| The wisdom of digital crowds: from Lord of the Rings to a bridge ...
Visual effects work draws from real-world research into all sorts of things: image processing, artificial intelligence, physics, and mathematical movement algorithms. But Apple's Ron Brinkmann argues that the process is bidirectional, with tech developed for the visual effects world beginning to make its way into real-world scientific simulations—even in Mecca. Brinkmann knows what he's talking about. As one of the creators of Shake (now owned by Apple) and author of The Art and Science of Digital Compositing, Brinkmann has worked on films ranging from Monkeybone (no, he wasn't happy, either) to Die Hard. In a talk at the ETech conference here in San Diego, Brinkmann focused specifically on crowd simulations and the ways they have been used to solve non-movie problems. Much of the technology for modeling and visualizing crowd movement was developed for films, with Lord of the Rings being the pioneering example of large (and realistic) computer-generated crowds.
Airsoft Roomba kits up with plastic pellets
We always knew that the eventual robotic rebellion would come in stages (and would start with Roombas), so while many may take a childish satisfaction in seeing an innocent Roomba hacked up to shoot Airsoft BB pellets, we're constantly aware that this is another step towards the ultimate annihilation of all meat-based life forms. "Cool Bots!" MAKE cries, oblivious to the destructive potential pent up inside the little hoover's circuitry -- it's thinking: "I don't even need to try, they're giving me weapons!" Fortunately, this is very much an early stage killer robot, as the photos over on isobot's flickr stream attest. The modified Roomba may look menacing with its red laser sight, but it appears as if the little thing can't aim its plastic payload any higher than a few inches off the ground, limiting its targets to feet and unsuspecting house cats.
Photos and Stories of the Victims
Granata, a professor of engineering Science & mechanics, and his students researched muscle and reflex response and robotics. Granata served in the military and later conducted orthopedic research in hospitals before coming to Virginia Tech. The head of the school's engineering science and mechanics department called Granata one of the top five biomechanics researchers in the country working on movement dynamics in cerebral palsy. Engineering professor Demetri P. Telionis said Granata was successful and kind. "With so many research projects and graduate students, he still found time to spend with his family, and he coached his children in many sports and extracurricular activities," Telionis said. "He was a wonderful family man. We will all miss him dearly." .
The 1st Asia Modelling Symposium is being held at Prince of ...
The 11th annual International Symposium on Computational Science and Engineering & the 1st Asia Modelling Symposium is being held from the 28th to the 30th March at the auditorium of the Prince of Songkhla University or PSUs campus in Phuket. About 250 academics from about 40 countries are attending and discussing scientific and analytical programs, especially on computer, which can simulate or imagine various complex situations that may occur in the future, for example a disease outbreak like Avian Flu. They can create artificial intelligence or AI systems, plus model architecture, transportation and energy projects before being built, to evaluate them plus save costs and time. PSU teachers and students from Had Yai and Phuket campus assisted in the organization of the symposium, with cooperation from the Software Industry Promotion Agency or SIPA.
Augmented Fluid Intelligence
Okay, multitasking is hardly up there with global warming, pandemic disease and asteroid strikes as a civilization threat, but it's becoming increasingly clear that multitasking reduces overall effectiveness and accuracy. Yet we're forced to juggle more and more simultaneous activities in our work, in our social networks, even in our play. As a result, simple tasks take longer, and we're far more likely to make errors. In short, as our world gets more complex and we face greater challenges, we're becoming less able to respond successfully. Theorist Linda Stone calls this overtaxed ability to focus "Continuous Partial Attention"—a name that's much cooler than multitasking, you have to admit—and she describes it as an "artificial sense of constant crisis." But in many ways, the world we're moving into is even worse than this, because we're becoming so accustomed to the constant interruption that we're starting to find it hard to focus even when we've achieved a bit of quiet.
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