Sony Seeks Homes for Robots
March 28, 2003
Sony’s humanoid SDR robot can entertain and converse with humans but it’s still in search of a market.
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Email traffic patterns can reveal ringleaders
March 28, 2003
A new software technique for looking for patterns in email traffic can quickly identify terrorists or criminal gangs, even if they are communicating in code.
Portrait of a Probable Killer
March 27, 2003
“If scientists’ hunch proves correct, the mystery ‘killer flu’ that has killed more than 50 people in Asia and beyond is an infection like none seen before…. Suspicions are growing that the culprit is an unassuming virus called a coronavirus.”
“Coronaviruses are prone to transformation. They have an unusually large amount of genetic material, as well as enzymes that enable them to shuffle it. A new, more virulent mutant… read more
Fujitsu Labs applies neural networks to robot learning
March 27, 2003
Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. has developed a learning system for humanoid robots that uses a dynamically reconfigurable neural network to enable efficient learning of movement and motor coordination.
The technology is based on Central Pattern Generator (CPG) networks, mimicking a function found in earthworms and lampreys that mathematically simulates a neural oscillator. This is combined with a numerical perturbation (NP) method that quantifies the configuration and connection-weight status of the… read more
Smart Dust
March 27, 2003
“Smart dust” devices — tiny wireless microelectromechanical sensors (MEMS) that can detect everything from light to vibrations — would gather data, run computations and communicate the information using two-way band radio between motes at distances approaching 1,000 feet.
Potential commercial applications range from catching manufacturing defects by sensing out-of-range vibrations in industrial equipment to tracking patient movements in a hospital room.
Trapped ions make logic gates
March 27, 2003
Two independent research groups report the creation of logic gates using pairs of “entangled” trapped ions. The researchers believe that these logic gates could be scaled up to include many qubits in a large, workable quantum computer.
Engineers Create World’s First Transparent Transistor
March 27, 2003
Engineers at Oregon State University have created the world’s first transparent transistor. Transparent transistors could open up a range of applications in consumer electronics, transportation, business and the military. They could improve the quality of liquid crystal displays and could be used in heads-up displays, built into window glass or the windshield of a vehicle.
Fujitsu Labs Applies Neural Networks to Robot Learning
March 26, 2003
Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. has developed a learning system for humanoid robots that uses a dynamically reconfigurable neural network to enable the efficient learning of movement and motor coordination.
The Droids of Sport
March 26, 2003
Robotic competitions are popping up around the world. A new book, “Gearheads,”
examines their universe.
Synapse chip taps into brain chemistry
March 26, 2003
Stanford University researchers have developed “artificial synapses” on a silicon chip.
When an electric field is applied, the neurotransmitter is pumped through an internal pipeline, and a little of it squeezes out of the hole, stimulating nearby neural cells.
This could open the way to neural prosthetic implants that combine chemical and electrical stimulation in one implant. These could interact with cells in more subtle and precise ways.… read more
Aim to create ‘sensitive’ PCs
March 24, 2003
Computers that can recognize and understand human emotions could be about to move a step nearer.
Arabic In, English Out
March 24, 2003
A new device being tested at the Office of Naval Research promises simultaneous machine translation and interpretation, using a blend of voice recognition, speech synthesis and translation technologies.
Surveillance Nation
March 24, 2003
Webcams, tracking devices, and interlinked databases are leading to the elimination of unmonitored public space. Are we prepared for the consequences of the intelligence- gathering network we’re unintentionally building?
I, Clone
March 24, 2003
The irrational fears people express today about cloning parallel those surrounding robotics half a century ago. The “The Three Laws of Cloning” will protect clones and advance science.