universityofwashington
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Computer scientists tackle the hard, long-lasting question of 'that's what she said'
Humor: it's what separates humans from machines, GlaDOS from HAL 9000, and even a good boss from a great boss. For millennia humor was seemingly unlearnable -- either you had it or you didn't -- but two University of Washington computer scientists have cracked part of the comedy code. They've developed an algorithm to find potential innuendos in everyday speech: a "that's what she said" detector. Their approach, dubbed "Double Entendre via Noun Transfer" (DeviaNT), uses a "sexiness" rating for nouns, adjectives, and verbs, while also analyzing the likelihood of similar combinations occurring in erotic literature. Higher values signal higher TWSS potential, and the researchers have successfully tested their program with user-generated content from websites like TWSSStories. Why is this useful, you ask? It's one more advance in natural-language processing, helping researchers codify the subtle workings of human language. Just imagine: one day, a softball like "I was trying all night, but I just could not get it in!" might receive the same "clever" response from your computer as from your juvenile friends. [Image via Isley Unruh]
University of Washington students hack Kinect to aid in robotic surgery
We're sure that a time will come when we're slightly less amazed by Kinect hacks but, right now, we're still just seeing one more impressive than the last -- and we're certainly OK with that. This latest comes to us from a group of students at the University of Washington, who had the bright idea to pair Microsoft's device with some of the robotic surgery projects currently being developed by the university's BioRobotics Lab. That combo isn't quite the sentient, Kinect-enhanced robo-surgeon you may have feared, though. The students are actually using Kinect to provide force-feedback to the actual, human surgeons controlling the robotic equipment -- something that would have been a $50,000 proposition without Kinect. As you might expect, however, the Kinect-based system isn't quite ready to be used for actual surgery as it is -- while it gets the job done as a proof of concept, the students note that the sensors will need to be scaled down, and the resolution improved in order to be deemed suitable for surgical use.
Kinect and haptics combine at the University of Washington to let you feel the future (video)
Sure, looking at the future is great and all, and that's what we feel like we're doing with all these wonderful Kinect hacks we've been covering lately. But what about feeling the future, man? That's what the kids at the University of Washington BioRobotics Laboratory are up to, taking the 3D images created by Microsoft's gaming peripheral and combining that with a 3D haptic controller, what looks to be a SensAble Phantom to us. The result? A so-called "haptic handshake," which looks even more uncomfortable than when Hank and Dean do their "Go Team Venture" routine. You can see both embedded after the break and decide for yourself. [Thanks, Jonas]
Shocker! Kids spending too much time in front of TV screens, too little in loving parents' embrace
Not that anyone really needed to have this spelled out, but America's tots are apparently spending too much time in front of the telly tubes. The latest study, conducted by the Seattle Children's Research Institute and the University of Washington, finds that children under the age of five are spending 4.1 hours of each day watching movies or TV, doubling the recommended maximum of two hours a day. Whether you take the slightly arbitrary two-hour RDA to heart or not, it's undeniable that all of us -- not just the young 'uns -- are spending increasingly larger chunks of our time looking at the world through a screen and not through our own retinas. And, if you want an extra topping of alarmist extrapolation, these figures come from a research sample concluded in 2006, today's better-equipped toddlers are very likely to outdo those numbers when mobile devices and the like are factored in. Imagine how bad this would all be if the US didn't have so much quality programming to entertain and educate them with.
Study shocker: babies think friendly robots are sentient
There's certainly been no shortage of studies involving humans' interaction with robots, but a team of researchers from the University of Washington's Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences have now made one of the most shocking discoveries to date: babies can be tricked into believing robots are sentient. They made this finding by acting out a skit with a remote-controlled robot in which the robot behaves friendly with its human counterpart. Following the skit, they left the baby alone with the robot and found that in 13 out of 16 cases the baby followed the robot's gaze, which suggests the baby believed it was sentient. In contrast, babies only interacted with the robot in 3 of 16 cases when they were simply left alone with it without first seeing it interact with a human. What does it all mean? Well, it seems that a robot's human-like appearance is less important than its behavior when it comes to establishing trust -- or that all the robots need to do to take over is get us while we're young. One of the two.
Hackers can remotely disable your car's brakes, create sensationalist headlines
We think you're going to be hearing a lot about this one over the next few days... or weeks. A team of researchers at the University of Washington and the University of California San Diego have determined that, with physical access to your car's ECU, a hacker could "adversarially control a wide range of automotive functions and completely ignore driver input -- including disabling the brakes, selectively braking individual wheels on demand, stopping the engine, and so on." For example, the team was able to connect a computer to a car's ODB-II port, access that computer wirelessly, and then disable the brakes in the first car while driving down the road in a separate vehicle. The conclusion is that these in-car systems have few if any safeguards in place and, with physical access, nearly anything is possible. The solution, of course, is to prevent physical access. So, if you see a hacker hanging around in your car looking all shady, or a laptop computer sitting in the footwell that totally wasn't there before, well, you know who to call.
University of Washington's Prefab tool promises to 'unlock the desktop'
The University of Washington may be overstating things a just a tad with a headline like "what if all software was open source," but the so-called "Prefab" software tool developed by some researchers at the university does indeed manage to pull of some fairly impressive tricks. The short of it is that the tool promises to you let you (or developers) modify any application without actually modifying it. To do that, the software constantly looks for easily identifiable elements of an application (dialog boxes, scroll bars, buttons, etc.) and then "alters their behavior" by effectively taking over your display, leaving the actual program running in the background and displaying the augmented version instead. According to the researchers, the possibilities from there on out are virtually endless, and include things like adding iTunes buttons to your Word toolbar and tweaking Photoshop to display previews for a whole range of effects at once. Head on past the break for a quick demo video, and look for more to be unveiled at the CHI 2010 conference in Atlanta next month. [Thanks, Keith]
Steve Ballmer teases new Xbox 360 form factors, price points and options
Turns out Steve Ballmer's talk up at the University of Washington delivered even more saucy info than we were initially led to believe. In a transcript of the subsequent Q&A session, Steve is shown to have delivered the following statement on the topic of large-screen televisions and Microsoft's related hardware strategy: For that big screen device ... there's no diversity. You get exactly the Xboxes that we build for you. We may have more form factors in the future that are designed for various price points and options, but we think it's going to [be] important. It's safe to assume new form factors point to a smaller rather than larger 360 chassis, though the price points and further options he mentions are wide open for speculation. It wouldn't be unreasonable to forecast Microsoft pushing out its own slimmed-down console to match up with Sony's PS3 Slim, but we also shouldn't discount the idea of an Xbox 360 with Project Natal hardware integrated into its shell. In other words, we really don't know what Steve has going on under that shiny dome of his, we just hope it's as exciting as he makes it sound.
Steve Ballmer emphasizes importance of the cloud, Google pretty much does likewise
Microsoft has had its run-ins with the cloud before, but if CEO Steve Ballmer is being serious (and we're guessing he is), the company is about to get even more connected. Speaking with computer science students this week at the University of Washington, Ballmer was quoted as saying that "a year from now... 90 percent [of Microsoft employees would be working in the cloud]." He went on to say that the cloud base "is the bet, if you will, for our company," and he noted that it'll "create opportunities for all the folks in [the] room to do important research and build important projects." It's not like any of this is an epiphany, though; we've already seen a shift to Google Documents given the ability to access it from any web-connected computer, and with the proliferation of broadband on the up and up, it's only a matter of time before it's more convenient to open a web app than to wait for your taskbar to stop bouncing. In related news, Google Europe boss John Herlihy has essentially mirrored those thoughts, calling the desktop an item that will be "irrelevant" in three years. Why? Largely because most everything you'll need a tower for will be available via a mobile or the web, but we all know that sect of hardcore gamers will keep the beige boxes rolling for at least another score.
Thought-control research brings mental channel changing ever closer
Pinky and the Brain don't get nearly the respect they deserve, but then again, neither do the lab coat-wearing boffins who make great strides behind sterilized doors to bring us one step closer to mass laziness. The latest development in the everlasting brain control saga takes us to the University of Washington, where a team of researchers are carefully studying the differences between doing an action and simply imagining the action. So far, they've discovered that interacting with brain-computer interfaces enables patients to create "super-active populations of brain cells." Naturally, this finding holds promise for rehabilitating patients after stroke or other neurological damage, but it also suggests that "a human brain could quickly become adept at manipulating an external device such as a computer interface or a prosthetic limb." Or a remote control, or a Segway, or a railgun. We can't speak for you, but we certainly dig where this is headed. Video of the findings is after the break.
Earn a certificate in iPhone and Cocoa Development from the University of Washington
If you've already got a degree or a little knowledge in programming and you're looking to get in on the iPhone app craze (or maybe you wish to write a Mac app -- many people still do) you may want to look at the University of Washington in Seattle. They are now offering a certificate program in iPhone and Cocoa development, which should teach you the basics of iPhone and Mac development in a mere 90 contact hours (three classes).Ars reports that the program may be extended to an online offering next year. I'd imagine that would be quite popular far beyond the borders of the UW campus. The course itself was developed with a stellar cast of advisors, including developers from NewsGator and OMNI Group, plus experts from Microsoft, Google and Disney Interactive and is "already close to capacity" for this Fall.While there are myriad books, websites and other resources for learning how to write Cocoa software, this appears to be the first continuing education certification program specifically tailored to writing iPhone apps. Yes, you can write Mac apps too, but I'm guessing the majority of attendees with have mobile dollar signs in their eyes.[via Ars]
Ionic cooling system adapted for laptop use, scalded legs cautiously rejoice
To be totally candid, we can't even utter the word "ionic" without thinking of Sharper Image, but the concept here actually seems like one that just might benefit the public at large... or at least those of us forced to cook our upper legs on a daily basis. San Jose-based Tessera, in cooperation with the University of Washington, has adapted an ionic cooling system for use in everyday laptops. The magic elixir consists of two electrodes, one of which is used to ionize air molecules such as nitrogen, while the other acts as a receiver for those molecules. According to reports, this method can extract around 30 percent more heat from a lap burner than the traditional "fan and more fans" approach. Still, a major obstacle remains in terms of ensuring that the electrodes remain reliable throughout the life of a laptop, but if Tessera has its druthers, some form of the system will be commercialized next year.
Video tech uses photos to enhance, alter shots: it's the Photoshop of video, and no one is safe
We've seen some decent video alteration in our day, but this new research project by some folks at the University of Washington has the potential to turn the entire concept on its head. Using some rather advanced algorithms to analyze video and photographs of a the same scene, the software can meld the two into something slightly better or even dramatically different. In effect, it's Photoshop for video, since it brings your Photoshop chops to bear on video effects: edit up a still shot or two of the scene, and then meld that with the video, and your edits can be seamlessly integrated into the scene, without all that nasty manual labor required by Shake or After Effects. It's not the end all be all yet, since the tech only works with static scenes so far, but the researchers are working to rectify that. While video evidence hasn't been a sure thing for years, it's always been significantly harder to fiddle with than still shots. With that barrier removed, we might be in for a whole new generation of video that lies and a reality we can be none too sure of. Oh, and really good looking indie flicks. Sample vid is after the break.
iRobot to convert UW's academic Seaglider into military drone
It was more than a year ago when we first told you about the Seaglider (aka, Deepglider) autonomous robot used for academic research. As of today, it has the deep pocketed backing of iRobot. As soon as the ink dries, iRobot gains the sole rights to the University of Washington's technology and its long-range, high-endurance vehicle -- 70 of which are already making "oceanographic measurements" around the world. Presumably speaking to a crowd of generals with an affinity for Buck Turgidson, Helen Greiner, co-founder and chairman of iRobot said: "We have a strong track record for transferring new technology from research initiatives into products that support military missions. Ten years ago we transformed the original PackBot into a combat-proven robot used today by soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, and licensing the Seaglider from the University of Washington will help our robots conquer new underwater frontiers." Really Helen, conquer? Enemies of The State, you've been warned.[Via gizmag]
Robofish communicate with each other, engage in synchronized swimming
Traditional fish should definitely start keeping their guard up, as we've seen a noticeable influx of robotic alternatives flapping around here recently. Joining the school today is the Robofish, a robotic swimming creature developed at the University of Washington. Reportedly, a trio of the units have been built, and during a recent workshop, the bots were able to communicate with one another and successfully swim in either one direction or in different directions. Eventually, researchers hope that these mechanical animals could explore underwater caves, track moving targets or plunge beneath ice sheets, but there's still work to be done before the creature's coordination ability is up to the challenge. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...[Via Slashdot]
Vocal Joystick lets your voice do the browsing
There's a multitude of options out there for handicapped individuals who want to surf the 'net, but a team at the University of Washington is adding one more by developing software that can convert one's voice into cursor commands. Notably, the Vocal Joystick doesn't rely on any speech recognition technology; instead, it "detects [vowel] sounds 100 times a second and instantaneously turns that sound into movement on the screen." Users are then able to move the mouse around the screen and click on links by simply making a variety of noises, and the cursor even speeds up as the person increases his / her volume. 'Course, we're not exactly sure how text is inputted into the address bar, so you'd better have your favorites fully stocked before relying solely on this. Hit the read link for a video demonstration.[Via Physorg]
Apple, Dell and Sony pinged for catch-all Bluetooth lawsuit
The University of Washington patent lawsuit, which already was ragging on Nokia, Samsung and Panasonic for supposed patent infringement, has now been expanded to encompass pretty much every big name in electronics. The name namers have added Apple, Dell, Sony, Logitech, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba and Plantronics to the suit, which is asking for money damages, and a court order to stop sales of products using the Washington Research Foundations claimed patents. Only manufacturers using Bluetooth tech from Broadcom, which has licensed the tech from the WRF, go untouched. No word on how far along this case is, but with this many corporate lawyers in the mix, we aren't expecting any substantial developments this century.[Via The Inquirer]
Robotic Cable Inspection System checks for damage on electrical conduits
It's true that we've never met a robot that we didn't like (ok, those snakebots were a bit weird) -- while we're a sucker for nursebots and singerbots and bartenderbots, we're especially partial to those silicon-based lifeforms that can perform some tedious and important task that would be pretty tough for us humans to do ourselves. The latest one we've spotted that fits this bill is a bot created by researchers at the University of Washington, which can crawl along high-voltage power cables to inspect their integrity before they blow up and/or cause some sort of significant damage. The Robotic Cable Inspection System is able to detect problems with the infrastructure via its heat sensor, acoustic sensor and "water tree" detector that examines if water has gotten into the insulation. Earlier this week, the team completed the robot's first field test at the Lockheed Martin Michoud NASA Assembly Facility in New Orleans as a way to promote more safety bots in work environments. We just hope that if the little guy does find damage that it's got time to scamper away before being shorted out itself. [Via Robot Gossip]
Radio on Nike+iPod Sport Kit could be used to track you
Nearly every time someone comes out with a new wireless gadget, leave it to the security-nistas to spoil all the fun. Wired News is reporting that the Nike+iPod Sport Kit could be used to track runners, according to Scott Saponas, a University of Washington computer science graduate student, and a few university colleagues. These researchers have set up a pretty frightening scenario describing how a geeky stalker could set up a tiny computer to monitor the Nike+iPod system when it passes by a certain point. The basic issue is that apparently the Nike+iPod system has a read range of 60 feet due to its internal power source, compared to the 10-inch range of typical RFID tags found in clothing or credit cards. The team has suggested a solution to the problem, which would be to uniquely pair one sensor to one reader. That seems reasonable to us, but until then, we'll start randomizing our jogging route just to really screw with these dudes. [Via Wired News, thanks Christopher G.]
Neurochip acts as a second motor cortex
Haven't you ever wished that you had a second motor cortex? If you've suffered a brain injury of some kind, you just might. For the last few years, researchers at the University of Washington have designed and installed a special computer chip attached to the top of monkeys' heads to record the brain's motor cortex nerve signals. This computer chip, dubbed the Neurochip, creates a brain-computer interface that records every movement sent from the motor cortex to the rest of the monkeys' bodies. Then the Neurochip converts those signals into a stimulus that can be fed back to the brain, creating new neural pathways that theoretically could be used if the motor cortex was damaged in some way. We've still got a few questions, like exactly how this happens, how big physically this interface is, and when we should expect human trials. Of course, we've seen previous brain-computer interfaces before, but this one seems a bit more practical than strapping your head to some type of computer. The team published its results in the November 2, 2006 issue of Nature.
