Robot Prison Guards in South Korea
Posted on November 29, 2011 Comments (2)
Robotic prison wardens to patrol South Korean prison
The country’s Ministry of Knowledge Economy said in January that it had spent the equivalent of £415m on research in the sector between 2002 and 2010. It said the aim was to compete with other countries, such as Japan, which are also exploring the industry’s potential.
In October the ministry said the Korean robot market had recorded 75% growth over the past two years and was now worth about £1 billion…
The potential market for robotics is huge. Smart countries are investing in becoming the centers for excellence in that area. Japan and South Korea may well be in the lead. The USA, Germany and China also have strong communities.
Related: Robot Finds Lost Shoppers and Provides Directions – The Robotic Dog (2008 post) – Soft Morphing Robot Future – Honda’s Robolegs Help People Walk – Roachbot: Cockroach Controlled Robot
Tags: Economics,Funding,government,investing in science,Korea,Products,Robots,Technology
Friday Fun: Octopus Walks on Land
Posted on November 25, 2011 Comments (2)
Just a fun video for your Friday. Octopuses are really very cool. Not quite as cool as cats but way up there in the realm of cool animals. Octopuses, octopi and octopodes are all acceptable words for plural of octopus?
A few year ago (2008) I posted about another very cool octopus, who liked to juggling fellow aquarium occupants.
I think I will devote more time to learning about octopuses and posting more about them.
Related: Hydromedusae, Siphonophora, Cnidarians, Ctenophores – Critter Cam: Sea Lion versus Octopus – Red octopus at a brine lake beneath the sea
YouTube SpaceLab Experiment Competition
Posted on November 24, 2011 Comments (0)
YouTube SpaceLab is an open competition inviting 14 – 18 year olds (anywhere in the world) to create an idea for a science experiment in space. You don’t have to actually do the experiment, you just have to record yourself explaining it.
Entries must have be submitted on YouTube by 07:59 GMT on December 8th.
The winning experiments will be conducted on the International Space Station (ISS) and beamed live on YouTube for the whole planet to see.
Winners get the choice to either watch the rocket blast off with your idea on it in Japan or take a specially tailored astronaut training course in Russia when you turn 18. There are other amazing prizes for the runners-up too.
Here is an example entry from 3 students in UK on an experiment to learn about quorum sensing by bacteria in the micro gravity of space.
Related: Google Science Fair 2011 Projects – Bacteria Communicate Using a Chemical Language (quorum sensing) – 11 Year Old Using Design of Experiments – Research by group of 8 to 10 Year Olds Published in Royal Society Journal
Nature Uses Stem Cells from Fetus to Repair Health of Mother
Posted on November 23, 2011 Comments (0)
Science shows us so many amazing things. Scientists have learned mice use stem cells from the fetus to repair damage to the mother in the event of things like heart attacks. And there is evidence people do the same thing. Very cool. Nature beat us to the idea of using stem cells to treat health problems.
Helpful Mouse Fetuses Naturally Send Stem Cells to Mom to Fix Her Damaged Heart
What’s more, the embryo’s stem cells had differentiated into various types of heart tissue, including cardiomyocytes, the rhythmically contracting muscle cells that produce a heartbeat.
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The hearts of two women who suffered from severe heart weakness were later found to contain cells derived from the cells of a male fetus years after they gave birth to their sons.
The same thing seems to hold true for other organs. When pregnant women have damage in other organs, including the brain, lung, and liver, earlier studies have shown, fetal cells show up there, too.
It makes sense for a fetus to try and aid the mother but it is amazing the evolution found such solutions. Given how many challenges the fetus creates for the mother giving some benefits can help increase the odds of a health birth.
Related: Researchers Explain How Rotifers Thrive Despite Forgoing Sex – Making Embryonic Stem Cells – Structure and Function of Ribosome – Why People Often Get Sicker When They’re Stressed
Tags: amazing,biology,cool,human health,Life Science,nature,open access paper,quote,Science
I was Interviewed About Encouraging Kids to Pursue Engineering
Posted on November 21, 2011 Comments (4)
Amanda Moreno interviewed me about Encouraging Kids to Pursue Engineering over on the Knovel Blog.
What can parents do to cultivate an interest in science in their kids early on?
John Hunter: Ask questions. Answer questions. Explain how things work. Explain why things are done the way they are. Kids want the attention of their parents, and when they are younger they are constantly trying to get it (dad look, mom look, watch me!). They have similar feelings when they are older, but are not as forthright about saying what they want. If you take a sincere interest in their questions, you’ll motivate them to continue pondering how the world works. Make it fun to learn. Kids have an intrinsic motivation to learn. Keeping their curiosity alive is the first step.
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So, on the university level, professors generally aren’t student-centric enough. What other factors are discouraging students in the classroom?
JH: I have one belief that is close to heresy. I don’t see why publication has to be so important for professors (if what we are after is good teachers, not authors). …
Read the rest of the interview.
Related: Backyard Wildlife: Sharpshinned Hawk – Qubits Construction Toy – What Kids can Learn By Playing – Encouraging Curiosity in Kids
Tags: Engineering,engineering education,John Hunter,kids,learning,science education
Grauer’s Gorilla (Eastern Lowlands Gorilla)
Posted on November 18, 2011 Comments (0)
The Grauer’s Gorilla (Eastern Lowlands Gorilla) is closely related to the endangered mountain gorilla and is found in the Congo. The eastern lowland gorilla is actually the largest gorilla; males can weigh over 500 pounds. As you can guess from the name, these gorilla’s prefer lowlands to the mountains.
Sadly the eastern lowland gorilla wild population is estimated to have fallen below 8,000 due to warfare (intruding on their territory), agriculture, mining, logging and hunting gorilla’s for meat. The Wildlife Conservation Society is helping preserve habitat for these wonderful creatures.
Related: Massive Western Lowland Gorilla Population in Northern Republic of Congo – Savanna Chimpanzees Hunt with Tools – Orangutan Attempts to Hunt Fish with Spear – Insightful Problem Solving in an Asian Elephant
Schematics of Electronic Circuits
Posted on November 17, 2011 Comments (0)
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If a line runs between components, it means that they are connected, period, and it tells you nothing else. The connection can be a wire, a copper trace, a plug-socket connection, a metal chassis, or anything else that electricity will run through without much resistance. Messy details like wire or cable specifications and routing, if they are important for a project, belong elsewhere in its documentation. The length of a line also has nothing to do with the connection’s actual distance in real life. Schematics are drawn (ideally) to be clear and simple, with components and connections arranged on the page to minimize clutter, not to represent how they might be placed on a circuit board.
The video and the article give you a good start on understanding schematics. There are 2 ways to show wires crossing in a schematic (the video shows one, the article shows both). Learning how to read a schematic gives you the ability to go many different directions with your home engineering efforts. Have fun.
Related: Arduino: Open Source Programmable Hardware – EZ-Builder Robot Control Software – Building a Windmill to Generate Electricity by Reading and Experimenting – Teaching Through Tinkering
Apply to be an Astronaut
Posted on November 15, 2011 Comments (3)
Are you looking to change jobs? NASA is seeking outstanding scientists, engineers, and other talented professionals to carry forward the great discovery process that its mission demands. Creativity. Ambition. Teamwork. A sense of daring. Curiosity. That’s what it takes to join NASA, one of the best places to work in the Federal Government.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has a need for Astronaut Candidates to support the International Space Station Program and future deep space exploration activities.
In 1959 NASA selected its first group of 7 astronaut candidates. Since then 20 additional classes have been selected; bringing the total number of astronaut candidates to 330.
The astronauts of the 21st century will continue to work aboard the International Space Station in cooperation with our international partners; help to build and fly a new NASA vehicle, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) designed for human deep space exploration; and further NASA’s efforts to partner with industry to provide a commercial capability for space transportation to the space station.
NASA is in the process of identifying possible near-Earth asteroids to explore with the goal of visiting an asteroid in 2025. With that goal, and keeping in mind that the plan is to send a robotic precursor mission to the asteroid approximately five years before humans arrive, NASA will need to select the first set of targets to explore within the next decade.
Requirement include: Applicants for the Astronaut Candidate Program must meet the basic education requirements for NASA engineering and scientific positions, specifically: successful completion of standard professional curriculum in an accredited college or university leading to at least a bachelor’s degree with major study in an appropriate field of engineering, biological science, physical science, or mathematics.
Related: NASA Robotics Academy – NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover – Astronaut Drops a Hammer and Feather on the Moon
Tags: astrobiology,Career,Engineering,fun,government,jobs,NASA,Science,space
Russia Launches Mars Moon Probe
Posted on November 8, 2011 Comments (0)
Russians launch Mars moon probe
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Moscow has despatched a total of 16 missions to the Red Planet since the 1960s. None has successfully completed its goals, with the most recent endeavour – the sophisticated Mars-96 spacecraft – being destroyed in a failed launch.
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Once on the surface, a robotic arm will pick up samples of the regolith (“soil”). Some of this material will be analysed there and then, but a portion of it – about 200g – will be transferred to a canister for return to Earth.
This canister and its departure stage should be sent home within a few days of Phobos-Grunt’s arrival on the moon. All being well, the canister should fall to Earth in the Kazakh desert in August 2014.
Potato-shaped Phobos is a fascinating target. Although it has been studied extensively by passing satellites, it still holds many secrets – not just about itself, but also the planet below.
The mission also is carrying a Chinese satellite that will be launched into orbit around Mars. This mission shows the future of space exploration. The USA continues to reduce the funding for space exploration while countries such as China are greatly increasing their funding.
I expect the leading space exploration will become much more global and the USA will take a less prominent role as the USA decides to spend funds elsewhere instead of scientific missions in space. Politicians in the USA have also stopped NASA from collaborating internationally which further reduces the USA role in the future of scientific research in space.
Russia seems to be making a new push to invest in space after a period of reduced funding. Russia’s economy still has many weaknesses, but in the last decade the oil wealth has provided some wealth and Russia is interested in using some of those funds for space exploration.
Update: This attempt failed also, making Russia 0 for 17 on Mars attempts. In the last few years Russia has shown a renewed interest in investing in space exploration. But their struggles show that it isn’t easy to in effect restart a program. Space exploration requires a great deal of very complex work. I hope they can get back on track and efforts in other countries also do well: China, Japan…
Related: NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover – Magnetic Portals Connect Sun and Earth – Great Astronaut Self Portrait
Dennis Hong, Virginia Tech Mechanical Engineering Professor, Leading Robotics Innovation
Posted on November 5, 2011 Comments (4)
Dennis Hong is the U.S. star in humanoid robotics
Korean fathers of that era were strict and remote. Hong’s father was engaged and intellectually indulgent. He installed a work bench in Dennis’s room when he was 4, complete with a hammer and saw. He led the children in chemistry experiments and brought home model airplanes from America.
Dennis Hong built things with scraps of wood and metal and bits of plastic. He disassembled toys and stored the parts in a chest beneath his bed.
“We spent a lot of time building things and breaking things,” said Julie Hong, Hong’s older sister. “He was the one who broke things the most and built things the most.”
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Hong traveled to America to complete his university study, following his father’s credo, “Big fish must swim in the big sea.” He earned a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering at the University of Wisconsin and a master’s and doctorate at Purdue.
Dennis’ success illustrates several themes repeated in posts on this blog: the USA attracting talent from overseas, kids curiosity and exposure to science and engineering leading to great things, the value of strong science and engineering programs and professors. Robotics continue to progress very quickly. The economic impact of robotics is large already (largely in manufacturing) and will continue to grow dramatically. Likely robots will find their way into much more diverse areas over the next 2 decades. The Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory, lead by Dennis Hong, seems poised to play a big role in that future.
Related: Robocup 2010, Robot Football – Soft Morphing Robot Future – Evolution of Altruism in Robots – Toyota Develops Thought-controlled Wheelchair
Tags: engineers,Madison,mechanical engineering,professors,Robots,university research,Virginia
Friday Fun: Cat Using the Doorbell
Posted on November 4, 2011 Comments (1)
Curious cats are the best. This one uses the doorbell to get into the house.
Related: Automatic Cat Feeder – Curious Cat Hat – Friday Fun, Cat Parkour
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