Category: AI
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IBM unveils prototype of “brain-inspired” computer
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24571219 The human brain is 10,000 times more dense and efficient than any computer today. IBM is using the brain as a design template, including using fluids to cool the machine and distribute electrical power. This could enable processing power that is densely packed into 3D volumes rather than spread out across flat 2D circuit boards…
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Crowdfunded, tendon driven robot mimics human movement
http://www.roboy.org/about.html Univerity of Zurich’s AI Lab has crowdfunded its first version of an open source, flexible robot. Roboy, developed by Professor Rolf Pfeifer, has a four foot tall human shape and a set of “muscles” inspired by the human musculoskeletal system. The plastic muscles work together via electrical motors and artificial tendons. Its tendon-driven systems mimic…
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Personalized robot companion for seniors
http://cordis.europa.eu/fetch?CALLER=OFFR_TM_EN&ACTION=D&RCN=11525 A European consortium of research institutes, universities and technology companies has developed a highly customizable robot companion to help seniors to maintain their quality of life, stay healthy and avoid social exclusion. The robot, a mobile wheeled semi-humanoid figure equipped with cameras, sensors, audio, and a touch screen interface, can remind users to take their…
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Neuromorphic chip mimics human brain in real time
http://www.mediadesk.uzh.ch/articles/2013/chips-die-das-gehirn-imitieren_en.html University of Zurich and ETH Zurich scientists have created a two by two millimeter microchip with 11,011 electrodes that mimics the brain’s processing power. The brain-like microchips are not sentient beings, but can carry out complex sensorimoter tasks in real time. Previous brain-like computer systems have been slower and larger. This system, developed by Professor…
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Algorithm analyzes head movements to measure heart rate
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2013/seeing-the-human-pulse-0620.html MIT researchers have developed an algorithm that gauges heart rate by measuring tiny head movements in video data. A subject’s heart rate was consistently measured within a few beats per minute when compared to results from electrocardiograms. The algorithm was also able to provide estimates of time intervals between beats, which can be used to identify…
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Low cost GPU based neural network simulates the brain
http://stanford.edu/~acoates/papers/CoatesHuvalWangWuNgCatanzaro_icml2013.pdf In a new paper, Stanford’s Andrew Ng describes how to use graphics microprocessors to build a $20,000 computerized brain that is similar to the cat-detector he developed with Google last year for $1M. To test his hypothesis about GPU-driven Deep Learning, he also built a larger version of the platform for $100,000. It utilized…
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Nerve and muscle interfaces for prosthetic control
http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2013/05/30.aspx DARPA continues to build technology with academic partners to enable amputees to control prosthetic limbs with their minds. Examples follow: Researchers at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago demonstrated a type of peripheral interface called targeted muscle re-innervation (TMR). By rewiring nerves from amputated limbs, new interfaces allow for prosthetic control with existing muscles. Researchers…
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Cornell robots anticipate human actions
http://news.cornell.edu/stories/2013/04/think-ahead-robots-anticipate-human-actions Cornell University researchers have programmed a PR-2 robot to not only carry out everyday tasks, but to anticipate human behavior and adjust its actions. From a database of 120 3-D videos of people performing common household activities, the robot has been trained to identify human activities by tracking the movements of the body – reduced…
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Watson’s health care capabilities described to lawmakers
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/innovations/wp/2013/05/17/watson-goes-to-washington-ibm-shows-off-latest-health-care-work-to-lawmakers/ On Capitol Hill, IBM representatives described the supercomputer’s new health-care related features, including the ability to ingest patients’ medical information and synthesize thousands of medical journals and other reference materials along with patient preferences to suggest treatment options. The Watson team has collaborated with the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and insurer Well Point to teach…
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Quantum computing AI lab from Google, NASA and USRA
http://googleresearch.blogspot.ca/2013/05/launching-quantum-artificial.html Google, NASA and the Universities Space Research Association will put a 512 qubit machine from D-Wave at the disposal of researchers around the globe. The USRA will invite teams of scientists and engineers to share time on the unique supercomputer. The goal is to study how quantum computing might be leveraged to advance machine learning.
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SOINN artificial brain learns from the internet, applies information
http://haselab.info/soinn-e.html A group at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, led by Dr. Osamu Hasegawa, has advanced SOINN, their machine learning algorithm, which can now use the internet to learn how to perform new tasks. The system, which is under development as an artificial brain for autonomous mental development robots, is currently being used to learn…
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Kurzweil envisions emotionally intelligent Google search
http://www.wired.com/business/2013/04/kurzweil-google-ai/ Kurzweil predicts that computers will be able to have a deep understanding of human emotion by 2029. He wants to see search evolve to understand even more complex language that will involve “emotional intelligence, being funny, getting the joke, being sexy, being loving, understanding human emotion.”