Source: http://gizmodo.com/this-simple-siri-hack-lets-you-control-anything-with-yo-1564200457
Voice control is a super convenient way to control stuff with your phone, at least when your AI isn't just shouting error messages at other computers
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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/17/google-street-view-recaptcha/
You know how Google's been doing such a great job associating addresses with their locations on a map? Apparently, it's all thanks to the company's new magical algorithm that can parse (with 90 percent accuracy) even fuzzy numbers in pictures taken by Street View vehicles. In fact, the technology's so good that it managed to read even those headache-inducing swirly reCAPTCHA images 99 percent of the time during the company's tests. While that proves that the system works really well, it also implies that the distorted Rorschach-like puzzles are not a fool-proof indicator of whether a user is human.
Yes, robots can beat reCAPTCHA after all, but Google swears that it doesn't matter. The company says these findings have nudged it to build additional safeguards, so that it now looks at a number of clues (and not just the text you type in) to determine if you're human or not. Google didn't expound on what those clues are, but next time you get another set of reCAPTCHA puzzles despite doing it right the first time around, you know what's up.Source: Google (1), (2)
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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/16/googolplex-siri/
We already know Apple is working on improving Siri, but gosh dangit, the folks in Cupertino just aren't moving as fast as some would like. That's why a quartet of freshmen at the University of Pennsylvania decided to try making Siri do more on their own... at a hackathon, no less. They wound up taking third prize for the hack -- called GoogolPlex -- and after some fine-tuning, Alex Sands, Ajay Patel, Ben Hsu and Gagan Gupta are ready to help you make your virtual assistant do more. The setup process is trivial: you just have to change your Wi-Fi connection's proxy settings (seriously, it'll take five seconds). Once that's done though, you can invoke Siri and ask GoogolPlex to play tunes in Spotify, crank up the heat on your Nest thermostat or even start your Tesla.
Fiddling with proxy settings may not be your cup of tea, but it's actually crucial to how GoogolPlex works. You see, Siri parses these voice commands and sends them along to Google as search terms, but Googolplex intercepts that text and chews on it so it knows what service's API to interact with (don't worry, Gupta says none of your commands are ever stored). Hell, if you happen to be conversant in code, you can cobble together your own GoogolPlex commands for other apps too. Case in point: the team was originally going to reveal GoogolPlex with a Venmo command to initiate payments by voice. The full, more technical explanation can be found here.
Is it neat? You bet, especially since older projects that tried to do the same were a hassle to set up. Is it a totally polished way to expand Siri's mind? Erm, not quite. You can bark commands at Googolplex all you like, but actually getting a response takes a little time since you're always routed to Safari. Still, not a huge deal considering you can coax Googolplex into doing things Siri just can't. It's only a matter of time before Apple pushes out a shiny new build of iOS that makes some (or most) of what this hack does redundant, but for now, it's time to get a-tinkerin'.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple
Source: GoogolPlex
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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/16/mi-mu-gloves/
If you thought Michael Jackson was the only musician to believe in the magical power of a glove, think again. Imogen Heap has "joined forces with the nerd underworld" to create a new high-tech glove called Mi.Mu that allows you to control sound with your hands. Using lights and motion sensors, the gloves can map a variety of hand gestures to different instruments and sounds, with each pair able to store literally thousands of combinations. It's a concept she first talked about at TED in 2011.
Right now the gestural music system is being built specifically for Heap, who has already come up with some crazy combinations. One of them, for example, is as follows: "If I am making a fist with my right hand, and pointing downwards with my left hand, map the 'roll' of my right wrist to MIDI control change message 60 on channel 2." Say what? The goal is to make the project open-source so anyone can get in on the action. Pricing on the Mi.Mu's Kickstarter page, however, represents a product that's more for pop stars than your average garage band. To get a glove and the necessary electronics you'll need to shell out 750 pounds ($1260!). If you do decide to invest, the system could certainly add a little flair to your stage presence -- as long as you don't have to sneeze.
Image source: Imogen Heap
Filed under: Alt
Source: Kickstarter, Imogen Heap
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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/16/mit-s-concept-for-a-floating-nuclear-plant-claims-to-be-tsunami/
What's the safest place to put a nuclear reactor? Offshore, apparently. A new power plant design concept from MIT envisions a facility built on floating platforms, moored in deep water several miles off the coast. This, the concept's creators explain, lends it several crucial advantages -- making it virtually immune to earthquakes, tsunamis and meltdowns. Big promises, to be sure, but the professors' reasoning actually makes sense: in deep water, tsunami waves aren't large enough to cause significant damage, and earthquakes are usually only felt if you're standing on the earth. Floating the reactor on the ocean also gives the plant access to easy, passive cooling, what MIT's Jacopo Buongiorno calls an "infinite heat sink."
The concept may be designed to prevent natural disasters, but some of its ideas sound a little dangerous on their own. Buongiorno describes an emergency situation that sees the plant venting radioactive gasses into the ocean, rather than into the air. This protects nearby populations from airborne radiation, but seems like a questionable move in terms of protecting the local environment. For now, it's just an idea -- but if the idea can be developed further, it could provide us with safer, more manageable nuclear power in the future.
[Image credit: MIT-NSE, Jake Jurewicz]
Filed under: Science
Source: MIT News
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