2008-08-31
2008-08-25
Founded on a rock
Founded on a rock
"And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, but it did not fall, because it was founded on a rock."
"And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, but it did not fall, because it was founded on a rock."
2008-08-18
The Last Crusader
The Last Crusader by Louis de Wohl
(spanish version)
Fray Juan de Calahorra:
"
I know the books you read about knights errand and great deeds (...)
When you want to be everything - you must go where you are nothing. When you want to have everything - you must go where you have nothing. (...)
God is everything and to Him belongs the universe. Unite with Him and you are everything and everything is yours.
"
--
Historical Romance set in the XVI century and about Don Juan de Austria, Charles V, Phillip II of Spain (I of Portugal), Pope Pius V and, of course, the Battle of Lepanto.
(spanish version)
Fray Juan de Calahorra:
"
I know the books you read about knights errand and great deeds (...)
When you want to be everything - you must go where you are nothing. When you want to have everything - you must go where you have nothing. (...)
God is everything and to Him belongs the universe. Unite with Him and you are everything and everything is yours.
"
--
Historical Romance set in the XVI century and about Don Juan de Austria, Charles V, Phillip II of Spain (I of Portugal), Pope Pius V and, of course, the Battle of Lepanto.
Information overload
Sometimes the amount of information pumped to your eyes through the Internet can become overwhelming. Especially in regard to email and feeds.
In all of this it's very important to note the following: "Don't let the tail wad the dog!", meaning that the Internet exists to serve you and not the other way around.
However I know the feeling of not reading all your mail and worrying about missing that one special thing that would be all-important for your work.
I've come up with a strategy for keeping track of my interests without having to go through all information items and without the "guilt" of not doing it.
In email, I'm using Mozilla Thunderbird and its search folders feature. It allows you to create virtual mail folders (virtual because they don't duplicate storage) that are the result of searching other mail folders for a specific search term like 'Auto-ID', 'automatic identification', etc.
In feeds, I could also use Thunderbird's search folders, but I'm using Google Reader. It, of course, includes Google Search technology to help find the feeds actually worth reading. Unfortunately, Google Reader doesn't have anything similar to search folders, so I have to search manually every time. Still, it's faster and less tiresome than to read all the items.
In all of this it's very important to note the following: "Don't let the tail wad the dog!", meaning that the Internet exists to serve you and not the other way around.
However I know the feeling of not reading all your mail and worrying about missing that one special thing that would be all-important for your work.
I've come up with a strategy for keeping track of my interests without having to go through all information items and without the "guilt" of not doing it.
In email, I'm using Mozilla Thunderbird and its search folders feature. It allows you to create virtual mail folders (virtual because they don't duplicate storage) that are the result of searching other mail folders for a specific search term like 'Auto-ID', 'automatic identification', etc.
In feeds, I could also use Thunderbird's search folders, but I'm using Google Reader. It, of course, includes Google Search technology to help find the feeds actually worth reading. Unfortunately, Google Reader doesn't have anything similar to search folders, so I have to search manually every time. Still, it's faster and less tiresome than to read all the items.
2008-08-01
Three Engineers, Hundreds of Robots, One Warehouse
Erico Guizzo, in "IEEE Spectrum", July 2008
http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/jul08/6380
This article presents Kiva Systems' innovative warehouse operation technology. The following picture (from the company's web site) gives you a notion of how their automatic warehouse works: multiple robots fetching racks of products and navigating using barcodes.
You can also see the following videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vdmtya8emMw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWsMdN7HMuA
I have one suggestion to Kiva: why not create a miniature toy set for their technology? It would make any robot fan go wild with it... myself included :-)
http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/jul08/6380
This article presents Kiva Systems' innovative warehouse operation technology. The following picture (from the company's web site) gives you a notion of how their automatic warehouse works: multiple robots fetching racks of products and navigating using barcodes.
You can also see the following videos:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vdmtya8emMw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWsMdN7HMuA
I have one suggestion to Kiva: why not create a miniature toy set for their technology? It would make any robot fan go wild with it... myself included :-)
AI Landscape
Leake and Gary, in "AI Magazine", Summer 2008 issue
This poster available at AAAI's site, http://www.aaai.org/Magazine/ailandscape.php, is a great way to spread the word about modern, state-of-the-art AI!
It's certainly more interesting (and eye-catching) than the IA perspective I got in my undergrad course back in 1998...
For more information on some of the most interesting IA research currently underway at IST, check Joana's page and contact her.
This poster available at AAAI's site, http://www.aaai.org/Magazine/ailandscape.php, is a great way to spread the word about modern, state-of-the-art AI!It's certainly more interesting (and eye-catching) than the IA perspective I got in my undergrad course back in 1998...
For more information on some of the most interesting IA research currently underway at IST, check Joana's page and contact her.
AI as a child
I, Rodney Brooks, Am a Robot
Rodney Brooks, in "IEEE Spectrum", June 2008
http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/jun08/6307
The article describes the four basic capabilities any true Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) system would have to possess, described in terms of what children can do:
- The object-recognition capabilities of a 2-year-old child (observe a variety of objects, categorize them)
- The language capabilities of a 4-year-old child (engage in dialogs, handle irregularities, idiomatic expressions, noisy environments, accents, incomplete utterances, and interjections; make corrections)
- The manual dexterity of a 6-year-old child (grasp new objects, manipulate flexible objects, pick up flat and thin objects, manipulate unknown objects inside a bag)
- The social understanding of an 8-year-old child ("theory of the mind" about the self and others)
The author also stresses the importance of coupling AI systems to bodies.
A very interesting read, inside the special report about the Technological singularity.
Also check out the magazine's singularity index.
Rodney Brooks, in "IEEE Spectrum", June 2008
http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/jun08/6307
The article describes the four basic capabilities any true Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) system would have to possess, described in terms of what children can do:
- The object-recognition capabilities of a 2-year-old child (observe a variety of objects, categorize them)
- The language capabilities of a 4-year-old child (engage in dialogs, handle irregularities, idiomatic expressions, noisy environments, accents, incomplete utterances, and interjections; make corrections)
- The manual dexterity of a 6-year-old child (grasp new objects, manipulate flexible objects, pick up flat and thin objects, manipulate unknown objects inside a bag)
- The social understanding of an 8-year-old child ("theory of the mind" about the self and others)
The author also stresses the importance of coupling AI systems to bodies.
A very interesting read, inside the special report about the Technological singularity.
Also check out the magazine's singularity index.
How to talk like a salesman
...assuming you want to ;-) (my addition to to the title)
Carl Selinger, in "IEEE Spectrum", June 2008
http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/jun08/6262
The article presents some interesting tips for engineers to integrate sales and marketing in their careers:
- Build a relationship with the sales and marketing staff
- Get the terminology straight
- Segment the market
- Use focus groups to study target groups
- Observe how customers behave with new products
- Read competitor's ads
- Use a venture-capitalist model to develop products
Carl Selinger, in "IEEE Spectrum", June 2008
http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/jun08/6262
The article presents some interesting tips for engineers to integrate sales and marketing in their careers:
- Build a relationship with the sales and marketing staff
- Get the terminology straight
- Segment the market
- Use focus groups to study target groups
- Observe how customers behave with new products
- Read competitor's ads
- Use a venture-capitalist model to develop products
Putting wireless power to work
Sandra Upson, in "IEEE Spectrum", June 2008
http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/jun08/6254
This article discusses works-in-progress to allow smart sensors to harvest their energy from radio-frequency energy.
"The concept was once dismissed as unfeasible because of the rapid dissipation of electromagnetic waves as they travel from their source. But even microwatts, (...) can be enough to power some sensors (...)."
"Typically, wireless sensors are designed to observe environments in a more flexible way than wired ones can. (...)"
"(...) A sensor's power supply is the most confounding problem. Each option has its limitations: a battery alone has a short lifetime, and solar cells (...) can't soak up photons from inside an airplane's wing."
"The technology for harvesting wireless power is essentially based on (...) RFID. A transmitter can both recharge and query RFID-based sensors."
According to the article, a key development is a steady growth in tag communication distances (now up to 100 meters and increasing). One essential problem remains: a reliable source of RF energy is not always available. The solution might be hybrid power supplies, where a sensor can make good use of different tentative power sources, like temperature changes or mechanical movements.
http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/jun08/6254
This article discusses works-in-progress to allow smart sensors to harvest their energy from radio-frequency energy.
"The concept was once dismissed as unfeasible because of the rapid dissipation of electromagnetic waves as they travel from their source. But even microwatts, (...) can be enough to power some sensors (...)."
"Typically, wireless sensors are designed to observe environments in a more flexible way than wired ones can. (...)"
"(...) A sensor's power supply is the most confounding problem. Each option has its limitations: a battery alone has a short lifetime, and solar cells (...) can't soak up photons from inside an airplane's wing."
"The technology for harvesting wireless power is essentially based on (...) RFID. A transmitter can both recharge and query RFID-based sensors."
According to the article, a key development is a steady growth in tag communication distances (now up to 100 meters and increasing). One essential problem remains: a reliable source of RF energy is not always available. The solution might be hybrid power supplies, where a sensor can make good use of different tentative power sources, like temperature changes or mechanical movements.
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