Rattner, Intel's chief technology officer.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Making a Better Eye
The Eye | h Magazine: "Engineers at the University of Washington have developed a contact lens that creates a virtual display superimposed over the normal field of vision. By using a transparent part of the eye to place instrumentation, the contact will be safe for human wear. The lenses will be imprinted with an assortment of electronic circuits and lights to make superimposition possible. A future version of the product might include the addition of wireless communication via the lens. The team has already demonstrated that rabbits can wear the lens for 20 minutes safely without any adverse effects, and are looking into a feasible production method for the contacts. There are still some major wrinkles to be ironed out in the manufacturing process, given that the materials need to be both safe for the body and incredibly small."
GR: This technology works by modifying input to one's existing eye(s). Others are working on *replacing* the human eye -- patching an electronic device directly into the visual cortex. Sound far out? Consider the Cochlear Implant.
Brain On a Chip
Brain On a Chip | h Magazine: "Today's most powerful supercomputers are all massively parallel processing systems with names like Earth Simulator, Blue Gene, ASCI White, ASCI Red, ASCI Purple, and ASCI Thor's Hammer. Through Moore's Law – which states that the number of transistors on a chip double every eighteen months – single chips that function as parallel processor arrays are becoming cost effective. Examples include chips from Ambric, picoChip, and Tilera.
The brain is also massively parallel, but currently on a different scale than the most powerful supercomputers. The human cortex has about 22 billion neurons and 220 trillion synapses. A supercomputer capable of running a software simulation of the human brain doesn’t yet exist. Researchers estimate that it would require at least a machine with a computational capacity of 36.8 petaflops (a petaflop is a thousand trillion floating point operations per second) and a memory capacity of 3.2 petabytes – a scale that supercomputer technology isn't expected to hit for at least three years."
The brain is also massively parallel, but currently on a different scale than the most powerful supercomputers. The human cortex has about 22 billion neurons and 220 trillion synapses. A supercomputer capable of running a software simulation of the human brain doesn’t yet exist. Researchers estimate that it would require at least a machine with a computational capacity of 36.8 petaflops (a petaflop is a thousand trillion floating point operations per second) and a memory capacity of 3.2 petabytes – a scale that supercomputer technology isn't expected to hit for at least three years."
Wolfram|Alpha: Searching for Truth
Wolfram|Alpha: Searching for Truth | h Magazine: "Kicking off our conversation, Stephen remarks that, “Wolfram|Alpha isn’t really a search engine, because we compute the answers, and we discover new truths.� If anything, you might call it a platonic search engine, unearthing eternal truths that may never have been written down before.”
Despite his disclaimer, Wolfram|Alpha looks like a search engine, in that there’s a one-line box where you type in a question.� The output appears a second or two later, as a page of text and graphics below the box.� What's happening behind the scenes? Rather than looking up the answer to your question, Wolfram|Alpha figures out what your question means, looks up the necessary data to answer your question, computes an answer, designs a page to present the answer in a pleasing way, and sends the page back to your computer."
Despite his disclaimer, Wolfram|Alpha looks like a search engine, in that there’s a one-line box where you type in a question.� The output appears a second or two later, as a page of text and graphics below the box.� What's happening behind the scenes? Rather than looking up the answer to your question, Wolfram|Alpha figures out what your question means, looks up the necessary data to answer your question, computes an answer, designs a page to present the answer in a pleasing way, and sends the page back to your computer."
The Future of Machine Intelligence
AGI versus AI: "Just to drive home the “AGI versus narrow AI” distinction, it’s worth contrasting Franklin’s characterization of AGI with the definition of Artificial Intelligence given on the website of the AAAI: “advancing the scientific understanding of the mechanisms underlying thought and intelligent behavior and their embodiment in machines.“ This is indeed a noble goal – but it’s also a very broad goal, covering all sorts of narrowly specialized software programs or hardware devices implementing particular mechanisms of mind but not attempting any sort of human-level generalization, reflection, innovation or insight. The mission of AGI researchers, and of the AGI conference series, is to focus more directly on the original, more ambitious goal of the AI field."
What's next in robotics?
Knowledge@Wharton Smart Robots: What's Next?: "The answer is more than merely academic. In the United States, the Pentagon is spending billions -- as much as $100 billion over a number of years, according to some technology analysts -- to develop robots that can aid or replace human soldiers. The U.S. Department of Defense's Future Combat Systems (FCS) modernization initiative is funding research to develop that technology. Among its recipients are Lee and others on a Penn team that was awarded $22 million by the Army Research Lab to create robots that can operate in combat zones with little supervision."
Thursday, April 9, 2009
More on robotic scientists
nsf.gov - National Science Foundation (NSF) News - Maybe Robots Dream of Electric Sheep, But Can They Do Science?: "Using the digital mind that guides their self-repairing robot, researchers at Cornell University have created a computer program that uses raw observational data to tease out fundamental physical laws. The breakthrough may aid the discovery of new scientific truths, particularly for biological systems, that have until now eluded detection.
"Reporting in the April 3, 2009, issue of Science, Cornell University Mechanical Engineering professor Hod Lipson and his doctoral student Michael Schmidt report that their algorithm can distill fundamental natural laws from mere observations of a swinging double pendulum and other simple systems."
"Without any prior instruction about the laws of physics, geometry or kinematics, the algorithm driving the computer's number crunching was able to determine that the swinging, bouncing and oscillating of the devices arose from specific fundamental processes.
"The algorithm deciphered in hours the same Laws of Motion and other properties that took Isaac Newton and his successors centuries to realize.
"Reporting in the April 3, 2009, issue of Science, Cornell University Mechanical Engineering professor Hod Lipson and his doctoral student Michael Schmidt report that their algorithm can distill fundamental natural laws from mere observations of a swinging double pendulum and other simple systems."
"Without any prior instruction about the laws of physics, geometry or kinematics, the algorithm driving the computer's number crunching was able to determine that the swinging, bouncing and oscillating of the devices arose from specific fundamental processes.
"The algorithm deciphered in hours the same Laws of Motion and other properties that took Isaac Newton and his successors centuries to realize.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
IT Employment Holding Steady
Top 10 technology skills
- Network World: "Amid the worst job market in 25 years, IT is holding steady. Most CIOs are maintaining their current staffing levels; while a few are hiring specialists who have in-demand IT skills."
"Overall, companies are so dependent on IT that they can't lay off the people who keep their data center operations humming, and they're loath to let go of the developers who are working on next-generation Internet applications.
"IT remains a real [sic] safe and interesting and high-paying place to be," says David Foote, CEO of Foote Partners, which conducts quarterly assessments of IT pay trends in the United States. "The world has embraced IT…because it enables companies to deliver cheaper and better products. I'm pretty bullish on IT."
- Network World: "Amid the worst job market in 25 years, IT is holding steady. Most CIOs are maintaining their current staffing levels; while a few are hiring specialists who have in-demand IT skills."
"Overall, companies are so dependent on IT that they can't lay off the people who keep their data center operations humming, and they're loath to let go of the developers who are working on next-generation Internet applications.
"IT remains a real [sic] safe and interesting and high-paying place to be," says David Foote, CEO of Foote Partners, which conducts quarterly assessments of IT pay trends in the United States. "The world has embraced IT…because it enables companies to deliver cheaper and better products. I'm pretty bullish on IT."
Monday, April 6, 2009
Probabilistic Logic Allows Computer Chip to Run Faster
Probabilistic Logic Allows Computer Chip to Run Faster: "Leaving your mobile phone charger at home when you go for a two week long vacation may just be the norm one day as scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Rice University, United States, have successfully created a microchip that uses 30 times less electricity while running seven times faster than today's best technology."
"The technology, dubbed PCMOS (probabilistic complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) was invented by Professor Krishna Palem of Rice University and Director of NTU's Institute for Sustainable Nanoelectronics (ISNE). The U.S.-Singapore team making the announcement is led by Professor Palem and NTU's Associate Professor Yeo Kiat Seng, Head of Division of Circuits and Systems, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE), College of Engineering.
"The team's goal is green computing. They are looking for applications where PCMOS can deliver as well as or better than existing technology but with a fraction of the energy required.
"Probabilistic design methodology, if used for consumer devices, would result in energy efficient devices," says Professor Palem who conceived probabilistic design. "For example, for consumers, it could mean the difference between charging a cell phone every few weeks instead of every few days. In addition to the encryption application that we have demonstrated, among other applications, it is equally well-suited for computer graphics."
"Professor Palem explains that in streaming video application on a cell phone for example, it is unnecessary to conduct precise calculations. The small screen, combined with the human brain's ability to process less-than-perfect pictures, results in a case where the picture looks just as good with a calculation that is only approximately correct.
"The technology, dubbed PCMOS (probabilistic complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) was invented by Professor Krishna Palem of Rice University and Director of NTU's Institute for Sustainable Nanoelectronics (ISNE). The U.S.-Singapore team making the announcement is led by Professor Palem and NTU's Associate Professor Yeo Kiat Seng, Head of Division of Circuits and Systems, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE), College of Engineering.
"The team's goal is green computing. They are looking for applications where PCMOS can deliver as well as or better than existing technology but with a fraction of the energy required.
"Probabilistic design methodology, if used for consumer devices, would result in energy efficient devices," says Professor Palem who conceived probabilistic design. "For example, for consumers, it could mean the difference between charging a cell phone every few weeks instead of every few days. In addition to the encryption application that we have demonstrated, among other applications, it is equally well-suited for computer graphics."
"Professor Palem explains that in streaming video application on a cell phone for example, it is unnecessary to conduct precise calculations. The small screen, combined with the human brain's ability to process less-than-perfect pictures, results in a case where the picture looks just as good with a calculation that is only approximately correct.
Kevin Warwick -- human cyborg?
In class today, a student asked about Kevin Warwick, a british roboticist who integrated electronics with the nerves in his arm.
New Exoskeleton Gives Soldiers Super-Strength
Discovery News New Exoskeleton Gives Soldiers Super-Strength: "Stronger, faster and harder is the promise of a new exoskeleton developed by Lockheed Martin for U.S. soldiers. Dubbed the Human Universal Load Carrier, or HULC, the device helps a soldier carry up to 200 pounds at a top speed of 10 mph.
"'The soldier has the feeling of maybe an extra five to 10 pounds,' said Doug Medcalf, Business Development Manager at Lockheed Martin. Today some soldiers are carrying loads of up to 130 pounds into combat."
"The HULC is easy to put on, its makers report. It arrives folded into a small package. The soldier stretches a leg out and steps into foot beds underneath the boot. Straps wrap around the thighs, waist and shoulders."
"The foot pads ensure that the weight from the soldier's load rests directly on the ground, not on the soldier's body. Inside the foot pads are pressure sensors that relay information about the speed and walking style of the soldier to an onboard computer. The computer's artificial intelligence moves the hydraulic system to amplify and enhance that movement."
Friday, April 3, 2009
Computer derives natural laws
Cornell Chronicle: Computer derives natural laws: "If Isaac Newton had had access to a supercomputer, he'd have had it watch apples fall and let it figure out what that meant. But the computer would have needed to run an algorithm developed by Cornell researchers that can derive natural laws from observed data."
"The researchers have taught a computer to find regularities in the natural world that represent natural laws -- without any prior scientific knowledge on the part of the computer. They have tested their method, or algorithm, on simple mechanical systems and believe it could be applied to more complex systems ranging from biology to cosmology and be useful in analyzing the mountains of data generated by modern experiments that use electronic data collection.
"The researchers have taught a computer to find regularities in the natural world that represent natural laws -- without any prior scientific knowledge on the part of the computer. They have tested their method, or algorithm, on simple mechanical systems and believe it could be applied to more complex systems ranging from biology to cosmology and be useful in analyzing the mountains of data generated by modern experiments that use electronic data collection.
Independent Robot Scientist Makes Discovery
April 2, 2009 - Discovery News Independent Robot Scientist Makes Discovery: "The discovery of 12 new functions for genes in one of the most studied organisms in the world wouldn't be news, except that scientists didn't discover them. A robot named Adam designed, carried out and discovered the new gene functions.
'Our goal is to make science more efficient,' said Ross King, a professor of biology and computer science at the University of Wales and author of a new paper in this week's issue of Science detailing Adam's work."
'Our goal is to make science more efficient,' said Ross King, a professor of biology and computer science at the University of Wales and author of a new paper in this week's issue of Science detailing Adam's work."
Monday, March 30, 2009
Flying on a Wing and a Half
Defense News Flying on a Wing and a Half: "If you can think fast enough and act fast enough, perhaps you, too, could fly an F/A-18 fighter jet with 60 percent of its right wing blown off.
A lot of pilots couldn't, said David Vos, senior director of Control Technologies at Rockwell Collins. But a computer algorithm that Vos helped create can.
It piloted a scaled-down F/A-18 this spring, and then kept it aloft and under control even after most of the right wing was intentionally blown off in midflight.
The computer succeeded where many human pilots would undoubtedly fail because it was able to react to the wing damage about 20 milliseconds after it occurred and because it 'knows everything there is to know about the plane,' Vos said."
A lot of pilots couldn't, said David Vos, senior director of Control Technologies at Rockwell Collins. But a computer algorithm that Vos helped create can.
It piloted a scaled-down F/A-18 this spring, and then kept it aloft and under control even after most of the right wing was intentionally blown off in midflight.
The computer succeeded where many human pilots would undoubtedly fail because it was able to react to the wing damage about 20 milliseconds after it occurred and because it 'knows everything there is to know about the plane,' Vos said."
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Electronic Portfolios: a Path to the Future of Learning
Wired Campus: Electronic Portfolios: a Path to the Future of Learning - Chronicle.com: "If we truly want to advance from a focus on teaching to a focus on student learning, then a strategy involving something like electronic student portfolios, or ePortfolios, is essential.
"In an essay in the current issue of Academic Commons, three researchers write that “ePortfolios may be the most likely vehicle to help us make the transition to an academy of the future that is both relevant and authoritative.”"
"In an essay in the current issue of Academic Commons, three researchers write that “ePortfolios may be the most likely vehicle to help us make the transition to an academy of the future that is both relevant and authoritative.”"
Robot body language helps humans
New Scientist: Giving robots more human expressions makes them easier to understand.
Google Rolls out Semantic Search
Business Center - PC World Google Rolls out Semantic Search Capabilities: "Google has given its Web search engine an injection of semantic technology, as the search leader pushes into what many consider the future of search on the Internet.
"The new technology will allow Google's search engine to identify associations and concepts related to a query, improving the list of related search terms Google displays along with its results, the company announced in an official blog on Tuesday."
GR: A nod to the importance of higher-level cognition.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Sign Language by Cellphone
IEEE Spectrum Sign Language by Cellphone: "In the past, engineers working on technology to aid the deaf had focused primarily on hearing devices, such as hearing aids and cochlear implants, but recently they’ve been getting into what’s known as deaf technology: applications designed to make the day-to-day lives of the deaf and hearing-impaired easier. Now engineers from the University of Washington, in Seattle, and Cornell University, in Ithaca, N.Y., have taken a big step toward developing a mobile phone that allows real-time conversations in sign language.
Of course, many in the deaf community already use mobile phones to communicate via text messaging and e-mail, but deaf people almost always prefer sign language: It’s faster and more natural, just as speaking is easier than writing for most hearing people. Laptops are getting smaller and more portable, making video chats outside the home possible, but Wi‑Fi–enabled cellphones would provide even more freedom. When cellphones became capable of video sharing a few years ago, Eve Riskin, Sheila Hemami, and Richard Ladner, all newly minted IEEE Fellows, felt the time seemed right to develop a sign-language-capable phone. “Today’s world is more connected by cellphones than by any other device,” says the University of Washington’s Ladner, whose parents were deaf."
GR: This is parallel to what acoustic phoneticians have done in determining which aspects of the sound signal are crucial for understanding human language, allowing for compressed signals and thus greater maximization of bandwidth.
Wag the Robot? Brown Scientists Build Robot That Responds to Human Gestures
Brown University Media Relations Wag the Robot? Brown Scientists Build Robot That Responds to Human Gestures: "Imagine a day when you turn to your own personal robot, give it a task and then sit down and relax, confident that your robot is doing exactly what you wanted it to do."
"So far, that autonomous, do-it-all robot is the stuff of science fiction or cartoons like “The Jetsons.” But a Brown University-led robotics team has made an important advance: The group has demonstrated how a robot can follow nonverbal commands from a person in a variety of environments — indoors as well as outside — all without having to adjust for variations in lighting."
Advance in Augmented Reality
Fraunhofer FIT - Press releases 2009: "The Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology FIT just presented an Augmented Reality system for use under water. A diver's mask with a special display lets the diver see his or her real submarine surroundings overlaid with computer-generated virtual scenes. In the pilot application, an AR game, the player sees a coral reef with shoals, mussels and weeds, instead of a plain indoor pool. Applications for professional divers are being investigated.
Augmented Reality research has made enormous progress in the last few years, creating many exciting, albeit land-based applications. Now, FIT researchers are the first to demonstrate an AR application designed for underwater use. Submerged use is a major challenge for technical systems. They must be waterproof and robust enough to withstand the high additional pressure of increasing diving depth."
Augmented Reality research has made enormous progress in the last few years, creating many exciting, albeit land-based applications. Now, FIT researchers are the first to demonstrate an AR application designed for underwater use. Submerged use is a major challenge for technical systems. They must be waterproof and robust enough to withstand the high additional pressure of increasing diving depth."
Friday, March 20, 2009
No catch: robot fish to hunt pollution
FT.com / UK - No catch: robot fish to hunt pollution: "Something fishy is going on in northern Spain. The waters of the port of Gijon are shortly to be invaded - by robots.
Scientists are building a shoal of robot fish to be let loose in the port to check on the quality of the water. Modelled on carp and costing about £20,000 ($29,000) each to make, the fish are to be lifelike in appearance and swimming behaviour so they will not alarm their fellow marine inhabitants.
The robots, the first of their kind, are equipped with tiny chemical sensors capable of detecting pollutants in the water. These let the fish home in on the sources of hazardous pollutants, such as leaks from vessels or undersea pipelines."
Scientists are building a shoal of robot fish to be let loose in the port to check on the quality of the water. Modelled on carp and costing about £20,000 ($29,000) each to make, the fish are to be lifelike in appearance and swimming behaviour so they will not alarm their fellow marine inhabitants.
The robots, the first of their kind, are equipped with tiny chemical sensors capable of detecting pollutants in the water. These let the fish home in on the sources of hazardous pollutants, such as leaks from vessels or undersea pipelines."
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
CS Enrollment Comback
NYTimes.com Computer Science Programs Make a Comeback in Enrollment: "For the first time in six years, enrollment in computer science programs in the United States increased last year, according to an annual report that tracks trends in the academic discipline."
"The revival is significant, according to computer scientists and industry executives, who in the past have pointed to declining numbers of science and engineering students as a canary-in-a-coal-mine indicator warning about the nation’s weakening ability to compete in the global economy.
GR: Let's bring this trend to Messiah!
"The revival is significant, according to computer scientists and industry executives, who in the past have pointed to declining numbers of science and engineering students as a canary-in-a-coal-mine indicator warning about the nation’s weakening ability to compete in the global economy.
GR: Let's bring this trend to Messiah!
Monday, March 16, 2009
Carnegie Mellon's Manuela Veloso Wins Autonomous Agents Research Award
Carnegie Mellon UniversityCarnegie Mellon's Manuela Veloso Wins Autonomous Agents Research Award: "Manuela M. Veloso, a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University who studies how robots can learn, plan and work together to accomplish tasks, is the winner of the 2009 Autonomous Agents Research Award from the Association for Computing Machinery's Special Interest Group on Artificial Intelligence (ACM/SIGART)."
"Professor Veloso's research is particularly noteworthy for its focus on the effective construction of teams of robot agents, where cognition, perception and action are seamlessly integrated to address planning, execution and learning tasks," according to the SIGART award citation. "Her impact and visibility have been consistently high over the past two decades for her technical contributions, for her impressive robot teams and for her leadership within the research community."
The robot wars have arrived
Planetary Gear - CNET News Q&A: The robot wars have arrived: "Just as the computer and ARPAnet evolved into the PC and Internet, robots are poised to integrate into everyday life in ways we can't even imagine, thanks in large part to research funded by the U.S. military.
"Many people are excited about the military's newfound interest and funding of robotics, but few are considering its ramifications on war in general."
"How will robot warfare change our international laws of war? If an autonomous robot mistakenly takes out 20 little girls playing soccer in the street and people are outraged, is the programmer going to get the blame? The manufacturer? The commander who sent in the robot fleet? "
"Many people are excited about the military's newfound interest and funding of robotics, but few are considering its ramifications on war in general."
"How will robot warfare change our international laws of war? If an autonomous robot mistakenly takes out 20 little girls playing soccer in the street and people are outraged, is the programmer going to get the blame? The manufacturer? The commander who sent in the robot fleet? "
Tech skills crucial to any career
Network World Tech skills crucial to any career: "College students pursuing myriad careers agree that high-tech skills will take them further, and a majority expect to encounter new technologies they will have to master in the workforce.
"Eighty percent of more than 1,600 college students polled anticipate running into new technology that they will have to adapt to and learn upon entering the workforce. More than 50% are seeking to improve their technology skills before they graduate, with technology being the top skill students want to enhance, followed by writing and marketing talents."
"Hanny explains many companies today want "T-shaped employees," meaning those with a broad knowledge base that can be applied across the business, but also a deep understanding of their specific field, such as engineering or nursing. Such demands in the workforce partly drive universities to offer interdisciplinary courses among engineering, computer science and business schools, for instance.
"Eighty percent of more than 1,600 college students polled anticipate running into new technology that they will have to adapt to and learn upon entering the workforce. More than 50% are seeking to improve their technology skills before they graduate, with technology being the top skill students want to enhance, followed by writing and marketing talents."
"Hanny explains many companies today want "T-shaped employees," meaning those with a broad knowledge base that can be applied across the business, but also a deep understanding of their specific field, such as engineering or nursing. Such demands in the workforce partly drive universities to offer interdisciplinary courses among engineering, computer science and business schools, for instance.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Interview with Doug Lenat
Doug Lenat discusses the future of Cyc technology, the role of Moore's law, and Cyc's place in the business community. DS&A students -- pay special attention to his response to the second question. :-)
Doug Lenat - I was positively impressed with Wolfram Alpha
Semantic Universe Doug Lenat - I was positively impressed with Wolfram Alpha: "Stephen Wolfram generously gave me a two-hour demo of Wolfram Alpha last evening, and I was quite positively impressed.� As he said, it's not AI, and not aiming to be, so it shouldn't be measured by contrasting it with HAL or Cyc but with Google or Yahoo."
"There are two important dimensions I want to discuss about Wolfram Alpha, besides the remarks I've already made here. (1) What sorts of queries does it not handle, and (2) When it returns information, how much does it actually "understand" of what it's displaying to you? There are two sorts of queries not (yet) handled: those where the data falls outside the mosaic I sketched above -- such as: When is the first day of Summer in Sydney this year? Do Muslims believe that Mohammed was divine? Who did Hezbollah take prisoner on April 18, 1987? Which animals have fingers? -- and those where the query requires logically reasoning out a way to combine (logically or arithmetically combine) two or more pieces of information which the system can individually fetch for you. One example of this is: "How old was Obama when Mitterrand was elected president of France?" It can tell you demographic information about Obama, if you ask, and it can tell you information about Mitterrand (including his ruleStartDate), but doesn't make or execute the plan to calculate a person's age on a certain date given his birth date, which is what is being asked for in this query. If it knows that exactly 17 people were killed in a certain attack, and if it also knows that 17 American soldiers were killed in that attack, it doesn't return that attack if you ask for ones in which there were no civilian casualties, or only American casualties. It doesn't perform that sort of deduction. If you ask "How fast does hair grow?", it can't parse or answer that query. But if you type in a speed, say "10cm/year", it gives you a long and quite interesting list of things that happen at about that speed, involving glaciers melting, tectonic shift, and... hair growing.
GR: Lenat's analysis here is provides a nice overview of some of the issues involved in the intersection between search, knowledge representation and reasoning, and semantic web. Definitely worth reading all the way through.
"There are two important dimensions I want to discuss about Wolfram Alpha, besides the remarks I've already made here. (1) What sorts of queries does it not handle, and (2) When it returns information, how much does it actually "understand" of what it's displaying to you? There are two sorts of queries not (yet) handled: those where the data falls outside the mosaic I sketched above -- such as: When is the first day of Summer in Sydney this year? Do Muslims believe that Mohammed was divine? Who did Hezbollah take prisoner on April 18, 1987? Which animals have fingers? -- and those where the query requires logically reasoning out a way to combine (logically or arithmetically combine) two or more pieces of information which the system can individually fetch for you. One example of this is: "How old was Obama when Mitterrand was elected president of France?" It can tell you demographic information about Obama, if you ask, and it can tell you information about Mitterrand (including his ruleStartDate), but doesn't make or execute the plan to calculate a person's age on a certain date given his birth date, which is what is being asked for in this query. If it knows that exactly 17 people were killed in a certain attack, and if it also knows that 17 American soldiers were killed in that attack, it doesn't return that attack if you ask for ones in which there were no civilian casualties, or only American casualties. It doesn't perform that sort of deduction. If you ask "How fast does hair grow?", it can't parse or answer that query. But if you type in a speed, say "10cm/year", it gives you a long and quite interesting list of things that happen at about that speed, involving glaciers melting, tectonic shift, and... hair growing.
GR: Lenat's analysis here is provides a nice overview of some of the issues involved in the intersection between search, knowledge representation and reasoning, and semantic web. Definitely worth reading all the way through.
A Smarter Planet: New Intelligence for Smarter Cities
A Smarter Planet: New Intelligence for Smarter Cities: "If we want to build a Smarter Planet -- one where societal systems such as electricity and water distribution, healthcare and even physical infrastructure such as buildings and bridges become networks embedded with sensors and software -- there may be no better place to start than with our cities.
Today more than half the world's population lives in cities. By 2050 two-thirds of humanity are expected to be living in and around metropolitan centers. The 19.20.21 project notes that our world has become a network of 'supercities.'"
GR: I had heard of this recently -- applying semantic web technology to other networks such as electrical grids. In semantic web resources 'know' about themselves: web pages know what they are about, etc. In a parallel fashion, smart grids would be made up of nodes that knew and advertised their own capabilities and current operating status.
Today more than half the world's population lives in cities. By 2050 two-thirds of humanity are expected to be living in and around metropolitan centers. The 19.20.21 project notes that our world has become a network of 'supercities.'"
GR: I had heard of this recently -- applying semantic web technology to other networks such as electrical grids. In semantic web resources 'know' about themselves: web pages know what they are about, etc. In a parallel fashion, smart grids would be made up of nodes that knew and advertised their own capabilities and current operating status.
The cloud bites back: Google bug shared private Google Docs data
Between the Lines | ZDNet.com | TwineThe cloud bites back: Google bug shared private Google Docs data: "Google has confirmed that a software bug in its Google Docs online applcation service exposed documents thought to be privately stored.
The problem was fixed by the weekend, and is believed to have affected only half a percent of the digital documents at a Google Docs service that provides text-handling programs as services on the Internet.
According to Google, the problem occurred in cases where people had chosen to collaborate on multiple documents and adjusted settings to allow access to others. Collaborators were unintentionally given permission to access documents aside from the ones intended."
The problem was fixed by the weekend, and is believed to have affected only half a percent of the digital documents at a Google Docs service that provides text-handling programs as services on the Internet.
According to Google, the problem occurred in cases where people had chosen to collaborate on multiple documents and adjusted settings to allow access to others. Collaborators were unintentionally given permission to access documents aside from the ones intended."
Wolfram Alpha: Next major search breakthrough?
Outside the Lines - CNET News Wolfram Alpha: Next major search breakthrough?: "In May, Wolfram will unveil his latest creation, now called Wolfram Alpha. It applies his work with Mathematica and NKS (A New Kind of Science) to Web search. 'All one needs to be able to do is to take questions people ask in natural language, and represent them in a precise form that fits into the computations one can do,' Wolfram said in a recent blog post. 'I'm happy to say that with a mixture of many clever algorithms and heuristics, lots of linguistic discovery and linguistic curation, and what probably amount to some serious theoretical breakthroughs, we're actually managing to make it work...It's going to be a website: www.wolframalpha.com. With one simple input field that gives access to a huge system, with trillions of pieces of curated data and millions of lines of algorithms,' he added."
"Stephen Wolfram has a track record of scientific breakthroughs and some controversy. He received his Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Caltech in 1979 when he was 20 and has focused most of his career on probing complex systems. In 1988 he launched Mathematica, powerful computational software that has become the gold standard in its field. In 2002, Wolfram produced a 1,280-page tome, A New Kind of Science, based on a decade of exploration in cellular automata and complex systems. The book stirred up a lot of debate in scientific circles.
"Stephen Wolfram has a track record of scientific breakthroughs and some controversy. He received his Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Caltech in 1979 when he was 20 and has focused most of his career on probing complex systems. In 1988 he launched Mathematica, powerful computational software that has become the gold standard in its field. In 2002, Wolfram produced a 1,280-page tome, A New Kind of Science, based on a decade of exploration in cellular automata and complex systems. The book stirred up a lot of debate in scientific circles.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Chess too easy; can computers beat humans at Go?
Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe A new world record in Go established by PRACE prototype and French software: "After the victory of IBM's Deep Blue against Garry Kasparov, the game of Go has replaced chess as a test bed for research in artificial intelligence (AI). Go is one of the last board games where humans are still able to easily win against AI. Although there has been quite some research in the Go domain for 40 years, the progress in Computer Go has been slow. However, researchers have discovered new performing algorithms and computers are catching up really fast. Since 2006, when a new algorithm called Monte-Carlo Tree Search was proposed, the level of Go programs has improved drastically. The application 'MoGo TITAN', developed by INRIA France and Maastricht University, runs on the Dutch national supercomputer Huygens, which is one of the PRACE prototypes."
The First Virtual Reality Technology to let you See, Hear, Smell, Taste and Touch
The First Virtual Reality Technology to let you See, Hear, Smell, Taste and Touch: "The first virtual reality headset that can stimulate all five senses will be unveiled at a major science event in London on March 4th.
What was it really like to live in Ancient Egypt? What did the streets there actually look, sound and smell like? For decades, Virtual Reality has held out the hope that, one day, we might be able visit all kinds of places and periods as ‘virtual’ tourists."
"Professor David Howard of the University of York, lead scientist on the initiative, says: “Virtual Reality projects have typically only focused on one or two of the five senses – usually sight and hearing. We’re not aware of any other research group anywhere else in the world doing what we plan to do.
“Smell will be generated electronically via a new technique being pioneered by Alan Chalmers and his team at Warwick which will deliver a pre-determined smell recipe on-demand. Taste and smell are closely linked but we intend to provide a texture sensation relating to something being in the mouth. Tactile devices will provide touch.”
"A key objective will be to optimise the way all five senses interact, as in real life. The team also aim to make the Virtual Cocoon much lighter, more comfortable and less expensive than existing devices, as a result of the improved computing and electronics they develop.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Why robots can't be trusted with weapons - tech - 03 March 2009 - New Scientist
Why robots can't be trusted with weapons - tech - 03 March 2009 - New Scientist: "THE idea that robots might one day be able to tell friend from foe is deeply flawed, says roboticist Noel Sharkey of the University of Sheffield in the UK. He was commenting on a report calling for weapon-wielding military robots to be programmed with the same ethical rules of engagement as human soldiers.
The report (www.tinyurl.com/roboshoot), which was funded by the Pentagon, says firms rushing to fulfil the requirement for one-third of US forces to be uncrewed by 2015 risk leaving ethical concerns by the wayside. 'Fully autonomous systems are in place right now,' warns Patrick Lin, the study's author at California State Polytechnic in San Luis Obispo. 'The US navy's Phalanx system, for instance, can identify, target, and shoot down missiles without human authorisation.'"
The report (www.tinyurl.com/roboshoot), which was funded by the Pentagon, says firms rushing to fulfil the requirement for one-third of US forces to be uncrewed by 2015 risk leaving ethical concerns by the wayside. 'Fully autonomous systems are in place right now,' warns Patrick Lin, the study's author at California State Polytechnic in San Luis Obispo. 'The US navy's Phalanx system, for instance, can identify, target, and shoot down missiles without human authorisation.'"
Saturday, February 28, 2009
New Method Of Self-assembling Nanoscale Elements Could Transform Data Storage Industry
New Method Of Self-assembling Nanoscale Elements Could Transform Data Storage Industry: "'The density achievable with the technology we've developed could potentially enable the contents of 250 DVDs to fit onto a surface the size of a quarter,' said Xu, who is also a faculty scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory."
"An innovative and easily implemented technique in which nanoscale elements precisely assemble themselves over large surfaces could soon open doors to dramatic improvements in the data storage capacity of electronic media, according to scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst).
"An innovative and easily implemented technique in which nanoscale elements precisely assemble themselves over large surfaces could soon open doors to dramatic improvements in the data storage capacity of electronic media, according to scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst).
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Siftables - the smart blocks
Video on TED.com David Merrill demos Siftables, the smart blocks A very cool application of manipulatives in computing...
Revolutionary Chip uses 30 times less electricity
Rice National Media Site Revolutionary Chip uses 30 times less electricity: "In the first real-world test of a revolutionary type of computing that thrives on random errors, scientists have created a microchip that uses 30 times less electricity while running seven times faster than today's best technology. The U.S.-Singapore team developing the technology, dubbed PCMOS [pronounced 'pee-cee-moss'], revealed the results here today at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC), the world's premier forum for engineers working at the cutting edge of integrated-circuit design.
Conceived by Rice University Professor Krishna Palem, PCMOS piggybacks on the 'complementary metal-oxide semiconductor' technology, or CMOS, that chipmakers already use. That means chipmakers won't have to buy new equipment to support PCMOS, or 'probabilistic' CMOS. Although PCMOS runs on standard silicon, it breaks with computing's past by abandoning the set of mathematical rules -- called Boolean logic -- that have thus far been used in all digital computers. PCMOS instead uses probabilistic logic, a new form of logic developed by Palem and his doctoral student, Lakshmi Chakrapani."
Conceived by Rice University Professor Krishna Palem, PCMOS piggybacks on the 'complementary metal-oxide semiconductor' technology, or CMOS, that chipmakers already use. That means chipmakers won't have to buy new equipment to support PCMOS, or 'probabilistic' CMOS. Although PCMOS runs on standard silicon, it breaks with computing's past by abandoning the set of mathematical rules -- called Boolean logic -- that have thus far been used in all digital computers. PCMOS instead uses probabilistic logic, a new form of logic developed by Palem and his doctoral student, Lakshmi Chakrapani."
Semantic Web to contribute to Sustainability?
ICT Results Semantic web promises a smarter electricity grid: "Working in the EU-funded S-TEN project, the team developed a generic framework for novel ICT architectures and applied semantic web technologies to make networks ‘self-describing’ so that each component – be it a volt meter on a wind turbine or a thermometer on a weather station – autonomously publishes information about what it is, where it is, and what it does.
Because semantic data can be understood by machines as well as humans, the approach should lead to more efficient automated grid management and better decision-support for human operators. Smart power grids, efficiently supplying a town or city from locally generated electricity and then feeding it into a wider supply network, could therefore be more easily and cost-effectively set up.
“Instead of storing information in a centralised database, the S-TEN approach is for each node, each sensor or device connected to the network, to have its own intelligence,” Schowe-von der Brelie says."
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Google Earth to include Oceans, Historical Imagery
Google Earth Goes Deep With Ocean Simulations NYTimes.com "Two and a half years ago, the software engineers behind Google Earth, the searchable online replica of the planet, were poised to fill an enormous data gap, adding the two-thirds of the globe that is covered by water in reality and was blue, and blank, online.
But until then all of the existing features on Google Earth — mountains, valleys, cities, plains, ice sheets — were built through programming from an elevation of zero up.
“We had this arbitrary distinction that if it was below sea level it didn’t count,” recalled John Hanke, the Internet entrepreneur who co-created the progenitor of Google Earth, called Keyhole, and moved to Google when the company bought his company in 2004.
But until then all of the existing features on Google Earth — mountains, valleys, cities, plains, ice sheets — were built through programming from an elevation of zero up.
“We had this arbitrary distinction that if it was below sea level it didn’t count,” recalled John Hanke, the Internet entrepreneur who co-created the progenitor of Google Earth, called Keyhole, and moved to Google when the company bought his company in 2004.
Singularity University
Leading futurists, thinkers to launch Silicon Valley university Cutting Edge - CNET News "Starting this summer, some of the world's leading thinkers in exponentially growing technologies will be gathering annually at NASA Ames Research Center, in the heart of Silicon Valley, for 10 weeks of discussions on how to change the future. And you could join them.
The gatherings will be part of what is known as Singularity University, a brand-new academic institution co-founded by inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil, X Prize chairman and CEO Peter Diamandis, and former Yahoo Brickhouse head Salim Ismail, and anyone can apply."
The gatherings will be part of what is known as Singularity University, a brand-new academic institution co-founded by inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil, X Prize chairman and CEO Peter Diamandis, and former Yahoo Brickhouse head Salim Ismail, and anyone can apply."
Tech is a safe career choice
Tech is a safe career choice today Tom Kaneshige | InfoWorld "Salaries among tech workers remain surprisingly strong. A survey of 19,000 tech workers conducted by Dice, a career site for technology and engineering professionals, showed a spike in salaries late last year with the recession in full throttle: a 4.6 percent increase in average pay from the previous year to $78,035. (However, a recent survey of 22,550 IT professionals by Foote Partners found IT skills pay slipped for the first time since 2004.)
Oracle White Paper - Performance Monitor: ERP at the Speed of Light - read this white paper.
» Back to special report: IT and the financial crisis
The salary news is good for college grads, too. The National Association of Colleges and Employers found that the average salary offer made to computer and information sciences graduates was up from $51,992 for the class of 2007 to $58,677 for the class of 2008, a 12.9 percent increase. The average salary for computer engineering graduates increased 7.8 percent to $60,280."
Oracle White Paper - Performance Monitor: ERP at the Speed of Light - read this white paper.
» Back to special report: IT and the financial crisis
The salary news is good for college grads, too. The National Association of Colleges and Employers found that the average salary offer made to computer and information sciences graduates was up from $51,992 for the class of 2007 to $58,677 for the class of 2008, a 12.9 percent increase. The average salary for computer engineering graduates increased 7.8 percent to $60,280."
Monday, February 2, 2009
Data mining promises to dig up new drugs
Data mining promises to dig up new drugs ICT Results "A robot scientist that can make informed guesses about how effective different chemical compounds will be at fighting different diseases could revolutionise the pharmaceutical industry by developing more effective treatments more cheaply and quickly than current methods.
The robot, known as Eve, uses advanced artificial intelligence combined with innovative data mining and knowledge discovery techniques to analyse the results of pharmacological experiments it conducts itself.
By relating the chemical structure of different compounds to their pharmacological activity, Eve is able to learn which chemical compounds should be tested next, bringing a degree of predictability to drug screening procedures that, until now, have tended to be a bit hit and miss."
The robot, known as Eve, uses advanced artificial intelligence combined with innovative data mining and knowledge discovery techniques to analyse the results of pharmacological experiments it conducts itself.
By relating the chemical structure of different compounds to their pharmacological activity, Eve is able to learn which chemical compounds should be tested next, bringing a degree of predictability to drug screening procedures that, until now, have tended to be a bit hit and miss."
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