Norfolk is… wonderful beaches which have a special place in our hearts

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#Norfolkis the best for big skies and big beaches like this shot from Wells-next-the-Sea by Mark Poole

David Freezer Tuesday, June 18, 2013 6:30 AM

The beautiful and varied beaches of Norfolk have become one of the most popular topics for followers of the EDPs Norfolk is... campaign.

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We asked people to share their favourite beach in the county in their own words and pictures last week.

From Wells, Hunstanton and Holkham in the west of the county, right round to the likes of Waxham, Horsey and Winterton in the east, we have seen many different beaches highlighted as must-visit locations.

Twitter users have been particularly enthusiastic about the topic, continuing to use the campaigns #Norfolkis hashtag.

Sharon Green (@dsjmgreen) was one Twitter user to get involved, writing: #Norfolkis Cromer beach always where I go when I need a lift, to remember or just walk.

As was Saras Tearoom (@sarastearoom), on Great Yarmouth seafront, saying: Our favourite beach in #Norfolkis Great Yarmouth South Beach, fantastic sea views and dog friendly too.

Another was Helen Smyth, using her Gluten Free Helen (@nels3) account, to say: #Norfolkis beaches that make you say WOW! Like Old Hunstanton, golden sands, dunes and beach huts.

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Norfolk is... wonderful beaches which have a special place in our hearts

Officials identify silvery substance at Indiana beaches

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Swimming was banned at Indiana Dunes State Park after a silvery substance was found floating on the water.

8:00 p.m. CDT, June 18, 2013

The U.S. Coast Guard and Indiana environmental officials continued Tuesday to investigate the origins of a silvery substance that was found in southern Lake Michigan, causing some beaches to clear bathers from the water.

Swimmers along Porter Beach at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore came out of the water Monday afternoon with an "oily substance" on their bodies and saw a silver sheen in the lake, according to the Coast Guard and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.

Preliminary tests indicate the substance included D-gluconic acid, a mild acid used to clean metals, and tricalcium orthophosphate, an additive found in food and fertilizers, said Dan Goldblatt, a spokesman for the Department of Environmental Management.

"Initial reports make it look like it's not something that's highly toxic," Goldblatt said. "Once we know more we can make a better determination."

A current carried the sheen several miles toward Michigan City, Ind., but investigators found nothing except pollen in the water when they arrived Monday.

The Coast Guard's safety marine unit in Chicago has viewed a week's worth of video showing vessels in the Port of Indiana, but have not seen anything spilling from the ships, said Petty Officer 3rd Class Christopher Yaw.

The unit also talked to officials at a steel and mining company along the lakefront but determined it did not cause the sheen because only iron-ore based products have left the site, Yaw said.

Monday night's rains and natural breakdown dissipated the sheen from the water. Those who came in contact with the substance reported no ill health effects, Indiana environmental officials said.

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Officials identify silvery substance at Indiana beaches

Grand Challenge Dilemma: Synthetic Life; Robotics and Artificial Intelligence – Video

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Grand Challenge Dilemma: Synthetic Life; Robotics and Artificial Intelligence
Our group Grand Challenge output on "The creation of new life forms - a dangerous future or the way forward for humanity?" dilemma. Synthetic Life: Robotics ...

By: OblivionHazzard

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Grand Challenge Dilemma: Synthetic Life; Robotics and Artificial Intelligence - Video

GE wants to use artificial intelligence to predict the future of hospitals

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Jun. 17, 2013 - 3:18 PM PDT Jun. 17, 2013 - 3:18 PM PDT

Around the world, the health care system is rife with inefficiencies, and General Electric thinks it can help solve the problem using data. Only its not talking about bureaucrats looking at reports: GE has built an artificial intelligence system called Corvix that uses historical data to predict the future, including everything from how diseases will spread to the cities where hospitals will be needed the most.

It might sound futuristic, but the techniques behind Corvix have actually been around for a while. The platform uses agent-based modeling to build, essentially, a reasonable facsimile of some sort of complex system and then simulate its evolution over time. The agents represent the atomic units of those systems, such as individual people in the case of human populations or perhaps cells in the case of a biological simulation. They act according to a set of rules in any given situation, which is how the models are able to keep the simulations progressing.

However, thanks to the advent of big data, GE Healthcare Chief Economist Mitch Higashi thinks the time is right for a platform like Corvix to provide some real value to real-world decisions. Theres enough raw computing power, machine intelligence and data-modeling expertise to start doing fast, accurate simulations over very large and complicated datasets. Also, advances in user-interface design have made these types of models more consumable: GEs Corvix uses a game-like UI that any 10-year-old can figure out how to use in 10 minutes, Higashi said.

The first live run for Corvix happened in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India, where the system simulated a population of 80 million people in order to figure out where to build hospitals and medical training centers over the coming years. The GE team used two census datasets and one health care survey in order to build what Higashi calls a reasonable representation of 80 million people, as well as a map of Indias existing hospital and energy grid. Health care analysts studying the problem of where to build can drag a new hospital over an area on the map and see how the situation plays out, Higashi explained.

The original plan, said Chaitanya Sarawate, GEs head of health economics and reimbursement for India, was for the Public Health Foundation of India to invest $2 billion building training institutions in different cities over the next five years. Corvix suggested some possible changes in location of those institutions, including placing two institutions in the countrys most-populous state, Uttar Pradesh, instead of just one as was originally planned. The advice is part of a report from the foundation to Indias Minstry of Health, which will make the ultimate decision.

Developing countries such as India are great places to use this type of technology, Higashi explained, because they are doing greenfield investing in areas such as health infrastructure and a lot of good can happen if they get it right off the bat. The problem, Sarawate noted, is that they often lack detailed data that can help governments make objective comparisons thats the kind of stuff a company like GE, in this case, can track down and try to feed into a model that takes into account its relative importance.

In fact, GE is already working on projects with other governments in India, as well as with private organizations and governments in other developing countries.

GE has bigger plans for Corvix, though, including deployments in countries like the United States, and possibly into different areas within health care and some outside of health care. Ruslan Horblyuk, director of health economics for GE Healthcare, said deploying Corvix in developed economies will probably be a bit easier because theres often more data available to choose from when building the models.

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GE wants to use artificial intelligence to predict the future of hospitals

Computerized brain made of GPUs could be the future of artificial intelligence

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For decades computer scientists have been struggling to design an artificial intelligence sophisticated enough that it could pass for a living being. The fruits of that labor so far are snarky chatbots and systems that can crunch large amounts of data and spit out factoids. Google began working on a new method of replicating neural networks using 1,000 computers tied together. Now, one of the researchers that helped Google do it has laid out the framework for an even better brain model that costs a fraction as much. The key to true AI might be the GPU.

Traditional artificial intelligence computing has relied on bundling as many processors together as possible. With increase throughput, researchers believed the problem of machine thinking could eventually be brute-forced. It now seems that approach will only get so far, hence the project at Google with so-called Deep Learning. The modest goal was to get a system that learned what a cat looked like, and was able to spot them in YouTube videos. On this count, Google succeeded.

A Stanford researcher by the name of Andrew Ng worked with Google on the cat project, but was dismayed at the cost of the system. Ng believed if AI was to take off, it needed to come down in price. He recently published a paper laying out his vision for a cheaper AI test bed based on GPUs instead of CPUs. This isnt the first use of GPU computation, but it might be one of the most ambitious. While CPUs are easy to network and blend, GPUs are much more temperamental.

By utilizing GPUs as the muscle behind an AI program, Ng claims first-generation rigs could cost as little as $20,000. Thats definitely out of reach of the consumer market, but well within the budgets of many computer science researchers. The original Google Deep Learning system cost over $1 million. The goal here is to do for AI research what Apple and Microsoft did for the personal computer.

To test his hypothesis about GPU-driven Deep Learning, Ng and his team built a larger version of the proposed platform costing about $100,000. It utilized 64 Nvidia GTX 680 GPUs on 16 computers. It was able to accomplish the same cat-spotting tasks the Google system, which needed 1,000 computers to operate.

Deep Learning might be the best route to a true AI system if scientists are able to harmonize GPU computing. Ng and his team are working on custom Nvidia CUDA code that makes the magic happen by efficiently combining resources and allowing for fast task switching among the connected graphics processors.

Ng has not yet decided if the specialized software and hardware designed to test his hypothesis will be open source. Even if it isnt, the paper explains some of the algorithms and techniques involved. Other AI researchers are sure to follow up if only to prove Ng wrong.

Now read:IBM takes a step towards building artificial semiconductor synapses

Research paper: Deep learning with COTS HPC systems(PDF)

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Computerized brain made of GPUs could be the future of artificial intelligence

Artificial Intelligence Platform Parakweet Raises $2 Million in Angel Funding

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San Francisco (PRWEB) June 18, 2013

Parakweet, Inc. today announced it secured $2 million in funding. The company has developed a proprietary artificial intelligence platform that uses social media- specific natural language processing (NLP) to detect and extract meaning from millions of unstructured conversations and accurately identify consumer behavior, intent and sentiment. Parakweet will use the funds for new product innovation and continued development of BookVibe, its recently launched book discovery engine.

The funding was led by a group of high-profile investors including Scott Banister, an early investor in PayPal, Zappos and Powerset; Alan Braverman, co-founder of Yammer and Eventbrite; David Jeske, former Director of Engineering at Google; and other angel investors and entrepreneurs.

Parakweets platform is fine-tuned for specific vertical markets, in order to best extract meaning from short, unstructured social media updates. BookVibe, Parakweets consumer-facing book recommendations product, scans a users social graph and extracts tweets that are actually about books with 96 percent accuracy. It also detects and distinguishes the persons sentiment about the booknot the overall tweet. For example, if a tweet reads: "Im reading War and Peace since the weather is lousy," BookVibe understands that lousy refers to the weather, not the book. Some of the behaviors BookVibe identifies include "intent to read," "read" and "recommend." Furthermore, the Parakweet platform does not require users to join or recreate yet another social network.

"We started Parakweet to distill actionable insights from the unstructured language of social media," said CEO and co-founder Ramesh Haridas. "Today, were providing consumers with book recommendations based on a users personal interests and the interests and affinities of the people they follow. Our platform also allows companies to tap into the behavioral signals consumers are generating across social media and uncover actionable and competitive insights."

Added Haridas, "Were inspired to have the backing and support of such a notable group of angel investors and tech entrepreneurs. With this funding, weve taken a decisive step to transform how meaning and understanding is derived from massive amounts of social media, which often includes slang, abbreviations and no punctuationsomething that Parakweet is using natural language processing to solve."

Investor Scott Banister added, "Parakweets disruptive technology gets under the hood of social media language and captures human behaviors with remarkable accuracy. Books and movies are just the tip of the iceberg for applications of Parakweets natural language processing engine."

Parakweet was founded by a team of successful entrepreneurs and computer scientists including serial entrepreneur Ramesh Haridas; machine learning and search technologist Kiam Choo; and artificial intelligence software architect Ilmars Poikans.

About Parakweet Founded in 2010 and headquartered in San Francisco, Parakweet is a platform that offers product recommendations to consumers and social media analytics and metadata to global media companies. Parakweets proprietary artificial intelligence platform uses natural language processing technology to extract meaning from unstructured social content and accurately identify associated behaviors, intent and sentiment. Parakweets first product BookVibe is a social discovery and book recommendation engine for consumers launched in 2013. For more information, please visit http://www.parakweet.com.

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Artificial Intelligence Platform Parakweet Raises $2 Million in Angel Funding

Sikorsky Aerospace Services Signs Agreement for Customer Service Centre in United Kingdom

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PARIS, June 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --PARIS AIR SHOW --Sikorsky Aerospace Services announced today the signing of an agreement with Vector Aerospace that appoints Vector's United Kingdom facilities as authorized Customer Service Centres (CSC) to support Sikorsky S-76 helicopters. Sikorsky Aerospace Services (SAS) is the aftermarket business of Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. (UTX).

(Logo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20060403/SIKORSKYLOGO)

"Vector Aerospace is recognized in the industry as a leading provider of aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services. Aligned with our international strategic initiatives and overall commitment to our worldwide customers, this agreement serves as an important launch point in the U.K.," said Frank DiPasquale, SAS Vice-President, Business Development & Strategic Relationships. "We are pleased to work with Vector Aerospace and look forward to future opportunities to strengthen our relationship and enhance our support capabilities for Sikorsky's commercial operators throughout Europe. "

The Customer Service Centres will offer Sikorsky S-76 helicopter operators complete aftermarket support, including Sikorsky trained local maintenance personnel for on-site comprehensive maintenance management, inspections and spare parts procurement.

"Vector's full depth support capabilities combined with Sikorsky's Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) integration services will provide enhanced support for the U.K.'s S-76 VIP platform. This agreement further highlights our policy of working with the world's leading rotary wing OEMs offering aftermarket support to platforms on a global scale," said Declan O'Shea, Vector Aerospace CEO.

Vector's facility in Gosport, Hampshire, U.K., is a long established provider of full depth maintenance for a range of major rotary-wing platforms. With its close proximity to the North Sea oil and gas market, Vector's component support facility in Almondbank, Perthshire, provides strategic importance. The CSC will be a key support facility for the future expansion of Sikorsky's S-76 commercial aircraft fleet in the UK and surrounding areas.

SAS provides comprehensive support to rotary and fixed wing operators throughout the world. It offers its military and commercial customers a full portfolio of support services, including material distribution, maintenance, overhaul & repair, aircraft modifications and life-cycle support. Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., based in Stratford, Conn., USA, is a world leader in helicopter design, manufacture and service. United Technologies Corp., based in Hartford, Conn., USA, provides a broad range of high technology products and support services to the aerospace and building systems industries worldwide. For updates from United Technologies Corp.'s aerospace businesses visit http://www.utcaero.com or follow @UTC on Twitter.

Vector Aerospace is a global provider of aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services. Through facilities in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, South Africa and Kenya, Vector Aerospace provides services to commercial and military customers for gas turbine engines, components and helicopter airframes. Vector's customer-focused team includes over 2,700 motivated employees. For more information, visit http://www.vectoraerospace.com

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Sikorsky Aerospace Services Signs Agreement for Customer Service Centre in United Kingdom

Parker Aerospace Partners with Rolls-Royce on Trent XWB-97 Engine Program

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PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Parker Aerospace, an operating segment of Parker Hannifin Corporation, has been chosen by Rolls-Royce to partner on its Trent XWB-97 engine program.

The Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engine is being developed for the new Airbus A350 XWB-1000 aircraft and is the sole engine currently available to power this new aircraft. Parker estimates that the agreement will generate approximately $2.2 billion in revenues over the life of the program.

This long-term partnership with Rolls-Royce allows Parker to invest in the future and contributes to our growing global presence, supporting one of the worlds premier engine manufacturers, said Parker Aerospace President Roger Sherrard. Parker is proud to build on a history of success with Rolls-Royce on the Trent engine series. The Trent XWB-97 will be used by airline fleets around the world.

Product design, manufacture, and support will be completed by multiple Parker Aerospace divisions, including Fluid Systems Division in Irvine, California; Stratoflex Products Division in Fort Worth, Texas; and Gas Turbine Division in Devens, Massachusetts.

The first Parker-supplied Trent XWB-97 components are scheduled for delivery to Rolls-Royce in late 2013. Initial ground testing of the Trent XWB is due to commence in 2014, with maiden flight on the new Airbus twinjet scheduled for 2016.

A continued focus on business fundamentals and performance improvements driven by Parkers Win Strategy has allowed Parker to deliver the increased value that its customers are seeking. The Win Strategy ensures a focus on value-added services, attention to customer needs, a culture of planned innovation that secures rewards for investors far into the future, and a trusted partnership for Parker customers.

Parker looks forward to enhancing its existing relationship with Rolls-Royce on this exciting new program.

The bill of material covers several product lines in support of Rolls-Royce requirements: the pneumatics valve suite that enables anti-icing, turbine case cooling and engine bleed functions; the oil pump that feeds oil to bearings and gearboxes and scavenges that return oil; and the hydraulic engine build-up system that includes tubes, hoses, and attaching hardware required to convey the aircraft hydraulic power between the engine-mounted pumps and the aircraft as well as high-temperature hoses that channel fuel to the engine.

As part of the partnership, Parker will provide all-inclusive customer service and support on its components for the life of the engine program. This approach is a continuing tradition for Parker on Rolls-Royce TotalCare programs and helps provide optimized, predictable cost over the long-term.

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Parker Aerospace Partners with Rolls-Royce on Trent XWB-97 Engine Program

UTC Aerospace Systems supports Airbus A400M certification and first production delivery

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CHARLOTTE, N.C., June 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --PARIS AIR SHOW --UTC Aerospace Systems proudly supported Airbus Military in securing the A400M's European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) type certification in March 2013 and is preparing for the first production aircraft delivery. UTC Aerospace Systems is a unit of United Technologies Corp. (UTX).

"We congratulate Airbus Military on the A400M achieving its Type Certificate from the EASA, and we commit our continued support to this important program as we prepare for the first production aircraft delivery to the French Air Force," said Michel Ferey, general manager, Propeller Systems for UTC Aerospace Systems.

UTC Aerospace Systems supplies a wide range of systems for this multipurpose new-generation airlifter, including the A400M's Secondary Electrical Power Distribution Center, Ram Air Turbine emergency power system, Trimmable Horizontal Stabilizer Actuator, Throttle Control Assembly, Secondary Flight Controls, Air Data Sensors, Cockpit and Load Master Workstation Lighting, and an eight-bladed 17.5-foot diameter Propeller System, the largest all-composite propeller in production. The Propeller System, which is manufactured by UTC Aerospace Systems' Propeller Systems business, received EASA certification in March 2012, and features a pair of clockwise and counter-clockwise rotating propellers on each wing that enhance overall aircraft stability and control and contribute to overall operating efficiency.

The Secondary Electric Power Distribution Center is highly configurable, using UTC Aerospace System's Solid State Power Controller (SSPC) technology to provide control and protection of the A400M's electrical loads. Each distribution center is capable of controlling more than 600 SSPCs and 15 utility functions.

The RAT emergency power system comprises a 50-inch diameter turbine, with nearly 80 hp of shaft horsepower, to carry the load required to safely land the aircraft if all other forms of electric power are unavailable.

The Trimmable Horizontal Stabilizer Actuator (THSA) and Throttle Control Assembly (TCA) are supplied by UTC Aerospace Systems' Propellers Systems business. The THSA is designed to actuate the aircraft's horizontal stabilizer as a full fail-safe system, powered by dual hydraulic channels and an electric back-up channel.The TCA includes four power levers that permit pilots to drive the four 11,000 hp engines and are equipped to automatically adjust soft detent position to power setting in auto pilot mode.

The Flap System Supplied by UTC Aerospace Systems' Actuations Systems business is comprised of Ballscrew Actuators, Gearboxes, Torque Limiters and a carbon fiber reinforced plastic Transmission. The Flap System is designed to control the movements of the flap during take-off, approach, landing and military operations. The trailing edge high lift system consists of two flaps with fixed vanes per each side of the wing.

The Air Data System, supplied by UTC Aerospace Systems' Sensors & Integrated Systems business, consists of three primary systems that provide pressure and flow angle information required for navigation and flight control. The system utilizes the company's Micro Electrical Mechanical Systems (MEMS) pressure sensors to provide superior accuracy and long-term stability.

The suite of 24 unique cockpit and loadmaster workstation lights, supplied by UTC Aerospace Systems' Page Aerospace, use leading edge LED lighting technology. This lighting is designed to perform with dual functionality, under both normal and night vision conditions.

UTC Aerospace Systems designs, manufactures and services integrated systems and components for the aerospace and defense industries. UTC Aerospace Systems supports a global customer base with significant worldwide manufacturing and customer service facilities.

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UTC Aerospace Systems supports Airbus A400M certification and first production delivery