Back in June, London’s transit corporation decided to release all of its information about bus and train departures to the public. That way, administrators probably figured, eager developers could use that data to build better transit apps. But the move has also resulted in some pretty interesting creative projects, too—like this one, which lets users navigate through a 3D model of the Tube.
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A year ago, pod-shaped recycling bins were installed all over the UK by Renew London. The so-called “smart bins” definitely look better than your average trash can. Now, you might be wondering, why would trash cans have Wi-Fi capabilities and an LCD installed on front?
The answer, my friends, is advertising. Targeted advertising.
The bin looks for smartphones nearby that have their Wi-Fi turned on. It then logs their MAC address and calculates the “proximity, speed, duration and manufacturer” of each device. It tracks the phone owner’s actions to then display targeted adverts on the screen, which will play as they walk past the bin.
Sounds smart, right? Yeah, definitely, but it’s rubbing a lot of people the wrong way because of privacy issues. To be honest, I’d be pretty irked, too, if this phone was tracking what I was doing just so it could show me an ad or two when I walk past the bin.
So it was only a matter of time before the bins had their Wi-Fi and tracking capabilities pulled. The City of London has called on Renew to stop recording people’s movements, so Londoners can breathe a sigh of relief now.
The City of London released the following statement:
We have already asked the firm concerned to stop this data collection immediately. We have also taken the issue to the Information Commissioner’s Office. Irrespective of what’s technically possible, anything that happens like this on the streets needs to be done carefully, with the backing of an informed public.
[via C|NET]
Google maps has a special treat for Doctor Who fans. And I’m not talking about “Bad Wolf” showing up in various locations either. If you go to the Police Box on Earls Court Road in London on Google Maps, they’ll show you the inside of a TARDIS!
You can find more pictures under “more info” at the site, or just mouse over the Street View below, click on the double arrow on the street, and go inside. It’s definitely bigger on the inside.
Interestingly, this spot has some good reviews. Of course. It’s not going to be bad when you have a TARDIS sitting there. But where is the Doctor? Hmmm.
Hey, you know how it is. One minute you’re walking down a London street, minding your own business, when you accidentally step into a police call box and all of a sudden you’re inside the TARDIS and the Doctor has enlisted your help fighting aliens. I hate when that happens.
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As quickly as it began, the UK’s long national nightmare of spying trash cans is over. Within days of reporting that the city’s "smart bins" would be equipped with smartphone-tracking software, Quartz has confirmed that city officials are shutting the whole thing down.
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Apparently, slime mold has feelings too. Researchers at the University of the West of England have a bit of a history with Physarum polycephalum — a light-shy yellow mold known for its ability to seek out the shortest route to food. Now, they’re on a quest to find out why the organism’s so darn smart, and the first in their series of experiments equates the yellow goo’s movements to human emotions. The team measured electrical signals the mold produced when moving across micro-electrodes, converting the collected data into sounds. This audio data was weighted against a psychological model and translated into a corresponding emotion. Data collected when the mold was moving across food, for instance, correspond to joy, while anger was derived from the colony’s reaction to light.
Unfortunately, mold isn’t the most expressive form of life, so when the team demonstrated the studies results at the Living Machines conference in London, they enlisted the help of a robotic head. Taking cues from a soundtrack based on the mold’s movements, the dismembered automaton reenacts the recorded emotions with stiff smiles and frowns. Yes, it’s as creepy as you might imagine, but those brave enough can watch it go through a cycle of emotions in the video after the break.
[Image credit: Jerry Kirkhart / Flickr]
Via: The Verge
Source: New Scientist
Smartphone usage levels have basically exploded all over the place in recent years, and the number is most significant in urban centers simply because the infrastructure is there, there is a bevy of apps on your smartphone which has been deemed to be indispensable to many, and of course, peer pressure would play a role, too, not to mention the want for a better life. The thing is, this has also led to a corresponding rise in smartphone thefts, and in order to go up against the scourge of smartphone theft that is becoming increasingly more common, public officials, law enforcements agents, and a slew of other public workers have rallied together in cities like New York and San Francisco, with London being the latest city to have signed up with the Secure our Smartphones (SOS) initiative.
The SOS initiative will see a fair amount of professionals who will work with smartphone manufacturers so that theft deterrents for smartphones can be incorporated into future designs. London Mayor Boris Johnson dropped his views on why London has to join up with the SOS alliance, “Residents and visitors to our city need better protection from the menace of smartphone theft […] We need the industry to take this issue seriously and come up with a technical solution that can squash the illegal smartphone market that is fuelling this crime.” Let us hope that this is less of talk, and of course, more action!
London Signs Up For Secure Our Smartphones (SOS) Initiative original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Unless you actually work in robotics, you probably don’t get to see too many mechanical masterpieces in person. If you live in London, however, you’ve got at least one chance: the Italian Institute of Technology is slated to showcase its Hydrolic Quadruped robot (HyQ) in public for the first time. Starting August 1st, the four-legged assemblage of metal will be on display at London’s Natural History Museum as part of the Living Machines Conference. It’s the original model that’s going to be part of the event, though, so visitors won’t be able to watch the latest model’s new trick: stepping over obstacles like a boss. The new HyQ’s step reflex algorithm was developed to help it navigate rugged terrain by reacting to physical barriers. Because the unit’s legs feel out obstacles, the robot can now avoid stumbling in low-visibility areas — potentially preventing saving millions of dollars in limb repair. Although you can’t see the upgraded HyQ out in public, you can watch it conquer 11-centimeter planks in the video after the break.
Filed under: Robots
Do you ever wish you lived in a video game? But not like a fancy Xbox game or anything like that. Do you ever wish you lived in Legend of Zelda except with all the comforts of home? If yes, then Brett Camper’s 8-bit city maps are for you.
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Here’s one for the medical journals: researchers at London’s Imperial College have created a high-tech scalpel that can differentiate between cancerous and non-cancerous tissue as it cuts. The team calls it the iKnife (intelligent knife), and by analyzing vapors created during electrosurgical dissection in real time, it takes only seconds to distinguish healthy flesh from affected tissue. The device’s inventor, Zoltan Takats, says it has the potential to speed up cancer surgery considerably, as current analysis techniques performed mid-operation can take up to 30 minutes. It could also prevent follow-up surgeries prompted by undetected cancer cells. Unfortunately, the iKnife still has to go through more tests before we can add it to our arsenal of weapons against cancer — until then, we’ll just have to make do with run-of-the-mill electrosurgical knives.
[Image credit: Markus]
Via: Reuters, The Telegraph
Source: Science Translational Medicine
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