| Electrifying Change
OAKLAND (ResourceInvestor.com) -- The greatest technological achievement of the last century, according to the National Academy of Engineers, was neither the internet nor the airplane, the artificial heart nor the satellite, the refrigerator nor the assembly line, but that which enabled them all: the electrical grid. There is no small irony in this as contrary to what one may expect, the electrical grid was not meticulously planned and executed but rather cobbled together somewhat haphazardly as utility companies discovered the benefits and efficiencies that could be realized from interconnecting their electrical systems, and over decades it grew into the nationwide network. The electrical grids development then was evolutionary, not revolutionary. Evolution by its very nature is a never-ending series of experiments, some fostering advancement, others impeding it.
Mike the emotional robot, transforming RoboCar on display in Brazil
We wish we could tell you: all that's known about "Mike the emotional robot" created by computer science and electrical engineering students at Brazil's FEI Mauá college is that its LCD "face" changes color based on mood (red for anger, green for happy, and orange for sad), though how those moods are determined is beyond us or the press release announcing Mike's public unveiling. We should know more sometime after today, though, as this is the start of the Robótica - International Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Fair in São Paulo, where Mike will be displayed alongside other bots and techie attractions like robot sumo and RoboCup-style tournaments, the old Hug T-Shirt we've seen in several iterations, and most promising of all, RoboCar the life-size Transformer (pictured right).
Want to command a robot army? Now you can, in 'Supreme Commander'
If you've ever wondered what it would be like to command your own robot army (and who hasn't?) Supreme Commander provides an addicting, complex answer. Like a chess game - but with robots - this new video game for Windows PCs features a dizzying array of units, structures and upgrades as you attempt to seize control of the battlefield. Supreme Commander is brought to us by Chris Taylor, the guru behind the Total Annihilation sci-fi computer game from 1997.Both titles fall under the real-time strategy genre, a style of game in which you gather resources to build up a base, which you use to build up an army, which you use to crush or be crushed by rivals. There are so many variables that every game plays differently, and every seemingly perfect strategy can be countered, but one basic approach never worked for me.
Robotics in urology leads to decreased surgical and medical ...
Mani Menon, MD Detroit, Michigan, USA presented "The Role of Robotics in Urology" as the AUA Lecture at the plenary session of the EAU on Friday March 23, 2007. He started with a 3-D video of a robotic laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. His technique was discussed with the video, which was received with applause. Dr. Menon has completed 3,100 of these cases. Despite no clear evidence that robotic RP has no huge advantages over open surgery, there is a significant growth in this market. The market is primarily coming from patient "advertising" to other patients by word of mouth and use of the internet. The perceived benefit is likely based upon decreased blood loss and quicker recovery. He hypothesized that this leads to decreased surgical and medical complications. Complications have a negative impact on hospital reimbursement.
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