Robot Film Festival Highlights

Bots and fans converged to watch robot-themed films this weekend.  

Building a Plug-And-Play Satellite

Scientists build a plug-and-play satellite in under 4 hours.  

Sherlock Holmes and the Heart of DOS

Bob Zeidman–the Sherlock Holmes of computers–uses forensic software tools to solve the mystery of the rumored theft of CP/M by a little company called Microsoft.  

Microsoft KinEtre Lets You Possess People, Inanimate Objects

Kinect technique lets your body control virtual avatars of things around your house.   Ever wanted to make your bookshelf shake its booty just by shaking your own? Graphics gurus at Microsoft Research have a new system that will let you do just that—possess other inanimate objects around your house or even make images of other people move. The KinÊtre project starts with a KinectFusion scan of an object or person and then animates the image using your own body as a guide.  

Theodore Roosevelt, Captured on Spinning Wax

Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, was a gifted orator whose animated style, progressive politics, and clipped patrician diction spoke for and to the common people. And though he died in 1919, we still know his distinct voice because many of his speeches were recorded on early audio equipment—most notably, the wax cylinder phonograph invented by Thomas Edison.   Recently, at the Sagamore Hill National Historical Site, the former president’s former home on Long Island, New York, Roosevelt’s words came to life once more and once more were captured in wax. This time, though, renowned Roosevelt impersonator…

A Robot Ankle for Amputees

Until recently, an artificial leg was an inert object—a clunky piece of wood or plastic that supported a user, but didn’t help much beyond that. But these days artificial limbs can contain advanced sensors and microprocessors, and their motors can provide a power boost for each step.   The BiOm, one of the world’s most advanced ankles comes from the cutting-edge prosthetics company iWalk. The company was founded by MIT professor Hugh Herr, who directs the biomechatronics group at the MIT Media Lab. Herr is himself a double amputee: As a young man, he lost both legs below the knees…

How Baxter Robot Works

Demonstration of factory robot Baxter, built by Rodney Brooks and his company Rethink Robotics.  

MakerBot’s Replicator 2

We’ve got great news. Not only did MakerBot release two new printers on Wednesday, the Replicator 2 and the Replicator 2X, CEO Bre Pettis thinks IEEE members are “basically the smartest people in the world.”   In addition, MakerBot released an updated software suite, MakerWare, and opened up a store in Manhattan, complete with printers, a giant marble run, and gumball machines of maker toys.   The Replicator 2 has 100 micron layer resolution, a larger print area for objects up to 410 cubic inches, can print multiple objects simultaneously, and even arrives fully assembled. And don’t forget, MakerBot’s PLA…

The Ant Internet

Before researchers developed the Internet, ants developed the Anternet, a surprisingly similar communications network.   Stanford University biology professor Deborah Gordon loves ants. She’s got pictures of them on her walls, sculptures of them on her desk, and about 8 000 live ants running around her lab. She’s been studying them for more than 20 years. Recently, when she came to understand how colonies of harvester ants regulate foraging, that is, how they decide how fast to send out ant to gather food, she thought that the ant algorithm could apply to other types of networks.  

Digits: Hands-Free 3-D

A new motion capture gadget from Microsoft Research provides all the control of a 3-D gaming glove. But Digits is a wrist worn sensor that leaves you barehanded and free to touch other objects. With an infrared camera, a MEMS motion sensing chip, and some software trickery it creates a 3-D model of your hand that responds to movements with fingertip precision.   The Digits prototype allows the wearer to answer a phone call with a thumbs up, change a television channel with a flick of a finger, play videos games without a controller, translate sign language into text—and maybe…

Digital Taste Project, from Adrian Cheok

Adrian Cheok, a professor at Keio University’s Graduate School of Media Design in Japan, is working on a “digital lollypop” that can electrically and thermally stimulates the tongue to produce basic flavors—bitter, sour, salty, sweet. He wants to design a system for the “multisensory Internet” in which a friend can send you a flavor over the Internet.  

Build a Coffee-Can Radar

Researchers at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory devised a radar system that any avid DIYer should have no trouble reproducing. This simple radar system provides a basis for courses being taught at MIT and elsewhere. It is capable not only of measuring velocities, but also of finding the range to targets. You can even make crude synthetic-aperture radar images with it.  

Tracking Internet Outages in Sandy’s Wake

A new network-monitoring system shows the hurricane’s path by animating downed internet connections.   For the past year, Aaron Schulman, Ramakrishna Padmanabhan, and advisor Neil Spring of the University of Maryland have been looking at the effects of bad weather on residential Internet connectivity, using a system they refer to as Thunderping. Their scheme uses the network utility Ping to try to connect with computers before, during, and after severe weather events. From the connections that drop out during severe weather events such as Hurricane Sandy and last year’s Hurricane Irene, they can judge where Internet connectivity is lost. Schulman…

How to Hack a Cisco Phone

Columbia computer scientist Ang Cui helped uncover a weakness in Cisco IP phones that can let a hacker take complete control of them.  

The Electrowetting Display

Electrowetting displays are just as capable as the liquid crystal displays in tablets and notebooks, but they are three times more efficient. Johan Feenstra, who heads Samsung’s electronic display research center in the Netherlands, explains how they work.  

CES Unveiled 2013

New gadgets galore at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show press preview   Amidst the milling hordes at the first big event of the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show, we spotted some products that immediately appealed to us. Some featured new technology, others clever design. Here’s a look at six of them from the show floor: let us know which one is your favorite in the comments below! 1. Company: 3M Touch Systems Product: Prototype 84-inch touch screen 2. Company: Synaptics Product: ClearPad integrated touch sensor and display 3. Company: Sculpteo Product: 3D-Printed iPhone cases 4. Company: Goal Zero Product: Yeti 150…

CES Highlights: Smart Watches, Projector Cubes and Bluetooth Golf Clubs

A long day of press briefings at CES on Monday was capped by Digital Experience, an event which was the last chance to preview gadgets before the show floor entered. While new device categories were thin on the ground thus year, there were still innovative products to be found.  

New Lego Mindstorms EV3 Robotic Kits Debut at CES 2013

Watch as four integrated robots work a casino game.  

Flying a Helicopter with Brain Waves – CES 2013

Trends in Tablets: CES 2013