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October 30, 2005
NEtROBOt project
Yet another thing you can do with AIBO, Sony's artificially intelligent dog.
The NEtROBOt project aims to establish a new concept of communication over the internet, getting the feel of existence in the virtual world by interacting with an actual robot, "AIBO".
The goal is to create an un-simultaneous communication and 3D space sharing system using web3d techniques and AIBO as an interface. The project proposes new entertainment content by virtually interacting within this 3D world to trigger images, sound, music and AIBO dances. 3D models of AIBO are displayed on a web browser while the real AIBO is by your side. He bridges the communication between you and his avatar in the 3D world.
This is one of those times when seeing it in action is the only way to do it any justice.
Posted by tranism at 11:07 PM | Permalink
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October 26, 2005
Fish Pilots Vehicle!
Seith Weiner has created a vehicle piloted by a fish and propelled by 2 drive wheels. The fish steers its vessel by its movements. A camera above the cockpit tracks the movements of the Terranaut (the name of the fish). Its location is then wirelessly transmitted to a remote processing station where the data is converted into motion commands and transmitted back to the motion controller of the vehicle.
If you live in NYC, go check it out at the EXIT BIENNIAL 2: Traffic, Exit Art, thru Decemeber 23, 2005
Tre cool man, just f*cking cool!
via near near future via interactive USC
Posted by tranism at 1:53 AM | Permalink
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Mac Mini Bot
Take a $500 computer, throw in a $149 camera, some servos, a couple of casters, a power source and some programming - viola! You've got yourself an autonomous robot.
Some people at the University of Osnabrueck (have no idea where that is) did just that. This robot has three modified servos glued to lots of plywood. A controller run by a series of 6 volt batteries, an Apple iSight camera with the body of a Apple Mac Mini provide the power and brains. The software that runs the "brain" is Java based. It processes images from the iSight camera and decides where to go to avoid obstacles.
The batteries last almost 2 hours! The group hopes after successful testing - to sell a home kit to people interested in building their very own Mac Mini Bot to do your bidding. I soooo want one.
picture of the finalized bot after the jump
Posted by tranism at 1:46 AM | Permalink
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Theory Of The Wobbly Table
How many times have you sat down at a table, plopped your arms up only to find the whole table shifting towards you? How many times has that happened to you + drinks spilling all over your lap? Me? at least one of each incident.
Some of us even try to find ways to "un-wobble" it. The folded up napkin technique is sometimes successful but then that leaves your napkinless. I've also seen the matchbook technique but what if you don't smoke? So what's a frustrated person to do? According to one scientist, all you need to do is turn the table top.
Yup, Andre Martin, a physicist at CERN found that by rotating the table (working under the assumption all the legs were even to begin with), the ground would eventually yield up four areas at the same level. He took it a step further to see if a mathematical formula could prove his technique.
Okay, I'm going to pause here for a moment and comment on ANY person that finds fun in postulating mathematical formulas in the freetime. YOU ARE SMART and that makes you SO HOT. Your brain must be "ginormous" and I have always wanted a walking human calculator as a friend. You would definitely complete my circle of power, which consists of a doctor, dentist, real estate agent, banker, police officer, scientist and a rich person.
Back to the topic at hand. Andre Martin's recent paper arguing that proof indeed exists. Rotate a table for long enough and you will inevitably produce stability. Mind you, Martin makes several assumptions. The table must be round, its legs are all even to begin with and the ground should never have an inclination between any two points of more than 15%.
Ummm, I really can't comment anymore. I have no idea why I found this interesting. If you've read to the end of this entry, please tell me what you will walk away with. Have you learned something new?
Posted by tranism at 1:18 AM | Permalink
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October 19, 2005
The Key Is Seaweed
A type of seaweed recently discovered in Fiji could someday be used to fight bacterial infections, cancer or even AIDS.
The red species (known for it's antibacterial and antivirual attributes) is found on shallow coral reefs along the South Pacific island's coastline. Researchers studying the plant identified ten new compounds that might be developed for pharmaceutical use. Some of the compounds show promise as antibacterial fighters - even mutated strains that are resistant to current antibiotics.
The more startling find is one of the compounds seems to trigger cell auto destruction in cancer cells. The compound was able to completely kill a tumor with massive doses. There in lies the problem. Massive does of the compound can harm organs in the human body.
"We can cure cancer with a shotgun, so curing cancer isn't the problem. Curing cancer without harming the patient is a whole different thing that's very very difficult to figure out."
The power of seaweed comes from it's abilities to create molecules and compounds for reproduction, defense and disease resistance. The compounds can deter predators by poisoning them, slowly their growth, sterilizing them or even killing them. If seaweed is so good for the body, ever wonder why more marine animals aren't eating them? Its precisely because the seaweed can quickly adapt and change the molecular content of it's fleshy leaves to poison those that try and eat it.
When I read stories like this, it fascinates me and reinforces the idea that nature has already created the solves to many of the diseases that challenge us; its just a matter of discovering them. Unfortunately, researchers believe it will be ten more years before any drug based off the red seaweed will make it to market - thats a lifetime for those who need it now.
Posted by tranism at 1:47 AM | Permalink
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October 16, 2005
AMD Dresden, The New Chill Spot
I know making super complex micro-processors requires a very chill environment but damn, photos of the new AMD fabrication plant in Dresden Germany make me wonder . . .
These guys look like they are just kickin it - laid back while all the robots make the chips. Look how freakin sterile the environment is. I suspect not one of those "chip makers" has ever caught a cold from work. I want one of those outfits too.
more photos after the jump
Posted by tranism at 12:47 AM | Permalink
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October 11, 2005
Backpack Power
To all perpetual students, that heavy ass backpack can now do more than haul around those $100 textbooks you never use - you can now generate your own electricity.
A backpack that generates electricity as its wearer strolls along has been developed by experts in human locomotion.
By harnessing the looping up and down motion of our hips as we walk, the backpacks' freely-moving load bounces up and down, generating up to 7 watts. That is more than enough to power cellphones, pda's, digital camera, Gameboys and PSPs.
There's also a social utilitarian function to these packs. Scientists hope they will be a standard among troops, field researchers, explorers and rescue workers who need to generate their own power.
All very cool but I say, this is just a hop-skip-and-jump away into a future where all humans generate their own power for our robot overloads.
via new scientist
Posted by tranism at 2:50 PM | Permalink
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October 7, 2005
Plants Smoke Too
Problem: We all know, (even the smokers do) that smoke stinks. It travels far (which is why non-smoking sections don't work) and when it has no where else to go, it seeps deep into your clothing until you start to smell like the back of a closet.
Solution: Make an ash tray with a very hardy indoor plant that will filter out the smoke and expel out clean breathable oxygen.
The tobacco industry has got it all wrong. If I were them, I'd market to the plants. Plants would smoke that shit up in a heart beat.
via yankodesign
Posted by tranism at 5:01 PM | Permalink
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October 5, 2005
HandySinger
The HandySinger system is a tool that naturally expresses a singing voice controlled by the gestures of a cute cute hand puppet. Developed at ART Intelligent Robotics and Communication, the singing voice morphing algorithm smoothes out the strength of expressions delivered with a singing voice.
Make sure you watch the video to fully understand what this is about. Once you watch it, then it'll hit you how damn cool this is. The researchers recorded a young woman singing a nursery rhyme in four types of expressions; normal, dark, whisper and wet. Normal is normal, dark emphasizes expressiveness like that produced by an opera singer, whisper is a hoarse voice like a lullaby and wet is a type of expression often heard in pop music.
The hand puppet consists of a cute cute stuffed penguin and a sensor covered glove that acts as a capturing device for movement. The sensor's signals are then processed to output MIDI signals while a sound controlling program produces a singing voice.
Interaction design really is a new frontier with the availability of all these new technologies, enabling experiments like this. I can't wait to see more!
via near near future
Posted by tranism at 9:41 PM | Permalink
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October 3, 2005
Just Add Water
There's no doubt that plastics have revolutionized the way we live. From medicine to storage to being easy and cheap to produce, plastics helped usher in a new era of human ingenuity. It has become our civilization's "artificial skin". Durable, long lasting and easily replaced. Unfortunately plastics are also toxic and release tons of carcinogenic particles into our air when burnt and because of it's resilient nature, burning it is the only way to get rid of it. We've succeeded in initiating recycling programs but we're missing one major part of the formula. In nature, materials are not only recycled, but they have to break down fast and refuel the whole process again. In our haste for the mother of all artificial materials, we forgot to make our plastics biodegradable.
An Australian company called Plantic says you only have to add water to its plastic and it will disappear right in front of your eyes. Its plastic is made out of 90% organic materials and left in a compost heap, the material will disappear in less than 3 months.
The "green" technology behind this plastic is amazing. By using water as a catalyst, potentially the plastic could break down releasing water into the soil and carbon dioxide into the air. Low laying plants surrounding the plastic could convert that carbon dioxide and release clean oxygen into our air.
As we tread closer to the realization that our current methodologies are wasteful and unbalanced with the rest of nature, technologies like these will help evolve our current materials into products not just for us, but for our source; the earth as well.
Posted by tranism at 1:54 PM | Permalink
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October 1, 2005
A Mid-Air Snatching . . . Macro Style
Nature is frighteningly beautiful. What do you suppose happened when a spider snatches a bee twice it's size out of mid-air flight?
pictures after the jump
DAYUM, just damn . . .
Posted by tranism at 11:07 AM | Permalink
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