This crazy looking little fellow is Toshiba’s ApriPoco Robot which is designed as a home assistance robot, ApriPoco can learn to control electrical appliances using both IR and verbal commands.
He’s got some fine company in Japan, too, where household robots are starting to take off. There robots can help you wash the dishes, move furniture, and even robotic wheelchairs to help you get around. Really, the only question that remains for us is… when do we move?
Robotics has made tremendous strides in replicating the senses of sight and sound, but smell and taste are still lagging behind, and touch was thought to be ‘The Impossible’…until new pressure-sensitive electronic skin came along.
The electronic skin is made out of germanium and silicon wrapped around a sticky polyimide film. The prototype measures about 7.6 square inches and can detect different pressures between 0 and 15 kilopascals, which is the range of pressures one might encounter while typing on a keyboard or holding a small object. The skin does this thanks to its rubber skin, which changes its thickness in response to changes in pressure, which is then measured and controlled by built-in capacitors.
Design team member Ali Javey explains why a robot with a well-developed sense of touch is so crucial to expanding robots’ usefulness:
“Humans generally know how to hold a fragile egg without breaking it. If we ever wanted a robot that could unload the dishes, for instance, we’d want to make sure it doesn’t break the wine glasses in the process. But we’d also want the robot to grip the stock pot without dropping it.”
And the same logic is true outside of the household, of course, but it’s worth remembering how many simple activities human take for granted would defeat current robots. Even something as basic as getting dressed or reading a newspaper requires a fairly intuitive sense of touch and pressure, and this new skin puts those abilities within robots’ grasp.
This is definitely a breakthrough, but sensing a range of pressure is hardly a good substitute for the extremely sophisticated sensors we have built into our skin. We don’t just sense pressure, but other linked sensations like heat, pain, and others. Of course, once we perfect one type of artificial sensor, we could make pretty much any other type of sensor we want, giving robots the ability to detect anything from radioactivity to biological agents purely by touch. That would greatly increase the usefulness of robotic probes in areas humans can’t venture.
Even better, this artificial skin could one day help restore sensation to humans that have lost feeling in parts of their body, although research leader Zhenan Bao says that’s still a ways off:
“Connecting the artificial skin with the human nerve system will be a very challenging task. Ultimately, in the very distant future, we would like to make a skin which performs really like human skin and to be able to connect it to nerve cells on the arm and thus restore sensation. Initially, the prototype that we envision would be more like a handheld device, or maybe a device that connects to other parts of the body that have skin sensation. The device would generate a pulse that would stimulate other parts of the skin, giving the kind of signal ‘my (artificial) hand is touching something’, for instance.”
Motorola wants to develop a seamless cloud perched atop a user's head that would link cellphones, PDAs, and computers without additional devices. Users would never be out of touch, never be unconnected, and never have to flip a switch. The reality so far has been more impossible mission than mission possible, said tech analyst Rob Enderle. "With few exceptions, these hands-free computers look geeky and have been very expensive."
This new device category is a head-worn, mobile computer headset with full voice, audio and PC capabilities, leveraging Kopin's advanced system and micro-display technologies to create a virtual 15-inch monitor that supports simulation software, streaming video on-demand and other large-screen enterprise applications.
Motorola (NYSE: MOT) announced Wednesday that it will develop a hands-free wireless computing headset with micro-display specialists at Kopin -- a move reminiscent of previous attempts to create wearable computers and communications devices.
The device will offer voice, audio and PC capabilities on a virtual reality-style 15-inch monitor that will also support simulation software and streaming video. "We believe this computer headset will be a game-changing solution for mobile workforces," said Motorola emerging business director Tom Bianculli in a prepared statement. TechNewsWorld's attempts to contact Motorola were not successful.
Golden Eye
From cellphones to car stereos, hands-free operation has been all the rage for years. However, widespread adoption -- where virtual computers are concerned -- has been elusive. "Historically, users haven't liked the end product," Enderle Groupprincipal technology analyst Rob Enderle told TechNewsWorld. Code-named the "Golden-i platform," the Kopin/Motorola offering hopes to change history with Bluetooth and WiFi enabled gesture- and voice-recognition technology. Golden-i's micro display appears as a virtual 15-inch, 24-bit color monitor built around Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R2 operating system and Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) OMAP 3530 mobile dual processor. "Golden-i provides a full 128-bit encrypted link to your PC, so you instantly see your own PC screen, full size, 18 inches from your eyes," Golden-i program manager Jeff Jacobsen told TechNewsWorld. "You can use every application and open any document on your PC remotely."
Linux Rejected
Kopin researchers tested Golden-i with Linux, but ultimately decided on Microsoft Windows CE because Linux has limited support. "Unfortunately, we discovered Linux is not a well controlled environment, and most third-party hardware and software either needs to be highly modified or may not work with Linux at all," Jacobsen said. "All of our major product development partners, such as Motorola and Texas Instruments, were extremely pleased when we migrated from Linux to Windows CE 6.0." The move allowed Golden-i access to Vista media technologies such as SideShow, Gadgets and Silverlight. The company also developed a Win32 API-based Software Development Kit for third-party application construction. Software developers can take advantage of the $2,500 kit -- which includes Kopin's communication headsets -- in January, Jacobsen said.
A Little Seasickness
Golden-i achieves gesture control through three gyroscopes and three accelerometers, a PC version of the motion-sensitive devices that keep the Segway human transporter upright. Golden-i users can zoom in or out, pan, and scroll with voice commands or head movements. A user, for instance, might turn to pan and see the rest of an enlarged image. That head motion, however, has drawbacks. For instance, it can make users nauseous, Enderle warned. "The virtual monitor dissociates eye and head movement, which makes eye focusing and hand use difficult," he explained.
Mission Possible?
Hyped with inevitable comparisons to Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible sunglasses, Motorola in 2005 announced wearable communication device partnerships with sunglass maker Oakley and snow gear maker Burton. Touted as promising "evolutionary and innovative products for consumers who want hands-free, un-tethered operation of their electronic devices," the partnerships have yet to deliver much more than standard fare.
On its company website, Oakley's offerings are limited to MP3 and Bluetooth cellphones embedded in sunglasses. Burton's electronic gear is limited to tools for the tech-savvy skier. Motorola, however, expressed higher ambitions: a seamless cloud perched atop a user's head that would link cellphones, PDAs, and computers without additional devices. Users would never be out of touch, never be unconnected, and never have to flip a switch.
The reality, Enderle explained, has been more impossible mission than mission possible. "With few exceptions, these hands-free computers look geeky and have been very expensive," he explained. "The medical community has used them successfully for some types of remote operations, but for the rest of us, they've proven mostly a costly headache." Golden-i promises a different experience, Jacobsen emphasized. "The Oakley device was simply a Bluetooth interface for speech," he said. "Golden-i is more than your PC notebook and your cellphone combined."
In a landmark discovery, scientists have discovered water molecules in the polar regions of the moon, courtesy the Indian Space Research Organisation and India's maiden moon mission Chandrayaan-I, the National Aeronautics and Space Agency said on Thursday.
Instruments aboard three separate spacecrafts, one of them the Moon Mineralogy Mapper, a NASA instrument onboard Chandrayaan-I revealed water molecules in amounts that are greater than predicted, but still relatively small, it added.
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"Water ice on the moon has been something of a holy grail for lunar scientists for a very long time," said Jim Green, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
"This surprising finding has come about through the ingenuity, perseverance and international cooperation between NASA and the India Space Research Organisation," he said.
From its perch in lunar orbit, NASA said M3's state-of-the-art spectrometer measured light reflecting off the moon's surface at infrared wavelengths, splitting the spectral colours of the lunar surface into small enough bits to reveal a new level of detail in surface composition.
When the M3 science team analysed data from the instrument, they found the wavelengths of light being absorbed were consistent with the absorption patterns for water molecules and hydroxyl.
"For silicate bodies, such features are typically attributed to water and hydroxyl-bearing materials," Carle Pieters, M3's principal investigator from Brown University said.
She added that by 'water on the moon,' they did not mean lakes, oceans or even puddles. Water on the moon means molecules of water and hydroxyl that interact with molecules of rock and dust specifically in the top millimeters of the moon's surface.
NASA said the M3 team found water molecules and hydroxyl at diverse areas of the sunlit region of the moon's surface, but the water signature appeared stronger at the moon's higher latitudes.
Data from the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer, or VIMS, on NASA's Cassini spacecraft and the High-Resolution Infrared Imaging Spectrometer on NASA's EPOXI spacecraft contributed to confirmation of the finding.
"The data from Cassini's VIMS instrument and M3 closely agree," said Roger Clark, a US Geological Survey scientist in Denver and member of both the VIMS and M3 teams.
"We see both water and hydroxyl. While the abundances are not precisely known, as much as 1,000 water molecule parts-per-million could be in the lunar soil. To put that into perspective, if you harvested one ton of the top layer of the moon's surface, you could get as much as 32 ounces of water," Clark said.
Rollercoasters are always fun. You may have played some video games where you control a theme park, and build up your own rollercoaster. Well, now you can physically build up your own coaster and watch as the carriage travels along your custom built track.
The coaster can be extended to four feet long, with simple assembly and also some nice additional touches such as safety mechanisms built into the seats for your virtual passengers.
Product Specifications
* For Ages 14 and Up * WARNING: Choking hazard. Contains small parts. * Build your own fully operational mini roller coaster * Easy to assemble with new modular design with molded track pieces * Modular design keeps assembly time to a minimum * Highly detailed and durable train comes pre-assembled * Operational station has a passenger loading feature that includes the raising and lowering of shoulder restraints * Dispatch button allows manual control over the train function * Includes computer simulation software that allows the user to "ride" the coaster in any seat, view the ride from all angles, and get a real-time readout of G-forces and acceleration * Operates on 4 AA batteries (not included) * Weight: 6lbs * Box Dimensions: 21.5" x 14" x 5.5"
California missile launch: Was it a missile or UFO, spotted in New York too. Since September 11 rocked the United States many Americans have become extremely careful. Whenever they see anything unusual they inquire it from the authorities.
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But in their excitement of becoming careful they are losing their cool and have become cynical. A few months back when a series of balloon had surfaced over the sky of New York it created a lot of hue and cry.
The whole city came to a standstill. Many places reported traffic snarl as New Yorkers stopped their vehicles to witness the incident unfold. The whole incident sparked a heated debate in the country. Many got scared and thought that aliens have come to invade the country.
This time too when vapor trail appeared on the sky of California it generated heated debate not only in the city but across the country as the video grab of the incident was at the centre of attraction. Besides, Pentagon was inundated by phone calls, enquiring about the object. Many channels spend hours on it debating the issue and soliciting comments from experts.
When one such Pentagon expert claimed that it must be a missile it led to confusion in the country. Overnight self-proclaimed experts surfaced. They all had interesting conspiracy theories to purport. The most lurid among them came from a Californian who said that it was an IBM missile targeted at Los Angeles. When asked why it did not land on the city, she had no answer.
Interestingly, civilian experts were the first to announce that it was nothing but an aircraft. Initially, their comments were also contested as people were not willing to accept it. Later on the Pentagon stepped in and announced that it was nothing else than an aircraft. It was only after this that things came to rest and people heaved a sigh of relief.
There are two options to choose from during the Windows 7 installation process:
Upgrade. This option replaces your current version of Windows with Windows 7, and keeps your files, settings, and programs in place on your computer.
Custom. This option replaces your current version of Windows with Windows 7, but doesn't preserve your files, settings, and programs. It's sometimes referred to as aclean installation for that reason.
In this video you'll find detailed instructions for installing Windows 7 and reinstallingWindows 7.
This could be the rumored iPad, ooh, and we love to see 4 people playing Flight Control with this 58-inch multitouch Table Connect. And it seems believable enough on a demo video after the break, using a jailbroken iPhone with the 58-inch screen table and those two hands tapping the table to show off what Table Connect can offer. Watch the video after the break.
This video describes how to set up a Fedora desktop - including how to enable special mouse buttons, improve laptop support (depending on your model), set up printers and the usage of Compiz Fusion. The result is a fast, secure and extendable system that provides all you need for daily work and entertainment.
This howto is a practical guide without any warranty - it doesn't cover the theoretical backgrounds. There are many ways to set up such a system - this is the way I chose.
