[Via GeeksAreSexy]
University of Pennsylvania professor Daniel Lee is working to imbue robots with human-level thinking and behavioral ability.
Lee believes the key to this advancement is achieving a better understanding of how living things compute information and transferring that information to the robot realm. “Traditional computer algorithms which do fast search and brute computation will not make machines intelligent,” he says. “So we need to develop algorithms that approach these problems in different ways in order to build robots that can perform in complex environments.” Lee says robots’ artificial intelligence will be enhanced as their ability to sense their environment and execute motorized tasks steadily improves over time.
World Wide Web - What happens behind the scenes
A short explanation of what makes the World Wide Web work: browsers, packets, servers and links.
The Complete History of Internet
An animated documentary explaining the inventions from time-sharing to filesharing, from Arpanet to Internet.
[Via GeeksAreSexy]
Google provided a look inside its data center operations at the Google Data Center Efficiency Summit held Wednesday, 1st of April, in Mountain View, California.
Google’s Gmail Labs is constantly developing new features and applications, and while many of the projects and releases may appear to be casual or random, the Lab’s Todd Jackson says there is a method to the madness.
“Labs is for Gmail to experiment with new features when we’re not really sure if they’ll be a hit,” Jackson says. “It’s a place where we can throw stuff out there, see what sticks.”
Launched last June, Gmail Labs has added about one new Lab feature per week, with ideas coming from individual engineers and developers in the company, instead of from corporate offices as part of a business plan. Some Lab applications, such as Tasks and Forgotten Email Attachment, are designed to be useful to Gmail users, while others are designed for fun and novelty. So far, no applications have graduated from the Lab section in Gmail and become a standard email tool, but Jackson says some could be released soon.
Researchers at Seagate Technology are pursuing a laser heating recording method to improve the capacity of computer hard drives.
The researchers have developed a test magnetic recording head that includes a new device that acts like an optical antenna. They say that a thin film of tiny magnetic particles could be heated while receiving data bits and made more stable. The device, a near-field transducer, can focus a laser beam inside an area less than 75 nanometers in diameter.
A movement is underway to eliminate power cables from consumer mobile devices by using wireless recharging.
However, while the technology may be sound, a profitable business model remains elusive. Developments that may help convince manufacturers to incorporate wireless charging modules into their devices include the organization of the Wireless Power Consortium, a group committed to establishing a common inductive wireless charging standard.
Consortium chairman Menno Treffers admits that greater collaboration is needed to guarantee that different devices can share the same charging gear. Notable products include Palm’s Pre smart phone, which features an optional charging pad that charges the handset wirelessly via electromagnetic induction.
The Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology (FIT) has developed an augmented reality (AR) system for underwater use that outfits a scuba diver’s mask with a display that overlays computer-generated virtual scenes onto real underwater surroundings.
The AR technology is being explored to find applications for professional divers. Underwater use is a major challenge for technical systems, which have to be waterproof and robust enough to withstand the pressure of diving.
FIT’s AR system is a waterproof display in front of a diver’s mask that allows the diver to see the real underwater environment as well as additional virtual objects. An ultra-mobile PC, worn on the diver’s back, detects underwater markers in a video stream supplied by a camera on top of the diver’s mask.
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