Assistive Robotics for infants raises larger questions about IP and corporate research
Posted by Carol at December 28th, 2007
In November, 2007, the University of of Delaware announced that two its professors “outfitted kid-size robots to provide mobility to children who are unable to fully explore the world on their own”.
Infants with Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism and other disorders can have mobility limitations that disconnect them from the ongoing exploration that their peers enjoy. The tiny robot is ringed with sensors that can determine the obstacle-free roaming space, and will either allow infants to bump obstacles or will take control from the infant and drive around the obstacle itself. The next prototype, UD2, will build on the current technology to provide additional control to a parent, teacher or other supervising adult.
“In this way, we can bind technology and human need together to remove barriers for movement in the environment,” [co-investigator] Agrawal said. They believe the training, robot design and new technology derived from the project will provide the foundation for the first generation of safe, smart vehicles for infants born with mobility impairments.”
At first glance, this project seems to fall lock step in line with the walking chairs and sensor bots that have made assistive robotics a headline-maker throughout 2007.
What differs, however, is that unlike Toyota’s walking chair, the Delaware research was conducted at the University’s Early Learning Center - a daycare that conducted the in-house research for these prototypes.
The larger set of concerns this prototype raises is an old one: commercialization and ubiquity are key to mass adoption of assistive robots, but are hampered by current models of innovation dissemination and the limited set of choices for robotics development - corporate or academic research.
That the Delaware researchers were able to meet proof of concept is no small feat, but a working model does not a viable tool make. Incubation arms and technology transfer units within universities sometimes speed the deployment of store-shelve ready models, but often this comes at the cost of retained IP rights. By contrast, corporate incubation units focus on fiddling with expensive showpieces designed not for commercialization but instead to grab media attention, demonstrate thought leadership and, of course, secure valuable patents.
Effigy Makers should expand inventories
Posted by Carol at February 3rd, 2007
No longer is it sufficient to stock the shelves with slow-burning G. W. Bush mannequins alone - Chinese President Hu Jintao is proving himself able as an internationally disliked political figure:
“President Hu cancelled one of the showpieces of his African tour yesterday after warnings of anti-Chinese protests.
Still…China’s economic needs — which have already helped its trade with Africa to increase fourfold in a decade to about $55 billion (£29 billion) — are set to triumph over any diplomatic niceties.”
Proof positive that neocolonialism needn’t require a North-South connection?
Why I Love Second Life
Posted by Greg at January 25th, 2007
A quote from a friend of mine:
“##### started off as a man
but then he wanted to be female so he switched
but we couldn’t get the beard off
so he’s this fat short girl with pigtails and a beard
and he goes around telling people how sexy they are”
If you’re looking for this wonderful little mangirl, her Second Life name is LaBamba Yao, and my friend is Cranberry Jonze.
Second Life Realtor Attacked by Flying Pink Dildos
Posted by Greg at December 21st, 2006
Second Life real estate tycoon Anshe Chung is alive and well after a vicious online attack by the anarchist communist terrorist group known as Room 101 saw Chung’s digital self pelted by a stream of pink dildos and obscene photos.
Video of the attack is available here.
This kind of hilariously disruptive spectacle will only become more common as real world businesses and public figures move into Second Life space. Hillary Clinton being assailed by a swarm of Lewinsky heads, Rudy Giuliani being surrounded by towers that just won’t quit falling, or American Apparel’s Second Life store filled with underage porn (ok, that last one isn’t so hard).
As much as this sort of attack might prevent the careful management of brand image that is possible in the real world, I hope they are not completely disallowed or criminalized. While griefers as a concept are, as a friend of mine just said, “pretty much the suck,” as long as resource allocation and system stability don’t suffer and personal rights are not infringed, the kind of twisted whimsical humor they can inject into online environments is very entertaining and provides a much-needed outlet for people to talk back to the figures who drive modern capitalism.
As polished a delivery as might be possible by a politician giving a prepared speech in Second Life may be, the improvised reaction to a stream of pink dildos or other unexpectedly weird interruption would add a bit of a personal flavor that has been missing from both politics and corporate capitalism for as long as I can remember.