Google Maps creation put under the microscope, reveals a human touch

Google Maps creation put under the microscope, reveals a human touch

They say you should never learn how the sausage gets made, but we’re willing to make an exception for Google Maps. Talking to The Atlantic, Google has revealed just how much the human element figures into all that collected satellite imagery and road data. Many pieces of terrain information are tested and modified against what Google calls Ground Truth: actual driving, alternate sources and sign photos automatically extracted from Street View runs. Google isn’t just making the occasional correction, either. Mapping a country can take hundreds of staff plugging away at the company’s Atlas tool, even before we get a crack with Google Map Maker. The combination of man and machine helps explain why Google Maps is one of the most accurate sources of location information on Earth — although the firm does have some catching up to do in space.

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Google Maps creation put under the microscope, reveals a human touch originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Sep 2012 05:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New beBionic hand almost doubles its grip-strength, steered by user’s electrical ‘skin signals’

New BeBionic hand configures fingers according to user's electrical 'skin signals', grips like a man

RSL Steeper’s beBionic3 still packs the same wireless chip, customizable silicone overlays and speed controls of its predecessor, but is now stronger and more durable. It’s been redesigned with an aluminum chassis and new thumb and can now handle up to 99 pounds of weight, with almost double the grip-strength of its predecessor. The bionic hand traces faint electrical signals across the user’s arm skin, amplifying them to the five digits, which can contort into 14 different grips. The mouse configuration, demonstrated in the video below, lets the user operate both buttons while holding onto the peripheral. The hand will cost between $25,000 and $35,000, depending on both the hardware and software configurations. See how the third-generation bionic limb grabs blocks, ties shoe-laces and wields pens after the break.

Continue reading New beBionic hand almost doubles its grip-strength, steered by user’s electrical ‘skin signals’

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New beBionic hand almost doubles its grip-strength, steered by user’s electrical ‘skin signals’ originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Sep 2012 06:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NASA’s Voyager 1 marks 35th anniversary of its launch, gets photo retrospective in tribute

NASA's Voyager 1 marks its 35th anniversary since launch, gets photo retrospective in tribute

It’s hard to believe at times that the Voyager 1 probe is older than many of us reading this article, but it’s true. The official first part of NASA’s Voyager program launched just over 35 years ago on September 5th, 1977, carrying not just cameras and sensors to capture the trip but the famous Golden Record documenting humanity for any curious aliens. To mark the occasion, Wired has gathered together one heck of a photo album that covers both Voyager 1’s trip as well as that of Voyager 2, which technically launched earlier (August 20th the same year) but took a more roundabout route through the solar system. The gallery reminds us of the amazing scenery beyond Mars and puts our tiny blue ball of a planet in perspective; Earth was just a speck at best when photographed late into Voyager 2’s journey. Perhaps the best news surrounding the milestone is simply that both Voyager probes are still running. At 11 billion miles from the Sun, Voyager 1 may be on the cusp of interstellar space and easily represents the most distant human object ever made, not to mention a record-setter for signal transmissions. There’s even a chance we’ll still be hearing back from the probe for its 50th anniversary — its power could keep it chatting up to roughly 2025.

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NASA’s Voyager 1 marks 35th anniversary of its launch, gets photo retrospective in tribute originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Sep 2012 02:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Researchers take full control of cockroach’s movement, turn it into a wireless sensor

DNP Cockroaches

Built-in power supply? Check. Ability to survive anything? Check. Easy to control? Okay, anyone who’s had a cockroach as an uninvited houseguest knows that’s not the case. So, rather than re-inventing the biological wheel with a robotic version, North Carolina State university researchers have figured out a way to remotely control a real Madagascar hissing cockroach. They used an off-the-shelf microcontroller to tap in to the roach’s antennae and abdomen, then sent commands that fooled the insect into thinking danger was near, or that an object was blocking it. That let the scientists wirelessly prod the insect into action, then guide it precisely along a curved path, as shown in the video below the break. The addition of a sensor could allow the insects to one day perform tasks, liking searching for trapped disaster victims — something to think about the next time you put a shoe to one.

Continue reading Researchers take full control of cockroach’s movement, turn it into a wireless sensor

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Researchers take full control of cockroach’s movement, turn it into a wireless sensor originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Sep 2012 11:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Scientists develop pair of algorithms that could enable thermal cameras to pick out drunk people

Scientists develop pair of algorithms that could enable thermal cameras to pick out drunk people

We’re not sure if Georgia Koukiou and Vassilis Anastassopoulos of the University of Patras in Greece like a tipple or not, but the pair have developed two algorithms that, when used with thermal imaging, could pick out drunk people in crowds. What is it that betrays your best intentions to look sober? As always, your face. Booze causes the blood-vessels in your visage to dilate, and the researchers used this principle to compare facial scans against a database of tipple-free mug shots. Likewise the duo found that when under the influence, the nose gets warmer, while the forehead cools — another visual check that the infrared can help identify. The hope is that using this technology, law-enforcement can make a judgement call based on more than just your wonky walk. But in our experience, the troublemakers are pretty good at outing themselves.

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Scientists develop pair of algorithms that could enable thermal cameras to pick out drunk people originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 16:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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50 quadrocopters take to Austria’s skies for synchronized swarm (video)

50 quadrocopters take to Austria's skies for synchronized swarm

If AscTec’s Hummingbird quadrocopters continue to fly around in your nightmares, you might not want to watch their latest video — even if they resemble hypnotic robot fireworks. Ars Electronica Futurelab and Ascending Technologies teamed up for this latest show, programming 50 LED-equipped quadrocopters to frolic over the Danube last week. Watch them dance after the break.

Continue reading 50 quadrocopters take to Austria’s skies for synchronized swarm (video)

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50 quadrocopters take to Austria’s skies for synchronized swarm (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 08:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New York bookshop launches rescue mission to digitize out-of-print sci-fi titles

NY bookshop launches rescue mission to digitize outofprint scifi books

Singularity & Co aims to rescue near-extinct 20th century sci-fi titles to ensure they still exist in the next one. Established from a Kickstarter campaign, the small team has already digitized and published A Plunge Into Space and The Torch, both with new cover art, while its third title required a thousand-mile journey to scan its contents from a university archive. While Mr. Stranger’s Sealed Packet is out of copyright, many education establishments weren’t willing to let anyone scan its edition of such rare books. Talking to Ars Technica, Ash Kalb added: “If you’re part of that university or that consortium then you have access to that book. If you don’t then you don’t.” The republishing group, which ensures it doesn’t tread on any existing copyright toes, also offers up a better deal to authors and author estates, in addition to reviving interest in long-gone books. Singularity and Co’s now opened its bricks-and-mortar doors in Brooklyn, or you grab more details and updates on their progress at the source below.

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New York bookshop launches rescue mission to digitize out-of-print sci-fi titles originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Sep 2012 21:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Max Planck Institute sequences genome of Siberian girl from 80,000 years ago, smashes DNA barriers

Max Planck Institute sequences genome of Siberian girl from 80,000 years ago, smashes DNA barriers

We’ve known little of the genetic sequences of our precursors, despite having found many examples of their remains: the requirement for two strands in traditional DNA sequencing isn’t much help when we’re usually thankful to get just one. The Max Planck Institute has devised a new, single-strand technique that may very well fill in the complete picture. Binding specific molecules to a strand, so enzymes can copy the sequence, has let researchers make at least one pass over 99.9 percent of the genome of a Siberian girl from roughly 80,000 years ago — giving science the most complete genetic picture of any human ancestor to date, all from the one bone you see above. The gene map tells us that the brown-skinned, brown-eyed, brown-haired girl was part of a splinter population known as the Denisovans that sat in between Neanderthals and ourselves, having forked the family tree hundreds of thousands of years before today. It also shows that there’s a small trace of Denisovans and their Neanderthal roots in modern East Asia, which we would never have known just by staring at fossils. Future discoveries could take years to leave an impact, but MPI may have just opened the floodgates of knowledge for our collective history.

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Max Planck Institute sequences genome of Siberian girl from 80,000 years ago, smashes DNA barriers originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Sep 2012 01:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alt-week 9.1.12: growing bones, repairing voices, and a pair of satellites

Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days.

Alt-week 9.1.12: growing bones, repairing voices, and a pair of satellites

There’s definitely more than a touch of a biological theme to proceedings this week. In fact, so much so that we thought we might well end up with enough ingredients to make our own cyborg. Or rather, a light-responding canine cyborg with a really cool voice. Yep, science and technology is working hard to make all of these things possible — albeit independently. If science ever does do the right thing, and pool its resources on such a project, you can thanks us for the tip off. This is Alt-week.

Continue reading Alt-week 9.1.12: growing bones, repairing voices, and a pair of satellites

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Alt-week 9.1.12: growing bones, repairing voices, and a pair of satellites originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Sep 2012 17:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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University of Michigan’s Computer and Video Game Archive houses over 3,000 different games, roughly 35 unique consoles (video)

University of Michigan's Computer and Video Game Archive houses over 3,000 different games, roughly 35 unique consoles (video)

Systems such as the ColecoVision, TurboGrafx-16 and 3DO may have been ousted from most home entertainment centers long ago, but they still have shelf space at the University of Michigan’s Computer and Video Game Archive. Slashdot caught up with Engineering Librarian and Video Game Archivist Dave Carter and took a look inside the repository, which has curated around 35 classic and current-gen platforms and more than 3,000 different games. Having “one of everything” is the project’s ultimate goal, but the logistics of acquiring every new game make achieving that feat a stretch. “Our realistic goal is to be sort of representative of the history of video games, what was important — what was interesting,” Carter said. “And then, not only to preserve the games, but also to preserve the game playing experience.” As a “useable archive,” patrons of UM’s library can dig in and play at different stations with era-appropriate monitors and displays. While many visit for leisure, students have used the resource to research topics ranging from music composition to the effects of texting while driving (using an Xbox 360 racing title and steering wheel peripheral, of course). You can catch a glimpse of the collection in the video below or visit the archive’s blog at the more coverage link.

Continue reading University of Michigan’s Computer and Video Game Archive houses over 3,000 different games, roughly 35 unique consoles (video)

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University of Michigan’s Computer and Video Game Archive houses over 3,000 different games, roughly 35 unique consoles (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 20:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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