Tag: GEORGIATECH

If robots are going to play well with humans, they have to master even the subtlest of interactions. Georgia Tech roboticists (the same guys who gave us a robot that touches appropriately) have developed a robot that gauges its observers' attention level, and reacts to those around it. With a wave, the adorably humanoid Simon attempts to get the attention of a nearby researcher. Using ...

Artificial intelligence may have made leaps and bounds in recent years, but roboticists still have a long way to go in mapping and replicating the type of emotional intelligence that informs much of human interaction. It's no easy task. The trick is that even while scientists make progress on one front (take the emotionally mature Nexi), human interactions are so complex that even small issues ...

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have discovered a way to use modified LCD projectors to control the brains and muscles of small creatures such as worms -- provided they've been properly genetically modified. Using red, green and blue lights emitted by a projector, the researchers were able to activate light-sensitive proteins engineered within the subject organisms, triggering ...

Scientists persistently pursue the development of effective robotic caretakers, and the Georgia Institute of Technology just significantly upgraded the capabilities of such service-bots. The Georgia Tech engineers reportedly utilized a "Segway omnidirectional mobile base, two anthropomorphic arms with seven degrees of freedom and wrists equipped with 6-axis force/torque sensors" to create Cody the ...

The inescapable and unstoppable robots from DARPA and Boston Dynamics frequently incite nerdy references to Skynet and the destruction of humanity. But, two groups of university eggheads -- who realistically should know better -- are apparently engaged in a competition to produce the most horrifying, nightmarish robots ever to grace (and eventually destroy) the planet. One-upping their ...

Forget swallowing pills or being poked by a needle. According to ABC News, scientists at Georgia Tech University have developed a way to inject vaccines directly into cells by using a laser beam to blow holes into that most basic unit of life. In this technique, scientists place blackened carbon nanoparticles (called "soot") next to the cells in question, which are then blasted with infrared ...

A new vaccine delivery system is being developed by Georgia Tech and Emory University: a small patch embedded with 100 "microneedles" that is, supposedly, almost painless. The needles themselves are about 0.65 milimeters long, filled with frozen vaccine and applied to the skin like a Band-Aid. Once the needles have deposited their weakened virus, they dissolve into the skin and leave no trace. ...

Roombas hold a special place in their owners' hearts. They're kind of cute, make maintaining a clean house effortless, and are infinitely hackable. But a new study from Georgia Tech's College of Computing indicates that some people may be forging bonds with their gadgets that are normally reserved for pets. [Edit. Note: It appears the Amazon reviews of the little bot confirms this. We've read ...

There's cheating, and then there's out-thinking the room. Georgia Tech's own Justin Needham and Matthew Straub are clearly headed for great things, as their Digitally Assisted Billiards is reason enough to give these guys a degree in our eyes. Using an array of low-end kit -- just an eBox 2300 embedded computer, Logitech webcam, 4- x 3-foot mirror, a VGA projector, pool table and a few extenders ...

It turns out that the tongue isn't tied to the spinal cord (had we paid better attention in Bio101, we'd have known that), which goes a long way towards keeping it unimpared in the event of spinal cord injury. A team at Georgia Tech is developing a tongue-based apparatus for disabled people that, which not as elegantly packaged as the GRAViTONUS device we've seen earlier, fashions a pointing ...