September 2, 2013
Warrior Augmentation
July 2, 2013
Dirty Little People
Take a guess?
Only 5%!
And that's based on almost 4,000 people they observed--but how many would've washed correctly if they thought no one was watching?
The dirty stats (while under observation):
- 23% didn't use soap.
- 15% of men and 7% of women didn't even use water.
- Average washed for just 6 seconds! (CDC says you need at least 20 seconds with soap and water to kill germs)
From what I've seen, unless their is a touchless water faucet and automatic towel dispenser, not too many people wash their hands--they don't want to get them dirty by touching the same bathroom devices that the other people just touched.
Another no-no for people is touching the bathroom door handle--more germs!
What do some people do--they use (wads of) toilet seat protectors to pull the door open--then guess what's missing for the next guy or gal?
Most public bathrooms are disgusting--if everyone could just have their own, they would keep it clean out of self-interest and maybe wash their hands a little more too.
Next time we have a recession and need to invest in "shovel ready" infrastructure projects to keep America working--how about we build some (read lots!) clean bathrooms and throw in the automatic wash features, pretty please. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Dirty Little People
April 16, 2013
A Shocking Bra To Stop Attackers
There is one for women and there is another one fitted for men.
Now in light of the horrible rape attacks in India, 3 female students in India's SRM University have developed an anti-rape bra that literally shocks attackers.
The bra is called "SHE" (for Society Harnessing Equipment) and unlike the chastity belt of the olden-days, this bra according to Popular Science delivers 3,800 kv to attackers.
Women can activate the bra when they feel unsafe and it is pressure sensitive and is calibrated to be able to differentiate say a hug from something more violent.
The woman is insulated from getting shocked by a polymer lining on the inside.
The bra is also being outfitted so the pressure sensor sends a Bluetooth signal to your smartphone to send text message alerts to family or friends and the police with your GPS location.
I want to end with a quote from one of the students as to their inspiration for this innovative anti-rape bra:
"Studying in a convent girls school, we were always taught to be good to everyone and bear a cheerful smile. After stepping into the real, cruel world, we realized that our smile could not last for long as the threat to our purity and integrity always lingered on...Hence, we have initiated the idea of self-defense, which protect the women from domestic, social and workplace harassment."
While I hope these students don't believe that everyone in the world is cruel, I applaud these young women for doing something positive to help protect women worldwide.
I don't know how practical this anti-rape bra will end up being (i.e. wearing something that produces a dangerous shock), this is a good step in thinking about how to make women less of a target and increase the risk to any would-be attacker. ;-)
(Source Photo: adapted from here with attribution to Nicolas Sanguinetti)
A Shocking Bra To Stop Attackers
February 23, 2013
Smart Technology Makes Smart People
This is a good video on creating a smart house by a company called SmartThings.
Building on Facebook's social graph where we are all connected in the social realm, SmartThings has developed the concept of the physical graph, where all things are connected and are programmable.
While most of us still don't see the real need for our toasters and fridge to be connected to the Internet and wouldn't pay more for it, SmartThings has some cool ideas that may just yet help the smart home market actually take off.
The obvious--turn on/off lights, fans, and appliances; adjust thermostats, and monitor your home through security cameras over the Internet.
The not so obvious--
- Add a "presence tag" and the home can sense when you arrive/leave and take appropriate action to adjust lights, temperature, security system, and so on.
- Add a open/shut sensor and you can know if you left a door or cabinet open or if someone (like the kids) is getting into the liquor closet or a small child into the cabinet with dangerous cleaners and chemicals.
- Add a "moisture sensor" and you can be alerted to broken water pipes.
- Add a "smart service" and you can notify the plumber about the water emergency at your home.
- Add smart apps by 3rd party developers and you can get notification when there is a severe weather alert and you left the windows open.
- Add "party mode" and you can have the patio lights, blender, music and disco ball going on for some fun.
I like the look of the app they've created to control all these things on your Smartphone--simply choosing your location (home, office, etc.), room, and then physical item that you want to remotely monitor or control.
Interestingly, the Wall Street Journal (23 Feb. 2013) take this "smart" concept yet further to where we actually start giving up control to the devices themselves and asks "Is smart [technology] making us dumb?"
Some examples...
- Cars sense when we are tired and attempts to drive for us or they detect we are driving too fast or reckless and notifies our insurance company.
- The scale sees that we put on a few pounds and contacts the personal trainer for an appointment for us or won't allow us to heat up the pizza when we slide it into the microwave.
- The toothbrush senses that we brushed a little too quick today and urges us to brush a little more.
- The trashcan detects that we did not separate out the recyclables and splashes this embarrassing information on Facebook.
- The washer detects high water usage this month and suggests we hold off on the next load.
The WSJ comes to a distinction between "good smart" and "bad smart," where good smart gives us more information for better decision-making and the control to execute on it, and bad smart is where you "surrender to the new technology."
While I agree with Google's CFO who said "The world is a broken place whose problems...can be solved by technology," I also believe that "smart design" means that we remain the masters and the technology remains the slave.
Technology is a tool that can help us solve-problems, but we are the problem-solvers and we must learn through trial and error and a maturation process so we can continue to address ever larger and more complex problems.
Giving up control to technology may make sense if we are about to harm ourselves or others--like with having automatic stopping on a car backing out and about to hit a little child--but it doesn't make sense in directing the personal decisions that we see fit for ourselves.
Sometimes we will be right and other times, very wrong, but that is living, learning, growing, and being human beings accountable for our actions--not being another automaton hooked to the physical graph. ;-)
Smart Technology Makes Smart People
February 19, 2013
Emperor Titus and The Micro-Drones
The Talmud tells of how the wicked Roman Emperor Titus who destroyed Jerusalem and the Holy Temple in 70 AD was punished with a small insect that flew into his nose and gnawed at his brain for seven years.
By the time Titus died, they opened his skull and found the insect had grown to the size of a bird--the lesson was that Titus thought that he was so powerful with his legions, but G-d showed him that even a little insect sent by G-d could defeat him.
Now when I watch this amazing video from the Air Force about micro-drones, I see this story come to life all over again.
With Micro Air Vehicles, little drones the size of insects can carry out missions from surveillance to lethal targeting of enemy forces.
They can fly, hover, perch, power up, sneak up, sense, communicate, and attack.
With these micro-drones, especially in swarms, these small packages of sensors and weapons can bring a big wallop for our warfighters.
And like with Emperor Titus, you would not want these buzzing around and giving you big headaches--because these little buggers will be able to take down the mightiest of foes. ;-)
Emperor Titus and The Micro-Drones
January 20, 2013
Under The Beautiful Sea
Under The Beautiful Sea
December 29, 2012
Robots Taking Your Job
Yes, the economic realities of high spending are about to catch up with the country and that will threaten your livelihood, but even more than that Robots can probably do your job better than you--sooner or later.
Wired Magazine (24 December 2012) has a great article on this called "Better Than Humans.
In the 1800's, when 70% of the working population did agricultural work, probably no one would have believed what the future had in store for this occupation--today with automation, only 1% do this work.
Similarly, today 80% of jobs are in the service sector, and people think they are on safe ground--but think again!
Make no mistake robots will replace or drastically alter your current job, as artificial intelligence, processors, memory, sensors, learning, communication, dexterity, and humanoid likeness all continue to advance.
Wired presents the 7 Stages of Robot Replacement (to which I've added my notes in parenthesis):
1. Robots cannot do what I do (denial).
2. Robots can do some of what I do, but not all (partial acceptance).
3. Robots can do what I do, but they break done (rationalization for the loss, and so do we "break down").
4. Robots operate flawlessly on repetitive tasks, but need training for new ones (you weren't born knowing everything were you?).
5. Robots can have my old job, because it's not fit for humans anyway (acceptance with a large dose of resignation--"the train has left the station").
6. Robots can have my old job, because my new job will be better (maybe for the time being).
7. Robots cannot do what I do now (the cycle of employment safety from automation starts anew).
Let's face it--your special, but so is technology and the pace of advancement is extraordinary.
For those of you in jobs that you feel could only be done by humans--Wired has some news about developments with robots doing the once unthinkable:
- Musicians--Georgia Tech has developed Shimon the musician; these robots can not only play violin and trumpets, but they can form a band, and they can improvise ("as if it's a musician with a soul!).
- Therapists--Mindmentor has an AI therapist that after a 1-2 hour session made patients feel their "problem was 47% solved."
- Artists--Vagobot has made hundreds of pictures and "even sold some to Crate & Barrel."
- Comedians--Aldebarab Robotics makes robots for all sorts of jobs, including entertainment--they can sense audience reaction (such as laughter or silence) and adjust topics accordingly.
- Professional Trainers--The Intermational Conference on Social Robots in 2011 presented a robot that could coach you on your exercise, sense your form, and correct it.
- Teachers--University Of Southern California has developed a robot teacher that in 2 weeks helped preschoolers increase vocabulary mastery by 25%.
- Nurses--Aethon makes the TUG nurse robot that is "picking up and delivering medication and supplies, autonomously navigating hospital hallways...summon an elevator, wait in line, and politely roll aside to give hemorrhaging humans priority access."
- Athletes--Robocup compete robots that one day can be "capable of winning against the human soccer World Cup champions.
So what will be left for humans to do--innovate, invent, build, operate, and maintain the next level of breakthrough automation to help people--maybe these are the best and most-rewarding jobs that any of us can hope to have. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal, Ft. Lauderdale Discovery and Science Museum)
Robots Taking Your Job
December 10, 2012
I'm Looking At You Looking At Me Looking At You
The EyeSee Mannequin has a camera built into its eye that watches you while you shop.
According to Bloomberg BusinessWeek (6 December 2012), the EyeSee Mannequin sells for about $5,130 and it conducts consumer profiling--using technology to identify criminals--it determines your age, gender, and race and tracks your shopping patterns.
Newer versions of EyeSee will likely have a sensor for hearing you as well, so it can "eavesdrop on what shoppers say about the mannequin's attire."
Next to these mannequins, you have to consider who are the real dummies, when everything you do and say can be monitored.
Next time, you're peering at that mannequin, be careful, it may be peering right back at you--and when it says something be ready to jump. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
I'm Looking At You Looking At Me Looking At You
November 20, 2012
The Guardian Of Israel
Much is being celebrated about Israel's new Iron Dome missile defense system with approximately 90% success rate for shooting down incoming missiles threatening populated areas and critical infrastructure.
However, Foreign Policy Magazine (20 November 2012) is touting another amazing advance by Israel, this time in robotic weapons systems.
It is called The Guardian Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV), and it is made by G-NIUS.
It's a fully armored vehicle with 660 pounds of electronic sensors and weapons.
The Guardian can autonomously "run patrol of predetermined routes" or it can be controlled via remote or mobile command center.
- It can run at 50 miles per hour, has powerful off-road capability, and an robust obstacle detection and avoidance system.
- Guardian can carry 1.2 tons of ammunition and supplies.
- The robotic vehicle is outfitted with all-weather video and thermal cameras, microphones, loudspeakers, and electronic countermeasures.
- It alerts to suspicious activity, identifies sources of fire, and by human operator can open fire with "auto-taret acquisition".
This versatile weaponized robot can be used for force protection or to guard strategic assets, it can be used for perimeter, border or convey security, and for combat or logistical support missions.
It is easy to see how UGVs like this, especially in concert with UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) can take on the enemy and help keep the troops out of harm's way.
For the future of UGVs and UAVs, think of a swarm, with masses of robots managing the battlefield both with and without human operators, and the vision of Star Wars on the ground and in space is just generations of robots away.
The Guardian Of Israel
August 21, 2012
Howie Mandel Was Right All Along
If you don't, this little green slime creature is going to come and get you.
It reminded me of the other day heading into the bathroom, and I see this guy coming the other way out of one of the Stalls.
He actually does head to the sink to the wash his hands--he's in the minority in this country, I understand.
Well the sink is one of the automatic ones and has no faucets.
The guy sticks his hands underneath....nothing.
He starts waving his (dirty) hands...and still nothing.
After the third try...he throws his hands up, looks at me, and says, "Now that's awkward" and proceeds to walk out the bathroom holding his hands literally at full arms length.
I hoped that he didn't run into anyone he knows on the way and reached out to shake their hands--because they would've gotten a nasty surprise, indeed.
This sign tells it the way it is--sorry folks. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Howie Mandel Was Right All Along
June 23, 2012
Biosecurity--Where Every Moment Counts
Just the very mention of bio-warfare agents such as anthrax, ebola, smallpox, bubonic plague, and others are enough to provoke sheer terror in most people.
BioWatch is a program managed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to monitor for a biological attack.
According to Bloomberg Businessweek (21 June 2012) bio-surveillance is currently conducted in 30 metropolitan areas around the country using 600 air filters to detect pathogens, where samples are collected daily and taken to labs for analysis in what amounts to a 36 hour turnaround to determine if there is a hazard.
A new technology made by Positive ID or Northrop Grumman collects samples four times a day and analyzes it on the spot for bateria, viruses, and toxins, and sends the results to officials by secure network in as little as two hours.
The shorter time to detection will give more time to save lives by getting drugs and vaccines to the field sooner and prevent the spread from person to person.
DHS wants to deploy 2,500 of these new sensors and the bio-attack alert system at a cost of approximately $5.7 billion, if Congress approves.
If this bio-sensing system proves out functionally, then the price tag seems well worth it.
Bioweapons like cyber-attacks can cause widespread panic as well as disruption to our everyday way of life, however a bio-attack has the added feature of making people symptomatic and infecting them with deadly and painful illnesses.
Cyber attacks can infiltrate and take out our critical infrastructure, but biological attacks can directly destroy our physical bodies and the population itself.
A bio-attack and a cyber-attack together could devastate us by attacking us while at the same time inhibiting our ability to deliver medication and quarantine those that are ill and so on.
In addition to grossly improving on our cyber defensive (and offensive) capabilities, we must do everything we can to enhance our biosecurity--this mean upgrading our preparedness for bio-terrorism and bio-warfare using the latest technologies available to sniff out and identify a bio attack and alert us so we can respond timely, while we still can.
(Source Photo: here with attribution to U.S. Department of Defense)
Biosecurity--Where Every Moment Counts
March 4, 2012
Sniffing Out Cancer
One of the problems with this diagnostic method though is that hospitals and doctors offices have not been inclined to house and care for these animals in medical facilities treating people.
Technology to the rescue and this one has no dog in the fight...
The Metabolomx is a computing machine with attached breathing tube that can be rolled over to a patient who breathes into it for just 4 minutes to can get a diagnose on the spot.
This is very different from current methods and is without painful and intrusive tests (such as biopsies) or waiting weeks for lab results to come back and be read by your doctor.
The machine captures and analyzes the chemistry of the person's exhaled breath in the form of aerosolized molecules and determines it's "smell signature".
According to Bloomberg BusinessWeek (5-11 March 2012), by comparing the sample smell to the biomarkers for cancer, the Metabolomx has already achieved an 80% success rate for detecting lung cancer.
A newer version of the machine is 100 to 1,000 times more sensitive, which should greatly improve accuracy, hopefully hitting at or above 93%, which will make it viable for commercial use.
The Metabolomx is envisioned be able to detect and differentiate between various types of cancer such as lung, breast, colon, and more.
Moreover, this technology is not limited to just cancer--but other companies such as Menssana are testing it with tuberculosis and pediatric asthma.
Further, another benefit of the Metabolonx is that is can not only be used to diagnose cancer, but to signal reduction or elimination of the cancer with various treatments.
I hope the next step for technology like the Metabolomx is to not only detect the cancer, but be able to "zap it" and rid it from our bodies--then we'll have a technology that can really snuff out the cancer.
Sniffing Out Cancer
December 24, 2011
Wheelchairs Get A Boost
I am very excited by this new assistive technology for personal mobility coming out of Japan that can be used to help the aged or handicapped.
Rather than have to buy a separate electric scooter for longer distances that is heavy and can be challenging for people with certain disabilities to use, the WHILL is a simple add-on that can be attached to and removed from a regular wheelchair and can be steered, like a Segway, simply by leaning in the direction you want to go.
The WHILL is high-tech looking--like a futurist headphone that you place over the wheels of the chair and according to Gizmodo, it turns the wheels with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that powers the chair up to 12 mph for 19 miles and then recharges in under 2 hours.
While pricing information is not yet available, my assumption is that this add-on will be significantly cheaper than a full-out electronic scooter.
One concern that I have about the WHILL is how someone who is wheelchair-bound will be able to attach/remove the drive-train device without the help of an aide or nurse. Perhaps an even more futuristic version will have the U-shaped WHILL built with push-button retractable arms, so that the attachment can simply "open up" rather than have to be removed.
Another question that I have is what safety features will be built in for example for automatic cut-off should someone using it get ill and keel over unto the device causing it to drive/spin out of control. I am thinking a weight-sensor on the WHILL that detects if too much of a person's body weight is leaning on it and then cause a safety shutdown.
Overall, I am encouraged by what WHILL will soon be bringing to help people in need to get around more easily in the future.
Wheelchairs Get A Boost
October 2, 2011
Robots Are Not Just For Fighting
Robots Are Not Just For Fighting
September 9, 2011
Now You See It, Now You Don't
Now You See It, Now You Don't
August 7, 2011
Computer, Read This
For example, there is the Ninetendo Wii and Microsoft Kinect in the gaming arena, where we control the technology with our physical motions rather than hand-held devices. And consumers seem to really like have a controller-free gaming system. The Kinect sold so quickly--at the rate of roughly 133,000 per day during the first three months--it earned the Guinness World Record for fastest selling consumer device. (Mashable, 9 March 2011),
Interacting with technology in varied and natural ways--outside the box--is not limited to just gestures, there are many more such as voice recognition, haptics, eye movements, telepathy, and more.
- Gesture-driven--This is referred to as "spatial operating environments"--where cameras and sensors read our gestures and translate them into computer commands. Companies like Oblong Industries are developing a universal gesture-based language, so that we can communicate across computing platforms--"where you can walk up to any screen, anywhere in the world, gesture to it, and take control." (Popular Science, August 2011)
- Voice recognition--This is perhaps the most mature of the alternative technology control interfaces, and products like Dragon Naturally Speaking have become not only standard on many desktops, but also are embedded in many smartphones giving you the ability to do dictation, voice to text messaging, etc.
- Haptics--This includes touchscreens with tactile sensations. For example, Tactus Technology is "developing keyboards and game controllers knobs [that actually] grow out of touchscreens as needed and then fade away," and another company Senseg is making technology that produces feelings so users can feel vibrations, clicks, and textures and can use these for enhanced touchscreens control of their computers. (BusinessWeek, 20-26 June 2011)
- Eye-tracking--For example, new Lenovo computers are using eye-tracking software by Tobii to control the browser and desktop applications including email and documents (CNET, 1 March 2011)
- Telepathy--Tiny implantable chips to the brain, "the telepathy chip," are being used to sense electrical activity in the nerve cells and thereby "control a cursor on a computer screen, operate electronic gadgets [e.g. television, light switch, etc.], or steer an electronic wheelchair." (UK DailyMail, 3 Sept. 2009)
Clearly, consumers are not content to type away at keyboards and roll their mice...they want to interact with technology the way they do with other people.
It still seems a little way off for computers to understand us the way we really are and communicate. For example, can a computer read non-verbal cues, which communication experts say is actually something like 70% of our communications? Obviously, this hasn't happened yet. But when the computer can read what I am really trying to say in all the ways that I am saying it, we will definitely have a much more interesting conversation going on.
(Source Photo: here)
Computer, Read This
July 30, 2011
Sensors, Sensors Everywhere
Sensors will soon be everywhere--waiting, watching, and working to capture information about you and the environment we inhabit.
Sensors, Sensors Everywhere
June 24, 2011
Feedback, Can't Live Without It
Feedback, Can't Live Without It
April 15, 2011
Fit For A King
Fit For A King
April 3, 2011
The Eyes Have It
Tobii allows users to "control their computers just by looking at them."
The eye tracker uses infrared lights (like those used in a TV's remote control) to illuminate the pupils, and optical sensors on the computer screen capture the reflection. Tobii can determine the point of gaze and movement of the eyes to within 2 millimeters.
So forget the mouse--"just look at a particular location on the screen, and the cursor goes there immediately."
This is a natural user interface that is fast and intuitive, generally "halving the time needed for many chores."
Eye tracking is being tested and planned by Tobii and others for the following
- Read text down the screen and it automatically scrolls. - Look at a window or folder to choose it. - Use a map by eyeing a location and then touching it to zoom. - Activate controls by holding a glaze for a quarter to half a second. - Play video games by moving through with your eyes. - Gaze at a character and they will stare back at you. - Leave your TV and it pauses until you return.
This technology has the potential to help disabled people (who cannot use a traditional mouse) as well as prevent strains and injuries by reducing some repetitive stress movement.
Within a couple of years, the cost of eye tracking technology is seen as coming down from tens of thousands of dollars to a couple of hundred dollars for a laptop clip-on device or even less for those built right in.
I think another important use for eye tracking is with augmented reality technology, so that as people navigate and look around their environment, sensors will activate that can provide them all sorts of useful information about what they are seeing.
Ultimately, where this is all going is the addition of a virtual 4th dimension to our vision--where information is overlaid and scrolling on everything around us that we look at, as desired.
This will provide us with an information rich environment where we can understand more of what we see and experience than ever before. Terminator, here we come!
The Eyes Have It