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."
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
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."
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."
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."
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.”"
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.'"
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.
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."
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."
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."
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."
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."
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