Robots Make Film On Humans

Yes, it’s true.

Robots Film a Movie.

Read the Story:

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The past few decades have seen robots occupy numerous occupations once purely under the sole purview of humans. This trend towards a de-peopled workplace shows no promise of slowing down anytime soon. In fact, a new project appearing at NYC’sTribeca Film Festival is proving that robots may have yet another role that they can take off our carbon-based hands: documentary filmmaker.

The Blabdroid project aims to be “the world’s first documentary shot and directed entirely by robots.” The project pairs tiny adorable robots with human subjects who are then questioned and filmed by their automated counterparts. The questioning includes sometimes pointed queries such as “What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done to someone,” “Who do you love most in the world,” and “Tell me something you’ve never told a stranger before.”.

The bots were designed by Alexander Reben as part of his MIT Media Lab master thesis under a project originally titled Boxie The Story Gathering Robot. The team sees Blabdroids as being an open-source project that can be uploaded with customizable questions that can be repurposed for other projects.

Aside from artistic purposes, one could imagine Blabdroid-like bots being used as location-specific polling mechanisms or even as replacements for wedding videographers.

While Blabdroids still require a human editor to sort through the footage to appraise the quality of the content, they represent a new and exciting way the human condition can be represented through our newest technological tools.

Source:

http://www.techhive.com/article/2036092/all-robot-film-crew-makes-a-documentary-about-humans.html

Related articles

• Tiny robots shoot documentary film (cbc.ca)

 

Where Do Cockroaches Go? Video

All of a sudden you find cockroaches disappearing, some times with insecticides.

I often wondered as to where and how they have gone?

It is a different matter they appear the moment some food particles are left in the kitchen.

The answer is here.

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When humans see a cockroach skitter away from the light and seem to ‘disappear’, the creatures are actually employing one of nature’s smartest disappearing acts.

Cockroach caught by Slow motion Camera

Now a Berkeley robotics lab has used slow-motion cameras to capture the secrets of the trick – and found that the insects use their rear legs to swing underneath ledges, faster than an eye can see.

Jean-Michel Mongeau of UC Berkeley‘s said, ‘When we slowed it down, we were amazed to see that it was the cockroach’s hind legs grabbing the surface that allowed it to swing around under the ledge.

‘Cockroaches continue to surprise us,’ said Robert Full, a professor of integrative biology who 15 years ago discovered that when cockroaches run rapidly, they rear up on their two hind legs like bipedal humans.

The researchers are studying the insects to build robots that mimic their incredible ‘disappearing’ skills.

‘They have fast relay systems that allow them to dart away quickly in response to light or motion at speeds up to 50 body lengths per second, which is equivalent to a couple hundred miles per hour, if you scale up to the size of humans. This makes them incredibly good at escaping predators.’

Surprisingly, the researchers discovered a similar behavior in lizards, animals that have hook-like toenails, and also documented geckos using this escape technique in the jungle at the Wildlife Reserves near Singapore.

‘This behavior is probably pretty widespread, because it is an effective way to quickly move out of sight for small animals,’ Full said.

The cockroaches’ disappearing act, though, relies on tiny hairs on their legs. Without these crucial hairs, they simply fall off – as seen in a video showing off the ‘trick’.

Mongeau and Brian McRae, an undergraduate bioengineering major, analyzed the mechanics of the ninja-like maneuver and discovered that the cockroach, an American cockroach (Periplaneta americana), wasn’t merely falling over the ledge.

It actually ran at full speed toward the ledge, dove off, then grabbed the edge with its claws – sometimes using only one leg – and swung like a pendulum under the ledge, retaining 75 percent of its running energy.

This pendulum swing subjects the animal to 3-5 times the force of gravity (3-5 gs), similar to what humans feel at the bottom of a bungee jump, Mongeau said.

Aside from helping scientists understand animal locomotion, these findings will go into making better robots.

‘Today, some robots are good at running, some at climbing, but very few are good at both or transitioning from one behavior to the other,’ he said. ‘That’s really the challenge now in robotics, to produce robots that can transition on complex surfaces and get into dangerous areas that first responders can’t get into.’

 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2156378/Secrets-cockroaches-disappearing-act-revealed–creatures-swing-underneath-ledges-vanish.html#ixzz1xXoBRq2D

Robots Take Over Teaching in University! Video.

At the University of Maryland, robots rule, if only for a day. Engineering students coax their creations to life, using batteries and, in one case, mind control. (Sept. 15)

 

Rajinikanth bridged the North-South divide?

Have you ever heard of a Tamil movie being released in Gujarat? Use of technology has given the movie universal appeal. Robot, and an earlier Rajinikanth starrer, Sivaji — The Boss, have broken language barriers.

For the record, the movie was released in 2,250 screens worldwide. This includes 500 screens in Tamil Nadu, 350 in Andhra Pradesh and — believe it or not — 700 in North India. The movie was released in three languages simultaneously. In Tamil and Telugu Robot was titled Endhiran.

It could be one of the biggest grossers in Indian movie history. At the end of the first week, the film is understood to have grossed Rs117 crore.

Even if it isn’t, Robot underscores a new phenomenon in India film-making — the gradual erasure of the North-South divide.

http://www.dnaindia.com/opinion/main-article_how-rajinikanth-bridged-the-north-south-divide-with-robot_1450619

Related.

Remarks trade analyst Taran Adarsh, ” Rajinikanth is the ultimate star of the masses. It’s not as if he’s unaware of his stardom but he’s warm, friendly and down-to-earth when you meet him. His humility shines through and this is what his fans pick up on.”

According to another trade analyst, the Tamil movie (and its Hindi version Robot) has raked in a collection between Rs. 200 to 225 crores in just two weeks since its release on October 1 out of which Rs 150 crore is solely from Tamil Nadu.

http://www.bollypatrika.com/2010/10/19/it%E2%80%99s-time-for-endhiran-2/

 

 

 

 

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Air passengers stunned ad they are joined by Talking Robot.

Ibn Sina, the Arabic speaking humanoid robot, recently thrilled other passengers as Emirates Airlines flight EK817 was transporting one of the world’s most advanced robots from Dubai, United Arab Emirates to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, Emirates News Agency reported.

A first for the airline, Ibn Sina, named after an 11th century philosopher, travelled as a first class passenger on the flight.

Able to verbally interact with people, Ibn Sina stunned fellow passengers as he was checked in at Emirates’ dedicated first class check-in counter and relaxed in the airline’s first class lounge prior to boarding his flight.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1249663/Air-passengers-stunned-joined-talking-robot.html