Group items tagged sound - Advanced Concepts Team

Scientific method: Defend the integrity of physics - 2 views

www.nature.com/...e-integrity-of-physics-1.16535

PHY METAPHY

shared by Christophe Praz on 17 Dec 14 - No Cached

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Christophe Praz on 17 Dec 14

Interesting article about theoretical physics theories vs. experimental verification. Can we state that a theory can be so good that its existence supplants the need for data and testing ? If a theory is proved to be untestable experimentally, can we still say that it is a scientific theory ? (not in my opinion)

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Interesting article about theoretical physics theories vs. experimental verification. Can we state that a theory can be so good that its existence supplants the need for data and testing ? If a theory is proved to be untestable experimentally, can we still say that it is a scientific theory ? (not in my opinion)</div>

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johannessimon81 on 17 Dec 14

There is an interesting approach by Feynman that it does not make sense to describe something of which we cannot measure the consequences. So a theory that is so removed from experiment that it cannot be backed by it is pointless and of no consequence. It is a bit as with the statement "if a tree falls in the forrest and nobody is there to hear it, does it make a sound?". We would typically extrapolate to say that it does make a sound. But actually nobody knows - you would have to take some kind of measurement. But even more fundamentally it does not make any difference! For all intents and purposes there is no point in forcing a prediction that you cannot measure and that therefore has noto reflect an event in your world.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">There is an interesting approach by Feynman that it does not make sense to describe something of which we cannot measure the consequences. So a theory that is so removed from experiment that it cannot be backed by it is pointless and of no consequence. It is a bit as with the statement "if a tree falls in the forrest and nobody is there to hear it, does it make a sound?". We would typically extrapolate to say that it does make a sound. But actually nobody knows - you would have to take some kind of measurement. But even more fundamentally it does not make any difference! For all intents and purposes there is no point in forcing a prediction that you cannot measure and that therefore has noto reflect an event in your world.</div>

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Ma Ru on 24 Dec 14

"Mathematics is the model of the universe, not the other way round" - M. R.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">"Mathematics is the model of the universe, not the other way round" - M. R.</div>

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Power generation from ambient humidity using protein nanowires | Nature - 0 views

www.nature.com/...s41586-020-2010-9

NRG technology bio

shared by Marcus Maertens on 19 Feb 20 - No Cached

Marcus Maertens on 19 Feb 20

Sounds juicy...

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Sounds juicy...</div>

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First circuit breaker for high voltage direct current - 2 views

new.abb.com/hvdc-grid

technology phy

shared by Luzi Bergamin on 13 Nov 12 - No Cached

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Luzi Bergamin on 13 Nov 12

Doesn't really sound sexy, but this is of utmost importance for next generation grids for renewable energy.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Doesn't really sound sexy, but this is of utmost importance for next generation grids for renewable energy.</div>

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LeopoldS on 13 Nov 12

I agree on the significance indeed - a small boost also for my favourite Desertec project ... Though their language is a bit too "grandiose": "ABB has successfully designed and developed a hybrid DC breaker after years of research, functional testing and simulation in the R&D laboratories. This breaker is a breakthrough that solves a technical challenge that has been unresolved for over a hundred years and was perhaps one the main influencers in the 'war of currents' outcome. The 'hybrid' breaker combines mechanical and power electronics switching that enables it to interrupt power flows equivalent to the output of a nuclear power station within 5 milliseconds - that's as fast as a honey bee takes per flap of its wing - and more than 30 times faster than the reaction time of an Olympic 100-meter medalist to react to the starter's gun! But its not just about speed. The challenge was to do it 'ultra-fast' with minimal operational losses and this has been achieved by combining advanced ultrafast mechanical actuators with our inhouse semiconductor IGBT valve technologies or power electronics (watch video: Hybrid HVDC Breaker - How does it work). In terms of significance, this breaker is a 'game changer'. It removes a significant stumbling block in the development of HVDC transmission grids where planning can start now. These grids will enable interconnection and load balancing between HVDC power superhighways integrating renewables and transporting bulk power across long distances with minimal losses. DC grids will enable sharing of resources like lines and converter stations that provides reliability and redundancy in a power network in an economically viable manner with minimal losses. ABB's new Hybrid HVDC breaker, in simple terms will enable the transmission system to maintain power flow even if there is a fault on one of the lines. This is a major achievement for the global R&D team in ABB who have worked for years on the challeng

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">I agree on the significance indeed - a small boost also for my favourite Desertec project ... Though their language is a bit too "grandiose": "ABB has successfully designed and developed a hybrid DC breaker after years of research, functional testing and simulation in the R&D laboratories. This breaker is a breakthrough that solves a technical challenge that has been unresolved for over a hundred years and was perhaps one the main influencers in the 'war of currents' outcome. The 'hybrid' breaker combines mechanical and power electronics switching that enables it to interrupt power flows equivalent to the output of a nuclear power station within 5 milliseconds - that's as fast as a honey bee takes per flap of its wing - and more than 30 times faster than the reaction time of an Olympic 100-meter medalist to react to the starter's gun! But its not just about speed. The challenge was to do it 'ultra-fast' with minimal operational losses and this has been achieved by combining advanced ultrafast mechanical actuators with our inhouse semiconductor IGBT valve technologies or power electronics (watch video: Hybrid HVDC Breaker - How does it work). In terms of significance, this breaker is a 'game changer'. It removes a significant stumbling block in the development of HVDC transmission grids where planning can start now. These grids will enable interconnection and load balancing between HVDC power superhighways integrating renewables and transporting bulk power across long distances with minimal losses. DC grids will enable sharing of resources like lines and converter stations that provides reliability and redundancy in a power network in an economically viable manner with minimal losses. ABB's new Hybrid HVDC breaker, in simple terms will enable the transmission system to maintain power flow even if there is a fault on one of the lines. This is a major achievement for the global R&D team in ABB who have worked for years on the challeng</div>

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What different sorting algorithms sound like - 3 views

www.youtube.com/watch

fun compSci

shared by johannessimon81 on 08 Jun 13 - No Cached

johannessimon81 on 08 Jun 13

Neat.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Neat.</div>

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The European Space Agency's Jupiter Mission Control Made of Lego - 3 views

lego.gizmodo.com/-mission-control-mad-665054859

shared by H H on 04 Jul 13 - No Cached

H H on 04 Jul 13

The French Space Agency (CNES) commissioned Damien Labrousse to recreate the Jupiter Mission Control Room in Lego for display at the Kourou spaceport. The impressive build features 6,000 bricks, 80 minifigs, a working video screen that shows the rocket launch sequence and a sound system, displaying launch countdown.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">The French Space Agency (CNES) commissioned Damien Labrousse to recreate the Jupiter Mission Control Room in Lego for display at the Kourou spaceport. The impressive build features 6,000 bricks, 80 minifigs, a working video screen that shows the rocket launch sequence and a sound system, displaying launch countdown.</div>

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marblar.com - 3 views

beta.marblar.com

shared by Kevin de Groote on 23 Oct 12 - No Cached

Kevin de Groote on 23 Oct 12

Collaborative technology transfer.. sounds like something the Advanced Concepts Generator should have come up with..

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Collaborative technology transfer.. sounds like something the Advanced Concepts Generator should have come up with..</div>

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Bold title ..... - 3 views

www.extremetech.com/...ow-learn-from-pure-observation

shared by Dario Izzo on 02 Sep 16 - No Cached

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johannessimon81 on 02 Sep 16

I got a fever. And the only prescription is more cat faces! ...../\_/\ ...(=^_^) ..\\(___) The article sounds quite interesting, though. I think the idea of a "fake" agent that tries to trick the classifier while both co-evolve is nice as it allows the classifier to first cope with the lower order complexity of the problem. As the fake agent mimics the real agent better and better the classifier has time to add complexity to itself instead of trying to do it all at once. It would be interesting if this is later reflected in the neural nets structure, i.e. having core regions that deal with lower order approximation / classification and peripheral regions (added at a later stage) that deal with nuances as they become apparent. Also this approach will develop not just a classifier for agent behavior but at the same time a model of the same. The later may be useful in itself and might in same cases be the actual goal of the "researcher". I suspect, however, that the problem of producing / evolving the "fake agent" model might in most case be at least as hard as producing a working classifier...

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">I got a fever. And the only prescription is more cat faces! ...../\_/\ ...(=^_^) ..\\(___) The article sounds quite interesting, though. I think the idea of a "fake" agent that tries to trick the classifier while both co-evolve is nice as it allows the classifier to first cope with the lower order complexity of the problem. As the fake agent mimics the real agent better and better the classifier has time to add complexity to itself instead of trying to do it all at once. It would be interesting if this is later reflected in the neural nets structure, i.e. having core regions that deal with lower order approximation / classification and peripheral regions (added at a later stage) that deal with nuances as they become apparent. Also this approach will develop not just a classifier for agent behavior but at the same time a model of the same. The later may be useful in itself and might in same cases be the actual goal of the "researcher". I suspect, however, that the problem of producing / evolving the "fake agent" model might in most case be at least as hard as producing a working classifier...</div>

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johannessimon81 on 05 Sep 16

This paper from 2014 seems discribe something pretty similar (except for not using physical robots, etc...): https://papers.nips.cc/paper/5423-generative-adversarial-nets.pdf

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">This paper from 2014 seems discribe something pretty similar (except for not using physical robots, etc...): <a href="https://papers.nips.cc/paper/5423-generative-adversarial-nets.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://papers.nips.cc/paper/5423-generative-adversarial-nets.pdf</a></div>

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Paul N on 13 Sep 16

Yes, this IS basically adversarial learning. Except the generator part instead of being a neural net is some kind of swarm parametrization. I just love how they rebranded it, though. :))

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Yes, this IS basically adversarial learning. Except the generator part instead of being a neural net is some kind of swarm parametrization. I just love how they rebranded it, though. :))</div>

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SS-520 No. 4 Launch Results | ISAS - 3 views

www.isas.jaxa.jp/...000827.html

shared by Alexander Wittig on 16 Jan 17 - No Cached

Alexander Wittig on 16 Jan 17

At 8:33 a.m., (Japan Standard Time) January 15, 2017, SS-520 No. 4, JAXA's sounding rocket launched from the Uchinoura Space Center. Through SS-520 No. 4 launch, JAXA sought for research and development of launch vehicles and satellites and the launch demonstration of TRICOM-1, its onboard nanosat that weighs about 3 kilograms. The launch was part of Japanese government's program for development of launch vehicles and satellites in public-private partnerships. Long story short: Space-X has the better fireworks

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">At 8:33 a.m., (Japan Standard Time) January 15, 2017, SS-520 No. 4, JAXA's sounding rocket launched from the Uchinoura Space Center. Through SS-520 No. 4 launch, JAXA sought for research and development of launch vehicles and satellites and the launch demonstration of TRICOM-1, its onboard nanosat that weighs about 3 kilograms. The launch was part of Japanese government's program for development of launch vehicles and satellites in public-private partnerships. Long story short: Space-X has the better fireworks</div>

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MAIUS 1 - First Bose-Einstein condensate generated in space - 0 views

www.dlr.de/...year-all

shared by Alexander Wittig on 24 Jan 17 - No Cached

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Alexander Wittig on 24 Jan 17

For the first time, ultra-cold atoms interfere in space The MAIUS 1 experiment was launched on 23 January 2017 at 3:30 CET on board a sounding rocket from Esrange Space Center near Kiruna in northern Sweden. German scientists have, for the first time, succeeded in producing a Bose-Einstein condensate in space and using it for interferometry experiments.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">For the first time, ultra-cold atoms interfere in space The MAIUS 1 experiment was launched on 23 January 2017 at 3:30 CET on board a sounding rocket from Esrange Space Center near Kiruna in northern Sweden. German scientists have, for the first time, succeeded in producing a Bose-Einstein condensate in space and using it for interferometry experiments.</div>

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The Cure For Fear | New Republic - 2 views

newrepublic.com/...cure-fear

BIO

shared by jaihobah on 03 May 16 - No Cached

jaihobah on 03 May 16

A long read but very interesting and well written.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">A long read but very interesting and well written. </div>

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jaihobah on 03 May 16

PS: Does this quote from the article not sound a lot like Inception? 'In any given situation, the brain will retrieve old memories to inform an organism's behavior. If the memory is relevant to the situation, the organism can act on the information; if it is not relevant, then the organism can learn from the situation and create a new memory. With reconsolidation, researchers argued, there seemed to be a brief window in between the retrieval of an old memory and the creation of a new memory in which the old memory is vulnerable to manipulation.'

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">PS: Does this quote from the article not sound a lot like Inception? 'In any given situation, the brain will retrieve old memories to inform an organism's behavior. If the memory is relevant to the situation, the organism can act on the information; if it is not relevant, then the organism can learn from the situation and create a new memory. With reconsolidation, researchers argued, there seemed to be a brief window in between the retrieval of an old memory and the creation of a new memory in which the old memory is vulnerable to manipulation.'</div>

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Ubuntu on Windows -- The Ubuntu Userspace for Windows Developers - 2 views

blog.dustinkirkland.com/...ubuntu-on-windows.html

technology

shared by Alexander Wittig on 30 Mar 16 - No Cached

Paul N and Carlos Sánchez liked it

Alexander Wittig on 30 Mar 16

Sounds like Microsoft is developing a full Linux binary compatibility layer for Win 10 using syscall translation (like for example FreeBSD has for Linux binaries). In simpler terms: You can run any Linux binary (from the Ubuntu base or any of the packages) directly from Windows. No virtual machine. No emulation layer. No recompiling like SUA or Cygwin.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Sounds like Microsoft is developing a full Linux binary compatibility layer for Win 10 using syscall translation (like for example FreeBSD has for Linux binaries). In simpler terms: You can run any Linux binary (from the Ubuntu base or any of the packages) directly from Windows. No virtual machine. No emulation layer. No recompiling like SUA or Cygwin.</div>

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3D-solar cells much more efficient - 1 views

www.bitsofscience.org/ar-cell-energy-efficiency-6206

technology PHY science space

shared by johannessimon81 on 06 Sep 12 - No Cached

johannessimon81 on 06 Sep 12

3-dimensional silicon solar cell produces at least 250% of the power of a basic silicon solar cell.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">3-dimensional silicon solar cell produces at least 250% of the power of a basic silicon solar cell.</div>

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LeopoldS on 10 Sep 12

Any idea of the technology behind ... Sounds too much advertisement what is in the article " Now, our near term objective is to continue to improve the fabrication process and the power output, as we optimize the cost of manufacturing. We believe that the result will be a 50% reduction in the cost of solar electricity. Perhaps the installed system cost savings will be even greater"

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Any idea of the technology behind ... Sounds too much advertisement what is in the article " Now, our near term objective is to continue to improve the fabrication process and the power output, as we optimize the cost of manufacturing. We believe that the result will be a 50% reduction in the cost of solar electricity. Perhaps the installed system cost savings will be even greater"</div>

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How To Build A Speech Jamming Gun - Technology Review - 1 views

www.technologyreview.com/...27620

technology speech gun

shared by santecarloni on 01 Mar 12 - No Cached

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santecarloni on 01 Mar 12

he drone of speakers who won't stop is an inevitable experience at conferences, meetings, cinemas and public libraries. Today, Kazutaka Kurihara at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Tskuba and Koji Tsukada at Ochanomizu University, both in Japan, present a radical solution: a speech jamming device that forces recalcitrant speakers into submission.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">he drone of speakers who won't stop is an inevitable experience at conferences, meetings, cinemas and public libraries. Today, Kazutaka Kurihara at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Tskuba and Koji Tsukada at Ochanomizu University, both in Japan, present a radical solution: a speech jamming device that forces recalcitrant speakers into submission. </div>

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Ma Ru on 01 Mar 12

...must...not...make...the...obvious...ACT...meeting...joke...

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">...must...not...make...the...obvious...ACT...meeting...joke...</div>

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LeopoldS on 02 Mar 12

Unfortunately it won't work when it is most needed .... Read this: "Their tests also identify some curious phenomena. They say the gun is more effective when the delay varies in time and more effective against speech that involves reading aloud than against spontaneous monologue. Sadly, they report that it has no effect on meaningless sound sequences such as "aaaaarghhh".

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Unfortunately it won't work when it is most needed .... Read this: "Their tests also identify some curious phenomena. They say the gun is more effective when the delay varies in time and more effective against speech that involves reading aloud than against spontaneous monologue. Sadly, they report that it has no effect on meaningless sound sequences such as "aaaaarghhh".</div>

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The drawbacks of open office - 1 views

www.newyorker.com/...the-open-office-trap.html

Social

shared by Athanasia Nikolaou on 19 Jan 14 - No Cached

Athanasia Nikolaou on 19 Jan 14

The natural multitaskers are profited the least from this configuration. And then there is Thijs

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">The natural multitaskers are profited the least from this configuration. And then there is Thijs</div>

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Thijs Versloot on 19 Jan 14

haha :) "The psychologist Nick Perham, who studies the effect of sound on how we think, has found that office commotion impairs workers' ability to recall information, and even to do basic arithmetic. Listening to music to block out the office intrusion doesn't help: even that, Perham found, impairs our mental acuity." Actually, I grew up studying my homework in my parents shop downstairs. No noise whatsoever drives me insane :)

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">haha :) "The psychologist Nick Perham, who studies the effect of sound on how we think, has found that office commotion impairs workers' ability to recall information, and even to do basic arithmetic. Listening to music to block out the office intrusion doesn't help: even that, Perham found, impairs our mental acuity." Actually, I grew up studying my homework in my parents shop downstairs. No noise whatsoever drives me insane :)</div>

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Optimize work efficiency using music - 2 views

focus@will is a new neuroscience based music service that helps you focus, reduce distractions and retain information when working, studying, writing and reading. The technology is based on hard sc...

science sound focus attention

started by Robert Musters on 10 Feb 14 no follow-up yet

Facebook is buying WhatsApp for ~ $ 19e9 - 1 views

www.bloomberg.com/...p-whatsapp-for-16-billion.html

technology

shared by johannessimon81 on 20 Feb 14 - No Cached

Juxi Leitner, Thijs Versloot, and Athanasia Nikolaou liked it

johannessimon81 on 20 Feb 14

That is about € 14e9 - enough to pay more than a million YGTs for half a year. Could we use maybe just half a million YGTs for half a year to build a similar platform and keep the remaining € 7e9 for ourselves? Keep in mind that WhatsApp only has 45 employees (according to AllThingsD: http://goo.gl/NtJcSj ). So we would have an advantage > 10000:1. On the other hand does this mean that every employee at WhatsApp gets enough money now to survive comfortably for ~5000 years or will the inevitable social inequality strike and most people get next to nothing while a few get money to live comfortably for ~1000000 years? Also: Does Facebook think about these numbers before they pay them? Or is it just a case of "That looks tasty - lets have it"? Also (2): As far as I can see all these internet companies (Google, Facebook, Yahoo, WhatsApp, Twitter...) seem to make most of their income from advertising. For all these companies together that must be a lot of advertising money (turns out that in 2013 the world spent about $ 500 billion on advertising: http://goo.gl/vYog15 ). For that money you could of course have 20 million YGTs roaming the Earth and advertising stuff door-to-door... ... ...

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">That is about € 14e9 - enough to pay more than a million YGTs for half a year. Could we use maybe just half a million YGTs for half a year to build a similar platform and keep the remaining € 7e9 for ourselves? Keep in mind that WhatsApp only has 45 employees (according to AllThingsD: <a href="http://goo.gl/NtJcSj" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://goo.gl/NtJcSj</a> ). So we would have an advantage > 10000:1. On the other hand does this mean that every employee at WhatsApp gets enough money now to survive comfortably for ~5000 years or will the inevitable social inequality strike and most people get next to nothing while a few get money to live comfortably for ~1000000 years? Also: Does Facebook think about these numbers before they pay them? Or is it just a case of "That looks tasty - lets have it"? Also (2): As far as I can see all these internet companies (Google, Facebook, Yahoo, WhatsApp, Twitter...) seem to make most of their income from advertising. For all these companies together that must be a lot of advertising money (turns out that in 2013 the world spent about $ 500 billion on advertising: <a href="http://goo.gl/vYog15" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://goo.gl/vYog15</a> ). For that money you could of course have 20 million YGTs roaming the Earth and advertising stuff door-to-door... ... ...</div>

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Thijs Versloot on 20 Feb 14

Jo, thats just brilliant... 500billion USD total on advertising, that sounds absolutely ridiculous.. I always wondered whether this giant advertisement scheme is just one big 'ponzi'-like scheme waiting to crash down on us one day when they realize, cat-picture twittering fb-ing whatsapping consumers just aint worth it..

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Jo, thats just brilliant... 500billion USD total on advertising, that sounds absolutely ridiculous.. I always wondered whether this giant advertisement scheme is just one big 'ponzi'-like scheme waiting to crash down on us one day when they realize, cat-picture twittering fb-ing whatsapping consumers just aint worth it..</div>

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Juxi Leitner on 20 Feb 14

The whole valuation of those internet companies is a bit scary. Things like the Facebook and Twitter ipo numbers seem just ridiculous.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">The whole valuation of those internet companies is a bit scary. Things like the Facebook and Twitter ipo numbers seem just ridiculous.</div>

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Paul N on 21 Feb 14

Facebook is not really so much buying into a potential good business deal as much as it's buying out risky competition. Popular trends need to be killed fast before they take off the ground too much. Also the amount of personal data that WhatsApp is amassing is staggering. I have never seen an app requesting so many phone rights in my life.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Facebook is not really so much buying into a potential good business deal as much as it's buying out risky competition. Popular trends need to be killed fast before they take off the ground too much. Also the amount of personal data that WhatsApp is amassing is staggering. I have never seen an app requesting so many phone rights in my life.</div>

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Three-Dimensional Mid-Air Acoustic Manipulation - 0 views

www.youtube.com/watch

technology science phy

shared by Paul N on 02 Jan 14 - No Cached

Athanasia Nikolaou liked it

Paul N on 02 Jan 14

Turns out you can do stuff with sound if you have enough of it.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Turns out you can do stuff with sound if you have enough of it.</div>

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Nasa-funded study: industrial civilisation headed for 'irreversible collapse'? - 4 views

www.theguardian.com/...ible-collapse-study-scientists

society technology science

shared by johannessimon81 on 15 Mar 14 - No Cached

Luís F. Simões liked it

johannessimon81 on 15 Mar 14

Sounds relevant. Does ESA need to have a position on this question?

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Sounds relevant. Does ESA need to have a position on this question?</div>

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Luís F. Simões on 15 Mar 14

This was on Slashdot now, with a link to the paper. It quite an iteresting study actually. "The scenarios most closely reflecting the reality of our world today are found in the third group of experiments (see section 5.3), where we introduced economic stratification. Under such conditions, we find that collapse is difficult to avoid."

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">This was on Slashdot now, with a link to the paper. It quite an iteresting study actually. "The scenarios most closely reflecting the reality of our world today are found in the third group of experiments (see section 5.3), where we introduced economic stratification. Under such conditions, we find that collapse is difficult to avoid."</div>

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Thijs Versloot on 16 Mar 14

Interesting, but is it new? In general, I would say that history has shown us that it is inevitable that civilisations get replaced by new concepts (much is published about this, read eg Fog of War by Jona Lendering on the struggles between civilisations in ancient history, which have remarkably similar issues as today, yet on a different scale of course). "While some members of society might raise the alarm that the system is moving towards an impending collapse and therefore advocate structural changes to society in order to avoid it, Elites and their supporters, who opposed making these changes, could point to the long sustainable trajectory 'so far' in support of doing nothing." I guess this bang on it, the ones that can change the system, are not benefitted by doing so, hence enrichment, depletion, short term gain remain and might even accelerate to compensate for the loss in the rest of the system.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Interesting, but is it new? In general, I would say that history has shown us that it is inevitable that civilisations get replaced by new concepts (much is published about this, read eg Fog of War by Jona Lendering on the struggles between civilisations in ancient history, which have remarkably similar issues as today, yet on a different scale of course). "While some members of society might raise the alarm that the system is moving towards an impending collapse and therefore advocate structural changes to society in order to avoid it, Elites and their supporters, who opposed making these changes, could point to the long sustainable trajectory 'so far' in support of doing nothing." I guess this bang on it, the ones that can change the system, are not benefitted by doing so, hence enrichment, depletion, short term gain remain and might even accelerate to compensate for the loss in the rest of the system.</div>

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Will robots be smarter than humans by 2029? - 2 views

robohub.org/be-smarter-than-humans-by-2029

AI

shared by Guido de Croon on 10 Mar 14 - No Cached

Luís F. Simões, Marcus Maertens, and Daniel Hennes liked it

Guido de Croon on 10 Mar 14

Nice discussion about the singularity. Made me think of drinking coffee with Luis... It raises some issues such as the necessity of embodiment, etc.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Nice discussion about the singularity. Made me think of drinking coffee with Luis... It raises some issues such as the necessity of embodiment, etc.</div>

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...9 more comments...
Luís F. Simões on 12 Mar 14

"Kurzweilians"... LOL. Still not sold on embodiment, btw.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">"Kurzweilians"... LOL. Still not sold on embodiment, btw.</div>

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Ma Ru on 12 Mar 14

The biggest problem with embodiment is that, since the passive walkers (with which it all started), it hasn't delivered anything really interesting...

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">The biggest problem with embodiment is that, since the passive walkers (with which it all started), it hasn't delivered anything really interesting...</div>

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Paul N on 13 Mar 14

The problem with embodiment is that it's done wrong. Embodiment needs to be treated like big data. More sensors, more data, more processing. Just putting a computer in a robot with a camera and microphone is not embodiment.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">The problem with embodiment is that it's done wrong. Embodiment needs to be treated like big data. More sensors, more data, more processing. Just putting a computer in a robot with a camera and microphone is not embodiment.</div>

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Marcus Maertens on 14 Mar 14

I like how he attacks Moore's Law. It always looks a bit naive to me if people start to (ab)use it to make their point. No strong opinion about embodiment.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">I like how he attacks Moore's Law. It always looks a bit naive to me if people start to (ab)use it to make their point. No strong opinion about embodiment.</div>

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johannessimon81 on 14 Mar 14

@Paul: How would embodiment be done RIGHT?

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">@Paul: How would embodiment be done RIGHT?</div>

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Guido de Croon on 16 Mar 14

Embodiment has some obvious advantages. For example, in the vision domain many hard problems become easy when you have a body with which you can take actions (like looking at an object you don't immediately recognize from a different angle) - a point already made by researchers such as Aloimonos.and Ballard in the end 80s / beginning 90s. However, embodiment goes further than gathering information and "mental" recognition. In this respect, the evolutionary robotics work by for example Beer is interesting, where an agent discriminates between diamonds and circles by avoiding one and catching the other, without there being a clear "moment" in which the recognition takes place. "Recognition" is a behavioral property there, for which embodiment is obviously important. With embodiment the effort for recognizing an object behaviorally can be divided between the brain and the body, resulting in less computation for the brain. Also the article "Behavioural Categorisation: Behaviour makes up for bad vision" is interesting in this respect. In the field of embodied cognitive science, some say that recognition is constituted by the activation of sensorimotor correlations. I wonder to which extent this is true, and if it is valid for extremely simple creatures to more advanced ones, but it is an interesting idea nonetheless. This being said, if "embodiment" implies having a physical body, then I would argue that it is not a necessary requirement for intelligence. "Situatedness", being able to take (virtual or real) "actions" that influence the "inputs", may be.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Embodiment has some obvious advantages. For example, in the vision domain many hard problems become easy when you have a body with which you can take actions (like looking at an object you don't immediately recognize from a different angle) - a point already made by researchers such as Aloimonos.and Ballard in the end 80s / beginning 90s. However, embodiment goes further than gathering information and "mental" recognition. In this respect, the evolutionary robotics work by for example Beer is interesting, where an agent discriminates between diamonds and circles by avoiding one and catching the other, without there being a clear "moment" in which the recognition takes place. "Recognition" is a behavioral property there, for which embodiment is obviously important. With embodiment the effort for recognizing an object behaviorally can be divided between the brain and the body, resulting in less computation for the brain. Also the article "Behavioural Categorisation: Behaviour makes up for bad vision" is interesting in this respect. In the field of embodied cognitive science, some say that recognition is constituted by the activation of sensorimotor correlations. I wonder to which extent this is true, and if it is valid for extremely simple creatures to more advanced ones, but it is an interesting idea nonetheless. This being said, if "embodiment" implies having a physical body, then I would argue that it is not a necessary requirement for intelligence. "Situatedness", being able to take (virtual or real) "actions" that influence the "inputs", may be.</div>

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Ma Ru on 17 Mar 14

@Paul While I completely agree about the "embodiment done wrong" (or at least "not exactly correct") part, what you say goes exactly against one of the major claims which are connected with the notion of embodiment (google for "representational bottleneck"). The fact is your brain does *not* have resources to deal with big data. The idea therefore is that it is the body what helps to deal with what to a computer scientist appears like "big data". Understanding how this happens is key. Whether it is the problem of scale or of actually understanding what happens should be quite conclusively shown by the outcomes of the Blue Brain project.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">@Paul While I completely agree about the "embodiment done wrong" (or at least "not exactly correct") part, what you say goes exactly against one of the major claims which are connected with the notion of embodiment (google for "representational bottleneck"). The fact is your brain does *not* have resources to deal with big data. The idea therefore is that it is the body what helps to deal with what to a computer scientist appears like "big data". Understanding how this happens is key. Whether it is the problem of scale or of actually understanding what happens should be quite conclusively shown by the outcomes of the Blue Brain project.</div>

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johannessimon81 on 17 Mar 14

Wouldn't one expect that to produce consciousness (even in a lower form) an approach resembling that of nature would be essential? All animals grow from a very simple initial state (just a few cells) and have only a very limited number of sensors AND processing units. This would allow for a fairly simple way to create simple neural networks and to start up stable neural excitation patterns. Over time as complexity of the body (sensors, processors, actuators) increases the system should be able to adapt in a continuous manner and increase its degree of self-awareness and consciousness. On the other hand, building a simulated brain that resembles (parts of) the human one in its final state seems to me like taking a person who is just dead and trying to restart the brain by means of electric shocks.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Wouldn't one expect that to produce consciousness (even in a lower form) an approach resembling that of nature would be essential? All animals grow from a very simple initial state (just a few cells) and have only a very limited number of sensors AND processing units. This would allow for a fairly simple way to create simple neural networks and to start up stable neural excitation patterns. Over time as complexity of the body (sensors, processors, actuators) increases the system should be able to adapt in a continuous manner and increase its degree of self-awareness and consciousness. On the other hand, building a simulated brain that resembles (parts of) the human one in its final state seems to me like taking a person who is just dead and trying to restart the brain by means of electric shocks.</div>

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Paul N on 17 Mar 14

Actually on a neuronal level all information gets processed. Not all of it makes it into "conscious" processing or attention. Whatever makes it into conscious processing is a highly reduced representation of the data you get. However that doesn't get lost. Basic, low processed data forms the basis of proprioception and reflexes. Every step you take is a macro command your brain issues to the intricate sensory-motor system that puts your legs in motion by actuating every muscle and correcting every step deviation from its desired trajectory using the complicated system of nerve endings and motor commands. Reflexes which were build over the years, as those massive amounts of data slowly get integrated into the nervous system and the the incipient parts of the brain. But without all those sensors scattered throughout the body, all the little inputs in massive amounts that slowly get filtered through, you would not be able to experience your body, and experience the world. Every concept that you conjure up from your mind is a sort of loose association of your sensorimotor input. How can a robot understand the concept of a strawberry if all it can perceive of it is its shape and color and maybe the sound that it makes as it gets squished? How can you understand the "abstract" notion of strawberry without the incredibly sensible tactile feel, without the act of ripping off the stem, without the motor action of taking it to our mouths, without its texture and taste? When we as humans summon the strawberry thought, all of these concepts and ideas converge (distributed throughout the neurons in our minds) to form this abstract concept formed out of all of these many many correlations. A robot with no touch, no taste, no delicate articulate motions, no "serious" way to interact with and perceive its environment, no massive flow of information from which to chose and and reduce, will never attain human level intelligence. That's point 1. Point 2 is that mere pattern recogn

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Actually on a neuronal level all information gets processed. Not all of it makes it into "conscious" processing or attention. Whatever makes it into conscious processing is a highly reduced representation of the data you get. However that doesn't get lost. Basic, low processed data forms the basis of proprioception and reflexes. Every step you take is a macro command your brain issues to the intricate sensory-motor system that puts your legs in motion by actuating every muscle and correcting every step deviation from its desired trajectory using the complicated system of nerve endings and motor commands. Reflexes which were build over the years, as those massive amounts of data slowly get integrated into the nervous system and the the incipient parts of the brain. But without all those sensors scattered throughout the body, all the little inputs in massive amounts that slowly get filtered through, you would not be able to experience your body, and experience the world. Every concept that you conjure up from your mind is a sort of loose association of your sensorimotor input. How can a robot understand the concept of a strawberry if all it can perceive of it is its shape and color and maybe the sound that it makes as it gets squished? How can you understand the "abstract" notion of strawberry without the incredibly sensible tactile feel, without the act of ripping off the stem, without the motor action of taking it to our mouths, without its texture and taste? When we as humans summon the strawberry thought, all of these concepts and ideas converge (distributed throughout the neurons in our minds) to form this abstract concept formed out of all of these many many correlations. A robot with no touch, no taste, no delicate articulate motions, no "serious" way to interact with and perceive its environment, no massive flow of information from which to chose and and reduce, will never attain human level intelligence. That's point 1. Point 2 is that mere pattern recogn</div>

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Ma Ru on 18 Mar 14

All information *that gets processed* gets processed but now we arrived at a tautology. The whole problem is ultimately nobody knows what gets processed (not to mention how). In fact an absolute statement "all information" gets processed is very easy to dismiss because the characteristics of our sensors are such that a lot of information is filtered out already at the input level (e.g. eyes). I'm not saying it's not a valid and even interesting assumption, but it's still just an assumption and the next step is to explore scientifically where it leads you. And until you show its superiority experimentally it's as good as all other alternative assumptions you can make. I only wanted to point out is that "more processing" is not exactly compatible with some of the fundamental assumptions of the embodiment. I recommend Wilson, 2002 as a crash course.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">All information *that gets processed* gets processed but now we arrived at a tautology. The whole problem is ultimately nobody knows what gets processed (not to mention how). In fact an absolute statement "all information" gets processed is very easy to dismiss because the characteristics of our sensors are such that a lot of information is filtered out already at the input level (e.g. eyes). I'm not saying it's not a valid and even interesting assumption, but it's still just an assumption and the next step is to explore scientifically where it leads you. And until you show its superiority experimentally it's as good as all other alternative assumptions you can make. I only wanted to point out is that "more processing" is not exactly compatible with some of the fundamental assumptions of the embodiment. I recommend Wilson, 2002 as a crash course.</div>

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Paul N on 24 Mar 14

These deal with different things in human intelligence. One is the depth of the intelligence (how much of the bigger picture can you see, how abstract can you form concept and ideas), another is the breadth of the intelligence (how well can you actually generalize, how encompassing those concepts are and what is the level of detail in which you perceive all the information you have) and another is the relevance of the information (this is where the embodiment comes in. What you do is to a purpose, tied into the environment and ultimately linked to survival). As far as I see it, these form the pillars of human intelligence, and of the intelligence of biological beings. They are quite contradictory to each other mainly due to physical constraints (such as for example energy usage, and training time). "More processing" is not exactly compatible with some aspects of embodiment, but it is important for human level intelligence. Embodiment is necessary for establishing an environmental context of actions, a constraint space if you will, failure of human minds (i.e. schizophrenia) is ultimately a failure of perceived embodiment. What we do know is that we perform a lot of compression and a lot of integration on a lot of data in an environmental coupling. Imo, take any of these parts out, and you cannot attain human+ intelligence. Vary the quantities and you'll obtain different manifestations of intelligence, from cockroach to cat to google to random quake bot. Increase them all beyond human levels and you're on your way towards the singularity.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">These deal with different things in human intelligence. One is the depth of the intelligence (how much of the bigger picture can you see, how abstract can you form concept and ideas), another is the breadth of the intelligence (how well can you actually generalize, how encompassing those concepts are and what is the level of detail in which you perceive all the information you have) and another is the relevance of the information (this is where the embodiment comes in. What you do is to a purpose, tied into the environment and ultimately linked to survival). As far as I see it, these form the pillars of human intelligence, and of the intelligence of biological beings. They are quite contradictory to each other mainly due to physical constraints (such as for example energy usage, and training time). "More processing" is not exactly compatible with some aspects of embodiment, but it is important for human level intelligence. Embodiment is necessary for establishing an environmental context of actions, a constraint space if you will, failure of human minds (i.e. schizophrenia) is ultimately a failure of perceived embodiment. What we do know is that we perform a lot of compression and a lot of integration on a lot of data in an environmental coupling. Imo, take any of these parts out, and you cannot attain human+ intelligence. Vary the quantities and you'll obtain different manifestations of intelligence, from cockroach to cat to google to random quake bot. Increase them all beyond human levels and you're on your way towards the singularity.</div>

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Worlds first 3D acoustic cloaking device - 1 views

phys.org/...-acoustic-cloaking-device.html

cloak technology

shared by Thijs Versloot on 12 Mar 14 - No Cached

Thijs Versloot on 12 Mar 14

Using little more than a few perforated sheets of plastic and a staggering amount of number crunching, Duke engineers have demonstrated the world's first three-dimensional acoustic cloak. The new device reroutes sound waves to create the impression that both the cloak and anything beneath it are not there.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Using little more than a few perforated sheets of plastic and a staggering amount of number crunching, Duke engineers have demonstrated the world's first three-dimensional acoustic cloak. The new device reroutes sound waves to create the impression that both the cloak and anything beneath it are not there.</div>

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