AI-Tools

Robot ornithologist hunting for woodpecker

Mon, 19 Feb 2007 21:01:49 +0500

In a US wildlife reserve in Arkansas, a robotic birdwatcher stands motionless, scanning the skies for a glimpse of the elusive ivory-billed woodpecker. The robot's camera's photograph's the sky at 22 frames per second, but only keeps about 1 image out of every 10,000 it collects, running AI vision algorithms to determine the presence of birds in the frame. So far, it's taken plenty of pictures of geese, but no woodpecker.

From New Scientist:

Ornithologists seeking the elusive ivory-billed woodpecker have beengiven a much needed boost: the world's first fully automated, roboticbirdwatcher.

Believed extinct for more thanhalf a century, the iconic woodpecker, with its distinctive plumage,appeared to stage a miraculous return in April 2005, whenornithologists claimed to have spotted the bird in a nature reserve inArkansas, US.

Enterrobo-birdwatcher. Not only does the device digitally photograph everybird that flies overhead, it stands watch in an inhospitable snake andmosquito-infested swamp for months on end. If the ivory-billedwoodpecker is out there, the tireless robot should snap it.

New Scientist article

Educational software tracks student's attention

Tue, 09 Jan 2007 20:13:14 +0500

Educational software with an awareness of human emotional states can now track the attention of its students. Student's who's attention starts to wander will find the program changing in an attept to regain their interest. Such modeling of users brings the promise of true one-to-one teaching experiences closer to reality.

From New Scientist:

Tutoring software that knows when students' are losing interest in alesson and can adjust to keep them on track is being tested byresearchers in China and the UK.

The systemkeeps track of students' attention by measuring physical signs ofemotion. It then varies the speed and content of a lesson based on anassessment of their level of interest. Ultimately, it could improveelectronic tutoring programmes, say the researchers involved, thushelping developing countries deliver education to remote areas thatlack educational institutions...

"We've built a prototype that can moderate the flow of educational information as a result," Callaghan told New Scientist.For example, it can slow down or change topic if a student seemsdisinterested, or appears to be falling behind. The software might alsotry a different mode of delivery, switching from text to video, forexample.

New Scientist Article

Tom Cruise no match for a robot

Thu, 07 Dec 2006 22:07:00 +0500

At this week's Roboexotica you can be rest assured that the bartenders won't be imbibing any of their creations: it would probably fry their circuits.

From Wired:

What's happening here is not just art, not wholly technology, but an intoxicating mixture of the two that manages to comment on both while still pouring a (sometimes) decent drink. Kind of like that philosophy major who tends bar at your local watering hole.

The liquid concoctions being poured probably won't win any bartending awards, but another type of mixology is on tap here: The advent of small, powerful batteries for cell phones and laptops, along with continued advances in microcircuitry, is revving up garage robotics.

Wired article

Kramnik vs Deep Fritz: Game 5 -- Draw

Tue, 05 Dec 2006 00:18:23 +0500

Game 5 ended in a draw in the man-vs-machine battle, ending the human's chances of winning. Deep Fritz will win unless Kramnik succeeds in pulling off his first victory of the tournament in game 6.

From ChessBase News:

World champion Vladimir Kramnik had the white pieces for the last time in this match, and needed a win in order to have chances for an overall victory. He played a sharp game, very exciting for the world-wide audience, but one in which Fritz was able fight back. The game ended in a 35-move draw.

ChessBase News article

RoboCup kicks off in Perth

Tue, 28 Nov 2006 00:08:00 +0500

A mini RoboCup competition has kicked off in Australia.

Not the large annual one, this year held in Germany (Where Japan trounced everyone with both humanoid and dog-like players). The soccer tournament is being held to celebrate 50 years of research in the field of artificial intelligence and help reverse falling enrollment rates in computer science and IT.

From Australian IT:

ROBOT dogs the size of bulldog pups are taking to the field in Perth in a robot soccer exhibition pitting two Australian teams against one from China.

The robot dogs are competing in the RoboCup Perth today at the University of Western Australia (UWA) as part of the International Symposium on Practical Cognitive Agents and Robots.

Each team has four dogs, with one goalie and three outfielders dressed in special stickers in the team's colour and playing on a carpet-covered mini soccer pitch five metres by three.

Made of plastic, carbon fibre and electronics, the dogs are about the size of newborn bulldogs - like a smaller version of Dr Who's trusty companion K-9 but without the laser.

Australian IT article

AI to pick stocks

Sat, 25 Nov 2006 20:35:00 +0500

When it comes to ferreting out patterns from billions of market transactions, some think that the human brain might be no match for a computer.

According to inventor and hedge fund manager, Ray Kurzweil, in the near future artificial intelligence will surpass human intelligence. Kurzweil, who was once described by Bill Gates of Microsoft as