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Researchers create 'true' 3D holograms by trapping particles
SciFi movies like Star Wars and Avatar depict holograms that you can see from any angle, but the reality is a lot less scintillating. So far, the only true color hologram we've seen come from a tiny, complicated display created by a Korean group led by LG, while the rest are just "Pepper's Ghost" style illusions. Now, researchers from Brigham Young University (BYU) have created a true 3D hologram, or "volumetric image," to use the correct term. "We can think about this image like a 3D-printed object," said BYU assistant prof and lead author Daniel Smalley.
UC Berkeley researchers teach computers to be curious
When you played through Super Mario Bros. or Doom for the very first time, chances are you didn't try to speedrun the entire game but instead started exploring -- this despite not really knowing what to expect around the next corner. It's that same sense of curiosity, the desire to screw around in a digital landscape just to see what happens, that a team of researchers at UC Berkeley have imparted into their computer algorithm. And it could drastically advance the field of artificial intelligence.
6 hypermiling cars that get over 100 miles per gallon
By Cat DiStasioFuel efficiency is one rating that can really set a car apart from the pack. Although you can't yet walk into just any dealership and drive away in a vehicle that gets more than 100 miles a gallon, there are some sweet rides out there that demonstrate just how incredibly efficient a car can be. To get a better idea of what the uber-efficient car of tomorrow looks like, we've compiled some of the most efficient vehicles on the planet, all of which exceed that 100-mpg marker. In fact, most of the cars featured here leave that rating in the dust, and several break into the quadruple digits.
BYU image algorithm can recognize objects without any human help
Even the smartest object recognition systems tend to require at least some human input to be effective, even if it's just to get the ball rolling. Not a new system from Brigham Young University, however. A team led by Dah-Jye Lee has built a genetic algorithm that decides which features are important all on its own. The code doesn't need to reset whenever it looks for a new object, and it's accurate to the point where it can reliably pick out subtle differences -- different varieties of fish, for instance. There's no word on just when we might see this algorithm reach the real world, but Lee believes that it could spot invasive species and manufacturing defects without requiring constant human oversight. Let's just hope it doesn't decide that we're the invasive species.
Students create affordable eye-tracking tablet for the disabled
Disabled users have long been able to control computers with just the flick of an eye, but those hardware and software packages are prohibitively expensive. Heck, the surprisingly accurate Tobii PCEye is a veritable steal at $6,900. And, while we can't vouch for its usability, engineering students at Brigham Young University have managed an impressive feat, by whipping up an eye-tracking Windows 7 tablet that costs under $1,500. The system was created as part of a partnership with EyeTech Digital Systems, which plans to market the devices in parts of the world where other eye-tracking solutions are unaffordable -- like just about anywhere the roads aren't paved with gold. We could even see a few able-bodied (but incredibly lazy) bloggers getting some use out of this -- mornings around here would be a lot easier if we could double-fist piping hot coffee mugs while typing with our eyeballs.
