Robots Do Have Emotions You Know!

It's known as the "Heart Robot" and has recently gone on display at London's Science Museum.

It is the first robots built to show emotional feelings or in effect replicate these feelings as a machine. The Heart Robot is the main attraction at the Emotibots exhibition at the Science Museum.

Inventors claim it's developement is for medical treatment and enjoyment. It has a beating heart which rises when the body is shaken, but slows down when treated calmly. It's a robot that actually enjoys being cuddled and stroked and responds to this interaction from its number of sensors. Treat him rough and he tenses, his hands clench, he blinks with alarm. He can also register volume: he knows when you are shouting at him, but irony passes him by. Heart Robots' eyes flutter or blink in response to a touch.

It's predicted this part-puppet, part-machine creation is an example of how robots will increasingly adopt human characteristics in the coming years.

Pirates vs BT, Virgin, Orange, Tiscali, BSkyB and Carphone Warehouse

Ding ding round one. well this has been brewing for years and it seems the fight is now turning into a full on fight with six broadband providers unifying to tackle piracy once and for all time. As they are the biggest of the major ISPs in the UK, it will no doubt have some punching power and may even deliver a knockout blow to the pirates.

The agreed plan with the music industry to tackle piracy online will see thousands of letters sent to net users suspected of illegally sharing music, with warnings of
their broadband connections slowed, under measures proposed by the UK government.
BT, Virgin, Orange, Tiscali, BSkyB and Carphone Warehouse have all signed up.

Some casual pirates could ask the question if i have already purchased a U2 album on vinyl LP, and then cassette, and recently CD why should i have to pay a forth time?

Educational efforts and limited legal action in recent years has been used by the BPI but this hasn't had the desired effect in the UK, in contrast to the US, which has embarked on tens of thousands of lawsuits against alleged file sharers.

Do you think there are two sides to the fight?

Should a purchase of an album enable the person to have more freedom in thier use of it?

Top Gear Another Crash

Ever popular BBC2 Top Gear has made headline news again, This time Richard Hammond is safe. The superb Nissan GT-R press car was used by the team in Great Britain for filming of the show. Apparently it was involved in a fender bender in the Isle of Man after a photo shoot for Top Gear magazine. It seems that the GT-R wasn't damaged too badly and the same exact car ran up the hill at the Goodwood Festival of Speed only a couple days later. Right after they did the amazing review with it achieving the fastest lap time for a non modified production vehicle, tied with the F430 Scudería.

Apparently the GTR was being reversed by a senor member of Top Gear magazine and the driver reversed at pace into an Audi R8 also being used on the test. This is the GTR that Top Gear used for the Stig power lap, as its the only official Nissan UK imported car.

Even so the crew are a bit tight lipped on the news as it is becoming a regular expectation each season. remember the Stig took the Koenigsegg CCX on an off-track excursion, and of course Hammond's horrific crash in the jet dragster.

"Ironing Shirts" May Be The Next Big Video Game

With the success of the Nintendo's Wii Fit - where everyday activities such as exercising or balancing are being turned into video games, it's quite possible that every thing in life will soon potentially provide the basis for a new game.

Interstingly, video gaming has become such a massive market that the adults are now turning to the kids to find out what they want next. So while "Ironing shirts" and "Mowing the Lawn" won't be high on the agenda.The kids are being trained about the industry and encouraged to learn basic game design skills with some areas offering summer workshops which teach kids game design basics.

According to The Charlotte Observer, it was reported that these library classes filled up shortly after they were first announced. The workshops are open for students between the ages of 8 and 18, lasting for four days.
It's easy to see how these free, public courses could help a young mind get inspired enough to learn more advanced techniques on a home computer or in college level courses. The classes work on creating platforming titles initially, reminiscent of 8-bit classics like Mario and Sonic. There is the possibility of staying longer than one workshop, as particularly-talented students may stay on as interns. The classes normally consist around 8 pupils.

A few years back if any kid was found excelling in programming the Vic 20 or Commodore 64 he was just a geek, now the kids are encouraged to highlight on their cv application their gaming skills.

Finding and encouraging young talent is crucial for the continued growth of the industry, and these programs are a great first step towards actually creating a game. So what will these young game developers come up with.

My guess is a game that can do the homework or better still bring in pocket money, which may very well be the case in the coming years!

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