Technology & AI

Discover, November 5 2010.

Microsoft researchers in Beijing are trying to best Google maps by culling knowledge from a mythical beast known as the taxi driver. The Microsoft folks are trying to improve their online maps using the cabbies’ deep knowledge of Beijing.

The problem with typical maps and the directions they offer is that the shortest route isn’t always the fastest route. In big cities, cabbies know which side streets offer shortcuts, and what areas of the city to avoid at which times. The researchers are trying to rake that data out of the cabbies’ habits by analyzing the GPS data from over 33,000 taxis in Beijing. Read More >

Discover, November 3 2010.

Is 3D technology the next big wave in video? Or should we skip right ahead to holography? New research is developing ways to stream almost-live video to holographic display, providing a three-dimensional, realistic image without the need for those dorky plastic 3D glasses. And before you ask–yes, this does bring us one step closer to living in a Star Wars world, where holographic princesses deliver desperate pleas for help.

This is the first time researchers [have demonstrated] an optical material that can display “holographic video,” as oppose to static holograms found in credit cards and product packages. The prototype looks like a chunk of acrylic, but it’s actually an exotic material, called a photorefractive polymer, with remarkable holographic properties. Read More >

Discover, November 3 2010.

This little laser-powered quadracopter broke a world record on October 28th by flying for over 12 hours with the help of lasers from the ground. The previous record for laser-powered flight was 6 hours. The laser beam that powered the ‘copter’s batteries has the strength of 250,000 laser pointers.

The technology was developed by LaserMotive, a company developing beaming technologies to make power wireless (and obviously awesome). The system of mirrors and lenses on the ground beamed the laser up to the craft 30 feet overhead, where the laser beam charged photovoltaic cells on the underside of the craft. The laser supplied the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with 2.5 kilowatts of power, which the team explained to MSNBC’s Cosmic Log isn’t all that much. Read More >

Discover, November 2 2010.

Last week an account going by the name @PeaceKaren_25 was suspended by Twitter.com. We wouldn’t normally care about some spambot getting picked off, but PeaceKaren is important because she wasn’t peddling porn or popups–she was a political puppet. Karen and her sister account @HopeMarie_25 are examples of political “astroturf,” fake Twitter accounts that create the illusion of a “grassroots” political movement.

In the diagram above, the two accounts are connected by a very thick band, which indicates that Marie constantly re-tweeted everything Karen said. Together they sent out over 20,000 tweets in the last four months promoting the Twitter account and website of Republican congressional leader John Boehner. Read More >

Discover, November 1 2010.

A glitch in the iPhone’s alarm software gave many Europeans an extra dose of sleep this morning, when their alarms went off an hour later than expected.

While the time on the phone correctly “fell backward” with Europe’s scheduled switch from daylight saving time, because of a software bug the alarm function didn’t recognize the switch, and all recurring alarms went off an hour later than intended. Frustrated iPhone users took to twitter… Read More >

Discover, October 29 2010.

Ncell, a subsidiary of the Swedish telecom company TeliaSonera, has installed a 3G data network in a Nepalese town that should reach the summit of Mount Everest. This high up, high-tech improvement will allow summit-ers to communicate with friends, family, and organizers from the top of the world.

A phone base station was set up near the town of Gorakshep at 17,000 feet above sea level, and the signal should reach to the peak about 12,000 feet above that, telecom officials said–but it hasn’t been tested yet. The service should be fast enough to allow adventurers to make video calls and surf the Internet from their phones. Read More >

Discover, October 25 2010.

The virtual world is getting more realistic. New animation advancements in true-to-reality rumpling of clothes and face reddening are pushing us closer to the event horizon of the Uncanny Valley. The first advancement is an algorithm designed to give animated clothes life-like wrinkling and crumpling while you are besting that orc. While more realistically rendered clothing won’t increase your manna, it may make digital effects in the next Matrix movie even better, New Scientist reports:

“This is exactly what people like me want,” says Andy Lomas, a software developer who produced digital effects for the film The Matrix and is based at computer graphics firm The Foundry in London. “I want to be able to capture the fundamental nature of an actor’s clothing, but also have the freedom to change the way he or she moves.” Read More >