Schools MicroMouse 2005

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Posted by BillM on Tuesday, March 01, 2005 (GST)

Saturday, July 02, 2005 (GST) - Schools MicroMouse 2005

location: Manchester Metropolitan University

The 2005 Schools and Colleges Micromouse Competition takes place on Saturday 2nd July, at Manchester Metropolitan University. Click on the Addtional Information link below to register now.

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At: Haynes International Motor Museaum, Somerset, UK
On: Sunday 10th August 2008
Price: £7.50 per person to spectate, £10 to enter your creation
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See you there!

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Recent robots.net articles

Random Robot Roundup

Pat Meier-Johnson let us know about VIA's press release on the use of their Pico-ITX boards in several robots demonstrated at the Taipei International Robot Show. On a more philosophical note, see the new Search Magazine interview with the always fascinating Daniel Dennett. He talks about consciousness, free will, and science vs religion. Another interesting read is crabfu's review of the Bioloid robot kit. Your remember crabfu, the guy makes the amazing steam-powered machines. The craziest link of the week has to be the one jlin sent us about a breadboard made of real bread. Speaking of jlin (aka RoboJenny); in case you didn't notice her recent blog post, she's been nominated as one of the hottest bloggers of the year. I can't imagine why no one nominated me but as long as we have at least one roboticist on the list, I'm happy. So help us out by voting for RoboJenny. The Swirling Brain reports that a man in Maryland threatened to shoot a police robot after it delivered burgers and soda to the hotel room where he and his girlfriend were having a stand off with the police. He also spotted a Computerworld article where an Intel rep claims robots will be as smart as humans by 2050. And our last swirling news article of the week is a LinuxDevices story on some new laser-guide French robots running Linux. Know any other robot news, gossip, or amazing facts we should report? Send 'em our way please.

Would Julian Jaynes Kick a Robot?

Stevan Harnad gave an interesting keynote talk at the recent Julian Jaynes Conference on Consciousness that both reminisces about Julian Jaynes and addresses the question of whether consciousness depends more on language or feeling. Harnad updates the classic question asked of Julian Jaynes about whether or not is was alright to kick a dog if dogs were not conscious. And what can we learn about consciousness from speculating on the likelihood of Jaynes kicking dogs and robots? More than you might think. Harnad's talk can be found in a newly released paper titled, "What it Feels Like to Hear Voices: Fond Memories of Julian Jaynes" (PDF format).

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KurzweilAI.net Accelerating Intelligence News
A collection of news articles and stories relating to the accelerating nature of technology

Big step in tiny technology

University of St Andrews researchers have developed a method of creating self-assembling nanostructures just one molecule thick -- no sophisticated equipment or special environment (such as a high vacuum) required -- as an alternative to conventional lithography, which is imprecise on a scale of a few nanometers.

(Manfred Buck) The solution-based chemistry method assembles molecules into tiny dimples, themselves created when molecules self-assemble into a honeycomb-shaped network on a gold surface. (Source: http://www.physorg.com/news139066118.html)

Gene therapy for ultimate human running speed and strength

Humans will soon have the ability to modify and greatly enhance muscle fiber strength, enabling speeds of 45 miles per hour and five-seconds times for 100 meters, says Professor Peter Weyand, Southern Methodist University (Texas), known for his expertise in terrestrial locomotion and human and animal performance. DARPA is also spending 3 billion to enhance strength and endurance. (Source: http://nextbigfuture.com/2008/08/gene-therapy-for-ultimate-human-running.html)

Wind Energy Bumps Into Power Grid's Limits

Expansive dreams about renewable energy from wind power and other sources are bumping up against the reality of a power grid that cannot handle the new demands. An Energy Department plan to source 20 percent of the nation's electricity from wind calls for a high-voltage backbone spanning the country, but it would cost $60 billion or more and would be contrained by multistate regulatory restrictions. (Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/business/27grid.html?ref=science)

Researchers Report Advances in Cell Conversion Technique

Biologists at Harvard have converted cells from a mouse's pancreas into the insulin-producing cells that are destroyed in diabetes, using master proteins called transcription factors that control which sets of genes are active in a cell and thus what properties the cell will possess. The research suggests that the natural barriers between the body's cell types may not be as immutable as supposed. This and other recent experiments raise the possibility that a patient's healthy cells might be transformed into the type lost to a disease far more simply and cheaply than in the cumbersome proposals involving stem cells. (Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/28/science/28cell.html?ref=science)

Textured graphics can be captured in a flash

University of Manchester scientists have developed a simple technique to add depth to textured surfaces displayed as backdrops in computer games and digital dome presentations. They found they could reconstruct the depth of a surface simply by taking two photos of it -- one with a flash and one without -- and processing the resulting shading patterns to capture the surface's 3D texture. (Source: http://technology.newscientist.com/channel/tech/dn14612-textured-graphics-can-be-captured-in-a-flash.html?feedId=online-news_rss20)

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