The perks of being an 'eyeborg'

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"I am a cyborg so I should be able to figure this out," says filmmaker and self-styled "eyeborg" Rob Spence, fiddling with the projector at the PINC 15 conference in the Netherlands.

There are generally two reactions people have when Spence tells them he has an eye camera, he says. Either they think it's cool, or they think it's creepy. "I think this is because the eyes are supposed to be the window to the soul, not to YouTube."

When you have your eye out, he says, they put in a ball of sea coral in the socket because blood vessels and muscles grow into the sea coral before they insert a peg. "I decided to wear an eyepatch -- mostly because women like it better. Why not be totally different rather than trying to be the same?"

"Unfortunately my eye is in the garage right now," Spence tells the audience. A common misconception is that people think it is in some way connected to his brain he says, whereas it's actually a standalone unit, that can be taken in and about and cleaned "a little bit like earrings".

When Spence lost his eye by holding a shotgun up to a face "like they do in the movies", he was already a filmmaker. At the time he was working on a comedy called Let's All Hate Toronto, but when he got his camera eye, he decided he would use it to go out and film other bionic people. "I know a bunch of cyborgs -- we call each other."

"Unlike you humans, I can upgrade my eye," he quips. "It's a place to play when you have a part of your body missing." He talks about the link between pop culture and his eye -- when he put a module in it that had a 40 cent LED light in it, the press went wild for it, because it made him look like a science fiction cyborg. "If you have a pacemaker are you a cyborg? If you have contact lenses are you a cyborg? Not really. If you have a forty-cent LED light? Yes you're a cyborg."

Spence has also looked at creating a mobile eye transmitter, although while the human body can in some ways be a pretty good antenna, this is not always the case, he says, pointing to an RF transmitter. "If I were to stick this inside a ham, those are the sort of issues I have."

When Spence first got his eye, there was something of a Star Trek element to it, meaning it retained more of a cool factor. But more recently people have increasingly been questioning it and focussing on the creepy factor. "We have Google Glass now so this is more on people's minds these days," he says. He tells the audience that initially the anti-Glass people tried to recruit him to be part of their campaign, but that he felt it would have been a "little hypocritical" of him to join in.

What Spence is interested in now though is the question of whether people are still terrified of Big Brother, as he was when he read George Orwell growing up, or whether they're now more afraid of Little Brother. "Even in police states, are you more afraid of the big camera, or the person with the little camera?"

People are increasingly going to have video and it will eventually become part of our bodies, believes Spence. "It's going to become all video, all the time." As such, for his next project, he's going to take on one man who knows all about the dangers of the small camera -- Mayor of Toronto Rob Ford, who was famously caught in camera smoking crack. Spence plans to stand for mayor himself while reprising his role as Mr Toronto in the film Let's All Hate Toronto 2.

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Beautiful Beaches in Thailand – Maya Bay, ‘The Beach’ on Ko Phi Phi Leh – Video

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Beautiful Beaches in Thailand - Maya Bay, #39;The Beach #39; on Ko Phi Phi Leh
This is filmed at Maya Bay on Ko Phi Phi Leh , the beach from the movie #39;The Beach #39; with Leonardo DiCaprio. Stunning vertical cliffs capped with green foliage...

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Beautiful Beaches in Thailand - Maya Bay, 'The Beach' on Ko Phi Phi Leh - Video

North East beaches are among the best – and now it's official!

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The North East's beaches have won four Blue Flag and eight Seaside awards from Keep Britain Tidy

The North East has some of the best beaches in the country, new awards show.

A number of beaches on Tyneside have been given awards by Keep Britain Tidy, with four - Longsands and King Edwards Bay in Tynemouth, Whitley Bay and Sandhaven Beach in South Shields - rewarded for their exceptional cleanliness and water quality with a coveted Blue Flag.

Its fantastic news for everyone who loves visiting the seaside that 12 beaches will be flying a flag in the North East that guarantees the public the best facilities and the cleanest beaches this summer, Richard McIlwain, of Keep Britain Tidy, said.

We know that for many holiday makers and daytrippers clean, safe beaches, with good water quality and facilities are important factors in deciding which beach to visit and the continuing quality of management at these beaches is a real testament to the dedication, hard work and investment that local authorities and other beach managers put in year after year.

Steve Dryden

Readers' pictures of the best beaches in the North East

We have some fantastic coastline and we know that communities up and down the country love their beaches.

They provide opportunities for people to get outside, relax and have fun for free, while visitors to our beaches often provide support for local jobs and inward investment at sea front resorts.

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North East beaches are among the best - and now it's official!

Artificial Intelligence & Kathy Brown – Somebody To Love (Massappeals Remix) – Video

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Artificial Intelligence Kathy Brown - Somebody To Love (Massappeals Remix)
Nine Cherries - The music you wish you already knew Awesome remix (but not finished, so we wait for more!). Enjoy! Show some love to Massappeals: https://sou...

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IBM acquires artificial intelligence firm Cognea

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May 20, 2014 - 16:09 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - IBM has acquired artificial intelligence specialist Cognea in a move designed to enhance its Watson cognitive computing technology by bringing more natural interaction to the tool, according to V3.

In a blog post, Watson group senior vice-president Michael Rhodin said the deal will help to change the way people interact with computers: "For decades, moviemakers and TV producers have featured talking computers as futuristic props," he said.

"Yet, even though the way we interact with computers has come a long way since the days of punch cards, in large part we are still forced to deal with them mainly on their terms and hampered by their limitations. Not much longer."

Rhodin said Cognea's "virtual assistants" would help to make using computers a more individualistic, conversational and communicative experience.

"We're working on a host of technologies - a set of conversational services - aimed at enriching the relationship between you and the system," he said. "These conversational services range from helping systems understand us as individuals to selecting the appropriate words and responses that are most meaningful to each of us."

He touted the ability Cognea offers to create a raft of virtual assistants - "from suit-and-tie formal to kid-next-door friendly" - as ideal for meeting the needs of businesses in numerous sectors.

"We believe this focus on creating depth of personality, when combined with an understanding of the users' personalities, will create a new level of interaction that is far beyond today's 'talking' smartphones."

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. IBM said that it would continue to invest in companies and has a $100mln fund at its disposal.

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IBM acquires artificial intelligence firm Cognea

The Age of Quantum Computing Has (Almost) Arrived

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Better yet, Rose and Ladizinsky predicted that a quantum annealer wouldnt be as fragile as a gate system. They wouldnt need to precisely time the interactions of individual qubits. And they suspected their machine would work even if only some of the qubits were entangled or tunneling; those functioning qubits would still help solve the problem more quickly. And since the answer a quantum annealer kicks out is the lowest energy state, they also expected it would be more robust, more likely to survive the observation an operator has to make to get the answer out. The adiabatic model is intrinsically just less corrupted by noise, says Williams, the guy who wrote the book that got Rose started.

By 2003, that vision was attracting investment. Venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson wanted to get in on what he saw as the next big wave of computing that would propel machine intelligence everywherefrom search engines to self-driving cars. A smart Wall Street bank, Jurvetson says, could get a huge edge on its competition by being the first to use a quantum computer to create ever-smarter trading algorithms. He imagines himself as a banker with a D-Wave machine: A torrent of cash comes my way if I do this well, he says. And for a bank, the $10 million cost of a computer is peanuts. Oh, by the way, maybe I buy exclusive access to D-Wave. Maybe I buy all your capacity! Thats just, like, a no-brainer to me. D-Wave pulled in $100 million from investors like Jeff Bezos and In-Q-Tel, the venture capital arm of the CIA.

The D-Wave team huddled in a rented lab at the University of British Columbia, trying to learn how to control those tiny loops of niobium. Soon they had a one-qubit system. It was a crappy, duct-taped-together thing, Rose says. Then we had two qubits. And then four. When their designs got more complicated, they moved to larger-scale industrial fabrication.

As I watch, Hilton pulls out one of the wafers just back from the fab facility. Its a shiny black disc the size of a large dinner plate, inscribed with 130 copies of their latest 512-qubit chip. Peering in closely, I can just make out the chips, each about 3 millimeters square. The niobium wire for each qubit is only 2 microns wide, but its 700 microns long. If you squint very closely you can spot one: a piece of the quantum world, visible to the naked eye.

Hilton walks to one of the giant, refrigerated D-Wave black boxes and opens the door. Inside, an inverted pyramid of wire-bedecked, gold-plated copper discs hangs from the ceiling. This is the guts of the device. It looks like a steampunk chandelier, but as Hilton explains, the gold plating is key: It conducts heatnoiseup and out of the device. At the bottom of the chandelier, hanging at chest height, is what they call the coffee can, the enclosure for the chip. This is where we go from our everyday world, Hilton says, to a unique place in the universe.

By 2007, D-Wave had managed to produce a 16-qubit system, the first one complicated enough to run actual problems. They gave it three real-world challenges: solving a sudoku, sorting people at a dinner table, and matching a molecule to a set of molecules in a database. The problems wouldnt challenge a decrepit Dell. But they were all about optimization, and the chip actually solved them. That was really the first time when I said, holy crap, you know, this things actually doing what we designed it to do, Rose says. Back then we had no idea if it was going to work at all. But 16 qubits wasnt nearly enough to tackle a problem that would be of value to a paying customer. He kept pushing his team, producing up to three new designs a year, always aiming to cram more qubits together.

When the team gathers for lunch in D-Waves conference room, Rose jokes about his own reputation as a hard-driving taskmaster. Hilton is walking around showing off the 512-qubit chip that Google just bought, but Rose is demanding the 1,000-qubit one. Were never happy, Rose says. We always want something better.

Geordie always focuses on the trajectory, Hilton says. He always wants whats next.

In 2010, D-Waves first customers came calling. Lockheed Martin was wrestling with particularly tough optimization problems in their flight control systems. So a manager named Greg Tallant took a team to Burnaby. We were intrigued with what we saw, Tallant says. But they wanted proof. They gave D-Wave a test: Find the error in an algorithm. Within a few weeks, D-Wave developed a way to program its machine to find the error. Convinced, Lockheed Martin leased a $10 million, 128-qubit machine that would live at a USC lab.

The next clients were Google and NASA. Hartmut Neven was another old friend of Roses; they shared a fascination with machine intelligence, and Neven had long hoped to start a quantum lab at Google. NASA was intrigued, because it often faced wickedly hard best-fit problems. We have the Curiosity rover on Mars, and if we want to move it from point A to point B there are a lot of possible routesthats a classic optimization problem, says NASAs Rupak Biswas. But before Google executives would put down millions, they wanted to know the D-Wave worked. In the spring of 2013, Rose agreed to hire a third party to run a series of Neven-designed tests, pitting D-Wave against traditional optimizers running on regular computers. Catherine McGeoch, a computer scientist at Amherst College, agreed to run the tests, but only under the condition that she report her results publicly.

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The Age of Quantum Computing Has (Almost) Arrived

Artificial intelligence lenses for the blind created

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7 hours ago

Combining computational geometry, artificial intelligence, geo and ultrasound techniques, among others, scientists from the Center for Research and Advanced Studies (CINVESTAV) created a device to help people with low vision or blindness to navigate more easily.

This project, developed in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, began formally in 2009, and in less than five years a prototype was created and is about to be transferred to the technology company Qualtop, said Eduardo Jos Bayro Corrochano, project leader.

The navigation device consists of glasses with stereo sound sensors, GPS technology and a tablet, which guides the blind person to a specific point and avoids hitting static or moving obstacles, also recognizes money bills of various denominations, and color of clothing.

The expert, who also developed the first inexpensive humanoid robot in Mexico called Mexone, said it was from progress made during his research in robotics that he considered using stereoscopic vision algorithms in a guiding device for people with visual disability.

The idea came from a doctoral thesis at the CINVESTAV on the use of stereoscopic vision lenses designed for people with blindness. To do this, the researchers went to the School for Blind Girls in Guadalajara, which addresses this type of disabilities, in order to meet the needs of the visually impaired.

It was after the financial support of the National Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT) in 2012 and 2013 when they could accelerate the development of the lens, set the hardware, adapt processors and try different types of sensors used in the device.

"We currently have a light weight, ergonomically acceptable prototype since it almost looks like a normal pair of glasses and can work in real time with batteries that last approximately four hours in continuous use. We hope to have a commercial prototype by next August at the latest, and being able to market it in early 2015," Bayro Corrochano said, who is also a member of the Mexican Academy of Sciences.

Researcher at the CINVESTAV estimate that the commercial product would cost between ten and fifteen hundred dollars ($13,000- $19,500 Mexican pesos), and consist of the glasses with sensors and a tablet from which a voice would tell directions and/or warnings.

Although globally there are similar devices, says Bayro Corrochano, the development at Cinvestav combines new algorithms and technology which makes it unique. For example, the use of ultrasound techniques to detect translucent obstacles, like glass, or the use of artificial intelligence (machine learning) in order to recognize places, signs and objects. These glasses are also useful for those with poor eyesight, as they help to improve perception.

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Baidu Challenges Google as it Extends Into Silicon Valley

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Baidu has opened a new artificial intelligence (AI) lab in Silicon Valley to compete with its tech rivals in China and the U.S.

Chinese Internet search giant Baidu has extended its technology arm to the U.S., by investing around $300 million in a new research and development (R&D) center in Sunnyvale, California.

The Silicon Valley Artificial Intelligence (AI) Lab, along with the Beijing Deep Learning Lab (formerly known as the Institute of Deep Learning), and the Beijing Big Data Lab, will be led by Baidu's new chief scientist Andrew Ng. Ng was founder of Googles deep-learning project, director of Stanfords artificial intelligence lab, and a co-founder of massive open online course (MOOC) provider Coursera.

Baidu's move highlights the pace of global growth for Chinese Internet companies, with some of its competitors already establishing setups within the U.S. For example, domestic rival Alibaba has burrowed its way into the Silicon Valley investment circles, snapping up large stakes and board seats in fast-growing start-ups. One can only presume that the company is gearing up to compete with the likes of Amazon or eBay on their home turf.

The predominant focus for Baidu's AI lab will be deep learning - the smarter use of data to provide more insightful consumer experiences. Deep learning is a new area that tech companies are moving into. In January of this year, Google acquired London-based start-up DeepMind which had a large concentration of researchers in deep learning. Meanwhile, Facebook recruited a group of experts last September to work on this technology.

Although deep learning has become a buzzword in technology, it is a field where researchers are in short supply. According to Yoshua Bengio, an AI researcher at the University of Montreal, there are only around 50 experts worldwide in deep learning.

It is still unclear whether or not Baidu's move into the deep learning arena will boost revenues for the company. One thing for sure, though, is that the proliferation of data will definitely give it the competitive edge it needs to keep up with its Google-like rivals.

Image via Shutterstock.

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Baidu Challenges Google as it Extends Into Silicon Valley

What are the future business models for aerospace manufacturing? – Video

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What are the future business models for aerospace manufacturing?
One of the most important panel sessions at the Global Aerospace Summit 2014 in Abu Dhabi, focusing on the future of the aerospace manufacturing industry, this session was sponsored by Safran...

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Exova Strengthens Aerospace Capabilities with Fatigue and Fracture Mechanics Testing Investment in Canada

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Exova, the global testing, calibration and advisory services provider, has invested in fatigue and fracture mechanics testing capabilities at its Mississauga, Ontario facility to support North American aerospace customers.

The new services include K-R Curve testing, JIC testing, crack propagation testing of Corner Crack specimens and Direct Current Potential Drop monitored fatigue testing. Traditionally, mechanical and fatigue testing operations such as these have been carried out in the U.S., but due to increase in demand, Exova has committed to providing its customers with the same high-quality and reliable services in Canada as they would receive internationally. The Mississauga facility is continually expanding its scope of services and offers a high level of technical expertise to its customer base to support both production and R&D related work.

Supported by its global network, including well-recognised and reputable facilities in Lancaster, U.K. and Santa Fe Springs, California, Exova has been working with leading organisations in the aerospace sector to establish the Mississauga laboratory as one of the regions most advanced providers of aerospace testing services.

Chris Ramuscak, general manager Fatigue & Fracture at Exova Canada, said: Some of the worlds leading aerospace companies are based in North America and Exova is proud to provide them with the service they expect, right on their doorstep. As the only NADCAP approved facility in Canada, Exova provides unrivalled testing capabilities to customers in the aerospace industry and this investment solidifies our commitment to providing a full range of technically demanding services.

Exovas capabilities help to extend asset life, bring predictability to applications, and shorten the time to market for customers products, processes and materials. This investment further represents Exovas commitment to developing its aerospace testing business, which has 13 NADCAP approved facilities in locations including the U.K., U.S. and Sweden.

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Exova Strengthens Aerospace Capabilities with Fatigue and Fracture Mechanics Testing Investment in Canada

NATO says it will do whatever it takes to defend its allies Russia aggression – Video

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NATO says it will do whatever it takes to defend its allies Russia aggression
NATO says it will do whatever it takes to defend its allies in the Baltic region, amid growing tensions with Russia over the crisis in Ukraine. The spokeswoman for the military alliance, Oana...

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NATO says it will do whatever it takes to defend its allies Russia aggression - Video

NATO: No Evidence of Russian Troop Withdrawal

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered troops deployed in regions near Ukraine to return to their home bases, the Kremlin said Monday.

The move appears to indicate Putin's intention to de-escalate the crisis over Ukraine, the worst in Russia's relations with the West since the end of the Cold War.

But NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters Monday the military alliance has "not seen any evidence at all that the Russians have started withdrawal of troops from the Ukrainian borders."

He said that NATO remains open to a political dialogue with Moscow, and has proposed holding a meeting at the NATO-Russia Council next week.

If we, one day, see clear evidence of a meaningful Russian withdrawal of troops from the Ukrainian borders, I would be the very first to welcome it, because it would be a step in the right direction.

The West has protested the deployment of 40,000 Russian troops near the border with Ukraine, seeing it as a possible preparation for grabbing more land after the annexation of Crimea in March.

Putin has made similar commitments in recent weeks concerning his troops in the region.

Putin has previously said he has ordered troops to return from the area near the Ukraine border, but the United States and NATO said they saw no sign of a pullout and have threatened more sanctions if Russia tries to derail Ukraine's presidential vote set for Sunday.

The Russian Defense Ministry insisted that there were no buildup near the border, saying that the troops in the regions in western Russia are involved in regular training.

Putin went one step further Monday, ordering Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to pull out forces involved in such training in the Rostov, Belgorod and Bryansk regions, according to a statement released by the Kremlin.

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NATO: No Evidence of Russian Troop Withdrawal

NATO rebuts Russia claim

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered troops deployed in regions near Ukraine to return to their home bases, the Kremlin said Monday.

The move appears to indicate Putin's intention to de-escalate the crisis over Ukraine, the worst in Russia's relations with the West since the end of the Cold War.

But NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters Monday the military alliance has "not seen any evidence at all that the Russians have started withdrawal of troops from the Ukrainian borders."

He said that NATO remains open to a political dialogue with Moscow, and has proposed holding a meeting at the NATO-Russia Council next week.

If we, one day, see clear evidence of a meaningful Russian withdrawal of troops from the Ukrainian borders, I would be the very first to welcome it, because it would be a step in the right direction.

The West has protested the deployment of 40,000 Russian troops near the border with Ukraine, seeing it as a possible preparation for grabbing more land after the annexation of Crimea in March.

Putin has made similar commitments in recent weeks concerning his troops in the region.

Putin has previously said he has ordered troops to return from the area near the Ukraine border, but the United States and NATO said they saw no sign of a pullout and have threatened more sanctions if Russia tries to derail Ukraine's presidential vote set for Sunday.

The Russian Defense Ministry insisted that there were no buildup near the border, saying that the troops in the regions in western Russia are involved in regular training.

Putin went one step further Monday, ordering Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to pull out forces involved in such training in the Rostov, Belgorod and Bryansk regions, according to a statement released by the Kremlin.

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NATO rebuts Russia claim

NATO chief sees no retreat by Russian forces near Ukraines border

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STUTTGART, Germany NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen rejected Russias claim on Monday that it was pulling massed troops back from the border with Ukraine, where unrest and Moscows annexation of the Crimean Peninsula have refocused the 28-nation NATO alliance on security in its own backyard.

NATO has dismissed previous claims by Russian President Vladimir Putin about the withdrawal of troops from Ukrainian border, in some cases offering satellite imagery to challenge his assertions.

I think it is the third Putin statement on withdrawal of Russian troops, but so far we havent seen any withdrawal of troops at all, Rasmussen said during a Monday news conference in Brussels.

Now, NATO must focus on a re-emerging Russian threat, Rasmussen said.

Western governments have accused Russia of massing 40,000 troops near the Ukrainian border in an effort to intimidate the new regime in Kiev.

We have seen the Russian military doctrine that NATO is considered an adversary, Rasmussen sad. And I think we should take that seriously, its not just words. So we have to adapt accordingly to review our defense plans, enhance our exercises and also consider appropriate deployments.

As the May 25 Ukrainian presidential election nears, Rasmussen called on Russia to de-escalate tensions in Ukraine, where a Russian separatist movement broke out after the February ouster of pro-Kremlin President Viktor Yanukovych. Moscow and Western countries have traded charges that other side has interfered in Ukraines internal affairs.

For NATO, Russias annexation of Crimea has focused attention on bolstering the alliances security presence in eastern Europe and the Baltics. This includes such measures as more fighter jet rotations through the Baltics, more war ships in regional waters and assorted war games with ground troops.

However, Rasmussen also warned of more potential instability in other parts of eastern Europe, including Moldova and Georgia, two countries that are seeking closer ties with the European Union.

We have seen Russia put a lot of pressure on countries in their near neighborhood as they are approaching the European Union for progress, Rasmussen said.

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NATO chief sees no retreat by Russian forces near Ukraines border