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Comment Next step in Artificial Intelligence (Score 0) 42

by DaemonDan (#42016065) Attached to: Teaching Robots New Tricks Without Programming
As someone already mentioned, the robots obviously have to be programmed to learn new tricks via "non-traditional" programming. I still think that this is a big step in AI tech though, because these robots are programmed to add to/edit their own programming based on their interactions with the world. By being guided through certain actions they've never done before they learn how to do them on their own. It's still a far-cry from advanced AI, but it's an important step.
Science

Submission + - Super Material Can Stop Speeding Bullet (yahoo.com)

Submitted by davidshenba
davidshenba writes: Researchers at a Rice University lab are researching technology that that could potentially stop a 9-millimeter bullet and seal the entryway behind it. When penetrated by a tiny projectile at a high velocity, the material melted into a liquid that stopped the fast-moving object and actually sealed the hole it made. During their research, they found an excellent model material called a polystyrene-polydimethylsiloxane diblock-copolymer. Using two different methods, the team was eventually able to cross-section the structure to determine the depth of the bullets, and according to their study, the layers showed the ability to deform without breaking.
Privacy

Submission + - Privacy Violation in Chase Bank's iOS app (demonarchives.com) 2

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The Chase Bank iOS application does not uninstall cleanly and shows your sensitive account alerts to subsequent installations of the app. Alerts for previous accounts include the last four of account numbers, account and transaction balances, and date and place identifier information. This has been reproduced using the latest iOS and app as well as previous versions over the last 5 month period. Despite numerous phone calls, emails, and twitter conversations, it appears that Chase is not taking this seriously.

Until they do, be very careful loaning or selling any iOS device to which you have previously setup the Chase Mobile Banking application.

TLDR; The Chase Bank iOS application does not uninstall cleanly and shows your sensitive account alerts to subsequent installations of the app.

Comment Re:mechwarrior (Score 1) 139

by DaemonDan (#41998607) Attached to: Artificial Muscles Pack a Mean Punch
You've got a great point there. While the numbers are impressive (85 times more powerful?), the heating and cooling systems would have to be pretty efficient for it to be useful. The article also doesn't say how long it takes the fibers to recharge between twitches. Still, I think it's exciting, but that might just be because I'm writing a mechwarrior story with artificial muscles :)
Science

Submission + - Artificial Muscles Pack a Mean Punch (sciencemag.org)

Submitted by sciencehabit
sciencehabit writes: Here's a twist: Scientists have designed a flexible, yarnlike artificial muscle that can also pack a punch. It can contract in 25 milliseconds—a fraction of the time it takes to blink an eye—and can generate power 85 times as great as a similarly sized human muscle. The new muscles are made of carbon nanotubes filled with paraffin wax that can twist or stretch in response to heat or electricity. When the temperature rises, the wax melts and forces the nanotubes to contract. Such artificial muscles, the researchers say, could power smart materials, sensors, robots, and even devices inside the human body.

Comment I did this in school once (Score 5, Insightful) 227

It was a geography class and we were supposed to be countries working together. If everyone in the group chose A, everyone got 1 point, but if anyone chose B, they got several points while everyone else lost points. If everyone chose B, everyone lost points. In only took a couple of rounds before we lost all trust for each other and always picked B, so at least you only lost the same as everyone else. Kind of sad that international politics is often so similar.
Hardware

Submission + - Teaching robots new tricks without programming (gizmag.com) 1

Submitted by cylonlover
cylonlover writes: Maya Cakmak, a researcher from Georgia Tech, spent the summer at Willow Garage creating a user-friendly system that teaches the PR2 robot simple tasks. The kicker is that it doesn't require any traditional programming skills whatsoever – it works by physically guiding the robot's arms while giving it verbal commands. After inviting regular people to give it a try, she found that with few instructions they were able to teach the PR2 how to retrieve medicine from a cabinet and fold a t-shirt.

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