emily
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Emily is a tough, remote-controlled robotic lifeguard
Attention Dwayne Johnson: it's not too late to make your version of Baywatch more apt for this generation. May we suggest casting Emily -- a 25-pound, remote-controlled robotic lifeguard that can travel up to 22 mph. It might not have biceps and legs to die for, but it has already rescued tons of people, including 300 Syrian refugees off the Greek island of Lesbos. The machine's name stands for Emergency Integrated Lifesaving Lanyard, and it's the product of a collaboration between the Navy and Tony Mulligan, the CEO of maritime robotic company Hydronalix.
The Perfect Ten: MMO tributes to real-life people
When a beloved friend, family member, hero, or role model dies, we feel the pain of that loss and grieve in many different ways. Part of that grieving and healing process is often entails those left behind constructing some sort of tribute to the dearly departed. Sometimes this comes in the form of a shrine of flowers, sometimes it's the establishment of a charity, and sometimes it's creating an in-game memorial that thousands if not millions of people will see over the course of years. So while death and illness are depressing topics to dwell upon, I find the many MMO tributes that studios and even gamers have erected to be inspiring and a celebration of individual players' lives. With the help of my fellow Massively staffers, I researched 10 wonderful in-game tributes that serve to honor the lives of fellow gamers.
New modeling technology breathes life into animation
Ask any animation modeler about the "uncanny valley," and you're sure to get at least a grimace, if not a groan. Said term describes the long-standing barrier which refers to the perception that "animation looks less realistic as it approaches human likeness." Image Metrics is hoping that a newfangled approach used to create Emily (pictured) will finally allow animations to look more like humans and less like "corpses." As you could probably surmise, the secret is the tech's ability to survey and replicate the most subtle of movements, though even Raja Koduri, chief technology officer in graphics at AMD, doesn't see the line between reality and fiction being blurred before 2020. We'll see what Emily's posse has to say about that.[Thanks, Przemek]
