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Jan 12
28
This Week In Bots: Roboplayers, Robodancers, Robowarriors, And The Delicate Ethics Of Robosex
Would you love your Roomba more if it had rat-like whiskers? How about if it saved people’s lives in post-disaster situations? Yeah, us too.
Robohockey
Teaching robots to play sports is a clever way to advance the science of robotic movements, environment sensing, and artificial intellgence all in one swoop. That’s because a game or sport has a predetermined set of rules so it’s simpler than the “real” world. Enter UPenn’s Design of Mechatronics Students with their robotic hockey players.
See how instructive programming those little beasts must’ve been? They’re not allowed to be controlled or communicated with once they’re in the ring, so there’s a pretty good amount of AI in them, as well as good situational awareness sensing. They’re not as massive or powerful as the droids seen on the big screen in Reel Steel, but they are way cuter. And, as Automaton blog points out, in the dark the lighting on the machines makes for some surprisingly good art in long-exposure photos.
Roborats
Search and rescue robots are a regular feature here at TWIB headquarters, probably because there’s considerable momentum behind the R&D–the opportunity to save lives with robotic tech that can access dangerous areas in post-disaster scenarios is just so exciting. Lots of research is needed to develop sensitive, smart, and perhaps unusual robots to perform the various tasks demanded of a SAR robot, which is why the work of University of Sheffield is so interesting. Working with exsiting Roomba robot carcasses, the British engineers are again visiting the idea of using rat-like whiskers as sensors for search and rescue purposes–they work in the dark, they don’t damage any victims they brush over, and they’re a bit sacrificial in case the robot blunders into a truly risky environment. But the Sheffield team is also adding another animalistic trait to their robots: the design of monkey brains.
The idea isn’t to strap a nicely chilled monkey brain into a Roomba, but rather to build a software model of how monkey brain neurons let monkeys make a decision, and use that to drive the robot’s AI. It’s known that individual monkey neurons speed up the rate at which they fire when faced with a decision about which way to move–driven by visual cues. The Sheffield team thus followed some earlier research into monkey neurons and reprogrammed their Roomba. The upshot was a whisker-powered sensor that could correctly identify the type of flooring it was moving over, in an all but flawless way.
This kind of sensitivity could be vital for a SAR robot as it would need to make sure it wasn’t maneuvering onto dangerous or slippery terrain in search of survivors, and it’s also likely got medical, military, and other uses too.
Robozapper
Watch Star Wars, Red Dwarf or countless other movies or TV shows and you’ll see small service droids beetling around the corridors under their own power, presumably engaged in vitally important missions. If you popped into Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, Mass., over the last year you may have been stunned to see something pretty similar. CNN Money is reporting on the experiment the hospital’s been running with a Xenex droid for a year, and how it’s been incredibly effective. Pleasingly the machine even has a kind of R2-D2 vibe.
The droid is empowered to seek and destroy, you see. Not alien invaders, but germy invaders. As it patrols the corridors and rooms, it maneuvers around to flash bright UV light into as many corners and surfaces as it can reach–with the light actively killing off any bugs that are hanging around there. The hospital thinks it’s likely saved five lives and prevented two colostomies from happening–since it’s suppressed the “winter vomiting disease” C. diff infection rate by about 70%.
Expect more droids like this sooner rather than later.
Robodancers
What better way to show off Chinese robotic prowess than to welcome in the Chinese Year of the Dragon with a celebratory dancing robot spot! Fourteen droids shook their lovely robo-lumps to a remix of a traditional Russian song on the hugely popular Big-Show on television.
No uncanny valley crossing here, just plain old robot excitement.
Robowarriors
More and more we see headlines about “drone airstrikes” in places like Afghanistan, not without controversy, of course. And now the robot army is getting a serious boost: The Pentagon’s new budget sees the slashing of some 80,000 soldiers and 20,000 marines…but the boosting of Army and Navy drone forces by quite considerable sizes. More money is also being shuffled into the Air Force’s future long-range bomber plan–a system that won’t necessarily have a pilot aboard at all times.
Fewer pensions, fewer losses and costs due to injury and death, potentially more precise and stealthier mission delivery…these are but a few of the reasons why these decisions are being made. Check out a fuller story on the moves at Wired.
Robosex (SFW)
So we know that robots are already sliding deeper into our everyday lives. And this’ll only happen more so as the years pass. Which is why Yale Daily News (“The Oldest College Daily”!) has an interesting article today, predicting a near-ish future where… well, where human’s sexual tastes have swelled to include human-machine interfacing of a much more intimate nature. If your tastes and work environment permit, it’s a fascinating and slightly explicit read. Light-hearted as the matter seems, this technology is actually already here in a way (for an example, here’s another NSFW link about one man’s quest for robot love), and when it becomes more common and sophisticated then all sorts of moral and legal issues are bound to pop up.
Chat about this article with Kit Eaton on Twitter (he’s not a robot) and Fast Company too.
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Business Secretary Vince Cable has announced plans to fund a Digital Economy “Catapult” centre to help drive innovation and adoption of new technologies by UK businesses.
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The investor and ‘Shark Tank’ star took your questions in a live interactive discussion.
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As the owner and COO of Sugarleaf Vineyards, the years spent creating and managing every aspect of the brand and watching it become nationally recognized was exhilarating. Mission accomplished: I created a highly regarded, consistent and profitable business. The business building was done, the branding was solid, the product was respected, sales were strong; the marketing plan was in place and effective–now what?
I knew the things I loved most about building Sugarleaf–developing the brand, marketing the company, devising growth strategies, driving sales, creating partnerships and speaking publicly about marketing and my entrepreneurial journey. This was enough to motivate me to make the transition into my newest venture, as a branding and marketing consultant that would allow me to replicate similar success stories for other companies. I wanted to help brands create their marketing strategy with a youthful and entrepreneurial perspective.
The list of motivating factors for professional transitions are endless–whether it’s the impulsive pursuit of a dream, outgrowing your business or job title, a burning the desire for a change in scenery or workplace culture, or the result of natural professional progression. People generally advance beyond the boundaries and grow beyond the skills that once defined them. Corporate culture would refer to as “working your way up the corporate ladder” but in the entrepreneurial world it’s called reinventing yourself and launching your newest venture. Serial entrepreneurs have to re-appropriate their skills and relevant experience to suit the needs of the new company and oftentimes wear multiple hats in the process.
Making the decision to choose and pursue a different path is easy. Getting beyond that point and actually making the transition is, without a doubt, the hardest part. There are a few things you should keep in mind if you want to succeed in making a professional transition:
1. Build a comprehensive support system. Surround yourself with a support system of peer mentors who understand you, your business and where you are in life. Develop and maintain relationships with successful high-level proven business people that you respect, admire, and aspire to be like professionally to help you navigate and execute your plan. Bring a trusted personal advisor onboard to be a sounding board. Hire a business coach or life coach if necessary.
2. Evaluate your strengths and skills. List the business skills that were required in your last position and the successes that you achieved. Determine if your experiences at your most recent company qualifies as hands on education to help you launch your next venture. Many of your skills should carry over to your new venture, so be sure to identify any additional professional areas of expertise that may be needed and seek counsel.
3. List your priorities. Be clear about what’s important to you and what you value most. Make sure that you can achieve your goals and objectives while maintaining work-life balance throughout your transition. Your business should work for you, and not against whatever equilibrium you create to ultimately make the transition manageable.
4. Clarify your vision. Create a mission statement for your business. Know your market’s demographics and how you will reach them. Immerse yourself in the industry you’ve set your sights on, soak up as much knowledge as you can and form a professional network within that industry. Create your step-by-step action plan.
5. Know when to take the plunge. Timing is everything. Make sure that you plan (and accomplish) your exit strategy when transitioning. Keep in touch with your network and make sure that your transition is as seamless as possible. Make sure you understand the risk involved with changing jobs or creating a new business. Know the downside and be comfortable taking the plunge without having all of the answers, but also be comfortable asking for help, the upside will outweigh your fears!
Lauren Maillian Bias is the Founder and CEO of Luxury Market Branding, a strategic marketing and branding consultancy where she brings her firsthand knowledge, expertise and passion for marketing to her clients. She is a member of The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only nonprofit organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. The YEC promotes entrepreneurship as a solution to unemployment and underemployment and provides entrepreneurs with access to tools, mentorship, and resources that support each stage of their business’s development and growth.
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Praise in the workplace can be a powerful motivator. The Esquire Guy teaches us how to do it right. Hint: No bear hugs.
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If your small business advertises with the search giant, you may soon find that your placements are even more effective.
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We’ve already seen augmented reality used to superimpose text on top of chocolate-bar wrappers and newspaper ads, but now we’ve come across an example of the technology being used in the publishing industry. Between Page And Screen is a printed book of poems that relies entirely on augmented reality to convey its words.
The Between Page and Screen poetry book has no text printed on its physical pages. Rather, each page is covered with a stark black and white geometric shape and a web address leading to the book’s website. To read the book, consumers must visit that site and hold each page up in front of their webcam, one at a time. Using the reader’s webcam, the site then detects the black and white markers and displays corresponding textual animations mapped to the surface of the page. The animations move with the book, creating the digital equivalent of a pop-up book. The video below demonstrates Between Page and Screen in action:
Written by Amaranth Borsuk and programmed by Brad Bouse, the poems in Between Page and Screen comprise a series of letters between two lovers, P and S, as well as animations based on keywords from their letters. Produced initially as a limited-edition, the book is now available for USD 24.95 from Siglio Press. Authors, publishers, and content producers around the globe: be inspired!
Website: www.betweenpageandscreen.com
Contact: hel...@betweenpageandscreen.com
Spotted by: Florent Lesauvage
Related Ideas:
- Augmented reality app illustrates damage to smokers’ lungs
- Augmented reality app reveals the world’s hidden stories
- Augmented reality app helps libraries keep track of books
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How 15 minutes of fame can lead to as many problems as opportunities.
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Google’s new Public Alerts are a continuation of the role Google took in the aftermath of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami in 2011. However, instead of simply providing ad-hoc portals to collated and relevant data post-disaster, Google’s Crisis Response Team, a new release says, will work to “surface emergency information through the online tools you use every day, when that information is relevant and useful.” Meaning if there’s a hurricane headed your way, Google will make sure you know it somehow. But how much of this is about altruism?
Some, for sure. But mostly this is about Google. Specifically it’s about how all of Google’s recent moves, including this one, are actually about concentrating on becoming the search portal for everything to everyone, and alongisde this delivering its core targeted advertising.
The new Alert tools draw information from “meterological and other sources and displays them on Google Maps” with the option to click on “more info” on individual alerts to reveal extra detail, and an on-link to the source of the information. That means data from NOAA, the National Weather Service, and the USGS, among others, will be presented in a structured way so that you can tell if something bad is on its way, when it may happen and what “resources are available to help” (perhaps the most important part of this equation).
It’s potentially an incredibly useful system with far-reaching consequences in terms of publc safety and education. Just as Google’s tools proved very helpful in earlier disasters, it’s likely that by collating them in a more organized way they’ll be even more useful in the future. They may even save lives.
But there’s a slight niggling worry exposed by this thought. This is Google we’re talking about, after all. The same Google that pretty much dominates the world’s Net searching habits. It’s also the same Google that just the other day, while the world’s attention was focused on Apple (how convenient) revealed its broadest, most dramatic and perhaps most controversial privacy changes yet. In the guise of streamlining privacy policies and making better use of all the data its various services collect about every user’s habits–currently penned up in different boxes in its servers–it’s going to collate everything together in one place.
Undoubtedly this will exponentially increase Google’s power to understand its clients needs and behavior, but it’s not optional and if your thoughts are even slightly aligned with some conspiracy theorists’, then you’ll be uncomfortable that the subsequent file Google has on you may be more detailed than any the CIA could pull together.
This factor has resulted in a backlash, reaching even to international governmental levels.
Just the other week, Google splashed across headlines as its latest financial reports weren’t quite as stellar as everyone had hoped–with what Reuters calls a “surprise drop in [its] search advertising rates in the fourth quarter” leading to discomfort on Wall Street, and analyst cries of unease with Google’s vague direction. Because, though it is of course primarily a search engine, nearly all of what Google does in the way of providing services is designed to funnel data into its hugely lucrative targeted advertising business.
And yet we may speculate that Android isn’t quite the new direction Google had hoped for, and though it too dominates its smartphone markets, gains by rivals like Apple could imply that consumers are wising up to this too. Android, for all its headline-grabbing power, may even be making more money for Microsoft than Google itself (thanks to labyrinthine IP issues). Google’s Google+ Your World is also still stirring controversy because in its efforts to push its own social network, Google seems to be promoting it at the expense of its rivals, and these companies have even cried foul on the whole scheme, implying it’s actually a disservice to search customers.
And while all this is going on, Google tries some new Disaster Alerts–a fringe business at most. That does all look terrible.
But Google is actually refining itself. After it ditched some of its extraneous research schemes, it’s now aligning its privacy policies, super-powering its customer habit databases, lighting a match beneath its social networking system, and dressing its offerings up with politician-friendly efforts like Disaster Alerts. All of this will firm up its core business, and allow better ad generation.
So is Google really moving in a highly nebulous fashion, a symptom of which is that it actually owns a Crisis Response Team among its employees ready to, perhaps incongruously, save people from death? No. Google is sensitive to its pseudo-monopoly in search. Domination like this is hard to maintain, especially in an economic environment where continuous growth is all but demanded by shareholders.
Looking at the bigger picture you can see that Google’s actually trying to be smaller (in some ways), tighter, smarter, and more efficient–sensitive to its search-related advert miss. It’s a classic business maneuver, and it aligns with CEO Larry Page’s recent use of the world “beautiful” to describe what Google does. That’s an epithet that wouldn’t apply to a sprawling, lazy firm with a weak sense of direction and purpose. Google is not nebulous at all, and analysts may be better off not worrying it has a lack of direction. It definitely does.
[Image: Flickr user David Blackwell]
Chat about this news with Kit Eaton on Twitter and Fast Company too.
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London South Bank University (LSBU) hosted an international competition for students with the aim of developing technology and management business plans related to the theme of building a more sustainable London Olympics.
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