Electronic skin reacts to pain like a human
Electronic skins can already react to touch, but they’re not much good at reacting to the jabs and burns that cause pain. That’s a problem for prosthetics and robots that are supposed to have human-like responses. They may be more sensitive in the future, though. RMIT University researchers have developed an artificial skin (via SciTechDaily) that reacts to pain much like humans do. It would provide “near-instant” feedback if pressure and temperatures hit levels that would make someone yelp.
The wearable prototype is made of stretchable, extremely thin electronics (oxides and biocompatible silicone) with pressure sensing, temperature-reactive coatings and brainlike memory cells. It’s subtle enough to communicate the difference between gently poking yourself with a pin versus a painful jab, researcher Md Ataur Rahman said. The design mimics the neurons, neural pathways and receptors that guide human senses.
Robots could be less intimidating as they’d exhibit more human-like fragility. It could also be useful for non-invasive skin grafts where conventional methods aren’t effective.
See the full story here: https://www.engadget.com/electronic-skin-reacts-to-pain-like-humans-204141247.html
Establishing privacy controls for virtual reality and immersive technology
Privacy laws, like the California Consumer Privacy Act and EU General Data Protection Regulation, may establish baseline privacy compliance expectations for companies building and using immersive technologies. In a thoughtful piece for Privacy Perspectives four years ago, Intel called for data protection rules to extend to virtual places and data objects, but what a suite of meaningful privacy rules looks like in XR is unclear.
I would recommend the following three actions.
First, improve transparency and begin making XR-specific data disclosures.
AR point clouds and other sensor-based mapping functionality are necessary to sell the illusion of virtual reality, but companies need to recognize that XR users will react to mapping functionality in much the same way that they have become apprehensive about location tracking.
Similarly, with growing regulatory interest in facial recognition and biometrics, XR companies should be much more open about the types of biometric data that are either collected or derived from these technologies.
Second, embrace transparency reporting and technical solutions to restrain data sharing. Facebook’s recent announcement that its Oculus headsets would be locally recording users’ experience in its Horizon VR app on a rolling basis highlights the surveillance potential of XR. Researchers at the University of Washington have highlighted how XR presents another tension point for the Fourth Amendment’s third-party doctrine, and it is not an exaggeration to say that metaverse enthusiasts are concerned immersive technology opens the door to a “total surveillance state.”
Third, shaping a new reality requires a commitment to diversity and inclusion.
Women often choose non-gendered avatars like robots to disguise themselves and avoid harassment.
...what is to stop digital makeup from becoming an individual’s permanent reality? These types of augmentations or filters may have spillover effects on users’ physical bodies and sense of self — "Snapchat dysmorphia" is a new term to describe the trend of people getting plastic surgery to look like the versions of themselves that appear in social media filters.
See the full story here: https://iapp.org/news/a/establishing-privacy-controls-for-virtual-reality-and-immersive-technology/
Ancient Greek History Revived Through Pioneering Virtual Reality Project
“In the first scenario, the viewer will be able to wander around the ancient Cycladean city of Santorini, and learn about all the technological innovations then in use at the site of Akrotiri”, Kontonikolaou adds.
“This was the oldest Greek, and possibly one of the first world civilizations to use structural elements of modern-day societies which were very advanced for that era, such as a sewage system and other innovations. Thanks to the motion simulator platform, users will be able to even feel the earthquake caused by the eruption of the volcano in 1613 B.C. that flattened out the city”.
See the full story here: https://greece.greekreporter.com/2020/09/09/ancient-greek-history-revived-through-pioneering-virtual-reality-project/
Hersheypark Delivers Secure, Guest-friendly Entrance Experience with Evolv Technology’s Touchless Screening System
Using AI software and powerful sensors, Evolv Express™ can screen up to 3,600 people per hour – 10 times faster than legacy approaches such as metal detectors, hand wands and manual inspections. The system enables Hersheypark to facilitate social distancing at its security checkpoints while minimizing person-to-person interaction—requiring no stopping, no emptying of pockets or removing bags. Park guests simply walk through naturally, alleviating potential long lines at their entrances while greatly reducing contact between guests, employees and security staff. By using Evolv Express, organizations have been able to optimize the performance of their security teams while reducing screening expenses by as much as 70%.
With metal detectors, it typically takes the park four to five seconds per person for screening, regularly followed by hand searching of bags or other personal items. With Evolv Express, most guests now stroll through at their normal pace not even realizing the screening process is occurring and then begin their day of fun and relaxation.
Deployed worldwide, Evolv’s touchless security screening systems have been used to screen more than 50 million individuals in an expedient, respectful manner. In addition to Hersheypark, customers include Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, L.L. Bean, Wynn Las Vegas, Georgia Aquarium, Set Jet, Oakland International Airport, two South Carolina school districts, the Biltmore Estate and hundreds of others.
The company’s latest product, coupled with a thermal imaging package, spots concealed weapons and potential virus infection threats using advanced digital sensors and artificial intelligence that is incredibly accurate, discreet and delivers significantly more throughput than older technologies.
Israeli startup’s counter-drone augmented reality system to deploy with US forces
A new joint Israeli and U.S. program aims to develop an augmented reality based control for unmanned systems to engage in small drone-on-drone warfare.
The new pilot program — led by Israel’s Directorate of Defense Research and Development and the U.S. Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office — is based around the Israeli company Xtend’s Skylord counter-UAV system.
The program has thus far produced a drone system with an immersive interface that protects troops from various aerial threats, according to the Israeli Ministry of Defense. A user can wear goggles to see through the lens of the drone, and using a hand-held controller, can then fly the drone to observe a threat and use the drone’s hard kill ability to knock down the UAV threat.
Landau noted that as some solutions are vulnerable to electronic warfare technology such as jamming, countering threats with “kinetic solutions” is needed. Xtend’s system enables the user to fly the drone into the incoming threat. This requires detection, either visually by the unit in the field or using guidance from a command-and-control system. The goal is to hand over to the machine as much of the job as possible — including piloting the drone while the human user makes decisions.
See the full story here: https://www.defensenews.com/unmanned/2020/09/08/israeli-startups-counter-drone-augmented-reality-system-to-deploy-with-us-forces/
How Augmented Reality and 3D Tech Is Changing the Food Game
PhilNote: the Penera campaign paid for itself, but the numbers are still insignificant.
See the full story here: https://arpost.co/2020/09/08/augmented-reality-3d-tech-food/
What the death of coffee shops tells us about Silicon Valley
But Silicon Valley’s coffee shops are more than just caffeine stops — they are venues for programming, pitching, dealmaking and brainstorming. That these conversations could be so easily overheard seemed strange to me when I first moved there, and it can be irritating for residents who don’t work in tech to be constantly surrounded by a nerdy hubbub. For me at least, over the years, it became a useful form of ambient awareness of the industry’s latest obsessions.
Silicon Valley thrust social media and video conferencing on an unsuspecting world and in the past six months we have never been more grateful. Yet the cradle of the internet has always thrived on physical networking. Nowhere has been able to match the Bay Area’s density of talent, capital and ambition. Now, the opportunities for serendipity — so vital for nourishing the community — seem to be diminishing, in no small part due to the rapid shift to remote working that the tech industry has embraced: Facebook, Twitter and others have all said they will allow people to work from anywhere after the pandemic recedes.
If tech staff do become more widely distributed, that would only reflect where most of the industry’s best ideas are coming from these days. Some of the most influential tech companies today are not based in the Valley: TikTok is Chinese, with its US base in Los Angeles. Shopify, the ecommerce platform that inspired several start-up ideas in the latest Y Combinator batch, is in Ottawa, Canada. The most important new internet markets — such as India, Indonesia and Nigeria — are far beyond the horizon of closeted US West Coasters.
See the full story here: https://www.ft.com/content/99d312ba-17f8-49cf-84e0-429d9aadb226
Yale Cabaret, CCAM explore new forms of storytelling
Members of the Yale community gathered on Saturday to discuss emerging technologies that could be applied to theater during a pandemic that limits close-contact performances.
The event, hosted by the Yale Cabaret and the Yale Center for Collaborative Arts and Media (CCAM), featured three speakers who shared their visions for stage-storytelling in a digital age. They discussed proposals ranging from at-home prop design to LED costumes with motion sensors.
Yale School of Art professor Justin Berry explained how creators can use both virtual and augmented reality to create interactive stories.
Toni Dove, a New York-based interactive artist who CCAM director Dana Karwas introduced as “a pioneer,” also spoke at Saturday’s event. Dove’s work centers on “making human-operated machines that tell stories” and engages motion-sensing to create interactive user experiences.
Dove showed the attendees several of her projects, including the “Dress That Eats Souls.” The LED dress, which the New York Times dubbed “a towering robot of sorts,” responds to users’ movements, captures their image and displays it. It also speaks to and instructs the user. Pieces like the dress, she explained, are not only art but historical artifacts.
See the full story here: https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2020/09/07/yale-cabaret-ccam-explore-new-forms-of-storytelling/