| Scientists take mind-controlled robot for a stroll (video) Jul 6th 2012, 19:11  What if you could control a robot -- wait, don't answer yet -- with your mind? Pretty great, right? That's what the Virtual Embodiment and Robotic Re-embodiment (VERE) group is working on, and it's made some pretty good, you know, strides. New Scientist details a test utilizing fMRI brain activity-sensing technology to control a robot in France from a laboratory in Israel. The volunteer was able to perform tasks like walking around a room, following a person with the small 'bot and locating a teapot, using visuals from a camera embedded in the robot's head. There's a "small" delay in the technology, but researcher Ori Cohen insists that it's possible to anticipate and compensate for it. The technology, which one scientist compared to Avatar, naturally, has some truly beneficial potential applications, and the scientists have plans to test it out with paralyzed subjects, giving them the opportunity to control a surrogate with their mind. The fMRI technology, meanwhile, may be swapped out for an electrode-based electroencephalogram system, and the scientists plan to try things out with a Japanese robot that is roughly the height of a human for future testing. Check out a video of the project in its current state after the break. Continue reading Scientists take mind-controlled robot for a stroll (video) Scientists take mind-controlled robot for a stroll (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Jul 2012 15:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink  Gizmodo |  New Scientist (Registration Required) | Email this | Comments | | Engadget Podcast 300 - 07.06.2012 Jul 6th 2012, 18:41 300 episodes ago, the Engadget Podcast existed, before podcasts themselves really even existed, amongst Treos, StarTACs, and O.G. RAZRs. This one is hanging out with Qs, 7s, and Beans. What hardware will 600 be accompanied by? Where on the time-space continuum will the hosts record from? Will their cortical stacks be podcasting for them? These are the questions of Generation Engadget Podcast. Hosts: Tim Stevens, Brian Heater, Dana Wollman
Guests: Ryan Block, Darren Murph, Phillip Torrone, Josh Fruhlinger
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Music: Orbital - Never 08:10 - Nexus 7 review: the best $200 tablet you can buy
21:21 - Nexus Q social streaming device hands-on
28:25 - Jelly Bean, Android 4.1 revealed by Google, rolling out in mid-July
36:55 - Google's Project Glass gets some more details
50:30 - RIM announces Q1 earnings: $518 million net loss, 5,000 job cuts, BB10 not due until Q1 2013
51:00 - RIM's Thorsten Heins denies company's 'death spiral,' predicts successful transition to BlackBerry 10
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E-mail us: podcast at engadget dot com Engadget Podcast 300 - 07.06.2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Jul 2012 14:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | EA opens SimCity Social on Facebook, really, really hopes you'll 'like' it Jul 6th 2012, 18:13  Sure, it may not have been the most, you know, explosive launch at this year's E3 -- but if Facebook "likes" are any sort of metric (which, granted, is debatable), EA's newly reborn and heavily-socialized SimCity has a bright future ahead of it. SimCity Social opened up shop on the Zuckerbergian social network this week, letting players plan and build cities, harnessing the site's massive user base to build friendly relationships or form rivalries between towns. The 800k or so likes the game has currently racked up clearly aren't enough, so EA is offering up exclusive content for those who click the friendly thumb. And seeing as how sitting in front of your computer wouldn't be complete without some fried breakfast pastries, Dunkin' Donuts is getting in the act, allowing players to gift coffee and doughnut "Boosts" in-game. Continue reading EA opens SimCity Social on Facebook, really, really hopes you'll 'like' it EA opens SimCity Social on Facebook, really, really hopes you'll 'like' it originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Jul 2012 14:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Facebook | Email this | Comments | | Google slips out YouTube Android Player API, third-party apps get full Nyan Cat experience (video) Jul 6th 2012, 17:23  For all of Google's emphasis on integrating its own services across Android, playing YouTube videos outside of the official YouTube app has usually required losing some piece of the experience, whether it's backwards compatibility, mobile optimization or just keeping viewers in the same app where they started. As it turns out, Google was well aware of this problem during Google I/O this year and teased a solution while everyone else was still recovering from their Nexus 7-induced fevers. A new YouTube Android Player API will let third parties integrate a full YouTube player into their Android apps with adaptive streaming, orientation and other special tricks intact. Any Android 2.2 or later device (including Google TV boxes) can come along for the ride, and views will count towards producers getting paid. Full details are only coming in the next few months, but app developers who've been craving a chance to slip in some viral videos can get an early look at the API near the start of the session video below -- or just load the Google I/O 2012 app, which has the code baked in. Continue reading Google slips out YouTube Android Player API, third-party apps get full Nyan Cat experience (video) Google slips out YouTube Android Player API, third-party apps get full Nyan Cat experience (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Jul 2012 13:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Android Central | Email this | Comments | |
