Fotis Liarokapis' Scientific Diary

Life-Like Robot

2012-01-30T07:33:00.001Z

Canadian scientists are developing a robot that mimics the human face's expressions and human hand’s tactile processes, which they say will be useful in areas like nursing, nuclear plant maintenance, and explosive device disposal. A key part of the technology is a new biology-inspired touch-sensitive artificial skin that is able to sense contact, as well as the profile, temperature and elasticity of object surfaces, ultimately raising the tactile sensitivity of robots to the human level. The artificial skin is made of elastic silicon and embedded with tactical and temperature sensors. Researchers are using a robot as their test subject, methodically replacing its mechanical parts with more life-like parts they are designing.

They will start with the head and then the hands. They are designing some of the mechanical and electronic sensor elements for devices, such as intricate prosthetic limbs that can covey large amounts of information through a sense of touch. Researchers are also mounting a set of actuators on various parts of a newly acquired, anatomically correct model of a human skull — complete with a spring-loaded jaw that replicates the movement of the lower face. The actuators will then be covered with an elastic skin. The aim is to produce a highly life-like face, capable of representing complex human expressions ranging from surprise to anger.

More information:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2012/01/20/tech-robot-ottawa.html

Robots for Brain Surgery

2012-01-21T12:51:00.001Z

An EU-funded team of researchers has developed a robot able to help neurosurgeons in performing keyhole brain surgery. This robot is accurate in performance and has incredible memory, especially since it has 13 types of movement compared to the 4 available to human hands, as well as 'haptic' feedback - physical cues allowing physicians to assess tissue and perceive the amount of force applied during surgery. The ROBOCAST ('Robot and sensors integration as guidance for enhanced computer assisted surgery and therapy') project received EUR 3.45 million under the 'Information and communication technologies' (ICT) Theme of the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). Led by the Politecnico di Milano in Italy, the ROBOCAST partners targeted the development of ICT scientific methods and techniques for support in keyhole brain surgery. They developed a hardware experts call mechatronics, which constructs the robot's body and nervous system, as well as software that offers intelligence. The software comprises a multiple robot, an independent trajectory planner, an advanced controller and a set of field sensors. The ROBOCAST consortium developed the mechatronic phase of the project as a modular system with two robots and one active biomimetic probe. These were integrated into a sensory motor framework to run as one unit.

The first robot has the ability to find its miniature companion robot through six degrees of freedom (DOF), and moves from left to right, up and down, and backward and forward. It also has three rotational movements, namely forward and backward, side to side, or left to right. These all work together to locate the robot's companion anywhere in a three-dimensional space. The robot, say the researchers, can also ease the tremor of a surgeon's hands by up to 10 times. The miniature robot holds the probe that is used through the keyhole. The partners say optical trackers are located at the end of the probe, as well as on the patient. The force applied is managed by the robot, which also controls the position by applying a combination of sensors. This results in determining the trajectory of the surgical work. The robot was tested for its accurate performance during keyhole surgery tests on dummies. The team believes this robot can be used to help physicians treat their patients for epilepsy, Tourette's syndrome and Parkinson's disease. The researchers say the path the robot follows inside the brain is determined on the basis of a risk atlas as well as using the evaluation of preoperative diagnostic information. Presenting a robot model earlier this year, the ROBOCAST team comprises experts from Germany, Israel, Italy and the United Kingdom. Future research plans include investigating robotic neurosurgery for patients who would remain conscious during their surgery.

More information:

http://www.robocast.eu/

http://cordis.europa.eu/fetch?CALLER=EN_NEWS_FP7&ACTION=D&DOC=9&CAT=NEWS&QUERY=0134fb57071f:ca0b:2083cf71&RCN=34211

Faster FFT

2012-01-20T17:38:00.003Z

The Fourier transform is one of the most fundamental concepts in the information sciences. It’s a method for representing an irregular signal — such as the voltage fluctuations in the wire that connects an MP3 player to a loudspeaker — as a combination of pure frequencies. It’s universal in signal processing, but it can also be used to compress image and audio files, solve differential equations and price stock options, among other things. The reason the Fourier transform is so prevalent is an algorithm called the fast Fourier transform (FFT), devised in the mid-1960s, which made it practical to calculate Fourier transforms on the fly. Ever since the FFT was proposed, however, people have wondered whether an even faster algorithm could be found. At the Association for Computing Machinery’s Symposium on Discrete Algorithms (SODA) this week, a group of MIT researchers will present a new algorithm that, in a large range of practically important cases, improves on the fast Fourier transform. Under some circumstances, the improvement can be dramatic — a tenfold increase in speed. The new algorithm could be particularly useful for image compression, enabling, say, smartphones to wirelessly transmit large video files without draining their batteries or consuming their monthly bandwidth allotments. Like the FFT, the new algorithm works on digital signals. A digital signal is just a series of numbers — discrete samples of an analog signal, such as the sound of a musical instrument. The FFT takes a digital signal containing a certain number of samples and expresses it as the weighted sum of an equivalent number of frequencies. ‘Weighted’ means that some of those frequencies count more toward the total than others.

Indeed, many of the frequencies may have such low weights that they can be safely disregarded. That’s why the Fourier transform is useful for compression. An eight-by-eight block of pixels can be thought of as a 64-sample signal, and thus as the sum of 64 different frequencies. But as the researchers point out in their new paper, empirical studies show that on average, 57 of those frequencies can be discarded with minimal loss of image quality. Signals whose Fourier transforms include a relatively small number of heavily weighted frequencies are called ‘sparse’. The new algorithm determines the weights of a signal’s most heavily weighted frequencies; the sparser the signal, the greater the speedup the algorithm provides. Indeed, if the signal is sparse enough, the algorithm can simply sample it randomly rather than reading it in its entirety. The new algorithm relies on two key ideas. The first is to divide a signal into narrower slices of bandwidth, sized so that a slice will generally contain only one frequency with a heavy weight. In signal processing, the basic tool for isolating particular frequencies is a filter. But filters tend to have blurry boundaries: One range of frequencies will pass through the filter more or less intact; frequencies just outside that range will be somewhat attenuated; frequencies outside that range will be attenuated still more; and so on, until you reach the frequencies that are filtered out almost perfectly. If it so happens that the one frequency with a heavy weight is at the edge of the filter, however, it could end up so attenuated that it can’t be identified. So the researchers’ first contribution was to find a computationally efficient way to combine filters so that they overlap, ensuring that no frequencies inside the target range will be unduly attenuated, but that the boundaries between slices of spectrum are still fairly sharp.

More information:

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/faster-fourier-transforms-0118.html

What Are Memories Made Of?

2012-01-17T11:17:00.002Z

Neuroscientists have discovered that memories migrate between different regions of the brain, but what do they actually consist of? Imagine being unable to remember the past. Like a fading dream, your current consciousness is lost to eternity. This is the experience of someone suffering from amnesia. Despite otherwise being healthy, they are unable to commit new experiences to memory. Studying the brains of amnesic patients has revealed that, while most regions of the brain play a role in memory, some areas are more crucial than others. There appears to be no single memory store, but instead a diverse taxonomy of memory systems, each with its own special circuitry evolved to package and retrieve that type of memory. Memories are not static entities; over time they shift and migrate between different territories of the brain. At the top of the taxonomical tree, a split occurs between declarative and non-declarative memories. Declarative memories are those you can state as true or false, such as remembering whether you rode a bicycle to work. Non-declarative memories are those that cannot be described as true or false, such as knowing how to ride a bicycle. A central hub in the declarative memory system is a brain region called the hippocampus. This undulating, twisted structure gets its name from its resemblance to a sea horse. Destruction of the hippocampus, through injury, neurosurgery or the ravages of Alzheimer's disease, can result in an amnesia so severe that no events experienced after the damage can be remembered.

However, amnesic patients can show an astounding array of mnemonic abilities, such as learning new skills and habits. For example, repeatedly following a particular route to work can slowly be learned. Such ingrained habits appear to rely on a brain region called the striatum. Amnesic patients can also show an impressive short-term memory. For example, if they concentrate on one piece of information, such as a phone number, they can hold it in mind for many minutes. This ability relies on regions in the neocortex (the convoluted grey matter you see looking at a brain from the outside). Despite being unable to form new long-term memories, many amnesic patients can still access long-term memories formed before the brain damage was inflicted. The further back in time the memory was created the more likely it is to survive, which results in the uncanny situation where patients cannot remember what they have just done, but are able to reminisce at length about their distant past. It is thought this occurs because the brain doesn't just create, store and retrieve memories; it restructures them. A popular view is that during sleep your hippocampus "broadcasts" its recently captured memories to the neocortex, which updates your long-term store of past experience and knowledge. Eventually the neocortex is sufficient to support recall without relying on the hippocampus. However, there is evidence that if you need to vividly picture a scene in your mind, this appears to require the hippocampus, no matter how old the memory. We have recently discovered that the hippocampus is not only needed to reimagine the past, but also to imagine the future.

More information:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/jan/14/what-are-memories-made-of

Touchy-Feely Technology

2012-01-13T13:02:00.003Z

Today, researchers in human-computer interaction, a field of computer science that has seen a spike in consumer demand thanks to a new, seemingly ubiquitous technology: Touch. According to the technology, media and telecommunications company IHS iSuppli, global shipments of touch-screen cellphones and tablets have gone from 244 million units to 630 million units in just two years. This year, iPad sales nearly quadrupled compared to 2010. The touch explosion has been long in the making, it's part of a theory he calls The Long Nose of Innovation and it says that much of the innovation behind any technological breakthrough actually takes place over a long period of time.

According to Apple, more than 2,300 school districts in the U.S. have iPad programs for students or teachers. But the benefits of having iPads in the classroom don't come free. Teachers say you have to invest time into the technology in order to get something out of it, which means much of the iPad's usefulness will depend on the applications both teachers and publishers discover as adoption grows. Hospitals are also exploring the usefulness of iPads. At the University of California, San Diego Hospital, physician's assistants use iPad 2 to update a patient who just received a brand new kidney on his recovery.

More information:

http://www.npr.org/2011/12/26/144146395/the-touchy-feely-future-of-technology

Learning, Teaching via Video Games

2012-01-11T11:57:00.003Z

In one game, a snake slithers across the screen, eating arithmetic symbols until they equal a desired number. In another, an adventuring character wanders around a virtual world, encountering problem-solving exercises in basic logic. For 17 seniors in a computer science class at the University of Delaware, these probably wouldn't be the games they'd choose to play, but that isn't the point. Instead, the video games created by five teams will help teach middle school students at Chester (Pa.) Community Charter School. A $400,000 National Science Foundation grant has funded the project over the past three years. Education experts called the initiative an innovative approach to expanding access to educational technology.

And the idea could inspire other universities looking to support schools in their local community. The UD students created the games for a special type of laptop geared toward classroom use, but they hope to make the games available as free downloads on a website or an app-store platform. The basis for this work: Since so many children spend so much time gaming anyway, why not make it educational? Many educators latched on to the idea of using technology in education several years ago. The question now is how to deliver it properly. Like any resource in education, wealthier students tend to gain easier and more effective access to gaming in education. Gee and other experts worry students in struggling schools will fall behind without combining video games with smaller class sizes and more parental involvement.

More information:

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20120109/NEWS03/201090316/Learning-teaching-via-video-games?odyssey=modnewswelltextp

Simulating Firefighting Operations

2012-01-10T12:01:00.003Z

Firefighters often put their lives at risk during operations, so it is essential they have reliable tools to help them do their job. Now, a modular simulation kit is set to help develop new information and communication technologies – and ensure they are tailored to firefighters’ needs from the outset. It takes the highest levels of concentration for emergency workers to fight their way through smoke-filled buildings wearing breathing apparatus and protective suits. What is the location of the casualties? Where is the nearest exit, in case the crews need to get to safety? Up to now, they have used ropes to retrace their steps, but these can get caught up or wrap themselves around obstacles. Chalk is used to mark which rooms have already been searched, but these markings are often difficult to see through the smoke. What is needed are new technologies such as sensor-based systems to support the emergency crews during operations where visibility is limited. But such systems, too, carry their own risks: having too much information to hand might confuse crews and be a hindrance. That is why researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology FIT in Sankt Agustin have now developed a set of special simulation methods and tools. These will allow emergency services to test technologies in a realistic environment while they are still in the development phase, so they can tailor them to their specific requirements long before they are needed in earnest. It also gives crews the chance to get used to unfamiliar sources of information while on safe ground. The FireSim method kit is made up of four simulation modules.

The first comprises a role-playing board game which emergency workers can use to play out operations. Players move around on a map of the emergency scene, and the new technologies are represented by special tokens. This allows crews to try out new ideas with a minimum of effort. The second module is like a computer game. Various firefighters each sit at a PC, and on the screen they see the emergency scene from a first-person perspective. The players move through virtual space, opening doors and rescuing the injured, and trying out virtual prototypes of novel support systems – such as sensor nodes that mark out the paths that have already been followed and which rooms have been searched. These simulations allow us to make rapid changes to prototypes and put them to the test in complex deployment scenarios. Since we want to take the whole hierarchy into account, we recreate all communication and coordination processes in the simulation as far as we can. The third simulation module blends the virtual and the real, with emergency crews playing out a scenario in a real environment, for instance to rescue someone from a smoke-filled building. They carry with them a system that is integrated into their suit, such as a display in their helmet or on their arm, and provides details of their location and bearings. Meanwhile, a virtual simulation runs in parallel, with helpers reenacting all the emergency workers’ real actions. New technologies such as the sensor nodes are simulated and the results sent by radio to the firefighters’ displays. In this way, systems of which no physical prototype has yet been built can already be tested in a real environment.

More information:

http://www.fraunhofer.de/en/press/research-news/2012/january/simulating-firefighting-op.html

3D Cameras for Cellphones

2012-01-09T19:35:00.003Z

When Microsoft’s Kinect — a device that lets Xbox users control games with physical gestures — hit the market, computer scientists immediately began hacking it. A black plastic bar about 11 inches wide with an infrared rangefinder and a camera built in, the Kinect produces a visual map of the scene before it, with information about the distance to individual objects. At MIT alone, researchers have used the Kinect to create a “Minority Report”-style computer interface, a navigation system for miniature robotic helicopters and a holographic-video transmitter, among other things. Now imagine a device that provides more-accurate depth information than the Kinect, has a greater range and works under all lighting conditions — but is so small, cheap and power-efficient that it could be incorporated into a cellphone at very little extra cost. That’s the promise of recent work by researchers at MIT’s Research Lab of Electronics. Like other sophisticated depth-sensing devices, the MIT researchers’ system uses the “time of flight” of light particles to gauge depth: A pulse of infrared laser light is fired at a scene, and the camera measures the time it takes the light to return from objects at different distances.

Traditional time-of-flight systems use one of two approaches to build up a “depth map” of a scene. LIDAR (for light detection and ranging) uses a scanning laser beam that fires a series of pulses, each corresponding to a point in a grid, and separately measures their time of return. But that makes data acquisition slower, and it requires a mechanical system to continually redirect the laser. The alternative, employed by so-called time-of-flight cameras, is to illuminate the whole scene with laser pulses and use a bank of sensors to register the returned light. But sensors able to distinguish small groups of light particles — photons — are expensive: A typical time-of-flight camera costs thousands of dollars. The MIT researchers’ system, by contrast, uses only a single light detector — a one-pixel camera. But by using some clever mathematical tricks, it can get away with firing the laser a limited number of times. In experiments, the researchers found that the number of laser flashes — and, roughly, the number of checkerboard patterns — that they needed to build an adequate depth map was about 5 percent of the number of pixels in the final image.

More information:

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2011/lidar-3d-camera-cellphones-0105.html

Brain Implants For Paralyzed

2011-12-29T16:05:00.002Z

It sounds like science fiction, but scientists around the world are getting tantalizingly close to building the mind-controlled prosthetic arms, computer cursors and mechanical wheelchairs of the future. Researchers already have implanted devices into primate brains that let them reach for objects with robotic arms. They've made sensors that attach to a human brain and allow paralyzed people to control a cursor by thinking about it. In the coming decades, scientists say, the field of neural prosthetics - of inventing and building devices that harness brain activity for computerized movement - is going to revolutionize how people who have suffered major brain damage interact with their world. The joint UC Berkeley and UCSF center started a year ago to take advantage of the neurology expertise in San Francisco and the engineering skills across the bay. Such devices that allow the brain to control a device aren't entirely new. Aside from some small steps made at other institutions - the brain-controlled computer cursor, for example - there's the cochlear implant, the first neural prosthetic tool developed and the only one that's ever seen wide use. The cochlear implant, which was invented at UCSF in the 1970s, intercepts sounds as electrical signals and then sends those signals directly to the brain, bypassing the damaged nerves that caused hearing loss. The devices being developed today work under the same premise but are much more complex. Over the past decade, scientists have made leaps of progress in learning how to read and decode the millions of electronic impulses that fire between neurons in the brain, controlling how our bodies move and how we see, feel and relate to the world around us.

It's not enough just to prompt the right muscles to move an arm. Millions of signals in the brain help us determine where our own arm is in relation to our body, so our hand doesn't grope wildly for the glass. Our brains sense that it's a delicate glass that must be picked up carefully, pinched between fingers. The neurons control how fast our arm moves, making sure the wine doesn't slop over the edges. That's an astronomical amount of communication happening, all in fractions of a second, without our even being aware of it. In fact, it's more communication than our best smart-phone technology can handle. The neural prosthetic devices that are just in their infancy now work by connecting a device inserted into the brain directly to a computer. The signals from the brain, in the form of electrical impulses, travel through a cable to the computer, where they are decoded into instructions for some kind of action, like moving a cursor. But for a neural prosthetic device to actually be useful, it would have to be transplanted near or in the brain and transmit wireless signals to a device like a robotic arm. It would need to be able to last forever - or at least a lifetime - on batteries that never have to be changed and won't damage the brain.Other problems are going to require an even deeper understanding of how the brain works. Scientists don't yet know what parts of the brain would be best suited for implanting a device to read electrical signals - or even whether an implanted device would work better than one that's attached to the brain's surface. It's possible that a surface device could collect enough information to be useful in controlling a neural prosthesis with much less risk to the patient.

More information:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2011/12/27/MNHU1MDLEU.DTL

Chess Robots Problems

2011-12-26T20:05:00.004Z

Deep Blue's victory over Gary Kasparov in 1997 may have shown how computers can outsmart people, but if the game is taken into the physical world, humans still win hands down. That's because, for all their software smarts, robots remain clumsy at manipulating real-world objects. A robotic chess competition held in August, for example, showed that even robotic arms used for precise work on industrial manufacturing lines have trouble when asked to negotiate a noisy, chaotic real-world environment. The contest, held at the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence annual conference in San Francisco, California, had a number of automatons competing to see who could best move pieces quickly, accurately and legally in accordance with the rules of chess.

Some teams used vision systems to identify where pieces were, but none attempted to distinguish between a rook and a knight. Instead they relied upon remembering where pieces were last placed to identify them and move them accordingly. The bots quickly ran into snags - their vision systems often misread moves. One approach, by robotics company Road Narrows, used a commercially available fixed robotic arm normally used for light industrial applications without any vision at all. The winner was a team of researchers at the University of Albany, in New York, which had a mobile robot with an arm attached. Despite the many variables introduced when moving a robot around, the droid's vision system managed to keep track of the board and pieces as it moved about.

More information:

http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/onepercent/2011/12/chess-robots-have-trouble-gras.html

An Ultrafast Imaging System

2011-12-22T21:27:00.006Z

More than 70 years ago, the M.I.T. electrical engineer Harold (Doc) Edgerton began using strobe lights to create remarkable photographs: a bullet stopped in flight as it pierced an apple, the coronet created by the splash of a drop of milk. Now scientists at M.I.T.’s Media Lab are using an ultrafast imaging system to capture light itself as it passes through liquids and objects, in effect snapping a picture in less than two-trillionths of a second. The project began as a whimsical effort to literally see around corners — by capturing reflected light and then computing the paths of the returning light, thereby building images coming from rooms that would otherwise not be directly visible. Researchers modified a streak tube, a supersensitive piece of laboratory equipment that scans and captures light. Streak tubes are generally used to intensify streams of photons into streams of electrons. They are fast enough to record the progress of packets of laser light fired repeatedly into a bottle filled with a cloudy fluid. The instrument is normally used to measure laboratory phenomena that take place in an ultra-short timeframe. Typically, it offers researchers information on intensity, position and wavelength in the form of data, not an image.

By modifying the equipment, the researchers were able to create slow-motion movies, showing what appears to be a bullet of light that moves from one end of the bottle to the other. The pulses of laser light enter through the bottom and travel to the cap, generating a conical shock wave that bounces off the sides of the bottle as the bullet passes. The streak tube scans and captures light in much the same way a cathode ray tube emits and paints an image on the inside of a computer monitor. Each horizontal line is exposed for just 1.71 picoseconds, or trillionths of a second, enough time for the laser beam to travel less than half a millimeter through the fluid inside the bottle. To create a movie of the event, the researchers record about 500 frames in just under a nanosecond, or a billionth of a second. Because each individual movie has a very narrow field of view, they repeat the process a number of times, scanning it vertically to build a complete scene that shows the beam moving from one end of the bottle, bouncing off the cap and then scattering back through the fluid. If a bullet were tracked in the same fashion moving through the same fluid, the resulting movie would last three years.

More information:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/13/science/speed-of-light-lingers-in-face-of-mit-media-lab-camera.html?_r=1

Virus for The Human Mind

2011-12-21T21:44:00.002Z

The field of 'synthetic biology' is in its infancy. Experts working within the field believe that our expertise is out-accelerating natural evolution by a factor of millions of years - and some warn that synthetic biology could spin out of control. It could lead to a world where hackers could engineer viruses or bacteria to control human minds.

Researchers predict a world where we can 'print' DNA, and even 'decode' it. A literal virus - injected into a 'host' in the guise of a vaccine, say - could be used to control behaviour. Synthetic biology will lead to new forms of bioterrorism. Bio-crime today is akin to computer crime in the early Eighties, Few initially recognized the problem - but it grew exponentially.

More information:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2073936/Could-hackers-develop-virus-infect-human-mind.html

Humanizing The Human-Computer Interface

2011-12-18T22:55:00.005Z

Researchers at Toyohashi Tech’s Graduate School of Engineering try to ‘humanize’ the computer interface. They work on the expansion of human-computer communication by means of a web-based multimodal interactive (MMI) approach employing speech, gesture and facial expressions, as well as the traditional keyboard and mouse. Although many MMI systems have been tried, few are widely used. Some reasons for this lack of use are their complexity of installation and compilation, and their general inaccessibility for ordinary computer users. To resolve these issues we have designed a web browser-based MMI system that only uses open source software and de facto standards.

This openness has the advantage that it can be executed on any web browser, handle JavaScript, Java applets and Flash, and can be used not only on a PC but also on mobile devices like smart phones and tablet computers. The user can interact with the system by speaking directly with an anthropomorphic agent that employs speech recognition, speech synthesis and facial image synthesis. For example, a user can recite a telephone number, which is recorded by the computer and the data sent via the browser to a session manager on the server housing the MMI system. The data is processed by the speech recognition software and sent to a scenario interpreter.

More information:

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-12-multimodal-interaction-humanizing-human-computer-interface.html

BCIs Play Music Based on Moods

2011-12-13T10:10:00.003Z

Scientists are developing a brain-computer interface (BCI) that recognises a person’s affective state and plays music to them based on their mood. The duo from the universities of Reading and Plymouth believe the system could be used as a therapeutic aid for people suffering with certain forms of depression. Scientists are not asking the subject to be happy or sad. They want to recognise the subject’s state so we can provide the right stimulus.

The subject is not in control and this is a very unique feature. Traditionally, the user has had complete control over how a BCI system responds. The project would use an electroencephalograph (EEG) to transfer the electrical signal from the patient’s scalp via a series of wires to an amplifier box, which, in turn, would be connected to a computer. The computer would then generate its own synthetic music based on the user’s mental state.

More information:

http://www.theengineer.co.uk/sectors/medical-and-healthcare/news/brain-computer-interface-plays-music-based-on-persons-mood/1011153.article

Brain Limiting Global Data Growth

2011-12-07T16:42:00.003Z

In the early 19th century, the German physiologist Ernst Weber discovered that the smallest increase in weight a human can perceive is proportional to the initial mass. This is now known as the Weber-Fechner law and shows that the relationship between the stimulus and perception is logarithmic. It's straightforward to apply this rule to modern media. Take images for example. An increase in resolution of a low resolution picture is more easily perceived than the same increase to a higher resolution picture. When two parameters are involved, the relationship between the stimuli and perception is the square of the logarithm. This way of thinking about stimulus and perception clearly indicates that the Weber-Fechner law ought to have a profound effect on the rate at which we absorb information.

Today, researchers at Goethe University Frankfurt in Germany look for signs of the Weber-Fechner law in the size distribution of files on the internet. They measured the type and size of files pointed to by every outward link from Wikipedia and the open directory project, dmoz.org. That's a total of more than 600 million files. Some 58 per cent of these pointed to image files, 32 per cent to application files, 5 per cent to text files, 3 per cent to audio and 1 per cent to video files. They discovered that the audio and video file distribution followed a log-normal curve, which is compatible with a logarithmic squared-type relationship. By contrast, image files follow a power law distribution, which is compatible with a logarithmic relationship. That's exactly as the Weber-Fechner law predicts.

More information:

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/27379/?p1=blogs

Robots in Reality

2011-12-01T09:32:00.004Z

Consider the following scenario: A scout surveys a high-rise building that’s been crippled by an earthquake, trapping workers inside. After looking for a point of entry, the scout carefully navigates through a small opening. An officer radios in, Go look down that corridor and tell me what you see’. The scout steers through smoke and rubble, avoiding obstacles and finding two trapped people, reporting their location via live video. A SWAT team is then sent to lead the workers safely out of the building. Despite its heroics, though, the scout is impervious to thanks. It just sets its sights on the next mission, like any robot would do. In the not-too-distant future, such robotics-driven missions will be a routine part of disaster response, researchers at MIT predict. Robots are ideal for dangerous and covert tasks, such as navigating nuclear disasters or spying on enemy camps.

They can be small and resilient — but more importantly, they can save valuable manpower. The key hurdle to such a scenario is robotic intelligence: Flying through unfamiliar territory while avoiding obstacles is an incredibly complex computational task. Understanding verbal commands in natural language is even trickier. Researchers in MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), are designing robotic systems that do more things intelligently by themselves. For instance, the team is building micro-aerial vehicles (MAVs), about the size of a small briefcase, that navigate independently, without the help of a global positioning system (GPS). Most drones depend on GPS to get around, which limits the areas they can cover. The group is also building social robots that understand natural language.

More information:

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2011/profile-roy-1128.html

Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes

2011-11-28T17:52:00.003Z

Archaeologists at the University of Birmingham are heading to Stonehenge to lead the Britain’s biggest-ever virtual excavation, a far from superficial look at the Stonehenge landscape. The Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project will use the latest geophysical imaging techniques to visually recreate the iconic prehistoric monument and its surroundings as it was more than 4000 years ago. The project begins midway through one of Stonehenge’s busiest tourist seasons for years. With more than 750,000 visitors annually, the site is one of the UK’s most popular tourist hotspots.

The Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project, started early July, aims to bring together the most sophisticated geophysics team ever to be engaged in a single archaeological project in Britain to work alongside specialists in British prehistory and landscape archaeology in a three-year collaboration. The scientists will map the Wiltshire terrain as well as virtually excavate it, accurately pinpointing its buried archaeological remains. When processed, the millions of measurements will be analysed and even incorporated into gaming technology to produce 2D and 3D images.

More information:

http://heritage-key.com/blogs/ann/stonehenge-hidden-landscapes-project-virtual-excavation-digital-recreation

Contact Lens Displays Pixels on Eyes

2011-11-25T08:09:00.004Z

The future of augmented-reality technology is here - as long as you're a rabbit. Bioengineers have placed the first contact lenses containing electronic displays into the eyes of rabbits as a first step on the way to proving they are safe for humans. The bunnies suffered no ill effects, the researchers say. The first version may only have one pixel, but higher resolution lens displays - like those seen in Terminator - could one day be used as satnav enhancers showing you directional arrows for example, or flash up texts and emails - perhaps even video. In the shorter term, the breakthrough also means people suffering from conditions like diabetes and glaucoma may find they have a novel way to monitor their conditions. The test lens was powered remotely using a 5-millimetre-long antenna printed on the lens to receive gigahertz-range radio-frequency energy from a transmitter placed ten centimetres from the rabbit's eye.

To focus the light on the rabbit's retina, the contact lens itself was fabricated as a Fresnel lens - in which a series of concentric annular sections is used to generate the ultrashort focal length needed. They found their lens LED glowed brightly up to a metre away from the radio source in free space, but needed to be 2 centimetres away when the lens was placed in a rabbit's eye and the wireless reception was affected by body fluids. All the 40-minute-long tests on live rabbits were performed under general anaesthetic and showed that the display worked well - and fluroescence tests showed no damage or abrasions to the rabbit's eyes after the lenses were removed. While making a higher resolution display is next on their agenda, there are uses for this small one, A display with a single controllable pixel could be used in gaming, training, or giving warnings to the hearing impaired.

More information:

http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/onepercent/2011/11/electronic-contact-lens-displa.html

Mimicking the Brain in Silicon

2011-11-22T10:32:00.003Z

For decades, scientists have dreamed of building computer systems that could replicate the human brain’s talent for learning new tasks. MIT researchers have now taken a major step toward that goal by designing a computer chip that mimics how the brain’s neurons adapt in response to new information. This phenomenon, known as plasticity, is believed to underlie many brain functions, including learning and memory. With about 400 transistors, the silicon chip can simulate the activity of a single brain synapse — a connection between two neurons that allows information to flow from one to the other. The researchers anticipate this chip will help neuroscientists learn much more about how the brain works, and could also be used in neural prosthetic devices such as artificial retinas, says Chi-Sang Poon, a principal research scientist in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. There are about 100 billion neurons in the brain, each of which forms synapses with many other neurons. A synapse is the gap between two neurons (known as the presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons). The presynaptic neuron releases neurotransmitters, such as glutamate and GABA, which bind to receptors on the postsynaptic cell membrane, activating ion channels.

Opening and closing those channels changes the cell’s electrical potential. If the potential changes dramatically enough, the cell fires an electrical impulse called an action potential. All of this synaptic activity depends on the ion channels, which control the flow of charged atoms such as sodium, potassium and calcium. Those channels are also key to two processes known as long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD), which strengthen and weaken synapses, respectively. The MIT researchers designed their computer chip so that the transistors could mimic the activity of different ion channels. While most chips operate in a binary, on/off mode, current flows through the transistors on the new brain chip in analog, not digital, fashion. A gradient of electrical potential drives current to flow through the transistors just as ions flow through ion channels in a cell. The MIT researchers plan to use their chip to build systems to model specific neural functions, such as the visual processing system. Such systems could be much faster than digital computers. Even on high-capacity computer systems, it takes hours or days to simulate a simple brain circuit. With the analog chip system, the simulation is even faster than the biological system itself. Another potential application is building chips that can interface with biological systems. This could be useful in enabling communication between neural prosthetic devices such as artificial retinas and the brain.

More information:

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2011/brain-chip-1115.html

Archeovirtual 2011 Seminar

2011-11-19T17:07:00.001Z

Yesterday, I gave an invited talk to the ‘V-Must Workshop 2: Virtual Heritage, Games and Movie’, Archeovirtual 2011, held at Paestum, Italy. The title of my talk was ‘Serious Games’.

My talk focused on the main technologies used for serious games. In addition, I presented two projects which are currently running at iWARG including crowd modeling and procedural modeling.

More information:

http://www.vhlab.itabc.cnr.it/archeovirtual/workshop.htm

Tracking Multiple Athletes

2011-11-13T23:19:00.003Z

EPFL’s Computer Vision Laboratory (CVLab), now has a new tool that makes it possible to follow multiple players at once on a field or court, even when they’re buried under a pile of bodies in a rugby match or crouched behind another player. The athletes are represented on a screen with a superimposed image bearing their jersey color and number, so spectators, referees, and coaches can easily follow individuals without mixing them up. And there’s no need for the players to wear extra gear or RFID chips. The system is made up of eight standard cameras - two on each side of the field or court, two that film from above and two that zoom – and three algorithms. After a tackle, goal, basket, or pileup, the system re-attributes the jersey number to each player automatically. No more getting lost in the crowd.

Three algorithms make the system work. The first detects individuals at a specific moment in time, independently of where they were the moment before or after. To do this, it slices the playing area into small 25 cm2 squares, removes the background in all the images simultaneously, and from this deduces the probability of the presence of a player in each of the small squares. The other two algorithms connect the results obtained for each moment in order to establish individual trajectories. All three use global optimization methods, resulting in a very robust system capable of tracking people in real time in a reliable manner. Researchers work with other applications, like tracking pedestrians to monitor traffic in an area, or following the movement of clients in a store for marketing purposes.

More information:

http://actu.epfl.ch/news/new-technology-tracks-multiple-athletes-at-once/

Robots and Avatars Seminar

2011-11-10T21:50:00.002Z

Yesterday, I gave an invited talk to the ‘Robots and Avatars’ workshop, held at Coventry University, Faculty of Engineering and Computing, Department of Computing. The title of my talk was ‘Human-machine interfaces’.

My talk focused on human-machine interfaces for control and communication between humans and machines, focussing on the use of Brain Computer Interfaces (BCI). In particular, I focused on the NeuroSky and Emotiv interfaces for robot control.

More information:

http://iwarg.blogspot.com/2011/11/robots-and-avatars.html

Controlling An Avatar With Your Brain

2011-11-06T13:56:00.003Z

In the 2011 movie ‘Source Code’, US Army Captain Colter Stevens has to stop a dangerous terrorist from detonating a bomb on a train. But because he is paralyzed in real-life, Stevens is being sent on the mission through an avatar he guides with his mind. Sounds far-fetched? Too Sci-Fi? One Israeli Professor is taking technology along those lines – further than you could ever imagine, with his latest project: Controlling your very own clone-avatar.

Researchers at the Advanced Virtuality Lab (AVL) at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) in Herzliya, Israel, have been studying and experimenting with the next generation of human-computer interfaces and their impact on individuals and society for the last three years, along with an international team of experts. The AVL’s main activity is to build virtual worlds and the interfaces that will be used in the future and investigates human behavior and the human mind in a virtual reality setting.

More information:

http://nocamels.com/2011/10/controlling-an-avatar-with-your-brain-israeli-lab-is-trying/

A Versatile Touch Sensor

2011-11-04T11:31:00.003Z

We live in an increasingly touchy-feely tech world, with various ways for smart phones and tablet computers to sense our finger taps and gestures. Now a new type of touch technology, developed by researchers at the University of Munich and the Hasso Plattner Institute, could lead to touch sensitivity being added to everyday items such as clothing, headphone wires, coffee tables, and even pieces of paper. The new touch technology relies on something called Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR), which has been used for decades to find damage in underwater cables. TDR is simple in theory: send a short electrical pulse down a cable and wait until a reflection of the pulse comes back. Based on the known speed of the pulse and the time it takes to come back, software can determine the position of the problem—damage in the line or some sort of change in electrical conductance.

The TDR implementation is straightforward, For one demonstration, researchers taped two parallel strips of copper to a piece of paper. Metal clips connect the copper strips to a pulse generator and detector. Pico-second-long electrical pulses are sent out, and if there's any change in capacitance between the two strips of copper—produced by a finger close to or touching the wires, for instance—part of the pulse is reflected back. An oscilloscope shows the changing waveform produced by the reflected pulse, and software on a connected computer analyzes the waveform to determine the position of the touch. To make a surface touch-sensitive requires only two wires (or metal traces of conductive ink), which can be configured in various patterns to get the necessary coverage. In contrast, a capacitive touch screen like the one in the iPhone uses a matrix of wires coming out of two sides of the screen.

More information:

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/39036/

Computer Inspired Creativity

2011-10-31T00:18:00.003Z

Constraints on creativity imposed by computer-aided design (CAD) tools are being overcome, thanks to a novel system that incorporates eye-tracking technology. 'Designing with Vision', a system devised by researchers at The Open University and the University of Leeds, is breaking down rigid distinctions between human and machine. This should help designers to recover intuitive elements of the design process that are otherwise suppressed when working with CAD. Traditional design tools, such as pen and paper, are increasingly being replaced by 2D and 3D computerised drawing packages. The uptake of CAD is helping to increase productivity and improve the quality of designs, reducing errors and unnecessary wastage when the goods are made. However, the switch to CAD may have a downside too. The introduction of digital technologies often forces people to change how they work so they fit with the technology, rather than the other way around. In creative disciplines, this inevitably constrains the results produced - a scenario that would be a disaster for designers, according to researchers at The Open University.

Researchers focused on an early stage in the design process that involves drawing, viewing, selecting and manipulating shapes. This process is common to designers working in areas such as fashion, graphics and consumer goods packaging. Designers who work with shapes tend to intuitively home in on certain areas in initial sketches, using these as a starting point to move forward. However, this element of subconscious selection is difficult to replicate with CAD, because the software package is unable to 'see' what might be catching the designer's eye. To redress this, researchers added eye-tracking technology to a CAD system, giving the digital technology a more fluid human-machine interface. This produced a design system that could identify and select shapes of interest automatically within a drawn sketch, according to the designer's gaze. The system was put through its paces by groups of professional and student designers to check that it worked in practice. The tests confirmed that the combination of eye-tracking technology and conventional mouse-based input allowed initial design sketches to be manipulated and developed according to the user's subconscious visual cues.

More information:

http://www.leeds.ac.uk/news/article/2558/the_eyes_have_it_computer-inspired_creativity

Visualizing the Future

2011-10-18T13:43:00.001Z

It appears that we really can be in two places at once. We call these ubiquitous displays, researchers from California Institute for Telecommunications & Information Technology (Calit2) said. As the term implies, ubiquitous displays may soon be used just about everywhere, from huge domes to small cell phones, from amusement parks to doctors’ exam rooms.

While amusement parks, flight training operations and others have long created virtual reality environments, the UCI group’s software will be compatible with new digital equipment and allows the use of everyday cameras and far cheaper projectors. Perhaps most important, the calibration process between the camera and the projectors – key to image quality – is completely automated.

More information:

http://www.uci.edu/features/2011/10/feature_panorama_111010.php

Robot Biologist

2011-10-17T17:57:00.003Z

Now computers are at it again, but this time they are trying to automate the scientific process itself. An interdisciplinary team of scientists at Vanderbilt University, Cornell University and CFD Research Corporation, Inc., has taken a major step toward this goal by demonstrating that a computer can analyze raw experimental data from a biological system and derive the basic mathematical equations that describe the way the system operates. According to the researchers, it is one of the most complex scientific modeling problems that a computer has solved completely from scratch. The biological system that the researchers used to test ABE is glycolysis, the primary process that produces energy in a living cell.

Specifically, they focused on the manner in which yeast cells control fluctuations in the chemical compounds produced by the process. The researchers chose this specific system, called glycolytic oscillations, to perform a virtual test of the software because it is one of the most extensively studied biological control systems. They used one of the process’ detailed mathematical models to generate a data set corresponding to the measurements a scientist would make under various conditions. To increase the realism of the test, the researchers salted the data with a 10 percent random error. When they fed the data into Eureqa, it derived a series of equations that were nearly identical to the known equations.

More information:

http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2011/10/robot-biologist/

Kinect Merges Real and Virtual Worlds

2011-10-16T19:53:00.002Z

Microsoft's Kinect Xbox controller, which lets gamers control on-screen action with their body movements, has been adapted in hundreds of interesting, useful, and occasionally bizarre ways since its release in November 2010. It's been used for robotic vision and automated home lighting. It's helped wheelchair users with their shopping. Yet these uses could look like child's play compared to the new 3D modeling capabilities Microsoft has developed for the Kinect. KinectFusion, a research project that lets users generate high-quality 3D models in real time using a standard $100 Kinect.

KinectFusion also includes a realistic physics engine that allows scanned objects to be manipulated in realistic ways. The technology allows objects, people, and entire rooms to be scanned in 3D at a fraction of the normal cost. Imagine true-to-life avatars and objects being imported into virtual environments. Or a crime scene that can be re-created within seconds. Visualizing a new sofa in your living room and other virtual interior design tricks could become remarkably simple. 3D scanners already exist, but none of them approach KinectFusion in ease of use and speed, and even desktop versions cost around $3,000.

More information:

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/38731/

http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/surfacerecon/

Games May Not Boost Cognition

2011-10-14T19:16:00.003Z

Over the past decade, many studies and news media reports have suggested that action video games such as Medal of Honor or Unreal Tournament improve a variety of perceptual and cognitive abilities. But in a paper published this week in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, Walter Boot, an assistant professor in Florida State University's Department of Psychology, critically re-evaluates those claims. Researchers believe that it is a persuasive argument that much of the work done over the past decade demonstrating the benefits of video game play is fundamentally flawed. Many of those studies compared the cognitive skills of frequent gamers to non-gamers and found gamers to be superior.

However, new research points out that this doesn't necessarily mean that their game experience caused better perceptual and cognitive abilities. It could be that individuals who have the abilities required to be successful gamers are simply drawn to gaming. Researchers looking for cognitive differences between expert and novice gamers often recruit research participants by circulating ads on college campuses seeking "expert" video game players. Media reports on the superior skills of gamers heighten gamers' awareness of these expectations. Even studies in which non-gamers are trained to play action video games have their own problems, often in the form of weak control groups.

More information:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110915131637.htm

It's All About the Hair

2011-10-12T10:40:00.001Z

Researchers from the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego got to rub shoulders with Hollywood celebrities. They have developed a new way to light and animate characters’ hair. It is now part of Disney’s production pipeline and will be used in the company’s upcoming movies.

Researchers surveyed the research available to improve the appearance of animated hair. The new software researchers developed allowed artists to control the sheen, color and highlights in their hair. They used a technique called light scattering, and blondes have a lot more of it than brunettes.

More information:

http://www.jacobsschool.ucsd.edu/news/news_releases/release.sfe?id=1122

Robot Revolution?

2011-10-11T09:11:00.003Z

From performing household chores, to entertaining and educating our children, to looking after the elderly, roboticists say we will soon be welcoming their creations into our homes and workplaces. Researchers believe we are on the cusp of a robot revolution that will mirror the explosive growth of the computer revolution from the 1980s onwards. They are developing new laws for robot behaviour, and designing new ways for humans and robots to interact.

Commercially available robots are already beginning to perform everyday tasks like vacuuming our floors. The latest prototypes from Japan are able to help the elderly to get out of bed or get up after a fall. They can also remind them when to take medication, or even help wash their hair. Researchers found that people react well to a robot gym instructor, and seem to get less frustrated with it than with instructions given on a computer screen. The robot can act as a perfect trainer, with infinite patience.

More information:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15146053

Mind-Reading Car

2011-10-10T14:32:00.001Z

One of the world's largest motor manufacturers is working with scientists based in Switzerland to design a car that can read its driver's mind and predict his or her next move. The collaboration, between Nissan and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), is intended to balance the necessities of road safety with demands for personal transport. Scientists at the EPFL have already developed brain-machine interface (BMI) systems that allow wheelchair users to manoeuvre their chairs by thought transference. Their next step will be finding a way to incorporate that technology into the way motorists interact with their cars.

If the endeavour proves successful, the vehicles of the future may be able to prepare themselves for a left or right turn by gauging that their drivers are thinking about making such a turn. However, although BMI technology is well established, the levels of human concentration needed to make it work are extremely high, so the research team is working on systems that will use statistical analysis to predict a driver's next move and to evaluate a driver's cognitive state relevant to the driving environment. By measuring brain activity, monitoring patterns of eye movement and scanning the environment around the car, the team thinks the car will be able to predict what a driver is planning to do and help him or her complete the manoeuvre safely.

More information:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/sep/28/nissan-car-reads-drivers-mind?newsfeed=true

Virtual Monkeys Write Shakespeare

2011-09-30T09:07:00.003Z

A few million virtual monkeys are close to re-creating the complete works of Shakespeare by randomly mashing keys on virtual typewriters. A running total of how well they are doing shows that the re-creation is 99.990% complete. The first single work to be completed was the poem A Lover's Complaint. It is also a practical test of the thought experiment that wonders whether an infinite number of monkeys pounding on an infinite number of typewriters would be able to produce Shakespeare's works by accident. The virtual monkeys are small computer programs uploaded to Amazon servers.

These coded apes regularly pump out random sequences of text. Each sequence is nine characters long and each is checked to see if that string of characters appears anywhere in the works of Shakespeare. If not, it is discarded. If it does match then progress has been made towards re-creating the works of the Bard. To get a sense of the scale of the project, there are about 5.5 trillion different combinations of any nine characters from the English alphabet. The monkeys are generating random nine-character strings to try to produce all these strings and thereby find those that appear in Shakespeare's works.

More information:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15060310

The Cyborg in Us All

2011-09-26T08:39:00.002Z

Within the next decade there is likely to emerge a new kind of brain implant for healthy people who want to interact with and control machines by thought. One technology under development is the electrocorticographic (ECoG) implant, which is less invasive than other devices and capable of riding on top of the brain-blood barrier, sensing the activity of neuron populations and transmitting their communications to the outside world as software commands. Research to study the potential of ECoG implants is being funded by the U.S. Defense Department as part of a $6.3 million Army project to create devices for telepathic communication.

Carnegie Mellon University researchers are most eager to see a ‘two-way direct-brain interface’ that would revolutionize human experience. They took advantage of the implant to see if patients could control the actions in a video game called Galaga using only their thoughts. Patients flick the spaceship back and forth by imagining that they are moving their tongue. This creates a pulse in his brain that travels through the wires into a computer. Thus, a thought becomes a software command. An even less invasive brain-machine interface than the ECoG implant is being researched at Dartmouth College, where scientists are creating an iPhone linked to an electroencephalography headset.

More information:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/magazine/the-cyborg-in-us-all.html?_r=1

RePro3D

2011-09-24T10:34:00.001Z

Lonely gamers who have felt the pain of being separated by a screen from their favorite personalities now have a way to reach out and touch their game characters, and that new way is RePro3D. A group of researchers from Keio University in Japan have come up with a 3D screen that lets the user, glasses-free, see and touch characters on the screen. The technology is about a 3D parallax display with infrared camera that recognizes the movements of the user's hand and the character on the screen reacts to the movements instantly.

Researchers use retro-reflective projection technology, using materials with special retro-reflective characteristics. This kind of material reflects light that enters back at the same angle it entered. Using this technology enables a display to show images at a different place from the light source. A user's tactile device worn on the fingers is designed to enhance the sensation of touching the objects on a 3D screen. In the future, they plan to build a touchable 3D display system that expands the size of the visible image, so that multiple people can be in the same space, and can share the same image.

More information:

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-09-lonely-gamers-repro3d-characters-video.html

AR Gesture Recognition

2011-09-23T07:16:00.003Z

To make its business software more effective, HP recently paid $10 billion for Autonomy, a U.K. software company that specializes in machine learning. But it turns out that Autonomy has developed image-processing techniques for gesture-recognizing augmented reality (AR). AR involves layering computer-generated imagery on top of a view of the real world as seen through the camera of a smart phone or tablet computer. So someone looking at a city scene through a device could see tourist information on top of the view. Autonomy's new AR technology, called Aurasma, recognizes a user's hand gestures. This means a person using the app can reach out in front of the device to interact with the virtual content. Previously, interacting with AR content involved tapping the screen. One demonstration released by Autonomy creates a virtual air hockey game on top of an empty tabletop—users play by waving their hands.

Autonomy's core technology lets businesses index and search data that conventional, text-based search engines struggle with. Examples are audio recordings of sales calls, or video from surveillance cameras. Aurasma's closest competitor is Layar, a Netherlands company that offers an AR platform that others can add content to. However, Layar has so far largely relied on GPS location to position content, and only recently made it possible to position virtual objects more precisely, using image recognition. And Layar does not recognize users' gestures. Although mobile phones and tablets are the best interfaces available for AR today, the experience is still somewhat clunky, since a person must hold up a device with one hand at all times. Sci-fi writers and technologists have long forecast that the technology would eventually be delivered through glasses. Recognizing hand movements would be useful for such a design, since there wouldn't be the option of using a touch screen or physical buttons.

More information:

http://www.technologyreview.com/communications/38568/

Caring, Empathetic Robots

2011-09-19T17:00:00.002Z

Robots may one day learn to care for and nurture one another, according to research by an OU professor. Computer science scientists in the OU Robotic Intelligence and Machine Learning Lab, investigate whether robots can learn to care for one another and, eventually, humans.

Researchers realized most organisms are born with instincts that tell them how to survive, but if an organism is in a rapidly changing environment, these skills may not be applicable, and it will have to learn new skills. From there, the idea of having a nurturer seems most logical.

More information:

http://www.oudaily.com/news/2011/sep/14/ou-professor-conducts-research-robot-care-nurturin/

3D 'Daddy Long Legs'

2011-09-18T21:09:00.002Z

Two ancient types of harvestmen, or 'daddy long legs,' which skittered around forests more than 300 million years ago, are revealed in new three-dimensional virtual fossil models published in the journal Nature Communications. An international team, led by researchers from Imperial College London, have created 3D models of two fossilised species of harvestmen, from the Dyspnoi and Eupnoi suborders. The ancient creatures lived on Earth before the dinosaurs, in the Carboniferous period. The 3D models are providing fresh insights into how these ancient eight-legged creatures, whose 1cm bodies were the size of small buttons, survived in Earth's ancient forests and how harvestmen as a group have evolved. Other scientists have previously suggested that harvestmen were among the first groups on land whose bodies evolved into their modern-day form at a time while other land animals such as spiders and scorpions were still at an early stage in their evolution. The researchers say comparing the 3D fossils of the Dyspnoi and Eupnoi species to modern members of these harvestmen groups provides further proof that ancient and modern species were very similar in appearance, suggesting little change over millions of years. The 3D virtual fossil models have also provided the researchers with further proof that the Dyspnoi and Eupnoi lineages had evolved from a common harvestmen ancestor around 305 million years ago. The researchers say their work supports earlier DNA-based studies and is important because it provides a clearer picture of the early evolution of these creatures.

The researchers also found clues as to how both creatures may have lived hundreds of millions of years ago. The team believes that the Eupnoi probably lived in foliage just above the forest floor, which may have helped it to hide from predators lurking on the ground. The 3D model of the Eupnoi revealed that it had long legs with a curvature at the end that are similar to the legs of its modern relatives who use the curved leg parts to grip onto vegetation while moving from leaf to leaf. The researchers also determined that the Eupnoi's body had a very thin and soft outer shell or exoskeleton by analysing a section of the 3D fossil showing a part of its abdomen that had been crushed during the fossilisation process. This indicated to the team the fragility of the Eupnoi's exoskeleton. It is rare to find fossilised remains of Harvestmen because their soft, tiny, fragile bodies are difficult to preserve during the fossilisation process. Only around 33 fossilised species have been discovered so far. Currently, most palaeontologists analyse fossils by splitting open a rock and looking at the creatures encased inside. This means that they can often only see part of a three-dimensional fossil and cannot explore all of the fossil's features. The method used in today's study is called 'computed tomography' and it enables researchers to produce highly detailed virtual models using a CT scanning device, based at the Natural History Museum in London. In this study, scientists took 3142 x-rays of the fossils and compiled the images into accurate 3D models, using specially designed computer software. This research follows on from previous modelling studies carried out by Imperial researchers on other prehistoric creatures including ancient spiders called Anthracomartus hindi and Eophrynus prestivicii, and an early ancestor of the cockroach called Archimylacris eggintoni.

More information:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110823115149.htm

Will OnLive Kill the Console?

2011-09-16T13:27:00.002Z

OnLive is a fairly simple idea. Instead of using a console or a computer to run a game for you, the system uses a server over the internet. It's the implications of that idea that, if they work, are nothing short of revolutionary. Your controller or keyboard sends your input over the internet, to an OnLive server which then bounces back to you the result of your action onscreen. There's no physical disc, and not even any download time - you can start a 30-minute game demo in seconds, for free. Or rent or buy games that are linked to your account (UK pricing hasn't been announced yet, US pricing is typically around $5 for a three-day rental, $50 for a new game). And that means you can take them anywhere, play them on anything.

The same game, with progress tracked, can be played on a PC, Mac, big-screen TV with a ‘micro-console’ and controller, Android tablet or iPad (from this autumn) and even, in the future, on an internet-enabled TV or Blu-ray player. So you can start a game at work in your lunchtime, continue it on a tablet on wi-fi on the way home and finish it on your big TV. For games companies, that means no piracy, and no physical distribution hassles. For gamers, as well as portability and instant availability, it also means you can watch anyone else's game (even talk to them while they play), from a megalomania-inducing bank of screens of games happening right that second.

More information:

http://games.uk.msn.com/previews/will-onlive-kill-the-console-14092011

Robot Teaches English

2011-09-05T18:52:00.002Z

Say ‘How do you do’ to Mike and Michelle, face-to-face tutors for English learners. They'll correct your grammar, answer questions, converse on a variety of topics, be there 24/7, and won't charge a dime. And they're doing very well, thank-you. The on-screen ‘English Tutor’ interactive robots and their creator (from Pasadena City College), are heading to England's Exeter University in October as one of four finalists in the 2011 Loebner Prize for Artificial Intelligence.

Over the years, the program has grown more sophisticated, now with robots able to chat on 25 topics in 2,000 available conversations. The robots can detect the 800 most common errors learning English-speakers make, Lee said, and know all the irregular verbs, provide different tenses, explain grammatical terms and give advice on how to learn English. Users still have to type in their questions, rather than speak, although he said users with speech recognition software can talk into the microphone.

More information:

http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news/ci_18767575

Build Music With Blocks

2011-08-28T11:16:00.003Z

Researchers at the University of Southampton have developed a new way to generate music and control computers. Audio d-touch, is based into tangible user interfaces, or TUIs, gives physical control in the immaterial world of computers. It uses a standard computer and a web cam. Through using simple computer vision techniques, physical blocks are tracked on a printed board. The position of the blocks then determines how the computer samples and reproduces sound.

Audio d-touch is more than just for play: TUIs are an alternative to virtual worlds. Human-Computer Interaction researchers are investigating ways to move away from the online, purely digital world and rediscover the richness of our sense of touch. All that is needed is a regular computer equipped with a web-cam and a printer. The user creates physical interactive objects and attaches printed visual markers recognized by Audio d-touch. The software platform is open and can be extended for applications beyond music synthesis.

More information:

http://www.soton.ac.uk/mediacentre/news/2011/aug/11_83.shtml

Virtual Touch Feels Tumours

2011-08-27T13:04:00.003Z

Tactile feedback technology could give keyhole surgeons a virtual sense of feeling tumours while operating. A Leeds University study has combined computer virtualisation with a device that simulates pressure on a surgeon's hand when touching human tissue remotely. This could enable a medic to handle a tumour robotically, and judge if it is malignant or benign. Cancer specialists hope the new system will help to improve future treatment. In current keyhole procedures, a surgeon operates through a tiny incision in the patient's body, guided only by video images. Using keyhole techniques, as opposed to major invasive surgery, helps improve healing and patient recovery. However, surgeons can't feel the tissue they are operating on - something which might help them to find and categorise tumours.

The team of undergraduates at Leeds University has devised a solution that combines a computer-generated virtual simulation with a hand-held haptic feedback device. The system works by varying feedback pressure on the user's hand when the density of the tissue being examined changes. In tests, team members simulated tumours in a human liver using a soft block of silicon embedded with ball bearings. The user was able to locate these lumps using haptic feedback. Engineers hope this will one day allow a surgeon to feel for lumps in tissue during surgery. The project has just been declared one of four top student designs in a global competition run by US technology firm National Instruments.

More information:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14540581

Zoobotics

2011-08-22T20:58:00.003Z

Until recently, most robots could be thought of as belonging to one of two phyla. The Widgetophora, equipped with claws, grabs and wheels, stuck to the essentials and did not try too hard to look like anything other than machines. The Anthropoidea, by contrast, did their best to look like their creators—sporting arms with proper hands, legs with real feet, and faces. The few animal-like robots that fell between these extremes were usually built to resemble pets and were, in truth, not much more than just amusing toys. They are toys no longer, though, for it has belatedly dawned on robot engineers that they are missing a trick. The great natural designer, evolution, has come up with solutions to problems that neither the Widgetophora nor the Anthropoidea can manage. Why not copy these proven models, the engineers wondered, rather than trying to outguess 4 billion years of natural selection? The result has been a flourishing of animal-like robots. It is not just dogs that engineers are copying now, but shrews complete with whiskers, swimming lampreys, grasping octopuses, climbing lizards and burrowing clams.

They are even trying to mimic insects, by making robots that take off when they flap their wings. As a consequence, the Widgetophora and the Anthropoidea are being pushed aside. The phylum Zoomorpha is on the march. Researchers at the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa are a good example of this trend. They lead an international consortium that is building a robotic octopus. The hug of a monopus.To create their artificial cephalopod they started with the animal’s literal and metaphorical killer app: its flexible, pliable arms. In a vertebrate’s arms, muscles do the moving and bones carry the weight. An octopus arm, though, has no bones, so its muscles must do both jobs. Its advantage is that, besides grasping things tightly, it can also squeeze into nooks and crannies that are inaccessible to vertebrate arms of similar dimensions. After studying how octopus arms work, researchers have come up with an artificial version that behaves the same way. Its outer casing is made of silicone and is fitted with pressure sensors so that it knows what it is touching. Inside this casing are cables and springs made of a specially elastic nickel-titanium alloy. The result can wrap itself around an object with a movement that strikingly resembles that of the original.

More information:

http://www.economist.com/node/18925855

Chips That Behave Like Brains

2011-08-21T18:12:00.002Z

Computers, like humans, can learn. But when Google tries to fill in your search box based only on a few keystrokes, or your iPhone predicts words as you type a text message, it's only a narrow mimicry of what the human brain is capable. The challenge in training a computer to behave like a human brain is technological and physiological, testing the limits of computer and brain science. But researchers from IBM Corp. say they've made a key step toward combining the two worlds. The company announced Thursday that it has built two prototype chips that it says process data more like how humans digest information than the chips that now power PCs and supercomputers.

The chips represent a significant milestone in a six-year-long project that has involved 100 researchers and some $41 million in funding from the government's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA. IBM has also committed an undisclosed amount of money. The prototypes offer further evidence of the growing importance of "parallel processing," or computers doing multiple tasks simultaneously. That is important for rendering graphics and crunching large amounts of data. The uses of the IBM chips so far are prosaic, such as steering a simulated car through a maze, or playing Pong. It may be a decade or longer before the chips make their way out of the lab and into actual products.

More information:

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-08-ibm-pursues-chips-brains.html

Virtual People Get ID Checks

2011-08-17T19:51:00.002Z

Using both characteristics, researchers hope to develop techniques for checking whether the digital characters are who they claim to be. Such information could be used in situations where login details are not visible or for law enforcement. Impersonation of avatars is expected to become a growing problem as real life and cyberspace increasingly merge. Avatars are typically used to represent players in online games such as World of Warcraft and in virtual communities like Second Life. As their numbers grow, it will become important to find ways to identify those we meet regularly, according to researchers from the University of Louisville. Working out if their controller is male or female has an obvious commercial benefit.

But discovering that the same person controlled different avatars in separate spaces would be even more useful. As robots proliferate we will need ways of telling one from the other. The technology may also have implications for security if a game account is hacked and stolen. Behavioural analysis could help prove whether an avatar is under the control of its usual owner by watching to see if it acts out of character. The research looked at monitoring for signature gestures, movements and other distinguishing characteristics. Researchers discovered that the lack of possible variations on a avatar's digital face, when compared to a real human, made identification tricky. However, those limited options are relatively simple to measure, because of the straightforward geometries involved in computer-generated images.

More information:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14277728

Computers Synthesize Sounds

2011-08-16T21:43:00.002Z

Computer-generated imagery usually relies on recorded sound to complete the illusion. Recordings can, however, limit the range of sounds you can produce, especially in future virtual reality environments where you can't always know ahead of time what the action will be. Researchers developed computer algorithms to synthesize sound on-the-fly based on simulated physics models. Now they have devised methods for synthesizing more realistic sounds of hard objects colliding and the roar of fire. To synthesize collision sounds, the computer calculates the forces computer-generated objects would exert if they were real, how those forces would make the objects vibrate and how those vibrations transfer to the air to make sound. Previous efforts often assumed that the contacting objects were rigid, but in reality, there is no such thing as a rigid object, researchers say. Objects vibrate when they collide, which can produce further chattering and squeaking sounds.

Resolving all the frictional contact events between rapidly vibrating objects is computationally expensive. To speed things up, their algorithm simulates only the fraction of contacts and vibrations needed to synthesize the sound. Demonstrations include the sound of a ruler overhanging the edge of table and buzzing when plucked, pounding on a table to make dishes clatter and ring and the varied sounds of a Rube Goldberg machine that rolls marbles into a cup that moves a lever that pushes a bunny into a shopping cart that rolls downhill. Fire is animated by mimicking the chemical reactions and fluid-like flow of burning gases. But flame sounds come from things that happen very rapidly in the expanding gases, and computer animators do not need to model those costly details to get good-looking flames. They demonstrated with a fire-breathing dragon statue, a candle in the wind, a torch swinging through the air, a jet of flame injected into a small chamber and a burning brick. The last simulation was run with several variations of the sound-synthesis method, and the results compared with a high-speed video and sound recording of a real burning brick.

More information:

http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Aug11/FireContactSound.html

Robots With Ability to Learn

2011-08-06T10:27:00.001Z

Researchers with the Hasegawa Group at the Tokyo Institute of Technology have created a robot that is capable of applying learned concepts to perform new tasks. Using a type of self-replicating neural technology they call the Self-Organizing Incremental Neural Network (SOINN), the team has released a video demonstrating the robot’s ability to understand it’s environment and to carry out instructions that it previously didn’t know how to do. The robot, apparently not named because it’s not the robot itself that is being demonstrated, but the neural technology behind what it’s able to achieve, is capable of figuring out what to do next in a given situation by storing information in a network constructed to mimic the human brain. For example, the team demonstrates its technology by asking the robot to fill a cup with water from a bottle, which it does quite quickly and ably. This part is nothing new, the robot is simply following predefined instructions. On the next go round however, the robot is asked to cool the beverage while in the middle of carrying out the same instructions as before. This time, the robot has to pause to consider what it must do to carry out this new request. It immediately sees that it cannot carry out the new request under the current circumstances because both of its hands are already being used (one to hold the cup, the other the bottle) so, it sets the bottle down then reaches over to retrieve an ice cube which it promptly deposits in the cup.

This little demonstration, while not all that exciting to watch, represents a true leap forward in robotics technology and programming. Being able to learn means that the robot can be programmed with just a very basic set of pre-knowledge that is then built upon for as long as the robot exists, without additional programming; not unlike how human beings start out with very little information at birth and build upon what they know and are able to do over a lifetime. The robot has an advantage though, because not only is it able to learn from its own experiences, but from others as well all over the world. This is because it can be connected to the internet where it can research how to do things, just as we humans already do. But, in addition to that it could conceivably also learn from other robots just like it that have already learned how to do the thing that needs doing. As an example, one of the research team members describes a situation where a robot is given to an elderly man as a nurse and is then asked to make him some tea. If the robot doesn’t know how, it could just ask another robot online who does. Remarkably, the first robot could do so even if he (it) is trying to make English tea and the robot who answers the internet query has made only Japanese tea before. The lessons the first robot has learned over time would allow him to adapt, and that’s why this breakthrough is so important, because it means given enough time and experience, robots may soon finally be able to do all those things we’ve been watching them do in science fiction movies, and likely, more.

More information:

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-08-robot-ability.html

Turning Thought into Motion

2011-08-01T14:34:00.001Z

Brain cap technology being developed at the University of Maryland allows users to turn their thoughts into motion. Researchers have created a non-invasive, sensor-lined cap with neural interface software that soon could be used to control computers, robotic prosthetic limbs, motorized wheelchairs and even digital avatars. The potential and rapid progression of the UMD brain cap technology can be seen in a host of recent developments, including a just published study in the Journal of Neurophysiology, new grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health, and a growing list of partners that includes the University of Maryland School of Medicine, the Veterans Affairs Maryland Health Care System, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Rice University and Walter Reed Army Medical Center's Integrated Department of Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation.

Researchers use EEG to non-invasively read brain waves and translate them into movement commands for computers and other devices. They are also collaborating on a rapidly growing cadre projects with researchers at other institutions to develop thought-controlled robotic prosthetics that can assist victims of injury and stroke. They have tracked the neural activity of people on a treadmill doing precise tasks like stepping over dotted lines. The researchers are matching specific brain activity recorded in real time with exact lower-limb movements. This data could help stroke victims in several ways. People who are less mobile commonly suffer from other health issues such as obesity, diabetes or cardiovascular problems, so they are moving by whatever means possible. The second use of the EEG data in stroke victims offers exciting possibilities by decoding the motion of a normal gait.

More information:

http://www.newsdesk.umd.edu/scitech/release.cfm?ArticleID=2475

Humanlike Computer Vision

2011-07-25T13:57:00.003Z

Two new techniques for computer-vision technology mimic how humans perceive three-dimensional shapes by instantly recognizing objects no matter how they are twisted or bent, an advance that could help machines see more like people. The techniques, called heat mapping and heat distribution, apply mathematical methods to enable machines to perceive three-dimensional objects, researchers mentioned at Purdue. Both of the techniques build on the basic physics and mathematical equations related to how heat diffuses over surfaces. As heat diffuses over a surface it follows and captures the precise contours of a shape. The system takes advantage of this intelligence of heat, simulating heat flowing from one point to another and in the process characterizing the shape of an object. A major limitation of existing methods is that they require prior information about a shape in order for it to be analyzed. Researchers developing a new machine-vision technique tested their method on certain complex shapes, including the human form or a centaur – a mythical half-human, half-horse creature. The heat mapping allows a computer to recognize the objects no matter how the figures are bent or twisted and is able to ignore noise introduced by imperfect laser scanning or other erroneous data.

The new methods mimic the human ability to properly perceive objects because they don't require a preconceived idea of how many segments exist. The methods have many potential applications, including a 3D search engine to find mechanical parts such as automotive components in a database; robot vision and navigation; 3D medical imaging; military drones; multimedia gaming; creating and manipulating animated characters in film production; helping 3D cameras to understand human gestures for interactive games; contributing to progress of areas in science and engineering related to pattern recognition; machine learning; and computer vision. The heat-mapping method works by first breaking an object into a mesh of triangles, the simplest shape that can characterize surfaces, and then calculating the flow of heat over the meshed object. The method does not involve actually tracking heat; it simulates the flow of heat using well-established mathematical principles. Heat mapping allows a computer to recognize an object, such as a hand or a nose, no matter how the fingers are bent or the nose is deformed and is able to ignore noise introduced by imperfect laser scanning or other erroneous data.

More information:

http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/research/2011/110620RamaniHeat.html

Geo-Immersion

2011-07-24T18:36:00.001Z

At the site of a terrorist attack, an earthquake or a tsunami, emergency responders are focused on search and rescue, and saving lives. Some disaster sites provide an opportunity for experts with different skills than the police, firefighters and aid organizations that are first on the scene.

With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), researchers from the Disaster Research Center (DRC) go to devastated locations to learn more about how lives may be saved in the future. The DRC started in 1963 at the Ohio State University, and moved in the mid-1980s to the University of Delaware in Newark.

More information:

http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/science_nation/index.jsp

Robots Identify Human Activities

2011-07-23T20:32:00.003Z

Cornell researchers are programming robots to identify human activities by observation. Researchers report that they have trained a robot to recognize 12 different human activities, including brushing teeth, drinking water, relaxing on a couch and working on a computer. Others have tried to teach robots to identify human activities, the researchers note, using video cameras. The Cornell team used a 3D camera that, they said, greatly improves reliability because it helps separate the human image from background clutter. They used an inexpensive Microsoft Kinect camera, designed to control video games with body movements. The camera combines a video image with infrared ranging to create a point cloud with 3D coordinates of every point in the image. To simplify computation, images of people are reduced to skeletons. The computer breaks activities into a series of steps. Brushing teeth, for example, can be broken down into squeezing toothpaste, bringing hand to mouth, moving hand up and down and so on.

The computer is trained by watching a person perform the activity several times; each time it breaks down what it sees into a chain of sub-activities and stores the result, ending with an average of all the observations. When it's time to recognize what a person is doing, the computer again breaks down the activity it observes into a chain of sub-activities, then compares that with the various options in its memory. Of course no human will produce the exact same movements every time, so the computer calculates the probability of a match for each stored chain and chooses the most likely one. In experiments with four different people in five environments, including a kitchen, living room and office, the computer correctly identified one of the 12 specified activities 84 percent of the time when it was observing a person it had trained with, and 64 percent of the time when working with a person it had not seen before. It also was successful at ignoring random activities that didn't fit any of the known patterns.

More information:

http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/July11/Activity.html

Who Needs Humans?

2011-07-22T18:37:00.005Z

Amid all the job losses of the Great Recession, there is one category of worker that the economic disruption has been good for: nonhumans. From self-service checkout lines at the supermarket to industrial robots armed with saws and taught to carve up animal carcasses in slaughter-houses, these ever-more-intelligent machines are now not just assisting workers but actually kicking them out of their jobs. Automation isn’t just affecting factory workers, either. Some law firms now use artificial intelligence software to scan and read mountains of legal documents, work that previously was performed by highly paid human lawyers.

It’s not that robots are cheaper than humans, though often they are. It’s that they are better. In some cases the quality requirements are so stringent that even if you wanted to have a human do the job, you couldn’t. Same goes for surgeons, who are using robotic systems to perform an ever-growing list of operations—not because the machines save money but because, thanks to the greater precision of robots, the patients recover in less time and have fewer complications. The surgery bots don’t replace surgeons—you still need a surgeon to drive the robot. Prices go as high as $2.2 million. Nevertheless, Intuitive sold 400 of them just last year.

More information:

http://www.newsweek.com/2011/07/17/the-threat-of-automation-robots-threaten-american-jobs.html

Robots Kinect's 'eyes and ears'

2011-07-19T19:42:00.003Z

Microsoft Robotics has been giving away its free Robotics Developer Studio, complete with a 3D simulator, for the last six years, but without gaining much visibility. Microsoft, however, is convinced that will change when the company launches added services that allow users to plug the Kinect hands-free hardware--intended for gesture control of its Xbox gaming console--directly into any robot. In essence, the Kinect will add eyes and ears to any robot, which can be controlled with sophisticated gesture recognition running on an embedded Windows based computer. Microsoft’s Robotics Developer Studio users will not just have access raw data either, but will also be able to access all of Kinect's sophisticated pattern recognition algorithms that enable the Xbox to be controlled with gestures. Now roboticists using the Robotics Developer Studio will be able to control their robotics with gestures.

While users are prohibited from developing commercial products with the Kinect SDK, non-profits will be able to add the navigation algorithms that enable robots to use Kinect to follow paths, plan routes and generally re-enact the types of behaviors that search-and-rescue robots can now only perform by remote control. Last year Microsoft acquired the fabless chip maker, Canesta Inc. which makes a chip-level pattern recognition engine. Canesta’s engine is said to outperform the PrimeSensor which Microsoft is currently licensing from PrimeSense Ltd. When Microsoft commercializes the Canesta-invented chip-level work-alike of the PrimeSensor, it will be able to downsize the foot-long Kinect to about a square centimeter, enabling tiny robots and other mobile devices, to perform sophisticated gesture recognition for natural user interfaces, autonomous navigation and many other tasks.

More information:

http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-news/4217801/Robots-get-Kinect-s--eyes-and-ears-

Learn Language Using Games

2011-07-16T08:39:00.003Z

Computers are great at treating words as data: Word-processing programs let you rearrange and format text however you like, and search engines can quickly find a word anywhere on the Web. But what would it mean for a computer to actually understand the meaning of a sentence written in ordinary English — or French, or Urdu, or Mandarin? One test might be whether the computer could analyze and follow a set of instructions for an unfamiliar task. And indeed, in the last few years, researchers at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab have begun designing machine-learning systems that do exactly that, with surprisingly good results.

In 2009, at the annual meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL), researchers in the lab of Regina Barzilay, took the best-paper award for a system that generated scripts for installing a piece of software on a Windows computer by reviewing instructions posted on Microsoft’s help site. At this year’s ACL meeting, researchers applied a similar approach to a more complicated problem: learning to play ‘Civilization’, a computer game in which the player guides the development of a city into an empire across centuries of human history. When the researchers augmented a machine-learning system so that it could use a player’s manual to guide the development of a game-playing strategy, its rate of victory jumped from 46 percent to 79 percent.

More information:

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2011/language-from-games-0712.html

The Virtue in Virtuality

2011-07-13T18:10:00.001Z

What if a fifth grader could learn college-level physics concepts? What if the platform used to teach those concepts could be accessed very simply online through a Web browser? What if that new methodology allowed students to write computer programs, progress at their own pace and provide the teacher immediate feedback on individual progress? As it turns out, these questions are not just ‘what ifs’ thanks to several groundbreaking education technology platforms under development in labs across the Peabody campus. These innovations allow cutting-edge researchers to harness innovators of the technology described, call the virtue in virtuality.

Common among these developing platforms is their commitment to accessibility, focus on efficiency and effectiveness, and an emphasis on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) topics. A driving theme is a desire to free teachers up for more instructional time and, ultimately, improve learning outcomes. Technological innovations always begin with a passion to tackle intransigent problems. Once a problem in need of a solution is identified, then we ask, ‘To what extent could the use of technology make this more accessible to learners?’ The technology comes in on the back end researchers state.

More information:

http://www.vanderbilt.edu/magazines/peabody-reflector/2011/06/the-virtue-in-virtuality/

Robo-Paparazzi

2011-07-12T15:36:00.003Z

To create such a robot, computer scientists at the International Institute of Information Technology in Hydrabad, India, turned to a humanoid robot called NAO that is equipped with a head-mounted camera. The team programmed NAO to obey two simple photographic guidelines known as the rule of thirds and the golden ratio. The former states that an image should be divided into three, both vertically and horizontally, with interesting features placed where the dividing lines cross. The latter suggests the horizon line should divide a photo into two rectangles with the larger being 1.62 times the size of the smaller - the golden ratio.

The robot is also programmed to assess the quality of its photos by rating focus, lighting and colour. The researchers taught it what makes a great photo by analysing the top and bottom 10 per cent of 60,000 images from a website hosting a photography contest, as rated by humans. Armed with this knowledge, the robot can take photos when told to, then determine their quality. If the image scores below a certain quality threshold, the robot automatically makes another attempt. It improves on the first shot by working out the photo's deviation from the guidelines and making the appropriate correction to its camera's orientation.

More information:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21128195.300-robopaparazzi-learn-how-to-take-the-perfect-photo.html

Aristotle University Seminar

2011-06-28T10:28:00.005Z

On Wednesday, 11th May 2011, I gave an invited talk at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Rural & Surveying Engineering, Thessaloniki, Greece. The title of the seminar is ‘Serious Virtual Applications for Cultural Heritage’. For more information a brief abstract is provided below:

Abstract The state-of-the-art in serious game technology is identical to that of the state-of-the-art in entertainment games technology. As a result, the field of serious heritage games relies on the advances in computer games, real-time computer graphics, virtual and augmented reality and artificial intelligence. On the other hand, the main strengths of serious gaming applications may be generalised as being in the areas of communication, visual expression of information, collaboration mechanisms, interactivity and entertainment. This presentation will provide an overview of serious virtual applications, ranging from virtual and augmented reality to serious games and online virtual environments for cultural heritage. Some characteristic examples include a subset of the research conducted at the University of Sussex for the ARCO project, City University for the LOCUS project and various other projects for the Serious Games Institute (such as the RomaNova project) and iWARG (such as the Herbert and Shakespeare’s projects) at Coventry University. Results from all projects indicate the importance of intuitive and flexible serious virtual applications for a variety of applications in cultural heritage.

More information:

http://www.topo.auth.gr/greek/EPIKAIRA/doc/Invitation_Lecture_Liarokapis.pdf

'Digital Games and Learning' Review

2011-06-25T17:08:00.004Z

Recently, I have reviewed a new book published on the 31st March 2011 and titled ‘Digital Games and Learning’. Digital Games and Learning was edited by Sara de Freitas (Serious Games Institute, UK) and Paul Maharg (Northumbria University, UK) and presents an interesting selection of papers in the area of games simulations.

The book is divided into three distinctive sections including: theoria (theoretical positions); cultura (cultural perspectives); praxis (theory into practice) aiming in solving significant issues and challenges. The main research question of the contributors is to explore our understanding of the paradigm shift from conventional learning environments to learning in games and simulations.

More information:

http://www.continuumbooks.com/books/detail.aspx?BookId=157255&SubjectId=940

Touch-Screen Steering Wheel

2011-06-21T08:29:00.002Z

Distance driving can be mind-numbingly boring, but looking away from the road to text or change songs is a life-or-death gamble. Plus, buttons embedded in the wheel only control a fraction of a car's functionality. Now German researchers have a wheel prototype that puts everything within reach -- no glancing needed. The team came up with the idea for a multi-touch steering wheel interface while thinking about driving and mobile technology.

Their prototype is made from 11-millimeter-thick clear acrylic ringed in infrared LEDs. An infrared camera attached to the bottom picks up the reflections made when the surface is touched. A driver can control a radio or navigate a map with simple movements along the surface. Those gestures can be made with the thumbs while still gripping the wheel and looking at the road. To identify intuitive gestures, the researchers conducted a study asking participants what movements they'd make for each of 20 commands.

More information:

http://news.discovery.com/autos/steering-wheel-interface-driving-110606.html

University of Derby Seminar

2011-06-19T15:57:00.003Z

On Wednesday, 23rd February 2011, I gave an invited talk at the University of Derby, School of Computing and Mathematics, UK. The title of the seminar was ‘Interacting with Mixed Reality Interfaces’. For more information a brief abstract is provided below:

Abstract This presentation will provide an overview of mixed reality interfaces, ranging from virtual and augmented reality to serious games and online virtual environments. Some characteristic examples include a subset of the research conducted at the University of Sussex for the ARCO project, City University for the LOCUS project and various smaller projects for the Serious Games Institute and iWARG at Coventry University. Results from all projects indicate the importance of intuitive and flexible computer interfaces for a variety of application domains such as archaeology, navigation and education.

More information:

http://www.derby.ac.uk/computing/disys/seminars

Virtual Pregnancy

2011-06-14T18:57:00.002Z

Ever wondered what it feels like to be pregnant? Now even men can find out thanks to a new dress created by researchers from the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology that simulates the weight, temperature, movement and heartbeat of a fetus. The device can replicate the 9-month long process in two minutes or it can be worn for a longer period to experience what it feels like day-to-day. To mimic the fetus, it contains a 4-litre bag filled with warm water. Kicking movement is recreated with a lining of 45 balloons that expand and contract. But wiggling is more complex to reproduce and requires a grid of air actuators that exploit a tactile illusion. When two vibrating sources placed a distance apart move at the same time, it triggers a sensation in between the two points.

So by varying vibrating pairs over time, the simulated fetus seems to squirm. The system also contains an accelerometer and touch sensors to allow for interaction. When the suit is connected to a computer, software displays a 3D model of the fetus that changes to mimic different stages of pregnancy. The fetus on the screen appears to be in a good mood when a wearer strokes their abdomen and makes steady movements. But if the person moves around vigorously, it will trigger more intense motion. The team hopes the system will help men better to understand what a woman goes through during pregnancy. It offers a more realistic simulation than existing systems by reproducing the temperature and movement of the fetus.

More information:

http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/nstv/2011/06/future-of-virtual-reality-what-pregnancy-feels-like.html

Leia in Your Living Room

2011-06-09T10:54:00.003Z

MIT researchers had hacked the Kinect and found that it was a perfect tool for capturing images to project in 3D for holograms. In particular, they projected a Star-Wars-Style Hologram using a Microsoft Kinect device. Home holography video chat may sound like the stuff of Star Wars, but it’s closer than we think. Holography, like traditional 3D filmmaking, has the end goal of a more immersive video experience, but the tech is completely different. 3D cameras are traditional, fixed cameras, which simply capture two very slightly different streams to be directed to each eye individually--the difference between the two images creates the illusion of depth. If you change your position in front of a 3D movie, the image you see will remain the same--it has depth, but only one perspective. A hologram, on the other hand, is made by capturing the scatter of light bouncing off a scene as data, and then reconstructing that data as a 3D environment.

That allows for much greater immersion--if you change your viewing angle, you'll actually see a different image, just as you can see the front, sides, and back of a real-life object by rotating around it. Capturing that scatter of light is no easy feat. A standard 3D movie camera captures light bouncing off of an object at two different angles, one for each eye. But in the real world, light bounces off of objects at an infinite number of angles. Holographic video systems use devices that produce so-called diffraction fringes, basically fine patterns of light and dark that can bend the light passing through them in predictable ways. A dense enough array of fringe patterns, each bending light in a different direction, can simulate the effect of light bouncing off of a 3D object. The trick is making it live, fast and cheap. It is one of the OBMG’s greatest challenges: the equipment is currently extremely expensive, the amount of data massive.

More information:

http://www.popsci.com/gadgets/article/2011-04/leia-your-living-room-creating-holograph-microsoft-kinect

Robotic Aids for Visually Impaired

2011-06-07T07:38:00.001Z

For the visually impaired, navigating city streets or neighborhoods has constant challenges. And the reality is that a significant number of such people must rely on a rudimentary technology - a simple cane - to find their way through a world filled with obstacles. A group of USC Viterbi School of Engineering researchers is working to change this by developing a robotic, vision-based mobility aid for the visually impaired. A design first shown a year ago now is being further developed. For the USC Viterbi team, the need is clear. Researchers have developed software that sees the world and linked it to a system that provides tactile messages to alert users about objects in their paths.

The system uses Simultaneous Localization and Mapping software to build three-dimensional maps of the environment and to identify a safe path through obstacles. The route information is conveyed to the user through a guide vest that includes four micro-motors located on an individual’s shoulder and waist that vibrate like cell phones. For example, when a vibration on the left shoulder indicates a higher object to the left, such as a low-hanging branch, the individual can use that information to take a new path. Researchers said that canes have clear limitations with larger objects, from walls to concrete structures, and the technology will enable users to avoid falls and injuries.

More information:

http://uscnews.usc.edu/science_technology/researchers_create_robotic_aids_for_visually_impaired.html

Aurasma: Augmented Reality Reader

2011-06-05T21:54:00.007Z

An augmented reality (AR) application uses Autonomy's high-powered search technology - hitherto just aimed at commercial clients - to link all sorts of things it sees through a smartphones camera to other objects. So users can point their phones camera at a poster for the movie Thor - and it will suddenly start playing a trailer. And if users show their camera the London Underground symbol a cartoon starts to play with an athletics commentary, promoting the Tube as the way to get to the London Olympics.

This is not working via barcodes or NFC technology but through visual recognition. Aurasma is building up a bank of images which it recognises, and sees as a cue to play the video or animate the graphic. It works not just with images on a page but with buildings, landscapes, and soon, we're promised, with people. The app is currently only available on the iPhone 4 but already, newspapers are talking about turning display adverts into video ads - which can earn them more. And movie studios are planning sightseeing tours where you see parts of a film played out in the real world.

More information:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13558137

Eurographics 2011 Educational Paper

2011-05-28T16:19:00.003Z

Last month an educational paper, I co-authored with colleagues from Interactive Worlds Applied Research Group (iWARG), was presented at the 32nd Annual Conference of the European Association for Computer Graphics (Eurographics 2011). The conference took place at Llandudno, Wales, 12-15 April 2011 and the paper was titled ‘In at the Deep End: An Activity-Led Introduction to Creative Computing with Interactive Computer Graphics’.

The paper reports on our academic group’s attempts within creative computing degrees at a UK university to counter these problems through the introduction of a six week long project that newly enrolled students embark on at the very beginning of their studies. Having run in two iterations, we believe that this approach has been successful, with students showing increased interest in their chosen discipline and noticeable improvements in retention following the first year of the students’ studies.

A draft version of the paper can be downloaded from here.

VS-Games 2011 Workshop Paper

2011-05-25T19:05:00.006Z

On Friday 6th May 2011, I presented a co-authored paper (with my student Vikramaditya Jaligama) with title ‘An Online Virtual Learning Environment for Higher Education’, to the Workshop ‘Natural Interaction and Player Satisfaction in Games’ of the 3rd International Conference in Games and Virtual Worlds for Serious Applications (VS-Games 2011). The paper describes a novel online virtual learning classroom like environment focused for higher education.

Students can login to this virtual world in the form of their avatars and follow lecture classes and laboratories in a collaborative manner. To prove the feasibility of the system, the lecture materials from ‘3D Graphics Programming’ module were ported into the online virtual learning environment. Initial evaluation with 20 users showed that overall the online virtual learning environment is enjoyable and has the potential to be used for the development of distance learning courses and degrees.

A draft version of the article can be downloaded from here.

VS-Games 2011 Short Paper

2011-05-24T20:53:00.007Z

On Wednesday 4th May 2011, my student, Mr. Athanasios Vourvopoulos, presented a co-authored (with myself) paper with title ‘Brain-controlled NXT Robot - Tele-operating a robot through brain electrical activity’, to the 3rd International Conference in Games and Virtual Worlds for Serious Applications (VS-Games 2011). The paper focuses on the research of human-robot interaction through tele-operation with the help of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). To accomplish that, a working system has been created based on off-the-shelf components.

The experimental prototype uses the basic movement operations and obstacle detection of a Lego Mindstroms NXT Robot. There are two versions of this prototype, taking readings from the users' brain electrical activity in real-time performance. The first version is made by using a Neurosky Mindset, and is based on the attention levels of the user as the robot accelerates or decelerates. The second version is using an Emotiv Epoc headset taking readings from 14 sensors, being able to control fully the robot.

A draft version of the article can be downloaded from here.

Virtual Bladder

2011-05-22T11:07:00.002Z

Bladder cancer is the fourth-most-common cancer in men and one of the most expensive cancers to treat from diagnosis to death. After initial diagnosis and surgery, patients must return to the urologist at least yearly for a costly, time-consuming and uncomfortable bladder scan. Tumors recur in more than half of patients. Researchers at the University of Washington are proposing a more automated approach that could be cheaper, more comfortable and more convenient for both doctors and patients. Their system would use the UW's ultrathin laser endoscope, which is like a thin piece of cooked spaghetti, in combination with software that stitches together images from the scope's path to create a full, 3D panorama of the bladder interior. The semi-automated scan could be done by a nurse or technician. Resulting images could be reviewed by a urologist at a later time, potentially in another city or country.

Currently, urologists conduct bladder exams using an endoscope that's manipulated around the bladder during the roughly 5 minute scan. Because a specialist is required, some patients have to travel long distances for appointments. Unlike ultrasounds, X-rays and CT scans, endoscopies are only performed by medical doctors. Often no records exist beyond the doctor's notes. The UW software checks that no part of the organ was missed, so a nurse or technician could administer the procedure -- especially using a small scope that doesn't require anesthesia. The current user interface projects the reconstructed organ onto a spherical ball or onto a flat map. The resulting mosaic matches the images to a single pixel of accuracy. Ultimately, the digital display would incorporate all the original frames, so a doctor could zoom in on an area of interest and observe from all angles at the highest resolution.

More information:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110516162143.htm

Virtual Possessions Affect Teenagers

2011-05-20T17:23:00.004Z

Digital imagery, Facebook updates, online music collections, email threads and other immaterial artifacts of today's online world may be as precious to teenagers as a favorite book that a parent once read to them or a t-shirt worn at a music festival, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) researchers say. The very fact that virtual possessions don't have a physical form may actually enhance their value, researchers at Carnegie Mellon's Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCII) and School of Design discovered in a study of 21 teenagers. A fuller appreciation of the sentiments people can develop for these bits of data could be factored into technology design and could provide opportunities for new products and services, they said. One of the subjects said she always takes lots of photos at events and uploads them immediately so she and her friends can tag and dish about them. The penchant of people to collect and assign meaning to what are often ordinary objects is well known. For their study, researchers recruited nine girls and 12 boys, ages 12-17, from middle- and upper-middle-class families who had frequent access to the Internet, mobile phones and other technology.

The researchers interviewed them about their everyday lives, their use of technology and about the physical and virtual possessions that they valued. If a house is a place to store your stuff, then a mobile phone might be considered a treasure box that gives you access to your stuff, the interviews revealed. The "placelessness" of virtual possessions stored online rather than on a computer often enhanced their value because they were always available. The degree to which users can alter and personalize online objects affects their value. Participants noted that they could display things online, such as a photograph of a boyfriend disliked by parents, which were important to their identity but could never be displayed in a bedroom. The online world, in fact, allowed the teenagers to present different facets of themselves to appropriate groups of friends or to family. Developing privacy controls and other tools for determining who gets to see what virtual possessions in which circumstances is both a need and an opportunity for technology developers, the researchers said.

More information:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110509113729.htm

Virtual Schizophrenia

2011-05-19T20:13:00.004Z

Computer networks that can't forget fast enough can show symptoms of a kind of virtual schizophrenia, giving researchers further clues to the inner workings of schizophrenic brains, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin and Yale University have found. The researchers used a virtual computer model, or ‘neural network’, to simulate the excessive release of dopamine in the brain. They found that the network recalled memories in a distinctly schizophrenic-like fashion. The hypothesis is that dopamine encodes the importance-the salience-of experience. When there's too much dopamine, it leads to exaggerated salience, and the brain ends up learning from things that it shouldn't be learning from.

The results bolster a hypothesis known in schizophrenia circles as the hyperlearning hypothesis, which posits that people suffering from schizophrenia have brains that lose the ability to forget or ignore as much as they normally would. Without forgetting, they lose the ability to extract what's meaningful out of the immensity of stimuli the brain encounters. They start making connections that aren't real, or drowning in a sea of so many connections they lose the ability to stitch together any kind of coherent story. The neural network used by is called DISCERN and it was used to simulate what happens to language as the result of eight different types of neurological dysfunction.

More information:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110505124002.htm

In Therapy With Avatars

2011-05-18T21:33:00.002Z

Researchers are developing so-called VRET systems (Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy) which can be used to help people deal with their anxieties, such as fear of flying, fear of heights or claustrophobia or psychotic disorders, such as paranoia. One of the first products to emerge from the Delft Mental Health Computing Lab was a vibrating aircraft seat. TU Delft researchers have been working with other parties to develop a system to enable people with a fear of flying to experience the sounds and feel of flying via a virtual reality helmet and the vibrating seat as if they were really in the air. This helps them to become exposed to the feared situation and so overcome their fear. The system is already being used intensively.

Recently, researchers have concentrated on programmes like the virtual pub that are designed to help people with social problems. The idea is that reconstructing the social environment in a virtual world and exposing people to it will enable psychiatrists to study psychotic symptoms more effectively and ultimately provide better help to patients. The virtual pub is still in the pilot phase. It all needs to be made even scarier. Patients find it extremely frightening when people look at them for long periods. So this feature needs to be added. It also needs to be possible to conduct a simple conversation. The aim of the research is ultimately to develop a method for cognitive behavioural therapy.

More information:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110504080851.htm

Drafting Without Drivers

2011-05-16T22:06:00.003Z

Less accidents, less fuel consumption, and less traffic jams: Autonomous, computer-controlled vehicles have many advantages in road traffic. In particular, if many cars join to form long convoys. On May 14 and 15, 2011, ten research groups meet in Holland for the first time and tested convoy driving without drivers on an about 6 km long motorway section in the Grand Cooperative Driving Challenge (GCDC). KIT researchers involved in the AnnieWAY team will take part. Autonomous vehicles are equipped with sensors that perceive the position, movement, and environment. From these data, a computer calculates the next driving maneuvers that are executed autonomously. During the GCDC, the vehicles will also exchange information via radio communication to coordinate driving in a stable convoy. Thanks to cameras and sensors on the roof, AnnieWAY gets on safely, efficiently, and rapidly.

On the test track near Eindhoven, various models and autonomous systems will meet. Consequently, the GCDC will represent a realistic test case for future conditions on the road. Apart from acceleration and braking tests, it shall be studied whether reliable convoy driving at up to 80 km per hour can be achieved. In 2007 already did the Karlsruhe AnnieWAY team take part in the Urban Challenge in California and reach the final of eleven autonomous vehicles of a total of 89 starters. AnnieWAY, the KIT vehicle, is equipped with satellite navigation and speed and acceleration meters. Cameras generate a stereoscopic image and a laser scanner constantly measures the surroundings. For information exchange with other vehicles, a special WLAN system (802.11.p) is installed. Based on these data, the on-board computer calculates in real time the position of traffic participants and prognosticates how the situation will develop. Accordingly, it will determine its own reaction.

More information:

http://www.mrt.kit.edu/annieway

http://www.kit.edu/visit/pi_2011_6778.php

Wii Key to Helping Kids Balance

2011-04-28T01:21:00.002Z

By cleverly linking five Wii Balance Boards, a team of Rice University undergraduates has combined the appeal of a video game with the utility of a computerized motion-tracking system that can enhance the progress of patients at Shriners Hospital for Children-Houston. The Rice engineering students created the new device using components of the popular Nintendo game system to create a balance training system. What the kids may see as a fun video game is really a sophisticated way to help them advance their skills.

The Wii Balance Boards lined up between handrails will encourage patients age 6 to 18 to practice their balance skills in an electronic gaming environment. The active handrails, which provide feedback on how heavily patients depend on their arms, are a unique feature. Many of the children targeted for this project have cerebral palsy, spina bifida or amputations. Using the relatively inexpensive game console components improves the potential of this system to become a cost-effective addition to physical therapy departments in the future.

More information:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110412101619.htm

Romance Is Not Dead

2011-04-26T16:00:00.002Z

Artists and engineers have come together to demonstrate that digital technology can be romantic as well as practical. Few people mull over a text message, however heartfelt, in the same way as a handwritten declaration of love, but a Newcastle University team is looking to prove that using digital communication doesn't necessarily mean that romance is dead. They have created digital 'Lovers' Boxes' that draw on the aesthetics of traditional wooden jewellery boxes, but actually contain the latest technology to enable couples to record romantic messages for each other. Each box consists of two halves connected by brass hinges, decorated with ornate carvings, with an antique keyhole at the front. A computer with an integrated RFID reader is hidden inside the box.

Other than the screen itself, all visible trappings of digital technology are hidden from view. Once unlocked, the box opens in a book-like manner, and a screen becomes visible. A wooden passé-partout with rounded edges frames the screen to counter the usual connotations of a digital display. When placed within the box, the RFID tag in the key fob triggers a video message stored within. To avoid evoking the sense of a wooden laptop-like device, the videos created by participants are not played in a typical 16:9 landscape format on the screen, but in a portrait orientation. The Lovers' Box has been described as akin to 'an interactive storybook or jewellery box', which the participants chose to treat carefully and stow away like a precious family heirloom.

More information:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110426071147.htm

Emotional Video Gaming

2011-04-25T13:39:00.006Z

As you wake up, you realise that your building is on fire. Your heart starts pounding and the flames grow higher, but you manage to compose yourself, and as you do so the fire dies down. Smashing a window, you step outside, only to find yourself on a ledge six storeys up. As you break out into a terrified sweat, the perilous route to safety appears to shift nightmarishly before your eyes. Will you escape? Scenarios like this could soon be played out harmlessly in living rooms across the world. That's because the next generation of video game controllers will use players' emotional and physiological states to help shape and navigate their virtual worlds. This style of affective gaming aims to move video games to a new level, way beyond what is available even via motion-based controllers like the Wiimote or Kinect.

Valve Software, the developer behind titles such as Half-Life, sees a player's emotional state as an important part of any game. Researchers have been working with Valve on ways to add emotional feedback to Left 4 Dead 2, a game in which players cooperate to fight off a zombie horde. They spoke about Their work at this year's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. In the regular form of the game, an "AI Director" responds to players' actions by adjusting the game itself. Play well and you'll face tougher opponents; play badly and the game becomes less intense. They are trying to go beyond this rough-and-ready response to the players' behaviour by assessing their emotional state more directly. By recording the physiological responses of our play testers, we can get more precise estimations of their emotional state.

More information:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21028084.700-emotional-video-gaming-makes-the-action-real.html

Clumsy Avatars

2011-04-20T19:47:00.000Z

Willy Nilly's Surf Shack offers a cure for the idealized virtual world of Second Life. The online shop, a project of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute researchers, endow otherwise flawless avatars with real-world foils like clumsiness. A project allowing avatars to visibly age over time is in the works. The shop is one of several projects uses to explore humanity in technology. Researchers see the dialogue between perfection and mortality as an important influence in the growing world of games and simulation. While the sell behind technology is often about achieving perfection (with a smart phone all the answers are at hand, with GPS we never lose our way, in Second Life we are beautiful), the risk is a loss of humanity.

That dialogue and tension leads researchers to believe that the nascent world of gaming and simulation could become a new cultural form as great as literature, art, music, and theater. Other recent projects include ‘Becoming’, a computer-driven video installation in which the attributes of two animated figures -- each inhabiting their own space -- are interchanged. Over time, this causes each figure to take on the attributes of the other, distorted by the structure of their digital information. In ‘Insecurity Camera’, an installation shown at art exhibits around the country, a ‘shy’ security camera turns away at the approach of subjects.

More information:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110419151057.htm

A Brain Computer Model

2011-04-19T16:18:00.005Z

Scientists have moved a step closer to being able to develop a computer model of the brain after developing a technique to map both the connections and functions of nerve cells in the brain together for the first time. A new area of research is emerging in the neuroscience known as 'connectomics'. With parallels to genomics, which maps our genetic make-up, connectomics aims to map the brain's connections (known as 'synapses'). By mapping these connections -- and hence how information flows through the circuits of the brain -- scientists hope to understand how perceptions, sensations and thoughts are generated in the brain and how these functions go wrong in diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia and stroke. Mapping the brain's connections is no trivial task, however: there are estimated to be one hundred billion nerve cells ('neurons') in the brain, each connected to thousands of other nerve cells -- making an estimated 150 trillion synapses. Researchers at a Wellcome Trust Research Career Development Fellow at UCL try to make sense of this complexity. Nerve cells in different areas of the brain perform different functions. Researchers focus on the visual cortex, which processes information from the eye. For example, some neurons in this part of the brain specialise in detecting the edges in images; some will activate upon detection of a horizontal edge, others by a vertical edge. Higher up in visual hierarchy, some neurons respond to more complex visual features such as faces: lesions to this area of the brain can prevent people from being able to recognise faces, even though they can recognise individual features such as eyes and the nose.

In a study published online April 10 in the journal Nature, the team at UCL describe a technique developed in mice which enables them to combine information about the function of neurons together with details of their synaptic connections. The researchers looked into the visual cortex of the mouse brain, which contains thousands of neurons and millions of different connections. Using high resolution imaging, they were able to detect which of these neurons responded to a particular stimulus, for example a horizontal edge. Taking a slice of the same tissue, the researchers then applied small currents to a subset of neurons in turn to see which other neurons responded -- and hence which of these were synaptically connected. By repeating this technique many times, the researchers were able to trace the function and connectivity of hundreds of nerve cells in visual cortex. The study has resolved the debate about whether local connections between neurons are random -- in other words, whether nerve cells connect sporadically, independent of function -- or whether they are ordered, for example constrained by the properties of the neuron in terms of how it responds to particular stimuli. The researchers showed that neurons which responded very similarly to visual stimuli, such as those which respond to edges of the same orientation, tend to connect to each other much more than those that prefer different orientations. Using this technique, the researchers hope to begin generating a wiring diagram of a brain area with a particular behavioural function, such as the visual cortex. This knowledge is important for understanding the repertoire of computations carried out by neurons embedded in these highly complex circuits. The technique should also help reveal the functional circuit wiring of regions that underpin touch, hearing and movement.

More information:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110410181302.htm

Computer Vision for Heathcare

2011-04-18T19:07:00.005Z

Researchers believe that there are huge opportunities for integrating computer science, and in particular computer vision, into health care and medical research, making life easier for researchers, physicians and ultimately patients. This is leading to the development of powerful tools to aid in bioengineering research. They are developing a technology that will automate the arduous process of analyzing the vast amount of data necessary for tissue engineering. In their research, seek to automate blood vessel counting in images, and to make the distinction between data collection and analysis more clear.

Tissue engineering is an interdisciplinary field that offers the promise of improving, repairing and/or replacing damaged tissue in the human body. Research in this area involves the development of various biomaterials and processes that facilitate the fabrication of such tissue. In this research project, the focus is on quantifying arteriole formation. An arteriole is one of the small terminal branches of an artery, especially one that connects with a capillary. Collecting this vast amount of data is currently done manually and requires an intensive amount of time and meticulous effort.

More information:

http://www.jacobsschool.ucsd.edu/news_events/releases/release.sfe?id=1056

Gadget Show Live 2011

2011-04-10T19:53:00.008Z

On Tuesday, 12th April 2011, iWARG members Athanasios Vourvopoulos and Fotis Liarokapis will present a prototype that uses a brain computer interface (Neurosky Mindset) for controlling a Lego NXT Mindstorms Robot. The robot performs basic movement based on the attention levels of the user. Different attention levels will accelerate or decelerate the robot accordingly.

The Gadget Show Live is the UK's ultimate consumer electronics event and returns for its third year at the NEC, Birmingham this April. The 2011 event will bring together more exhibitors than ever before and is the best place to see, try and buy everything from HD Camcorders and 3D TVs to Games Consoles and In-Car Electronics.

More information:

http://bci.vourvopoulos.com/

http://www.gadgetshowlive.net/

http://fwd.channel5.com/gadget-show

Gesture-Controlled Microscope

2011-04-03T21:52:00.015Z

Researchers at the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM) have in collaboration with the Finnish company Multitouch Ltd created a hand and finger gesture controlled microscope. The method is a combination of two technologies: web-based virtual microscopy and a giant-size multitouch display. The result is an entirely new way of performing microscopy: by touching a table- or even wall-sized screen the user can navigate and zoom within a microscope sample in the same way as in a conventional microscope. Using the touch control it is possible to move from the natural size of the sample to a 1000-fold magnification, at which cells and even subcellular details can be seen.

Biological samples are digitized using a microscopy scanner and stored on an image server. Samples displayed on the screen are then continuously read from the server over the internet and the size of a single sample can be up to 200 gigabytes. The sample viewing experience is like a combination of Google Maps and the user interface from the movie Minority Report. The developers think that the method will revolutionize microscopy teaching: a group of students can stand around the display together with the teacher and examine the same sample. The multitouch microscope can recognize the hands of multiple users at the same time.

More information:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110324103145.htm

BrainGate: Neural Interface System

2011-03-28T18:39:00.005Z

An investigational implanted system being developed to translate brain signals toward control of assistive devices has allowed a woman with paralysis to accurately control a computer cursor at 2.7 years after implantation, providing a key demonstration that neural activity can be read out and converted into action for an unprecedented length of time. Demonstrating an important milestone for the longevity and utility of implanted brain-computer interfaces, a woman with tetraplegia using the investigational BrainGate system continued to control a computer cursor accurately through neural activity alone more than 1,000 days after receiving the BrainGate implant, according to a team of physicians, scientists, and engineers developing and testing the technology at Brown University, the Providence VA Medical Center, and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).

The woman performed two ‘point-and-click’ tasks each day by thinking about moving the cursor with her hand. In both tasks she averaged greater than 90 percent accuracy. Some on-screen targets were as small as the effective area of a Microsoft Word menu icon. Experimental results highlight the potential for an intracortical neural interface system to provide a person that has locked-in syndrome with reliable, continuous point-and-click control of a standard computer application. The BrainGate system is a combination of hardware and software that directly senses electrical signals produced by neurons in the brain that control movement. By decoding those signals and translating them into digital instructions, the system is being evaluated for its ability to give people with paralysis control of external devices such as computers, robotic assistive devices, or wheelchairs.

More information:

http://news.brown.edu/pressreleases/2011/03/braingate

AR for Learning Chess

2011-03-27T18:06:00.008Z

Two students from the Terrassa School of Engineering have designed an innovative augmented reality system for learning to play chess that combines augmented reality, computer vision and artificial intelligence. An ordinary webcam, a chess board, a set of 32 pieces and custom software are the key elements in the final degree project of the telecommunications engineering students, from the UPC-Barcelona Tech's Terrassa School of Engineering (EET). The system combines augmented reality, computer vision and artificial intelligence, and the only equipment required is a high-definition home webcam, the Augmented Reality Chess software, a standard board and pieces, and a set of cardboard markers the same size as the squares on the board, each marked with the first letter of the corresponding piece: R for the king (rei in Catalan), D for the queen (dama), T for the rooks (torres), A for the bishops (alfils), C for the knights (cavalls) and P for the pawns (peons).

To use the system, learners play with an ordinary chess board but move the cardboard markers instead of standard pieces. The table is lit from above and the webcam focuses on the board, and every time the player moves one of the markers the system recognises the piece and reproduces the move in 3D on the computer screen, creating a virtual representation of the game. For example, if the learner moves the marker P (pawn), the corresponding piece will be displayed on the screen in 3D, with all of the possible moves indicated. This makes the system particularly suitable for children learning the basics of this board game. The learning tool also incorporates a move-tracking program called Chess Recognition: from the images captured by the webcam, the system instantly recognises and analyses every movement of every piece and can act as a referee, identify illegal moves and provide the players with an audible description of the game status.

More information:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110218112119.htm

Search Engine for the Human Body

2011-03-26T19:18:00.004Z

A new search tool developed by researchers at Microsoft indexes medical images of the human body, rather than the Web. On CT scans, it automatically finds organs and other structures, to help doctors navigate in and work with 3-D medical imagery. CT scans use X-rays to capture many slices through the body that can be combined to create a 3-D representation. This is a powerful tool for diagnosis, but it's far from easy to navigate, researchers mentioned from Microsoft Research Cambridge, U.K. It is very difficult even for someone very trained to get to the place they need to be to examine the source of a problem.

When a scan is loaded into the software, the program indexes the data and lists the organs it finds at the side of the screen, creating a table of hyperlinks for the body. A user can click on, say, the word ‘heart’ and be presented with a clear view of the organ without having to navigate through the imagery manually. Once an organ of interest has been found, a 2D and an enhanced 3D view of structures in the area are shown to the user, who can navigate by touching the screen on which the images are shown. A new scan can also be automatically and precisely matched up alongside a past one from the same patient, making it easy to see how a condition has progressed or regressed.

More information:

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/35076/?p1=A2

Music is in the Mind

2011-03-21T20:31:00.003Z

A pianist plays a series of notes, and the woman echoes them on a computerized music system. The woman then goes on to play a simple improvised melody over a looped backing track. It doesn't sound like much of a musical challenge — except that the woman is paralysed after a stroke, and can make only eye, facial and slight head movements. She is making the music purely by thinking. This is a trial of a computer-music system that interacts directly with the user's brain, by picking up the tiny electrical impulses of neurons. The device, developed by composer and computer-music specialist of the University of Plymouth, UK, working with computer scientists at the University of Essex, should eventually help people with severe physical disabilities, caused by brain or spinal-cord injuries, for example, to make music for recreational or therapeutic purposes. Evidence suggests that musical participation can be beneficial for people with neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia and Parkinson's disease. But people who have almost no muscle movement have generally been excluded from such benefits, and can enjoy music only through passive listening. The development of brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) that enable users to control computer functions by mind alone offer new possibilities for such people. In general, these interfaces rely on the user's ability to learn how to self-induce particular mental states that can be detected by brain-scanning technologies. Researchers have used one of the oldest of these systems: electroencephalography (EEG), in which electrodes on the skull pick up faint neural signals.

The EEG signal can be processed quickly, allowing fast response times, and the instrument is cheaper and more portable than brain-scanning techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging and positron-emission tomography. Previous efforts using BCIs have focused on moving computer screen icons such as cursors, but researchers sought to achieve the much more complex task of enabling users to play and compose music. The trick is to teach the user how to associate particular brain signals with specific tasks by presenting a repeating stimulus — auditory, visual or tactile — and getting the user to focus on it. This elicits a distinctive, detectable pattern in the EEG signal. For example, a button could be used to generate a melody from a preselected set of notes. The user can alter the intensity of the control signal – how 'hard' the button is pressed – by varying the intensity of attention, and the result is fed back to them visually as a change in the button's size. In this way, any one of several notes can be selected by mentally altering the intensity of pressing. With a little practice, this allows users to create a melody as if they were selecting keys on a piano. And, as with learning an instrument the more one practices the better one becomes. The researchers trialled their system on a female patient who has locked-in syndrome, a form of almost total paralysis caused by brain lesions, at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability in London. During a two-hour session, she got the hang of the system and was eventually playing along with a backing track. She reported that it was great to be in control again.

More information:

http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110318/full/news.2011.113.html

Digital Gaming Goes Academic

2011-03-18T17:05:00.004Z

Educators at Ocoee Middle School in Florida have built an online game lab to engage students and sharpen technology skills. Researchers at Rice University have created a virtual game to teach forensics to middle schoolers. North Carolina State University’s IntelliMedia Group has released a digital game to teach microbiology to 8th graders. Digital games for learning academic skills change depending on each student’s ability and course of action. Such games provide personalized feedback in real time—something a traditional classroom often doesn’t offer. Part of the appeal, and the value, of games is the perspective they bring to students.

Rice University partnered with the Forth Worth Museum of Science and History, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, and CBS, with funding from the National Science Foundation, to create CSI: Web Adventures, a game designed to introduce middle schoolers to forensic science through cases based on the popular TV-show franchise about crime-scene investigations. During the game, students identify shoe prints, test DNA, and interview suspects in order to crack the case. But it’s not all fun and games. This is because teachers can’t really afford to play games that are interesting but irrelevant.

More information:

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/03/17/25gaming.h30.html

High Anxiety in Virtual Reality

2011-03-15T17:48:00.002Z

I am in Room 314 in Rekhi Hall, arms spread wide, tippy-toeing across a rickety board and trying oh-so-hard not to fall into a gaping hole beneath my feet. One misstep and I join the dead cow at the bottom of the pit. An assistant professor of computer science at Michigan Technological University is holding an open house, inviting members of his department to experience virtual reality via a setup that includes a headset, cameras and a computer. What researchers see is displayed in two dimensions on a computer monitor: a country road, a deep hole in the pavement, a board. Nearby, cows graze on a hillside. Across the hole, a young woman watches quizzically.

Four cameras, one in each corner of the room, track LEDs on the headset. As you move, the system senses where you are within the virtual world and changes the display within the headset accordingly. It’s not limited to computer-generated imagery, either. Researchers stitched together a series of photos taken in Utah and loaded the image into the lab equipment, creating a 360-degree, 3D view of Canyonlands National Park. The virtual reality lab can help researchers make other virtual reality programs better and could make better simulators and improve performance for everyone from pilots to neurosurgeons.

More information:

http://www.mtu.edu/news/stories/2011/march/story37177.html

Robots Become Self-Aware

2011-03-07T08:17:00.003Z

Robots might one day trace the origin of their consciousness to recent experiments aimed at instilling them with the ability to reflect on their own thinking. Although granting machines self-awareness might seem more like the stuff of science fiction than science, there are solid practical reasons for doing so, researchers explain at Cornell University's Computational Synthesis Laboratory. This lack of adaptability is the reason we don't have many robots in the home, which is much more unstructured than the factory. The key is for robots to create a model of themselves to figure out what is working and not working in order to adapt.

So, researchers developed a robot shaped like a four-legged starfish whose brain, or controller, developed a model of what its body was like. The researchers started the droid off with an idea of what motors and other parts it had, but not how they were arranged, and gave it a directive to move. By trial and error, receiving feedback from its sensors with each motion, the machine used repeated simulations to figure out how its body was put together and evolved an ungainly but effective form of movement all on its own. Beyond robots that think about what they are thinking, researchers are also exploring if robots can model what others are thinking.

More information:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=automaton-robots-become-self-aware

Kinect: The New Mouse

2011-03-01T20:24:00.005Z

The Kinect technology, according to Microsoft’s chief research and strategy officer, is the beginning of a new way of communicating with computers. For the past quarter of a century, computing has mainly meant typing on a keyboard and using a computer mouse to point and click on graphic icons on the screen — the graphical user interface (GUI). Kinect, a $150 add-on to the Xbox game console, points the way to a different model, a natural user interface, or NUI. Increasingly, the computers that surround us will understand our speech and hand gestures. The machines, in essence, will become a bit more human.

Microsoft announced that in the next month or so it would release an initial software developer’s kit for programmers who wanted to make applications using the Kinect technology. The first set of software developer tools is for academics and enthusiasts, who have already begun hacking Kinect to make home-grown applications. The tools will make it easier for them to write more sophisticated programs. The potential uses include inexpensive 3D design and modeling, photo-realistic human avatars and smart displays that might be able to direct two different visual and audio streams to two people sitting in the same room.

More information:

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/microsofts-kinect-the-new-mouse/

Robots Learn Human Perception

2011-02-24T20:12:00.002Z

Newborn babies have a strong grip. They have strong grasp reflexes, which is evident when they grab your finger for example - but that is about all they can do. A two-year-old child, however, is already an expert when it comes to grasping and has dozens of gripping variations. For instance, they can gently lift objects and hold a spoon. Small children can competently move round angular and pointed objects in their hands, and they are also capable of abstraction. They can recognise angular objects as angular objects and round objects as round objects, regardless of whether the object has three, four or five corners or curves – and regardless of whether this is the first time they have seen the object. It is this abstraction ability that is still missing from the brain of a computer today. Human beings analyse their environment within fractions of a second researchers from Max Planck Institute state. All we need to do is glance at a surface to know whether it is slippery or not. A computer has to carry out extensive calculations before it can disentangle the input from its sensors and identify what something is. The human brain, however, picks a few basic characteristics from the storm of sensory stimuli it receives and comes to an accurate conclusion about the nature of the world around us. Although a technical system can process thousands of data, figures and measurement values and analyse the atomic structure of a floor tile – yet a robot would probably still slip on a floor that has been freshly mopped.

Researchers developed statistical computing processes, so-called estimators, which reduce the complexity of environmental stimuli to a required extent, just like the brain. Thanks to these estimators, the computer does not get lost in the massive volume of data. With this procedure, they are gradually approximating the environment. Black is focusing primarily on vision, on movements in particular, as these are especially strong stimuli for the human brain. From the jumble of light reflexes, shadows and roaming pixels of a film sequence, computing processes can now extract objects that have been moved – just not as swiftly or as simply as the brain. Medical researchers in the US planted tiny electrodes in the brains of paraplegic patients in the areas of the brain responsible for movement – the motor cortex. They then analysed the stimulation of the nerve cells. Nerve cells send out extremely fine electrical impulses when they are stimulated, and the electrodes detect these extremely fine electric shocks. Such electrical stimulation initially does not look much different to a noisy television screen. Max Planck researchers have succeeded in identifying and interpreting clear activation samples from this flickering. The computer was able to translate the thoughts of the patients into real movements: simply through the power of thought, the patients could move the cursor on a computer monitor. These links between the brain and computer are called brain-computer interfaces by experts.

More information:

http://www.mpg.de/1171331/Michael_Black?filter_order=LT&research_topic=BM-NB

Multitasking with BCI Machines

2011-02-22T16:41:00.003Z

Brain-machine interfaces make gains by learning about their users, letting them rest, and allowing for multitasking. You may have heard of virtual keyboards controlled by thought, brain-powered wheelchairs, and neuro-prosthetic limbs. Once the mind is trained to send the right kind of signals, operating the interface can be downright tiring for the mind - a fact that prevents the technology from being of much use to people with disabilities, among others. Researchers at the EPFL have a solution: engineer the system so that it learns about its user, allows for periods of rest, and even multitasking.

In a typical brain-computer interface (BCI) set-up, users can send one of three commands – left, right, or no-command. No-command is necessary for a brain-powered wheelchair to continue going straight, for example, or to stay put in front of a specific target. Paradoxically, in order for the wheelchair or small robot to continue on its way it needs constant input, and this ‘no-command’ is very taxing to maintain and requires extreme concentration. After about an hour, most users are spent. Not much help if you need to maneuver that wheelchair through an airport.

More information:

http://actu.epfl.ch/news/at-aaas-2011-taking-brain-computer-interfaces-to-t/

Virtually Feeling Fat

2011-02-20T08:52:00.003Z

Greasy food and a lack of exercise aren't the only things that can make you feel fat -- now you can add virtual reality and being poked by a stick to the list. By having people wear head-mounted displays that make them see pot-bellied computer-generated versions of their bodies and by having them poke their tummies with sticks at the same time, scientists found they could make people experience the illusion of having a fat paunch. Such research is more than just an elaborate parlor trick -- it could help people who feel uncomfortable in their own bodies. Virtual reality is typically thought of as a way to manipulate where people feel they are. However, computer scientists at ICREA-University of Barcelona and University College London also find it's a way to tinker with how people view their own bodies. For instance, they previously discovered that they can make a virtual arm feel as if it were attached to a person’s body and even make men feel as if their bodies were female. All these illusions depend on jabbing a person's real arm or body while at the same time simulating these pokes on that participant’s virtual reality counterpart.

They do not even require virtual reality -- research over the past decade has shown that a person can feel as if a rubber hand is part of his or her own body, if a real hand of his or hers that researchers have hidden from view is patted at the same time that they see the fake one get tapped. This ‘rubber hand illusion’ can even apply to objects that bear no resemblance to body parts. When scientists put adhesive bandages on both tables and people's real hands, stroke both simultaneously and then partially rip the bandages off only the tables, many people winced and some even reported feeling pain. To further explore self-perception, researchers developed a one-person rig where 22 volunteers could tap their own bellies with a stick. At the same time, participants wore virtual reality goggles displaying virtual rods poking much larger simulated bellies. In experiments, the subjects heard music with a complex, irregular rhythm through headphones for four minutes and were told to pat their bellies in time with the beat. When the taps that volunteers felt were synchronized with the pokes they saw their virtual bodies receive, on average they reported that their bodies felt bigger than normal.

More information:

http://www.insidescience.org/research/virtually-feeling-fat

3D Films On Cell Phone

2011-02-17T10:02:00.004Z

Researchers at Fraunhofer have combined the new mobile radio standard LTE-Advanced with a video coding technique. This puts 3D films on your cell phone. Halting page loading and postage stamp sized-videos jiggling all over the screen – those days are gone for good thanks to Smartphones, flat rates and fast data links. Last year, 100 million videos were seen on YouTube with cell phones all over the world. A survey of the high-tech association BITKOM found that 10 million people surf the Internet with their cell phones in Germany. And there’s another hype that is unbroken: 3D films. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications, Heinrich-Hertz-Institut, HHI in Berlin, Germany, have been able to put both of them together so you can experience mobile Internet in 3D.

The researchers have come up with a special compression technique for films in especially good high-resolution HD quality. It computes the films down to low data rates while maintaining quality: H.264/AVC. What the H.246/AVC video format is to high-definition films, the Multiview Video Coding (MVC) is to 3-D films. Scientists at the HHI, explained that MVC is used to pack together the two images needed for the stereoscopic 3D effect to measurably reduce the film’s bit rate and this technique can be used to reduce the size of 3D films as much as 40 percent. That means that you can quickly receive excellent quality 3D films in connection with the new 3G-LTE mobile radio standard. Key is the radio resource management integrated into the LTE system that allows flexible data transmission while including various quality of service classes.

More information:

http://www.fraunhofer.de/en/press/research-news/2010-2011/14/3d-films-on-cell-phone.jsp

Ancient Buildings From Historic Maps

2011-02-15T20:12:00.003Z

Software that recognises the outlines of buildings shown on historic maps should make it easier to create digital reconstructions of long-lost cities. It could also lead to virtual museum exhibits of historic locations. The conventional method for digitising paper maps involves the labour-intensive process of tracing over buildings by hand. Now a team of researchers from the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK, has developed software to do this. On maps where buildings are shown in characteristic colours, the software is fully automatic. It first detects blocks of colour on a scan of the map, and then highlights the edge of each block to generate a clear outline of the building. It will also work with black and white maps if the user clicks a point inside each building.

The automatic mode is between 10 and 100 times faster than tracing the outlines by hand. Even with black and white maps, it is at least twice as fast. One problem when working with old maps is that the scale can be seriously distorted. The software can correct for this by overlaying the building outlines on an accurately surveyed modern map. The extracted outlines can be imported into a commercial software package called CityEngine that generates 3D images with the help of information about what buildings from the period in question would have looked like. Researchers suggest that museum curators might use the software to add interactive tours of historic locations to their exhibits.

More information:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20927986.000-ancient-buildings-brought-to-life-from-historic-maps.html

Virtual Cosmetic Surgery

2011-02-08T17:53:00.006Z

For some plastic surgery patients, expectations are unrealistically high. Basing their hopes on the before-and-after albums offered in surgeons' offices, they expect to achieve a perfect body or to look just like a favourite celeb. But those albums only show how someone else's liposuction, breast augmentation, or Beyonce bum enhancement turned out. Now Tel Aviv University researchers are developing software based on real clinical data to give patients a more accurate before-and-after picture before the scalpel comes down. Tackling a very difficult mathematical problem in computer modelling called predicting ‘deformations’ of non-rigid objects, researchers have built a tool that can generate an anatomically accurate after-surgery image. With the help of experienced plastic surgeons, the tool can work like a engine to retrieve geometric objects in the same manner Google retrieves web pages. It helps patients avoid unexpected results in the plastic surgeon's office, and can also help a surgeon determine the most favourable outcome for the patient.

Current image-prediction software only generates 2D images, and its processing power is limited to relatively simple image processing programs like Photoshop. The prototype gives surgeons and their patients a way to see a 3D before-and-after image as though the patient has really undergone the operation. For this application, the researchers applied data from past plastic surgery patients and considered a number of variables, such as the patients' ages and different tissue types. Researchers designed the program with the help of numerous pre- and post-surgery images fed into a computer to ‘teach’ it to more accurately generate post-surgery images. Now under commercial development, the software will not only show women and men a much more accurate outcome, but also help surgeons achieve more favourable results for their clientele. A significant challenge was creating an algorithm that could generate a 3D image from a 2D picture. Today's photographic equipment can ‘see’ and represent the human body from only one angle.

More information:

http://www.aftau.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=13831

Gesture Recognition Robotic Nurse

2011-02-06T17:37:00.003Z

Surgeons of the future might use a system that recognizes hand gestures as commands to control a robotic scrub nurse or tell a computer to display medical images of the patient during an operation. Both the hand-gesture recognition and robotic nurse innovations might help to reduce the length of surgeries and the potential for infection, researchers from Purdue University mentioned. The vision-based hand gesture recognition technology could have other applications, including the coordination of emergency response activities during disasters.

Surgeons routinely need to review medical images and records during surgery, but stepping away from the operating table and touching a keyboard and mouse can delay the surgery and increase the risk of spreading infection-causing bacteria. The new approach is a system that uses a camera and specialized algorithms to recognize hand gestures as commands to instruct a computer or robot. At the same time, a robotic scrub nurse represents a potential new tool that might improve operating-room efficiency.

More information:

http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/research/2011/110203WachsGestures.html

A Clearer Picture of Vision

2011-02-01T13:38:00.004Z

The human retina — the part of the eye that converts incoming light into electrochemical signals — has about 100 million light-sensitive cells. So retinal images contain a huge amount of data. High-level visual-processing tasks — like object recognition, gauging size and distance, or calculating the trajectory of a moving object — couldn’t possibly preserve all that data: The brain just doesn’t have enough neurons. So vision scientists have long assumed that the brain must somehow summarize the content of retinal images, reducing their informational load before passing them on to higher-order processes. At the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers’ Human Vision and Electronic Imaging conference research scientists from the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, presented a new mathematical model of how the brain does that summarizing. The model accurately predicts the visual system’s failure on certain types of image-processing tasks, a good indication that it captures some aspect of human cognition.

Most models of human object recognition assume that the first thing the brain does with a retinal image is identify edges — boundaries between regions with different light-reflective properties — and sort them according to alignment: horizontal, vertical and diagonal. Then, the story goes, the brain starts assembling these features into primitive shapes, registering, for instance, that in some part of the visual field, a horizontal feature appears above a vertical feature, or two diagonals cross each other. From these primitive shapes, it builds up more complex shapes — four L’s with different orientations, for instance, would make a square — and so on, until it’s constructed shapes that it can identify as features of known objects. While this might be a good model of what happens at the center of the visual field, researchers argue that it’s probably less applicable to the periphery, where human object discrimination is notoriously weak.

More information:

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2011/vision-coding-0128.html

Games Help Decision Making

2011-01-31T07:22:00.006Z

A prototype computer game has been developed to help improve decision making skills in all aspects of our lives. Supported by the EPSRC, a team at Queen's University Belfast has developed a prototype that could be built on by commercial games manufacturers and turned into an e-learning or training tool for professionals in all walks of Alternatively, some of its features could be incorporated into existing computer games that have a strategy element. The team has explored whether people can be trained to make better decisions by improving their ability to recognise and make allowances for their subjective opinions and biases, and to 'factor in' accurately their uncertainty over a decision's likely outcome. You're late for a train. Will you be able to catch it if you run? Or will that result in the stress of wasted effort? To maximise your chances of reaching the right decision, you'll need to take into account all information available to you.

But it also helps if, using this information, you try to make an appraisal of your chances, which will be more accurate if you take into account how you tend to interpret such information, based on previous experience. For example, maybe you know whether you tend to be over-or under-confident in similar situations. In the same way, the prototype game teaches people to take their uncertainty into account and learn from experience when faced with simple choices. In the future, games of this type could be used for both educational and entertainment purposes by public and private sector decision-makers and by private individuals in order to enhance their decision-making abilities. Over 500 members of the general public, as well as many students from Queen's and Dundalk Institute of Technology, have already tried out the prototype. The results are currently being assessed to establish the extent to which it has taught them to make better decisions.

More information:

http://quiz.worldofuncertainty.org/

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110120100945.htm

Robotic Ghost Knifefish

2011-01-24T16:29:00.005Z

Researchers at Northwestern University have created a robotic fish that can move from swimming forward and backward to swimming vertically almost instantaneously by using a sophisticated, ribbon-like fin. The robot -- created after observing and creating computer simulations of the black ghost knifefish -- could pave the way for nimble robots that could perform underwater recovery operations or long-term monitoring of coral reefs. The black ghost knifefish, which works at night in rivers of the Amazon basin, hunts for prey using a weak electric field around its entire body and moves both forward and backward using a ribbon-like fin on the underside of its body. Observations revealed that while the fish only uses one travelling wave along the fin during horizontal motion (forward or backward depending on the direction on the wave), while moving vertically it uses two waves. One of these moves from head to tail, and the other moves tail to head. The two waves collide and stop at the center of the fin.

Researchers then created a computer simulation that showed that when these ‘inward counter propagating waves’ are generated by the fin, horizontal thrust is cancelled and the fluid motion generated by the two waves is funneled into a downward jet from the center of the fin, pushing the body up. The flow structure looks like a mushroom cloud with an inverted jet. The robot is also outfitted with an electro-sensory system that works similar to the knifefish's, and researchers hope to next improve the robot so it can autonomously use its sensory signals to detect an object and then use its mechanical system to position itself near the object. Humans excel at creating high-speed, low-maneuverability technologies, like airplanes and cars. But studying animals provides a platform for creating low-speed, high-maneuverability technologies -- technologies that don't currently exist. Potential applications for such a robot include underwater recovery operations, such as plugging a leaking oil pipe, or long-term monitoring of oceanic environments, such as fragile coral reefs.

More information:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110119095045.htm

Computers Understanding Emotions

2011-01-22T15:55:00.004Z

Having a computer that can read our emotions could lead to all sorts of new applications, including computer games where the player has to control their emotions while playing. Researchers at Bangor University are hoping to bring this reality a little nearer by developing a system that will enable computers to read and interpret our emotions and moods in real time. The work focuses on ‘hands-on’ pattern recognition and machine learning.

The plan is to combine brain wave information collected from a single electrode that sits on the forehead as part of a ‘headset’, a skin conductance response (which will detect tiny changes in perspiration as first indicators of stress) and a pulse signal, reflecting the wearer’s heart rate. This information will form the data fed into a classifier ensemble set to determine which emotion a person is experiencing.

More information:

http://www.bangor.ac.uk/news/full.php.en?nid=3235&tnid=3235

3D Successful In The Classroom

2011-01-21T23:46:00.003Z

Biology lessons are a distant memory for me but if they had been anything like the one I've just sat through at Abbey School in Reading, I think I may have remembered a little more. The pupils were looking at how a chest works, via 3D glasses and a 3D-enabled projector. The 3D thorax that caused the excitement "So cool", "It's huge", "I thought the diaphragm was a flat muscle," "I didn't realise it wasn't under the ribs" were just a few of the comments made when the girls put on their glasses to examine the model of the thorax in more detail.

If 2009 had a buzz word it might have been 3D. But despite the hype, there are murmurings that it is a gimmick already getting past its sell-by-date. Some reports suggest cinema audiences are starting to tire of 3D movies and, while 3D TVs are increasing sales, not everyone is impressed with the results. According to net measurement firm Nielsen, only a tiny percentage of houses have 3D TV with many others saying they have no intention of upgrading. Not so in education, where it seems 3D could have a real future, breathing new life into an ageing curriculum and offering a glimpse of how 21st education should be.

More information:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11891753