Dameyo

Emotional Robot

// June 3rd, 2009 // No Comments » // General, Science and Technology

There have been a variety of robots that emulate emotional expression through their facial features.

Researchers from Waseda University have teamed up with Kyushu-based robot manufacturer Tmsuk to develop a humanoid robot that uses its entire body to express a variety of emotions.

Named “KOBIAN,” the android integrates features of two previously developed robots — the WABIAN-2 bipedal humanoid and the WE-4RII emotion expression humanoid — into a bipedal machine that can walk around, perceive its environment, perform physical tasks, and express a range of emotions. The robot also features a new double-jointed neck that helps it achieve more expressive postures.

Surprise

KOBIAN can express seven different feelings, including delight, surprise, sadness, and dislike. In addition to assuming different poses to match the mood, the emotional humanoid uses motor in its face to move its lips, eyelids and eyebrows into various positions.

Delight

To express delight, for example, the robot lifts its soft rubbery hands over its head and opens its eyes and mouth wide.

Sadness

To show sadness, the robot slouches over, hangs its head down and holds a hand up to its face in a gesture of grief.

Dislike

According to KOBIAN’s developers, the robot’s expressiveness makes it better equipped to interact with humans and assist with daily activities. In the future, the robot may seek work in the field of nursing.

*The video shows KOBIAN cycling through a variety of stock emotional expressions. Tmsuk claims the robot’s postural emoting will make it better able to interact with humans. At least if the humans involved enjoy interacting with an emo robot. I think a future in stage performance may be more likely.

The Relative Size of Stars and Planets

// April 14th, 2009 // 4 Comments » // General, Science and Technology

You think the world is Earth…this should give you a good perspective.

Even the biggest stars are tiny compared to galaxies, which are even tinier compared to the vast distances between the galaxies…

Multiverse Theory by Dr Michio Kaku

// April 11th, 2009 // No Comments » // General, News, Science and Technology

Michio Kaku is a Japanese-American theoretical physicist specializing in string field theory, and a futurist. He is a popularizer of science, host of two radio programs, and a best-selling author.

Kaku has publicly stated his concerns over issues including the human cause of global warming, nuclear armament, nuclear power, and the general misuse of science. He was critical of the Cassini-Huygens space probe because of the 72 pounds of plutonium contained in the craft for use by its radioisotope thermoelectric generator.

Alerting the public to the possibility of casualties if its fuel were dispersed into the environment during a malfunction and crash as the probe was making a ’sling-shot’ maneuver around earth; he was critical of NASA’s risk assessment.

Ultimately, the probe was launched and successfully completed its mission. Kaku is generally a vigorous supporter of the exploration of outer space, believing that the ultimate destiny of the human race may lie in the stars, but is critical of some of the cost-ineffective missions and methods of NASA.

Dr. Kaku credits his anti-nuclear war position to programs he heard on the Pacifica radio network, during his student years in California. It was during this period that he made the decision to turn away from a career developing the next generation of nuclear weapons in association with Dr. Teller and focused on research, teaching, writing and media.

Dr. Kaku joined with others such as Dr. Helen Caldicott, Jonathan Schell, Peace Action and was instrumental in building a global anti-nuclear weapons movement that arose in the 1980s, during the administration of US President Ronald Reagan.

Dr. Kaku was a board member of Peace Action and on the board of radio station WBAI-FM in New York City where he originated his long running program, Explorations, that focused on the issues of science, war, peace and the environment.

The multiverse (or meta-universe) is the hypothetical set of multiple possible universes (including our universe) that together comprise all of reality. The different universes within the multiverse are sometimes called parallel universes.

The structure of the multiverse, the nature of each universe within it and the relationship between the various constituent universes, depend on the specific multiverse hypothesis considered.

Multiverses have been hypothesized in cosmology, physics, astronomy, philosophy, transpersonal psychology and fiction, particularly in science fiction and fantasy.

The specific term “multiverse” was coined in 1895 by psychologist William James. In these contexts, parallel universes are also called “alternative universes”, “quantum universes”, “interpenetrating dimensions”, “parallel worlds”, “alternative realities”, “alternative timelines”, etc.