Category: News

The Birth of AI: Computer Beats the Turing Test!

turing-statueAlan Turing, the British mathematician and cryptogropher, is widely known as the “Father of Theoretical Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence”. Amongst his many accomplishments – such as breaking Germany’s Enigma Code – was the development of the Turing Test. The test was introduced by Turing’s 1950 paper “Computing Machinery and Intelligence,” in which he proposed a game wherein a computer and human players would play an imitation game.

In the game, which involves three players, involves Player C  asking the other two a series of written questions and attempts to determine which of the other two players is a human and which one is a computer. If Player C cannot distinguish which one is which, then the computer can be said to fit the criteria of an “artificial intelligence”. And this past weekend, a computer program finally beat the test, in what experts are claiming to be the first time AI has legitimately fooled people into believing it’s human.

eugene_goostmanThe event was known as the Turing Test 2014, and was held in partnership with RoboLaw, an organization that examines the regulation of robotic technologies. The machine that won the test is known as Eugene Goostman, a program that was developed in Russia in 2001 and goes under the character of a 13-year-old Ukrainian boy. In a series of chatroom-style conversations at the University of Reading’s School of Systems Engineering, the Goostman program managed to convince 33 percent of a team of judges that he was human.

This may sound modest, but that score placed his performance just over the 30 percent requirement that Alan Turing wrote he expected to see by the year 2000. Kevin Warwick, one of the organisers of the event at the Royal Society in London this weekend, was on hand for the test and monitored it rigorously. As Deputy chancellor for research at Coventry University, and considered by some to be the world’s first cyborg, Warwick knows a thing or two about human-computer relations

kevin_warwickIn a post-test interview, he explained how the test went down:

We stuck to the Turing test as designed by Alan Turing in his paper; we stuck as rigorously as possible to that… It’s quite a difficult task for the machine because it’s not just trying to show you that it’s human, but it’s trying to show you that it’s more human than the human it’s competing against.

For the sake of conducting the test, thirty judges had conversations with two different partners on a split screen—one human, one machine. After chatting for five minutes, they had to choose which one was the human. Five machines took part, but Eugene was the only one to pass, fooling one third of his interrogators. Warwick put Eugene’s success down to his ability to keep conversation flowing logically, but not with robotic perfection.

Turing-Test-SchemeEugene can initiate conversations, but won’t do so totally out of the blue, and answers factual questions more like a human. For example, some factual question elicited the all-too-human answer “I don’t know”, rather than an encyclopaedic-style answer where he simply stated cold, hard facts and descriptions. Eugene’s successful trickery is also likely helped by the fact he has a realistic persona. From the way he answered questions, it seemed apparent that he was in fact a teenager.

Some of the “hidden humans” competing against the bots were also teenagers as well, to provide a basis of comparison. As Warwick explained:

In the conversations it can be a bit ‘texty’ if you like, a bit short-form. There can be some colloquialisms, some modern-day nuances with references to pop music that you might not get so much of if you’re talking to a philosophy professor or something like that. It’s hip; it’s with-it.

Warwick conceded the teenage character could be easier for a computer to convincingly emulate, especially if you’re using adult interrogators who aren’t so familiar with youth culture. But this is consistent with what scientists and analysts predict about the development of AI, which is that as computers achieve greater and greater sophistication, they will be able to imitate human beings of greater intellectual and emotional development.

artificial-intelligenceNaturally, there are plenty of people who criticize the Turing test for being an inaccurate way of testing machine intelligence, or of gauging this thing known as intelligence in general. The test is also controversial because of the tendency of interrogators to attribute human characteristics to what is often a very simple algorithm. This is unfortunate because chatbots are easy to trip up if the interrogator is even slightly suspicious.

For instance, chatbots have difficulty answering follow up questions and are easily thrown by non-sequiturs. In these cases, a human would either give a straight answer, or respond to by specifically asking what the heck the person posing the questions is talking about, then replying in context to the answer. There are also several versions of the test, each with its own rules and criteria of what constitutes success. And as Professor Warwick freely admitted:

Some will claim that the Test has already been passed. The words Turing Test have been applied to similar competitions around the world. However this event involved more simultaneous comparison tests than ever before, was independently verified and, crucially, the conversations were unrestricted. A true Turing Test does not set the questions or topics prior to the conversations. We are therefore proud to declare that Alan Turing’s Test was passed for the first time on Saturday.

artificial_intelligence1So what are the implications of this computing milestone? Is it a step in the direction of a massive explosion in learning and research, an age where computing intelligences vastly exceed human ones and are able to assist us in making countless ideas real? Or it is a step in the direction of a confused, sinister age, where the line between human beings and machines is non-existent, and no one can tell who or what the individual addressing them is anymore?

Difficult to say, but such is the nature of groundbreaking achievements. And as Warwick suggested, an AI like Eugene could be very helpful to human beings and address real social issues. For example, imagine an AI that is always hard at work on the other side of the cybercrime battle, locating “black-hat” hackers and cyber predators for law enforcement agencies. And what of assisting in research endeavors, helping human researchers to discover cures for disease, or design cheaper, cleaner, energy sources?

As always, what the future holds varies, depending on who you ask. But in the end, it really comes down to who is involved in making it a reality. So a little fear and optimism are perfectly understandable when something like this occurs, not to mention healthy.

Sources: motherboard.vice.com, gizmag.com, reading.ac.uk

The Future is Here: Black Hawk Drones and AI pilots

blackhawk_droneThe US Army’s most iconic helicopter is about to go autonomous for the first time. In their ongoing drive to reduce troops and costs, they are now letting their five-ton helicopter carry out autonomous expeditionary and resupply operations. This began last month when the defense contractor Sikorsky Aircraft, the company that produces the UH-60 Black Hawk – demonstrated the hover and flight capability in an “optionally piloted” version of their craft for the first time.

Sikorsky has been working on the project since 2007 and convinced the Army’s research department to bankroll further development last year. As Chris Van Buiten, Sikorsky’s vice president of Technology and Innovation, said of the demonstration:

Imagine a vehicle that can double the productivity of the Black Hawk in Iraq and Afghanistan by flying with, at times, a single pilot instead of two, decreasing the workload, decreasing the risk, and at times when the mission is really dull and really dangerous, go it all the way to fully unmanned.

blackhawk_drone1The Optionally Piloted Black Hawk (OPBH) operates under Sikorsky’s Manned/Unmanned Resupply Aerial Lifter (MURAL) program, which couples the company’s advanced Matrix aviation software with its man-portable Ground Control Station (GCS) technology. Matrix, introduced a year ago, gives rotary and fixed-wing vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft a high level of system intelligence to complete missions with little human oversight.

Mark Miller, Sikorsky’s vice-president of Research and Engineering, explained in a statement:

The autonomous Black Hawk helicopter provides the commander with the flexibility to determine crewed or un-crewed operations, increasing sorties while maintaining crew rest requirements. This allows the crew to focus on the more ‘sensitive’ operations, and leaves the critical resupply missions for autonomous operations without increasing fleet size or mix.

Alias-DarpaThe Optionally Piloted Black Hawk fits into the larger trend of the military finding technological ways of reducing troop numbers. While it can be controlled from a ground control station, it can also make crucial flying decisions without any human input, relying solely on its ‘Matrix’ proprietary artificial intelligence technology. Under the guidance of these systems, it can fly a fully autonomous cargo mission and can operate both ways: unmanned or piloted by a human.

And this is just one of many attempts by military contractors and defense agencies to bring remote and autonomous control to more classes of aerial vehicles. Earlier last month, DARPA announced a new program called Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS), the purpose of which is to develop a portable, drop-in autopilot to reduce the number of crew members on board, making a single pilot a “mission supervisor.”

darpa-alias-flight-crew-simulator.siMilitary aircraft have grown increasingly complex over the past few decades, and automated systems have also evolved to the point that some aircraft can’t be flown without them. However, the complex controls and interfaces require intensive training to master and can still overwhelm even experienced flight crews in emergency situations. In addition, many aircraft, especially older ones, require large crews to handle the workload.

According to DARPA, avionics upgrades can help alleviate this problem, but only at a cost of tens of millions of dollars per aircraft type, which makes such a solution slow to implement. This is where the ALIAS program comes in: instead of retrofitting planes with a bespoke automated system, DARPA wants to develop a tailorable, drop‐in, removable kit that takes up the slack and reduces the size of the crew by drawing on both existing work in automated systems and newer developments in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Alias_DARPA1DARPA says that it wants ALIAS to not only be capable of executing a complete mission from takeoff to landing, but also handle emergencies. It would do this through the use of autonomous capabilities that can be programmed for particular missions, as well as constantly monitoring the aircraft’s systems. But according to DARPA, the development of the ALIAS system will require advances in three key areas.

First, because ALIAS will require working with a wide variety of aircraft while controlling their systems, it will need to be portable and confined to the cockpit. Second, the system will need to use existing information about aircraft, procedures, and flight mechanics. And third, ALIAS will need a simple, intuitive, touch and voice interface because the ultimate goal is to turn the pilot into a mission-level supervisor while ALIAS handles the second-to-second flying.

AI'sAt the moment, DARPA is seeking participants to conduct interdisciplinary research aimed at a series of technology demonstrations from ground-based prototypes, to proof of concept, to controlling an entire flight with responses to simulated emergency situations. As Daniel Patt, DARPA program manager, put it:

Our goal is to design and develop a full-time automated assistant that could be rapidly adapted to help operate diverse aircraft through an easy-to-use operator interface. These capabilities could help transform the role of pilot from a systems operator to a mission supervisor directing intermeshed, trusted, reliable systems at a high level.

Given time and the rapid advance of robotics and autonomous systems, we are likely just a decade away from aircraft being controlled by sentient or semi-sentient systems. Alongside killer robots (assuming they are not preemptively made illegal), UAVs, and autonomous hovercraft, it is entirely possible wars will be fought entirely by machines. At which point, the very definition of war will change. And in the meantime, check out this video of the history of unmanned flight:


Sources: wired.com, motherboard.vice.com, gizmag.com, darpa.mil

A Tribute to Hans Ruedi Giger

Hans_GigerLast month, the Swiss surrealists Hans Ruedi Giger – a painter, sculptor, set designer, and the Academy Award winning visual effects master who brought the world the Alien – died at the age of 74 in Zürich, Switzerland. After suffering injuries he sustained in a fall, the man who mined his own nightmares in creating phantasmagorical works finally passed away on Monday, May 12th, and leaves behind a robust legacy of inspiring people’s imaginations and striking fear into their hearts.

Describing his friend, American psychologist and psychedelic writer Timothy Leary was quoted as having praised the artist by saying:

Giger’s work disturbs us, spooks us, because of its enormous evolutionary time span. It shows us, all too clearly, where we come from and where we are going.

And though he is well known within the artist community for his ability to turn nightmarish visions into works of art, some of which were oddly sexual, it is his contributions to the movie industry and science fiction franchise that are arguably the most well known. As the man who created the title character of the 1979 horror sci-fi classic Alien, he and the film’s visuel effects team won an Academy Award and spawned a genre that would have enduring influence.

SpaceJockeyIn addition to personally designing the Alien through all stages of its life – from egg to eight-foot tall monster – he was also responsible for the design of the Derelict (aka. the Space Jockey/Engineer spaceship) and the Space Jockey/Engineer itself. While some would describe these as “surrealist” or “Lovecraftian” in design, Giger preferred to call his art “biomechanics”, with its subjects often appearing to be hybrid creatures that had bodies that melded the organic with mechanical parts.

Nowhere was this more clear than with the design of the Alien itself. Combining elements of biology, technology, skewed sexuality and nightmarish visions into its design, it was this creation itself that the entire movie was built around. In fact, screenwriter Dan O’Bannon began crafting the script for the movie with neither a story idea nor a hero protagonist in mind. All he wanted was the sense of fear that came from more and more revealing glimpses of Giger’s creation.

Original alien concept, entitled Necronomicon IV
Original alien concept, entitled Necronomicon IV

And after seeing Giger’s first book, “Necronomicon” – a collection that was published in 1977 and named in honor of H.P. Lovecraft’s fictional grimoire of the same name –   Director Ridley Scott immediately decided to hire Giger, who began producing artwork and conceptual designs that were essentially refinements of the work found in his dark collection. As Mr. Scott would later say of this fateful decision: “I’d never been so certain about anything in all my life.”

The end result was a huge and harrowing success, with the setting of the Derelict ship providing a sense of awe and wonder, not to mention foreshadowing the sense of terror and darkness that would follow. And combined with O’Bannon’s vision and Scott’s cinematography, the brief glimpses we get of this ancient and dark looking creature only help to augment the sense of terror and claustrophobia that would come from being trapped aboard a spaceship with it.

HR Giger's concept for a Sandworm of Dune
HR Giger’s concept for a Sandworm of Dune

He would also collaborate on many other films of the horror and sci-fi genre. These include designs for the unproduced Alejandro Jodorowsky adaptation of Dune, which would later be made by David Lynch. Other examples include Poltergeist II: The Other Side, Killer Condom, Species, Future-Kill, and Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis. Unfortunately, for all concerned, one movie he collaborated on  would ultiamtely reject his design – the updated Batmobile for the Batman Forever movie (picture below).

Beyond his work on the Alien franchise – which included designs for Alien 3, Alien: Resurrection and Prometheus – Mr. Giger published around 20 books of art, and his works were exhibited in Paris, Prague and New York. He also created many album covers, including one for the singer Debbie Harry’s 1981 album, “Koo Koo”, Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s 1973 album, “Brain Salad Surgery,” and a poster titled “Penis Landscape” for inclusion in an album by the punk band Dead Kennedys.

Batmobile concept
Giger’s Batmobile. Tell me it’s not better than the one we saw in Batman Forever!

And over at deviantART, artist techgnotic has arranged a tribute to the artist that embraces the many personal tributes that this art community have made toward the late Giger. Describing Giger’s enduring legacy, techgnotic says that:

Giger was a touchstone artist for those in the 70s & 80s who sought to shake up the establishment with a walk on the wild side. Today he is thought of by many artists as being one of the exemplars of letting the mind go free—to explore either the light or the darkness—and be fearless in sharing what was found there in one’s art. His art might be considered “safe” today, but he was a real inspiration to many of today’s artists.

And as he puts it in the prologue: “He was an artist you might not know. But you’ve met his children…” Be sure to go and check it out, as it does a very good job summarizing his life’s work and influence, and contains some pretty interesting and inspired tribute pieces! And while we’re at it, I suggest we set aside some time to rewatch Alien or one of the many other movies he collaborated on to create the dark, nightmarish sets or costumes that would help establish the tone of the film.

Brain_Salad_SurgeryAnd while were at it, perhaps we should take a page from Giger’s book and keep a nightmare journal. Not only did this man record all the dark visions he would experience in his sleep, he would use them to create artistic and cinematic gold! But if you’d rather leave that to the dark souls of this world and just enjoy letting them scare you, so much the better. RIP Giger, you will be missed!

Sources: nytimes.com, io9.com, techgnotic.deviantart.com

Climate Crisis: Bigger Storm Waves and Glacier Collapse

glacier collapseClimate Change is a multifaceted issue, which is due to the fact that there is no single consequence that takes precedence over the others. However, one undeniable consequence is the effect rising sea levels will have, thanks to rising temperatures and melting polar ice caps. Unfortunately, a new paper from Eric Rignot at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory  claims that some glaciers in West Antarctica “have passed the point of no return”.

A section of glaciers along West Antarctica’s coastline on the Amundsen Sea was previously predicted to be solid enough to last thousands of years. However, the JPL report finds that the ice will continue to slip into the water and melt much faster than expected. These massive glaciers are releasing tremendous amounts of water each year, nearly the equivalent of the entire Greenland Ice Sheet. When they are gone, they will have increased sea-level by about 1.2 meters (4 feet).

NOAA_sea_level_trend_1993_2010Rignot and his team came to this conclusion after analyzing three critical factors of glacier stability: slope of the terrain, flow rate, and the amount of the glacier floating in the water. Flow rate was the topic of a paper Rignot’s team published previously in Geophysical Research Letters where they determined the flow rate of these Antarctic glaciers has increased over the last few decades. The current paper discusses the slope and how much of the glacier is actually floating on seawater.

The conclusion he and his team came to were quite dire. As he summarized it in a recent press conference:

The collapse of this sector of West Antarctica appears to be unstoppable. The fact that the retreat is happening simultaneously over a large sector suggests it was triggered by a common cause, such as an increase in the amount of ocean heat beneath the floating sections of the glaciers. At this point, the end of this sector appears to be inevitable.

rising_sea_levelsAnother recent study, which appeared last month in the journal Nature, addressed another major problem threatening the polar ice caps. This study, which was compiled by researchers from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research and The University of Newcastle, found that ocean waves that are whipped up by storms hundreds or even thousands of miles away from Earth’s poles, could play a bigger role in breaking up polar sea ice and thus contributing to its melt more than had been thought.

According to the study, these waves penetrate further into the fields of sea ice around Antarctica than current models suggest, and that bigger waves might be more common near the ice edges at both poles as climate change alters wind patterns. Incorporating this information into models could help scientists better predict the patterns of retreat and expansion seen in the sea ice in both Antarctica and the Arctic — patterns that are at least partly related to the effects of climate change — the researchers say.

glacier_collapseSea ice, as its name would suggest, frozen ocean water is, and therefore differs from icebergs, glaciers and their floating tongues called ice shelves – all of which originate on land. Sea ice grows in the winter months, and wanes as summer’s warmth causes it to melt. The amount of ice present can influence the movement of ocean currents — on average, about 9.7 million square miles of the ocean is covered with sea ice, according to the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC).

Researchers in Australia and New Zealand wanted to see how the action of big waves — defined as those with a height of at least 3 meters (about 10 feet) — might play a role in influencing the patterns of retreat and expansion, and if they could help improve the reliability of sea ice models. Prior to this study, no one had measured the propagation of large waves through sea ice before because the sea ice is in some of the most remote regions on the planet, and icebreaker ships must be used to plow through the thick ice.

Live blog on Artic sea ice : Sea Ice MinimumTo conduct their research, Alison Kohout – of New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research and the lead author on the study – went on a two-month ocean voyage with her colleagues to drop five buoys onto the sea ice that could measure the waves as they passed. It is thought that the ice behaves elastically as the waves pass through, bending with the wave peaks and troughs, weakening, and eventually breaking.

What the team found was that the big waves weren’t losing energy as quickly as smaller waves, allowing them to penetrate much deeper into the ice field and break up the ice there. That exposes more of the ice to the ocean, potentially causing more rapid melting and pushing back the edge of the sea ice. The researchers also compared observed positions of the sea ice edge with modeled wave heights in the Southern Ocean from 1997 to 2009 and found a good match between the waves and the patterns of retreat and expansions.

NASA_arctic-antarctic-2012Essentially, more big waves matched increased rates of sea ice retreat and vice versa. And while they believe that this might be able to help researchers understand this regional variability around Antarctica, Kohout and other researchers agree that more work needs to be done to fully understand how waves might be influencing sea ice. Kohout and her colleagues are planning another expedition in a couple of years. and it is hoped that subsequent studies will help identify the relationship with larger ice floes as well as the Arctic.

One thing remains clear though: as we move into the second and third decade of the 21st century, a much clearer picture of how anthropogenic climate change is effecting our environment and creating feedback mechanisms is likely to resolve itself. One can only hope that this is the result of in-depth research and not from the worst coming to pass! It is also clear that it is at the poles of the planet, where virtually no human beings exist, that the clearest signs of human agency are at work.

And be sure to check out this video from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory that illustrates the decline of glaciers in Western Antarctica:


Sources: iflscience.com, scientificamerican.com

 

China Blocks Google for 25th Anniversary of Tiananmen Square

tiananmen-square-1989-tankIn preparation for the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre (aka. the June 4th Incident), Chinese authorities decided to begin blocking Google. It’s believed that the blockade is tied to this week’s 25th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre where the People’s Liberation Army cracked down on pro-democracy demonstrators. Each year, the Chinese government censors the web in an effort to limit protests against the thwarted uprising.

Aside from Google, several internet services were blocked or censored in advance, including social networks and other web communication tools. Though the Chinese government has not yet confirmed this, countless Chinese users have discovered Google’s services to be inaccessible since the last week of May. In addition, a report from GreatFire.org claimed that the government appeared to have begun targeting Google Inc’s main search engine and Gmail since at least the last week of May, making them inaccessible to many users in China.

chinese_hackerThe report added that the last time it monitored such a block was in 2012, when it only lasted 12 hours. At is states:

It is not clear that the block is a temporary measure around the anniversary or a permanent block. But because the block has lasted for four days, it’s more likely that Google will be severely disrupted and barely usable from now on.

Asked about the disruptions, a Google spokesman said: “We’ve checked extensively and there’s nothing wrong on our end.” And Google’s own transparency report, which shows details about its global traffic, showed lower levels of activity from China starting from about Friday, which could indicate a significant amount of disruption. Other major social media sites – such as Twitter and Facebook and Google’s own Youtube – are already blocked in the country.

A Google logo is seen at the entrance to the company's offices in TorontoOf course, this should come as no surprise, given the way this anniversary is received by Chinese officials. For the ruling Communist Party, the 1989 demonstrations that clogged Tiananmen Square in Beijing and spread to other cities remain taboo, particularly on their 25th anniversary. When June rolls around each year and the Tiananmen Square Massacre is commemorated around the world, including in Hong Kong, China’s ruling party typically conducts a web crackdown.

It’s not uncommon for Chinese censors to block certain comments from being made even on China-based company services, like Weibo, China’s own version of Twitter. And China also applies pressure to search engines like Baidu in their country in order to ensure that censorship filters are in place. And as with previous years, the run-up to the anniversary has been marked by detentions, increased security in Beijing and tighter controls on the Internet.

tiananmen_square_vigilThis year, the detainees included prominent rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang and Chinese-born Australian artist Guo Jian, a former Chinese soldier who last week gave an interview to the Financial Times about the crackdown. And as usual, the Chinese government made a statement in which it once again defended its decision to use military force against the pro-democracy demonstrators who gathered in the Square twenty-five years ago.

The statement came from Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei during a daily news briefing, in which he said:

The Chinese government long ago reached a conclusion about the political turmoil at the end of the 1980s. In the last three decades and more of reform and opening up, China’s enormous achievements in social and economic development have received worldwide attention. The building of democracy and the rule of law have continued to be perfected. It can be said that the road to socialism with Chinese characteristics which we follow today accords with China’s national condition and the basic interests of the vast majority of China’s people, which is the aspiration of all China’s people.

tiananmen_square_vigil2On the subject of why Google was being targeted, Hong said only that the government “manages the Internet in accordance with the law”, which is consistent with the state’s position with all web-based censorship. When asked about the jailing of dissidents, Hong replied that “In China there are only law breakers — there are no so-called dissidents.” He also stressed once again that all departments of the Chinese government “consistently act in accordance with the law.”

For years now, Google has had a contentious relationship with China, which began with the company had once offering its search services to the world’s second largest economy. However, due to issues over censorship, Google decided to move its Chinese search engine to Hong Kong, effectively allowing them to operate outside the rules and regulations of the Chinese government. But as China demonstrated these past few weeks, it still has the ability to block the flow of traffic from Hong Kong into the mainland. 

tiananmen_square_vigil3It also aptly demonstrated just how much it fears the specter of Tiananmen Square, even some twenty-five years later. From clamping down on their people’s ability to learn more about the massacre, to clamping down on even the possibility of protest in advance, to continually denying any wrongdoing and suppressing information on the number of people killed, the legacy of Tiananmen Square continues to expose the blatant hypocrisy and denial of the Communist Party of China.

If history has taught us anything, it is that the fall of a dictatorship usually begins with one terrible mistake. The state of China committed that mistake a quarter of a century ago, and since then has relied on state-sanctioned economic growth in order to justify its existence. But in so doing, they’ve essentially created a Catch 22 for themselves. Continued economic growth ensures greater material wealth for more and more of its people. And a burgeoning digital-age economy means more and more access to information for its citizens.

In short, the CPC is screwed. And I for one would be happy to see them gone! Lord knows they deserve it, and the Chinese people would be better off without them, no matter what they try to insist. So on this historic anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre, I invite the CPC to EAT A DICK! And to the people still living under their hypocritical rule, please know that you are not alone. Hang in there, and wait for the day when these bastards join all the other reprehensible dick-heads on the ash heap of history!

Sources: cnet.com, reuters.com, (2)

The Future is Here: Roombot Transforming Furniture

roombots_tableRobotic arms and other mechanisms have long been used to make or assemble furniture; but thus far, no one has ever created robots that are capable of becoming furniture. However, Swiss researchers are aiming to change that with Roombots, a brand of reconfigurable robotic modules that connect to each other to change shape and transform into different types of furniture, based on the needs and specifications of users.

Created by the Biorobotics Laboratory (BioRob) at École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), the self-assembling Roombots attach to each other via connectors which enables them to take on the desired shape. The team’s main goal is to create self-assembling interactive furniture that can be used in a variety of ways. They were designed primarily for the sake of helping the disabled or elderly by morphing to suit their needs.

roombots_unpackLike LEGO bricks, Roombots can be stacked upon each other to create various structures and/or combined with furniture and other objects, changing not only their shape, but also and functionality. For instance, a person lying down on a Roombot bed could slowly be moved into a seated position, or a table could scoot over to a corner or tilt itself to help a book slide into a person’s hands. The team has solved a number of significant milestones, such as the having the Roombots move freely, to bring all this multi-functionality closer.

Each 22 cm-long module (which is made up of four half-spheres) has a wireless connection, a battery, and three motors that allow the module to pivot with three degrees of freedom. Each modules also has retractable “claws” that are used to attach to other pieces to form larger structures. With a series of rotations and connections, the modules can change shape and become any of a variety of objects. A special surface with holes adapted to the Roombots’ mechanical claws can also allow the modules to anchor to a wall or floor.

roombots_configThe Roombots can even climb up a wall or over a step, when the surface is outfitted with connector plates. They’re are also capable of picking up connector plates and arranging them to form, say, a table’s surface. Massimo Vespignani, a PhD student at BioRob, explained the purpose of this design and the advantages in a recent interview with Gizmag:

We start from a group of Roombot modules that might be stacked together for storage. The modules detach from this pile to form structures of two or more modules. At this point they can start moving around the room in what we call off-grid locomotion…

A single module can autonomously reach any position on a plane (this being on the floor, walls, or ceiling), and overcome a concave edge. In order to go over convex edges two modules need to collaborate…

The advantage would be that the modules can be tightly packed together for transportation and then can reconfigure into any type of structure (for example a robotic manipulator)…

We can ‘augment’ existing furniture by placing compatible connectors on it and attaching Roombots modules to allow it to move around the house.

roombots_boxThe range of applications for these kind of robotics is virtually infinite. For example, as seen in the video below, a series of Roombots as feet on a table that not only let it move around the room and come to the owner, but adjust its height as well. Auke Ijspeert, head of the Biorob, envisions that this type of customization could be used for physically challenged people who could greatly benefit from furniture that adapts to their needs and movements.

As he said in a recent statement:

It could be very useful for disabled individuals to be able to ask objects to come closer to them, or to move out of the way. [They could also be used as] ‘Lego blocks’ [for makers to] find their own function and applications.

Meanwhile, design students at ENSCI Les Ateliers in France have come up with several more ideas for uses of Roombots, such as flower pots that can move from window to window around a building and modular lighting components and sound systems. Similar to the MIT’s more complex self-assembling M-Blocks – which are programmable cube robots with no external moving parts – Roombots represent a step in the direction of self-assembling robots that are capable of taking on just about any task.

roombotsFor instance, imagine a series of small robotic modules that could be used for tasks like repairing bridges or buildings during emergencies. Simply release them from their container and feed them the instructions, and they assemble to prop up an earthquake-stricken structure or a fallen bridge. At the same time, it is a step in the direction of smart matter and nanotechnology, a futuristic vision that sees the very building blocks of everyday objects as programmable, reconfiguring materials that can shape or properties as needed.

To get a closer, more detailed idea of what the Roombot can do, check out the video below from EPFL News:


Source: gizmag.com, cnet.com, kurzweilai.net

Another Five Star Review for Papa Zulu!

papa_zuluYesterday evening, an additional review came in for Papa Zulu – another five star one! And I was not really surprised, as the review came from a friend/fan of mine who has been following my zombie writing for a while now. But that hardly diminished what her review meant to me. And I swear without reservation that her review was in no way biased because of our friendship. In truth, we are friends through a mutual friend and barely knew each other before she started reading my work.

Anyhoo, this is what she had to say:

Without reservation, I heartily recommend Papa Zula and its predecessor.,

A true page-turner full of gripping martial action, starring realistic and well-developed characters, Papa Zulu is a great follow-up to Whiskey Delta.

Set in the zombie apocalypse, the story focuses on a conflict between two surviving militant factions – one that is working towards stopping the spread of the virus by creating a vaccine, and the other towards getting their hands on this vaccine – through whatever means possible – for mysterious and dark ends.

Throughout the story zombies pose an ever-present threat. Williams puts a fresh and terrifying spin on our flesh-eating foes, who display an eerie intelligence, making them much more than mindless. Think ambushes. Strategy. Zombie hoards with tactical sense.

All in all a riveting tale of intrigue and battle, Papa Zulu will leave you eager for the next in the series!

It’s no nice when people like what you have to offer. Makes the whole enterprise worthwhile! And after some of the mixed reviews I received for the first book, three consistently good ones is a really nice change of pace! Stay tuned, hopefully more book-related news is on the way!

News from SpaceX: the Dragon V2 and SuperDraco

spaceX_elonmuskSpaceX has been providing a seemingly endless stream of publicity lately. After months of rocket testing and sending payloads to the International Space Station, they are now unveiling the latest in some pretty impressive designs. This included the SuperDraco, a new attitude-control thruster; and the new Dragon V2 – a larger, more powerful, and manned version of the reusable Dragon capsule. These unveilings came within a short space of each other, largely because these two developments will be working together.

The first unveiling began back in February, when SpaceX announced the successful qualification testing of its SuperDraco rocket engine. Designed to replace the Draco engines used for attitude control on the Dragon orbital spacecraft, the SuperDraco will act as the Dragon’s launch emergency escape system, as well as giving it the ability to make a powered landings. Since that time, the company has announced that it will be added to the new Dragon capsule, which was unveiled just days ago.

superdraco-testThe SuperDraco differs from most rocket engines in that its combustion chamber is 3D printed by direct metal laser sintering (DMLS), where complex metal structures are printed by using a laser to build the object out of metal powders one thin layer at a time. The regeneratively-cooled combustion chamber is made of inconel; a family of nickel-chromium alloy that’s notable for its high strength and toughness, and is also used in the Falcon 9’s Merlin engine.

Elon Musk, SpaceX’s Chief Designer and CEO, had this say about the innovation behind the new rocket:

Through 3D printing, robust and high-performing engine parts can be created at a fraction of the cost and time of traditional manufacturing methods. SpaceX is pushing the boundaries of what additive manufacturing can do in the 21st century, ultimately making our vehicles more efficient, reliable and robust than ever before.

MarsOneOther notable features include the propellent, which is a pair of non-cryogenic liquids – monomethyl hydrazine for the fuel and nitrogen tetroxide for the oxidizer. These are hypergolic, meaning that they ignite on contact with one another, which helps the SuperDraco to restart multiple times. It’s also built to be deep throttled, and can go from ignition to full throttle in 100 ms. But what really sets the SuperDraco apart is that is has 200 times the power of the Draco engine, which works out to  7,440 kg (16,400 lbs) of thrust.

The SuperDraco’s main purpose is to provide attitude control for the Dragon capsule in orbit and during reentry, as well as acting as the craft’s launch escape system. Unlike previous US manned space capsules of the 1960s and ‘70s, the next version of the Dragon won’t use a tower equipped with rocket motors to carry the capsule away in case of a launch accident. The SuperDraco can be used at any point in the launch from pad to orbit, not just during the first minutes of launch, as the towers were.

spacex-falcon-9-rocket-largeEight engines firing for five seconds are enough to carry the capsule safely away from the booster with 120,000 lb of axial thrust. In addition, the eight engines also provide a high degree of redundancy should one or more engines fail. But what’s really ambitious about the SuperDraco is that, like the Falcon 9 booster, the Dragon is designed to ultimately return to its spaceport under its own power and land with the precision of a helicopter, and it’s the power and control of the SuperDraco that makes this possible.

SpaceX is even looking beyond that by planning to use the SuperDraco engine for its Red Dragon Mars lander; an unmanned modification of the Dragon designed for exploring the Red Planet. The SuperDraco will make its first flight on a pad abort test later this year as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Integrated Capabilities (CCiCap) initiative. Using 3D printing to cut the cost of production is in keeping with Musk’s vision of reducing the associated costs of spaceflight and putting rockets into orbit.

spaceX_dragon_v2But equally impressive was the unveiling of the Dragon V2 manned space capsule, which took place at a brief media event at SpaceX’s Hawthorne, California headquarters at the end of May. This larger, more powerful version of the reusable Dragon capsule will one day carry astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) and return to Earth to land under its own power. This latest development brings the company one step closer towards its ultimate goal of a fully reusable manned capsule capable of making a powered landing.

Billed as a “step-change in spacecraft technology,” the Dragon V2 that Musk unveiled is larger and more streamlined than the first Dragon, with a cabin large enough to accommodate up to seven astronauts for several days in orbit comfortably. The interior is outfitted with touchscreen control panels and a more sophisticated piloting system, so it can dock with the space station autonomously or under the control of the pilot instead of relying on one of the ISS’s robotic arms.

spaceX_dragon_v2_1For returning to Earth, the Dragon V2 has the third version of the PICA-X heatshield, which is SpaceX’s improvement on NASA’s Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA) heat shield. Another nod to reusability,  this shield is about to carry out more flights before needing a refit since it ablates less than previous versions. And of course, the capsule will be outfitted with eight SuperDraco engines, which give it a combined thrust of almost 60,000 kgs (131,200 lbs).

However, Musk points out that Dragon V2 still carries a parachute, but that’s only a backup system, similar to the analog joystick and manual controls that are available in the cockpit. Like these, the parachute is only meant for use in the event of a malfunction of the SuperDraco engines, which can still make a landing if two of the eight engines fail. If the landing is successful, Musk says that all the Dragon V2 needs to fly again is refueling.

And the arrival of these new machines couldn’t have been more timely, given the termination of NASA’s cooperation with Roscosmos – Russia’s federal space agency. With reusable craft that are produced by the US and that can be launched from US soil, Russia’s aging Soyuz rockets will no longer be necessary. So much for the trampoline idea!

And of course, there are videos of the rocket test and the unveiling. Enjoy!

SuperDraco Test Firing:


SpaceX Dragon V2 Unveiling:


Sources: gizmag.com, (2), fool.com

Powered by the Sun: Solar Buildings and Wind Towers

Magnificent CME Erupts on the Sun - August 31In our ongoing drive to find ways to meet energy demands in a clean and sustainable way, solar power is the clearly the top contender. While inroads have certainly been made in terms of fusion technology, the clean, abundant, and renewable power that can be derived from our sun seems to hold the most promise. In addition to the ever-decreasing costs associated with the manufacture and installation of solar cells, new applications that are appearing all the time that allow for greater usage and efficiency.

Consider the following example that comes from Seoul, Korea, where Hanwa – the largest solar company in the world – has chosen to retrofit its aging headquarters with a solar facade that will provide both for the buildings needs and cut down on energy costs. Having been built in the 1980’s, the Hanwa building is part of a global problem. High-rise buildings suck up around 16% of the world’s energy, and most were built to specifications that do not include sustainability or self-sufficiency.

solar_skyscraper3Even though the most recently-built skyscrapers are helping change things by employing renewable energy and sustainable methods – like the Pertamina Energy Tower in Jakarta –  that still leaves tens of thousands of inefficient giant buildings on the ground. And rather than tear them down and erect new buildings in their place, which would be very wasteful and inefficient, it is possible to convert these buildings into something cleaner and less reliant on other external sources of electricity.

Basically, the plan calls for plastering the 29-story building with three-hundred new solar panels. These will be placed on the sunniest spots to harvest energy, and other strategically placed panels will automatically adjust to help keep the interior cool but bright with natural light. New high-performance windows will save more energy. In total, though the final details are still in progress, the retrofit may save well over a million kilowatt-hours of electricity each year.

solar_skyscraper2In theory, say designers from Amsterdam-based UNStudio, this type of facade could be added onto any skyscraper. As the researcher explains:

It would be the principles that could be applied of course and not the design, as every building has its own context, program, size, view corridors, orientation etc. which would affect the design parameters differently. Each building would be unique and would require a tailored approach.

Retrofitting old skyscrapers is an important way for cities to fight climate change, say engineers from ARUP, which worked with UNStudio on optimizing the design. And it’s usually a better solution than building something brand new. Accroding to Vincent Cheng, who led the project from ARUP’s Hong Kong studio, retrofitting is a better option for old skycrapers, both in “terms of reducing embodied carbon emission and waste elimination.”

solar_downdraft_towerAt the other end of things, there are the ongoing efforts to expand solar power production to the point that it will supersede coal, hydro, and nuclear in terms of electrical generation. And that’s the idea behind the Solar Downdraft Tower, a proposed installation some 686 meters (2,250 feet) in height with 120 huge turbines and enough pumping capacity to keep more than 2.5 billion gallons of water circulating. In terms of output, it would generate the equivalent of wind turbines spread over 100,000 acres, or as big as the Hoover Dam.

The process is quite simple: water is sprayed at the top, causing hot air to become heavy and fall through the tower. By the time it reaches the bottom, it’s reaching speeds of up to 80 km (50 miles) per hour, which is ideal for running the turbines. The immediate advantage over standard solar and wind energy is the plant runs continuously, day and night. This addresses the issue of intermittency, which remains a problem with solar and wind generation.

solar_downdraft_tower2Basically, solar and wind farms cannot provide if the weather is not cooperating, or if the solar cells become covered in dust or sand. But as long as the local environment remains warm enough – a near certainty in the deserts of Arizona – the tower will continue to produce power. Best of all, the plant itself runs under its own generated energy – with approx. 11% of the output being used to power the pumps – and aboutt three-quarters of the water is collected at the bottom.

According to Ron Pickett, CEO of Solar Wind Energy Tower (the Maryland company behind the design):

This is totally clean energy that actually makes money. It makes energy at a cost comparable to if you were using natural gas to power a plant.

The simplicity of the technology is also a major selling point. For more than a century, people have been working on variants of solar wind towers. In the 1980s, engineers in Spain built a 195 meter (640-foot) test tower that pushed air upwards through turbines and generated power for seven years until it fell over in a storm. The tougher issue is the enormous expense, which is an inevitable result of building something so big. According to Picket, the Arizona project is likely to cost as much as $1.5 billion to build.

solar_downdraft_tower1However, Solar Wind Energy recently jumped two hurdles to getting the tower realized. First, it won a development rights agreement from San Luis, a city on the Mexico border, that included a deal with the local utility to purchase power, and the rights to the 2.5 billion gallons of water necessary to the project. It also reached an agreeing with National Standard Finance, an infrastructure fund, for preliminary funding that will begin to pay for generating equipment and related costs.

Solar Wind Energy also has plans to see similar towers build in Chile, India, and the Middle East, places that are also well suited to turn warm air temperatures into electrical power. And they are hardly alone in looking for ways to turn solar power into abundant electricity in ways that are technically very simple. As the 2010s roll on, we can expect to see more and more examples of this as renewables make their way into the mainstream.

In the meantime, check out this video from Solar Wind Energy that details how their Tower concept works:


Sources: fastcoexist.com, (2)

New Technique Reveals Angkor Wat’s Hidden Art

Angkor_WatEvery year, millions of visitors flock to Angkor Wat – an ancient temple in modern-day Cambodia and the heart of the one-time capitol of the Khmer Empire. There, they marvel at the 900-year-old towers, a giant moat and the shallow relief sculptures of Hindu gods, and the intricate architecture and carvings. However, until very recently, they were unaware of the paintings on the temple walls, representations of daily life that were hiding in plain sight.

Built between A.D. 1113 and 1150, Angkor Wat stood at the center of Angkor, the capital of the Khmer Empire. The 500-acre (200 hectares) complex, one of the largest religious monuments ever erected, originally served as a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu, but was transformed into a Buddhist temple in the 14th century. Since that time, the temple has become a symbol of national pride for Cambodia and the source of much archaeological and historical research and speculation.

Angkor-Wat-1Thanks to digitally enhanced images, some tw0-hundred detailed murals have bee revealed that depict elephants, deities, boats, orchestral ensembles and people riding horses — all of which were invisible to the naked eye. According to the researchers who uncovered it, many of the faded markings could be graffiti left behind by pilgrims after Angkor Wat was abandoned in the 15th century. However, the more elaborate paintings may be relics of the earliest attempts to restore the temple.

The paintings were first noticed by  Noel Hidalgo Tan, a rock-art researcher of the Australian National University in Canberra, while he was working on an excavation at Angkor Wat in 2010. After first spotting the red and black pigment on the walls of the monument, he decided to investigate further. After scientists took pictures using an intense flash, they then used a tool from NASA to digitally enhance the colors of the images.

NW Corner Facing STo make these paintings visible, Tan and his associates used a technique called Decorrelation Stretch Analysis, which exaggerates subtle color differences. This method has become a valuable tool in rock-art research, as it can help distinguish faint images from the underlying rock. It has even been used to enhance images taken of the Martian surface by NASA’s Opportunity rover when conducting surface studies and geological analysis.

According to Antiquity, a quarterly archeology review, what they found was 200 depictions of ancient life. These included paintings of elephants, lions, the Hindu monkey god Hanuman, boats and buildings — perhaps even images of Angkor Wat itself. Tan went back to the site to conduct a more methodical survey in 2012 with his Cambodian colleagues from APSARA (Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap).

Some of the most detailed paintings, the ones located at the top of the temple, are passed by literally thousands of visitors every day, but the most elaborate scenes are effectively invisible to the naked eye.

SW Corner facing EOne chamber in the highest tier of Angkor Wat’s central tower, known as the Bakan, contains an elaborate scene of a traditional Khmer musical ensemble known as the pinpeat, which is made up of different gongs, xylophones, wind instruments and other percussion instruments. In the same chamber, there’s an intricate scene featuring people riding horses between two structures, which might be temples. As Tan explained:

A lot of the visible paintings on the walls have been previously discounted as graffiti, and I certainly agree with this interpretation, but there are another set of paintings discovered from this study that are so schematic and elaborate that they are likely not random graffiti, but an attempt to decorate the walls of the temple.

Christophe Pottier, an archaeologist and co-director of the Greater Angkor Project who was not involved in the new study, agreed that these more complex murals show deliberate intention and can’t be interpreted as mere graffiti. Pottier, however, added that the discovery of hidden paintings isn’t all that surprising. Though they haven’t been studied systematically before now, several traces of paintings have been found at the temple during the last 15 years.

Facing SAnd though researchers can’t be sure exactly when the paintings were created, Tan speculates that the most elaborate artworks may have been commissioned by Cambodia’s King Ang Chan, who made an effort to restore the temple during his reign between 1528 and 1566. During this time, unfinished carvings were completed and Angkor Wat began its transformation into a Buddhist pilgrimage site, which are confirmed by some of the newly revealed paintings that show Buddhist iconography.

Ultimately, getting an accurate look at ancient heritage sites and representations is only one of the benefits of this new process. In addition, there is the potential for heritage conservation. With countless sites around the world being threatened by war, environmental issues, and neglect, getting a digital record of pictures like these will ensure that the works of ancient peoples to chronicle their lives and express themselves artistically will be preserved, long after the physical objects are gone.

Sources: scientificamerican.com, time.com