A.I. Reboots
February 21, 2002
The focus of artificial intelligence today is no longer on understanding and replicating human intelligence but the development of systems to augment human abilities.
Promising applications of the “new A.I.” include:
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Upside of Downsizing Analog Chips
February 21, 2002
Impinj has found a way to make analog devices employing the same CMOS technology currently used for making digital chips and fine-tuning them after they are produced. The result is analog devices that can be scaled down to tiny sizes and work better than the current generation of analog chips.
The “self-adaptive silicon” technology is modeled on how the human brain adjusts nerve cells; it can monitor… read more
Robot care bears for the elderly
February 21, 2002
Robot bears watch over elderly residents in the world’s first hi-tech retirement home in Osaka, Japan.
The bears monitor patients’ response times to spoken questions and how long they spend performing various tasks, alerting staff where appropriate via a local area network.
Senate to debate ban on cloning
February 21, 2002
The Senate is preparing to debate the Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2001 (S.790), which would ban all forms of human cloning as well as the importation of therapies developed from cloned human embryos.”Such a ban could be passed without much public comment, so if you have strong views on this, get them in immediately,” Eric Drexler and Chris Peterson suggest in the Feb. 2002 Foresight Senior Associate Letter. “See… read more
Antimatter atoms captured for the first time
February 21, 2002
Antimatter atoms have been captured for the first time by researchers at CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics.
The research team used powerful magnetic fields to trap antiprotons in CERN’s particle accelerator and then introduced a beam of antielectrons, or positrons, and used an electric field to slow them down and bring the two types of particles together.
When they exposed the particle trap to an electric field,… read more
Nano-based DNA detection
February 24, 2002
Microelectrodes and gold nanoparticle probes are being used to create lower-cost, faster and more accurate DNA detection.Northwestern University scientists used a synthetic sequence of DNA that models the anthrax lethal factor to test a technology that could displace polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and conventional fluorescence probes in clinical diagnostics and make point-of-care DNA testing possible in the doctor’s office and on the battlefield.
A simple electrical signal indicates that… read more
High-tech soldier envisioned
February 24, 2002
A high-tech soldier with 20 times the capability of today’s warrior by about 2010 is envisioned by the Army and a team from Oak Ridge National Laboratory.Concept design teams met last year, composed of futurists, systems engineers, biologists, military experts, human factors specialists, writers and others met late last year to propose a plan of attack to the Army for the “Objective Force Warrior.”
Glowing nanobots map microscopic surfaces
March 1, 2002
Molecular robots used to explore a surface’s terrain can produce maps of microscopic structures and devices with higher resolutions than those produced by conventional microscopes, research shows.
University of Washington researchers modified microtubules by fixing kinesin molecules (which normally move materials around cells along microtubule pathways) on a surface, causing the microtubules to propel themselves randomly on the surface.
By attaching a fluorescent dye to the microtubules, the… read more
Robo-Therapist Helps Ailing Limbs
March 1, 2002
InMotion2 is a robo-therapist that its inventors believe can help patients regain the use of limbs incapacitated by a stroke.
The robot emulates the physical therapist’s movements by putting the patient’s affected limb through a range of repetitive exercises designed to rehabilitate damaged nerve pathways.
The patient sits at a table with his lower arm and wrist in a brace attached to the arm of the robot. The patient… read more
Neural net programs diagnose colon tumors
March 5, 2002
Researchers at the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center in Baltimore have devised a new method to differentiate and diagnose several types of colon tumors, using artificial neural networks to analyze thousands of genes at one time.
The program could ultimately help doctors to identify the cancers earlier and spare some patients from unnecessary, debilitating surgery, says Stephen J. Meltzer, M.D., professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School… read more
When Will AI Get Down to Business?
March 6, 2002
AI has quietly become embedded in a wide variety of businesses, including medical labs, financial services, airports, online job banks, and construction companies.
Examples of current AI applications include:
Silicon nanoparticles enable microscopic lasers
March 6, 2002
Researchers at the University of Illinois have demonstrated a method of producing fluorescent colored nanoparticles from silicon wafers. The new materials could yield microscopic lasers and put optical communications on chips.
By attaching biological materials to the nanoparticles, their location could be traced in the body by stimulating fluorescence with just two photons from infrared beams.
Researchers also hope to some day replace wires with optical interconnects and create… read more
UK gives go-ahead for human cloning
March 6, 2002
The British government has approved research on embryonic stem cells for developing new treatments for disease and for therapeutic cloning, involving the cloning of embryos up to 14 days old.
Picture This: Image-based rendering creates photorealistic 3-D models from plain old pictures
March 6, 2002
Image-based rendering is being used in movies and sporting events for creating photorealistic 3-D computer images and animations from photographs.
Current research aims at combining image-based rendering with traditional geometric modeling to create models called “imposters” that combine the advantages of geometric models with the photorealistic detail of image-based rendering.
The best-known example of image-based rendering was in last year’s Super Bowl, where a network of cameras filmed players… read more
Persuasive, Pervasive Computing
March 6, 2002
MIT’s long-range ubiquitous-computing project, Project Oxygen, is beginning to produce results, including a new microprocessor architecture for handheld computers, an indoor location system, and an intelligent meeting room.Developments include: