Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Chinese Researchers Develop Mind-Controlled Drone

Zhejiang University researchers have developed a system that allows users to control drones with their thoughts, called FlyingBuddy2.


The researchers aim to give people with mobility disabilities a new avenue for interaction – for example, using the helicopter to take a close-up look at objects which are out of reach.

One of the two quadrotor drones seen here is controlled by thoughts alone. (Photo credit: Zhejiang University, Pervasive Computing Group CCNT Lab)
One of the two quadrotor drones seen here is controlled by thoughts alone.
(Photo credit: Zhejiang University, Pervasive Computing Group CCNT Lab)

Researchers at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China, have posted a YouTube video demonstrating a mind-controlled drone. Watch the video below:


The video above shows how the system works. By wearing an Electroencephalography (EEG) headset that interprets brain activity as commands for the quadcopter. The headset uses Bluetooth to connect to a laptop, which then transmits the instructions onwards to the aircraft.

Chinese researchers claim they can pilot a quadcopter by thinking “left hard” to take off or land, “left” to rotate the quadcopter clockwise, “right” to fly forward and “push” to fly up.

The Flying Buddy team will present their work at the Ubicomp Ubiquitous Computing Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania this week.

Source: GAATES

Edmonton to Get Smart Buses Next Spring

Trapeze Group on August 30 announced that it has been selected to provide the City of Edmonton Transit System (ETS) with a new comprehensive intelligent transportation system to help them better manage their fixed-route bus service and provide travelers with real time transit information.

Guided by the City Vision and The Way We Move (the Transportation Master Plan), ETS has developed a three-year business plan that focuses on improving the quality of life for Edmonton citizens by making improvements to the public transit system. The Trapeze intelligent transportation solution was selected to help address ETS’s objective for a fully integrated, progressive, easy-to-use, public transit system that supports economic development and helps improve the quality of life in Edmonton.

ETS Director and Project Co-sponsor Lorna Stewart noted, “The Trapeze solution offers Edmonton strong functionality with excellent customer information tools and back office features to help manage the transit service in real-time.  This project builds on a track record of successful technology deployments between Edmonton Transit and Trapeze, most notably the end to end system used in Edmonton’s disabled transit service.”

Computer-aided dispatch and automatic vehicle location (CAD/AVL) from Trapeze Group along with Trapeze’s real time traveler information solutions, enables ETS to provide riders with critical traveler pre-trip information such as real-time arrival and departure information at bus stops, on the Web and on their mobile devices as well on-trip information such as next stop announcements on the bus.

For dispatchers the Trapeze CAD/AVL system means they can monitor and manage the fleet in real time helping to ensure on-time performance and providing the ability to respond to service disruptions more quickly for greater efficiencies. Via an onboard monitoring solution, further vehicle and driver analysis is collected and reviewed for potential improvements on vehicle performance.

For bus operators the Trapeze onboard mobile data terminals (MDT) makes logging into the vehicle system easy with single sign-on capabilities connected to all the in-vehicle systems including third-party equipment.

ETS provides service to a population of more than 812,000 residents across 700 square kilometers with more than 205 regular routes and nearly 400,000 daily boardings. The agency’s mission is to provide customer-focused, safe, reliable and affordable public transit services that link people and places.

Source: GAATES

Iansyst Showcases Latest Adaptive Technology at Special Needs Show 2012

Showcasing the latest developments in assistive technology, iansyst – a leading supplier of literacy software solutions, will be exhibiting on stand P23 at the 2012 Special Needs Show, London. Visitors will be offered the opportunity to speak with assistive technology experts, demo the latest products and discover more about iansyst’s latest developments.

Supporting people with dyslexia, mild visual impairment and for those with English as their second language, iansyst will be introducing CapturaTalk for Android™ for mobile phones and tablet devices.

CapturaTalk for Android utilises Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to capture text from a photograph or digital document and then reads the information back to the user. Other features include synchronised colour 

highlighting of words or sentences as they are read aloud; a talking word processor to assist in writing emails and documents; the ability to add voice notes via the built in recorder tool; the ability to save text as audio files for listening to at a later date and an embedded talking browser and accessible interface designed to make browsing and writing easier. Completing the package is an online translation tool which allows the user to translate text from or into over 20 languages.

Visit the stand to receive expert advice and guidance on assistive technologies and discover iansyst’s wide range of leading software, hardware and assistive technology solutions designed to help people with dyslexia and other disabilities.

For further information call 01223 420101, email: info@iansyst.co.uk or visit http://www.iansyst.co.uk/

Source: GAATES

The ACM 14th Annual Conference on Ubiquitous Computing (September 5th-8th)

The 14th International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing (Ubicomp 2012) will be held in Pittsburgh, PA, USA on September 5-8 (Wednesday through Saturday), 2012.

Ubicomp is the premier outlet for novel research contributions that advance the state of the art in the design, development, deployment, evaluation and understanding of ubiquitous computing systems.

Ubicomp is an interdisciplinary field of research and development that utilizes and integrates pervasive, wireless, embedded, wearable, and/or mobile technologies to bridge the gaps between the digital and physical worlds.

 The Ubicomp 2012 program will feature a keynote, technical paper sessions, specialized workshops, live demonstrations, posters, video presentations, and a Doctoral Colloquium.

Source: GAATES