verbalization

Weeeeeeeee

2009-10-04T21:36:00.000+08:00

Squirrel launcher...

Recovering Lost Partition

2009-07-26T01:24:00.001+08:00

Used HandyRecovery4, torrent is your best friend.

Recovered 100GB of documents & media files, the only files lost were those with filenames deemed too long.

Brain Implants For Speech

2008-11-24T02:14:00.011+08:00

Nature reports that a team from Boston University is working on using implants to produce sounds from merely detecting brain signals. Currently, the subject, a paralysed patient, can produce three vowel sounds, accurately and as fast as normal speech (no time-lag). The team hopes to have the patient produce words directly in five years time.

While we've seen brain signals controlling limbs, this is a first for speech. Needless to say, this is an implant that has to be located in the speech region of the brain, IN the brain, but there are hopes for other non-invasive methods.

Another interesting fact to note is that the electrode encourages neurons to grow into and around the electrode, which implies that with frequent use, the system may become more efficient.

This is one of those times I regret not studying biology, now there's no way I'll be able to do any bio-mechanical stuff. Then again, I wouldn't be good enough to do anything that's neuroscience-related.

Cats The New Skynet

2008-11-19T23:05:00.008+08:00

And so, we welcome our new feline overlords.
via Gizmodo

Engineers FTW

2008-11-04T21:42:00.004+08:00

Love this advert phrase. This picture is part of an advertisement for International Consumer Electronics Show 2009 (CES). Held in Las Vegas , this is the event where gadget companies unveil their latest products.

JellyFish In Air : Festo's AirJelly

2008-11-04T21:16:00.012+08:00

Similar to the AquaJelly, only this time, AirJelly moves through air. Basically, the same mechanism from AquaJelly is attached to a helium balloon. Motion is controlled by remote instead. I want one for my room!!! From Festo.

Bionic Jellyfish : Festo's AquaJelly

2008-11-02T16:52:00.014+08:00

AquaJelly is an artificial autonomous jellyfish in water, a self-controlling system which emulates swarming behaviour. The watertight laser-sintered body houses a central electric motor, the two lithium-ion polymer batteries, the recharging control unit and the servo motors.

AquaJelly uses short range radio communication to emulate its real/organic counterpart. Multiple AquaJelly(s) will act like a jellyfish swarm. .pdf on the top right of the page elaborates more on the project.

Exactly the kind of research I wanna be doing in 10 yrs time. Emulating, improving & redefining nature, humans included.

Festo's official web

Hexapodmeisterschaft

2008-11-02T00:00:00.011+08:00

Hexapod dancing to Mambo No.5, work of students from HTL SAALFELDEN, Austria. Awesome programming. Am wondering whether these students are using Lynxmotion.

I couldn't help but break into a big smile when I saw this video. Hexapods, which include Tachikomas, FTW!!!

Nature's Deadly Bong

2008-11-01T22:12:00.008+08:00

Caption : I like how the lake is oxidized to a muddy brown, has yet to recover(reduction?) since 1984.

"... limnic eruption is when a large body of water suddenly releases large amounts of carbon dioxide which, being h eavier than air, displaces it at ground level, suffocating oxygen breathers."

While there are only three places where this phenomenon is known to happen, which itself is extremely rare, namely Lake Manoun in Cameroon, Lake Nyos, Cameroon and Lake Kivu(between the Congo and Rwanda). The Lake Nyos explosion killed almost 2000 people, bearing in mind that that was only CO2 displaced from a lake. Reports suggest that limnic explosions could have a greater effect since there is, well, more water.

Conditions for a limnic explosion:
~ Tropical and prone to volcanic activity areas
~ Body of water must be quite deep

So, what does this phenomenon tell us? That we should be hogging around an O2 tank? Or kick start our quest for space colonization? Nah, we should just start seriously researching on bio-mechanical lungs. OK, I have no idea what I'm talking about now.

I'm thinking of a contraption that utilizes plants' photosynthesis, then channel the O2 to somewhere needed, might have to work around that when plants' undergo respiration. Bah, my biology knowledge is near zero.

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/ecology/nature-deadly-bong/3185

Topics to be covered

2008-09-23T01:11:00.001+08:00

As stated in title:

Artificial Intelligence
Turing Test
Dean Kamen's 'Luke Arm'

*marked for deletion*

How To Fake Fingerprints?

2008-08-21T23:34:00.005+08:00

From the Chaos Computer Club, a German hacking group:

How To Fake Fingerprints?

Interesting how-to article, albeit old news.

Back story to this DIY was that CCC lifted the German Interior Minister's fingerprint, to prove the vulnerability of biometrics.

Live action Ghost in the Shell (Hollywood)

2008-04-16T23:31:00.004+08:00

...News is that while a couple other studios were chasing Ghost in the Shell, Spielberg himself took an interest in the property and brought it to Dreamworks. Jamie Moss, who hasn't done much of anything except write Street Kings is set to pen the adaptation...

God help us.

http://www.quietearth.us/articles/2008/04/14/Dreamworks-doing-live-action-3d-adaptation-of-Ghost-in-the-Shell

Robots: The Next Tech Bubble?

2008-03-06T00:17:00.005+08:00

Forbes.com (link) :
Gadgets and gimmicks and concept robots from huge corporations all presage the moment that open-architecture robots will catapult robotics out of its niche. As soon as the next generation of teen nerds can get their fingers into the brains of $200 'bots, robotics will be unleashed into the outward spiral of acceptance. The nerds will run with the technology and do for robotics what they did for computing in the 1970s and 1980s.

Yes. Hai. Ya. Agree.
Just a matter of time before I get my cold, grubby hands on some soldering equipments, and all hell will break loose. Got a few ideas now, like switching on/off the room fan from the bed. Till then, I'll just be learning Python and reviving the 10yr old PC to use Linux.

If I do eventually venture into the robotics field, heck even if I don't, I still would really, really want to see robots become the next PC. MOAR AUTOMATION AS WELL !!! Hope robotics become the next big-thing. That, and prosthetics. And my personal flying car.

Lynxmotion BH3-R Walking Robot

2008-03-05T23:30:00.007+08:00

WANT!
Have a thing for a robo-spideys, courtesy of GitS Tachikoma. I've got a few nice 'applications' for this thing.

Uses Sony Playstation controller to navigate. Comes at USD750. Product page

[BBC]Girls 'more skilled at IT'

2008-03-01T23:25:00.003+08:00

Boring month. Not many interesting news around. So, here's an obligatory dump.txt

Survey results show that more than boys have created MSWord docs, have a page on networking websites or uploaded a YouTube video....
....more acceptable for girls to be geeks....
meh, you don't even get a bit of geek cred if you haven't taken a philips screwdriver and pried open the cpu casing.

....Boys = Games, Girls = more involved....
I personally feel that playing PC games would get you more computer savvy than just browsing profiles on Friendster. For example, you're bound to come across more problems/jinxes while trying to get a (usually pirated) game to run compared to pointing, clicking and typing comments. BSODs, driver/hardware problems, getting around DRM, you know the drill.

Contact Lens with Superimposed Displays

2008-01-20T22:47:00.003+08:00

Ghost In The Shell is here.

"Engineers at the UW have for the first time used manufacturing techniques at microscopic scales to combine a flexible, biologically safe contact lens with an imprinted electronic circuit and lights.

"Looking through a completed lens, you would see what the display is generating superimposed on the world outside," said Babak Parviz, a UW assistant professor of electrical engineering."

This is just too exciting. There are way too many applications for this tech aside from gaming. GPS(me), first-person view of another person(armed forces), image filters/enhancers(everyone), too many, just too many. Any app on the computer could be ported.

But, from comments I read, some people aren't really comfortable with contact lenses. Would certainly gain more acceptance if they did superimposed displays on spectacles instead. (Dennou Coil, anyone?)

Futhermore, in cases when the displays malfunction/get hacked, users can conveniently remove the specs. Sensitive eyes are common too. Eyes sometimes become sensitive from wearing contact lenses 24/7. And then, there's the question of hygiene.
IMO, this is certainly more viable and non-invasive compared to bionic eyes like those in GitS.
It would be nice to have a user interface too. Primitive and currently viable ways would be to tracking eye-movement or blinks. Or we could just implants electrodes into the brain(previous post).

Functionality aside, there's aesthetics to be considered too. Coloured contact lenses no-es, metallic contact lenses FTW.

100% WANT!!!
I don't care whether it makes it into the mainstream market, as long as I get to use them, I'll be more than happy.

Monkey Controls Robotic Limbs With Brain Implants

2008-01-17T21:28:00.002+08:00

Duke University teamed up with Japan Science and Technology Agency(JST) to carry out an experiment that utilized brain activity to remotely control a robot. The experiment was led by Dr. Miguel Nicolelis (Duke U.), collaborating with Mitsuo Kawato (JST).

Prior to the experiment, two monkeys were trained to walk upright and had electrodes implanted into the part of the brain that controls walking. Later, they hooked up one of the monkeys, Idoya, to a robot, Computational Brain Project, in Japan.

With latency at a quarter second, it came close to real-time synchronization. But the most interesting part was when the researchers stopped the treadmill Idoya was walking on. With only visual feedback, Idoya's Japanese counterpart continued walking, controlled by the monkey's thoughts.

Wow, this would be really good news be for amputees and paralysed people. On a side note, cyberimplants could be on the way too.

Video & Interview

Lifespan Increased By Ten-fold

2008-01-17T20:59:00.000+08:00

Looks like Methuselah's record as the longest-living man in recorded history may be challenged. Well, almost, just short of 169 years.

Researchers from University of Southern California annouced that they can "slow aging and extend life span in organisms ranging from yeast to mice". By tinkering with some genes, researchers are able to increase the life span by 10-fold.

They say can extend the lifetime of yeast to 800 years. Awesome, but erm, who's gonna be the one testing whether yeast can still be used to bake a cake 800 years later?

Sarcos Exoskeleton

2008-01-15T15:26:00.000+08:00

スゴイ!!!

Sarcos, under contract from the U.S. military, developes an exoskeleton which enhances human movement.

Aside from military uses, I think this would be really good for those earthquake rescue ops and other labor-intensive activties. Construction, mining, rescue ops... The list is endless.

Crowd Behaviour

2008-01-15T15:18:00.001+08:00

Here's a simulation on how a crowd will probably react during an emergency, rushing towards an exit.

http://www.geosimulation.org/crowds/

This reminds me of my secondary school. There's only one exit when the school bell goes off. And its 1 1/2 meters wide. I estimate about 600-700 students trying to cram through that gate within 10 minutes. The school principal had the second gate closed due to ' safety' concerns.

Go figure.

JHU's Bionic Arm

2007-12-08T15:25:00.000+08:00

Quote from previous post:
"Next thing we know, the robot can play fantasie impromptu."

I've totally forgotten about an article(PopSci) on a bionic arm that I came across a couple weeks ago. Really cool, the thing has 25 joints, (FTA) nimble enough to play the piano. A normal arm has 30 joint motions, this is only short of 5 more, double yay! Proto 2, as it is called, was developed by Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab. It uses myoelectric sensors to move the arm. From what I gather, myoelectric signals are are electrical signals that allow us humans to control our muscles. (n00b here, correct me if I'm wrong.)

Getting this 25 joints onto a robot and controlling them probably wouldn't be much of a big problem, afterall the robot doesn't need to worry whether the arm will be able to synchronize with its muscles, since it has none to begin with. Now that there's the mechanics available, it's only a matter of time before somebody writes the software needed for a robot equipped with this arms mechanics to pay fantasie impromptu. Ouch! I think I'll go and practise my piano when I'm done with this post.

My heart skips a beat everytime I read/hear about advances in bionics and robotics. I don't know, these things totally captivate me.

These are the other websites I read from:

Toyota's Violin Robot

2007-12-07T23:28:00.001+08:00

Toyota researchers just unveiled their violin robot to the press. Very, very impressive. No, let me rephrase that. It's DAMN COOL!!! Here: http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=72177

FTA, the robot has 17 joints in both of its hands and arms. Very dexterious bunch of fingers that thing has. I can't think of any specific everyday-task that will put that skill to use for now, folding paper cranes, perhaps? The people from the medicine field might want it for operations, which requires precision and steady hands. What I can think of, is that the mechanics used here would be another step closer to Ghost In The Shell-like prosthetics.

I'm feeling pretty noobish now. I've spent 4 years learning the violin, and I don't think my playing sounds as accurate as the robot... The things even does vibrato, which I'm still struggling to master. I didn't see the robo's wrist move, but there was vibrato anyway.

Next thing we know, the robot can play fantasie impromptu. You know, all those passages with running notes. Aww man, I've spent like, the last couple years trying to play the first section, and it's still no good.

I think the robots will surpass me at playing violin/piano soon. *sigh*

First Post

2007-12-07T22:04:00.000+08:00

Ahahhaha, first post.

Just moved from Friendster, since their blog is friggin' slow. Lot's of free time to ramble now, since SPM just ended yesterday. ICT subject was on the very last day of the exam season. Wonderful.

After teh paper, went to Metro Prima to watch Enchanted. Walk, walk, walk. Next day (Friday), went to PC fair. Walk, walk, walk.