[From CrunchGear] Video: Creepily Realistic Robot Hand by Serkan Toto on August 11, 2010 Kyoto-based Squse has developed the so-called Robot Hand H-Type [JP], a creepily realistic (but very cool) robotic hand. The hand’s “bones” are made of polycarbonate, while the skin is silicon rubber. It weighs 340g and can lift up and move objects weighing up to 1.5kg. The secret lies in its 16 joints and 22 actuators. Needless to say, the Robot Hand H-Type will be used mainly for industrial applications (for “pick and place” actions). Squse says that two auto makers and another two companies from the…

[From CANOE] [Image: Ashley Brown works on her science project Tuesday at the University of Alberta. (Perry Mah, QMI Agency)] Computer program makes scents By LINDA HOANG, QMI Agency EDMONTON – Ashley Brown is hoping to change the world — one smell at a time. Born and raised in Elnora, a village about 70 km southeast of Red Deer, Brown, 17, never thought she’d be part of a team working on a project that could help improve rehabilitation, education, research and even gaming. It’s called Smell-O-Vision, and it’s a virtual reality computer program — which Brown built herself — that…

[From The Radioactive Yak, a technology blog by Reto Meier, an Android Developer Advocate for Google in London and author of Professional Android 2 Application Development; an evaluation of some of these predictions can be found here] [Image: From “Introducing the “iThink” by Paul Mic on his The Monkey Buddha blog] The Future of Mobile: Invisible, connected devices with infinite screens Monday, August 09, 2010 by Reto Meier The history of smartphones looks something like this: At the end of 2008 the very first Android handset was available on T-Mobile in the US. The iPhone has existed for 3 years.…

[From The Daily Mail (UK); the original story contains additional images] The real A.I.: Childless millionaire builds ‘intelligent robot’ that sings Karaoke, laughs and tells jokes By Mail Online Reporter Last updated on 13th August 2010 Tony Ellis and his wife, Judie, do not have any children or animals at home – but with chatterbox robot Aimec following them around, there is never a dull moment. The couple effectively have a robotic child, just like in the 2001 futuristic fairy tale Artificial Intelligence starring Haley Joel Osment. Their creation is so advanced it can tell jokes and keep its human parents…

[From CNN GO Asia; the original version includes several additional images] [Image: Inside the State Grid Pavilion] Shanghai Expo 2010 pavilions: The best of the Puxi site With less than three months left of the Shanghai Expo, head to these Puxi pavilions for some of the Expo’s best entertainment By Christine Tan 17 August, 2010 One-time visitors to the World Expo tend to stampede toward the Pudong site’s national pavilions, leaving Puxi’s dazzlingly garish pavilions for last — or never. It’s time to change people’s 2010 Expo strategy. Here are the best corporate pavilions that may entice new visitors into…

[From The National (UAE); the original story includes a photo gallery] [Image: Jonas Samson’s light emitting wallpaper. Photos by Roel Determeijer] The plugged-in home of tomorrow Yvonne Courtney Last Updated: August 14. 2010 Technology and home furnishing have never been the easiest of partners – yet they are starting to converge in all kinds of exciting ways as digital technology starts to revolutionise design thinking. Cue window blinds that glow or darken in response to light levels, tiles that light up your path as you touch them or wallpaper that changes colour according to how much energy your home is consuming.…

[From The University of Michigan Health System Newsroom] [Image: Trauma room simulation (source: Yong Cao, Virginia Tech)] August 09, 2010 Medical students believe video games can help them become better doctors Survey of medical students at University of Michigan and University of Wisconsin-Madison shows strong interest in role-playing and strategy games for doctor training ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Today’s students were raised with a digital mouse in their hands. So it should be no surprise that a majority of medical school students surveyed say video games and virtual reality environments could help them become better doctors. A reported 98 percent…

[From The New York Times’ Wheels blog]   August 11, 2010 Recreating a Classic Video Game With Radio-Controlled Cars By JONATHAN SCHULTZ With apologies to “Gran Tursimo,” “Forza Motorsport,” “Project Gotham” and any number of hyperrealistic, console-based racing simulators and video games, arguably no title channels the visceral thrill of hurtling around a course like the futuristic “Wipeout” series. Now, a German art collective has rendered that thrill tactile, using defiantly analog components: cardboard, glue and vintage-video-arcade kitsch. Called (with a wink) Racer 0.2, the project is the creation of three media artists collectively known as Sputnic.…

[From the MIT Technology blog Mims’s Bits] Friday, July 30, 2010 Brain Scans Teach Humans to Empathize with Bots Mirror neurons light up when we’re put in their shoes. When we watch a human express a powerful emotion – anger, fear, disgust – big sections of our brains light up, including so-called “mirror neurons,” which are unique because they fire both when we produce a given action and when we perceive it in others. They are the basis of what neuroscientists call Resonance. Resonance describes the mechanism by which the neural substrates involved in the internal representation of actions, as…

[From The Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (IEET)] Life in a Virtual World Mike Treder Ethical Technology Posted: Jul 24, 2010 If you could live in a world that was just the way you wanted it to be, with specifications you’d chosen, customized and personalized to meet your every need and fulfill your fondest desires, would you spend all your time there? Or would you prefer to stay here, in the real world? As computers continue to gain speed and power at the rate of

[From The Wall Street Journal; more information about the AR Drones, including videos, is available here] [Image: Electronics-show attendees watched a demonstration of Parrot’s helicopter in January.] JULY 13, 2010 Reality Gets a Makeover With Jumps in Processing Power, Apps Adding Data to Cellphone Images are Taking Flight By KIMBERLY PETERSON PARIS—French electronics company Parrot SA plans next month to release a toy helicopter with a twist. The AR Drone has a pair of cameras to relay video to iPhones or iPads, which function as the remote control. The device also recognizes certain objects, such as other AR Drones, and…

[From The New York Times, where the story includes a 3:23 minute video and other multimedia supplements] [Image: Andrea Thomaz, right, and Nick DePalma in 2009 with Simon, a robot being developed at Georgia Tech. Above left, Simon evaluating objects.] Students, Meet Your New Teacher, Mr. Robot By BENEDICT CAREY and JOHN MARKOFF LOS ANGELES — The boy, a dark-haired 6-year-old, is playing with a new companion. The two hit it off quickly — unusual for the 6-year-old, who has autism — and the boy is imitating his playmate’s every move, now nodding his head, now raising his arms. “Like…