Daily Bits

noemi

Robotics Merit Badge for the Boy Scouts of America

by

Boy Scouts Robotics Badge

Let it not be said that the Boy Scouts of America do not keep up with the times. Countless boys belonging to various generations have long been working hard to earn merit badges. These badges are testaments to the skills and talents that Boy Scouts have acquired over the years. Traditionally, the merit badges were all about sports and wilderness survival, among many others.

This week, however, the Texas-based organization is upping the level by adding a new merit badge: the Robotics Merit Badge. One goal in creating this merit badge is to promote science and technology and engineering and maths (STEM). In doing so, the BSA is adjusting to the new developments in technology and is making itself more relevant to the youngsters of today.

How do the Boy Scouts of today earn this new merit badge? Just think about creating your own electronics kits and joining competitions. These kits can range from the simplest of devices to some of the more complicated robots. Here are more examples of how one can earn the merit badge. ((Source: PR for Robotics Merit Badge))

  • Explain and discuss hazards and safety prevention
  • Explain how robots are used today
  • Discuss three of the five major fields of robotics (human-robot interface, mobility, manipulation, programming, sensors)
  • Design, build, program, and test their robot
  • Demonstrate the robot, and share the engineering notebook for that robot
  • Attend a robotics competition or do research on robotics competitions

If the mere mention of the Boy Scouts make you think of only camping, making fires without matches, and tying knots, think again. This organization is rather important in molding young boys and it is great that technology is not being ignored!

Kindergarten Students Get iPads

by

Apple head honcho Steve Jobs called (calls?) it magical. Countless people seem to agree. Some say what’s magical is that people pay hundreds of dollars for such a device. Price notwithstanding, the iPad has proven to be a very versatile device, and sales figures support the fact that people find it useful.

Now, even the education sector is lending the iPad its support. In Auburn, Maine, kindergarten students will soon be treated to their own iPads – to be used for educational purposes. The Auburn school department is blazing a new trail by making iPads available to each of the kindergarten students enrolled in the district. Just last week, a $200,000 budget was approved. The money is to be used to purchase 285 iPads that will be issued to teachers and students.

While the district seems to be the first to make such a move, the use of iPads for education is not that novel. In the past year, we have heard of countless stories of people getting the iPad for their children. The device has even been picked out for special education, with the iPad’s features being highlighted as very helpful in developing fine motor skills. With the iPad taking interactivity to a new level, children will also have a better learning experience. The goal of the project is to boost literacy rates up to 90 percent within two years. See the iPad’s use in education in action in the video below.

I can see how some people might say that this move can be excessive. Personally, I think that if the money is available, there is no reason not to make the iPad accessible to children. As long as they are indeed used mainly for educational purposes, then the kids can only benefit from this. What do you think?

Be Your Own Souvenir

by

Toy People
Calling all narcissists, or those with narcissistic tendencies! Here is the ultimate device for you guys: an installation that can scan you – or whatever you want to be – and then create a mini you. This installation was made by blablabLAB ((blablabLAB)) with the goal of “connecting street users, art, and science.”

And how is this achieved by playing on the love of self of people? Imagine this. You have always wanted to be a great guitarist immortalized through your music. The sad thing is that it doesn’t seem like the guitar responds to your fingers tender manipulations. Is there any way you can ever realize your dream? If you were to pose holding a guitar, acting as if you were playing in the biggest concert of you life, you just might be able to capture that memory via the Be Your Own Souvenir installation.

Using 3 scanners – no less than the Microsoft Kinect, a 3D image of yourself will be created. This image is then translated into a more tangible object via 3D printing, and before you know it, you will have yourself as a souvenir to take home!

The installation was tested in Barcelona on the first month of this year, and it seems that it was a huge hit. Locals and tourists alike stopped by to watch it at work, and not a few indulged themselves as struck whatever pose they fancied. See for yourself.

Be Your Own Souvenir! from blablabLAB on Vimeo.

I think this is brilliant, despite the joke about narcissism earlier. ((Or maybe my narcissistic subconscious is making itself felt.)) If anything, you can create toy figures of the people in your life.

Eye-Controlled Laptops Can Help Disabled Users

by

Stephen Hawking has his custom-made computer setup that the “normal” person may only dream of creating, but thanks to Tobii Technology, ordinary people who have physical disabilities will have the chance to control their own computers using their eyes. Tobii is a big player in the realm of eye tracking and eye control technology and is based in Stockholm. The company has partnered up with Lenovo, which is the world’s fourth largest personal computer manufacturer, to come up with laptops that can be controlled using eye movements.

Stop and think for a minute. When you use your laptop, don’t you use your eyes before you even move that cursor with your mouse or trackpad? This is the premise of eye control – it is intuitive and everyone does it! Now, for the average person, having to use the mouse or trackpad may not be a big deal. But for someone who does not have full use of his hands, for example, being able to use his eyes to point, select, and scroll makes a world of difference!

According to Henrik Eskilsson, CEO of Tobii Technology, ((Tobii)) “…the Tobii laptop prototype is proof that our eye tracking technology is mature enough to be used in standard computer interfaces. To reach a state where the technology is part of the average computer, we need to make it smaller and cheaper. We believe that this can be realized in a couple of years by partnering with the right manufacturer.”

Obviously, the laptops are still in demo mode. There are only 20 units as of now, and they are being used to showcase what the technology can do. Still, this does seem to mean that we will be seeing these laptops in the market in the near future. Here’s a video showing the laptop in action.

Geek’s Dream Girl

by

Geek's Dream Girl
It looks like the stereotype for the love-hungry geek is not about to disappear anytime soon. If websites and games are any indication, then people still do think that geeks can use all the help they can get when it comes to dating and relationships. There was Cupidtino – the dating site specifically for Apple geeks. Soon, there will be Cloud Girlfriend.

But have you heard of Geek’s Dream Girl? ((Geek’s Dream Girl)) Strictly speaking, this web site is not a dating site. The services that they offer do cater to geeks who are looking to online dating sites to find a partner: “Geek’s Dream Girl is a small business focusing on online dating profile writing for geeks, by geeks. We’re copywriters that know how to make geek guys shine and attract those ever-elusive girls!”

Basically, they’re geeks who are good at spinning words so that they can make you look good online. I guess they are assuming that geeks may not have the skills to come up with a profile that will get the attention of their dream partner. And once you have gotten her/his attention, it is up to you to make things work. Oh, they do profiles for girls, too.

Don’t get me wrong – I can see the value in the service they provide, but the premise might just be wrong. I do believe that there are “geeks” out there who can write kick-a#$ copy that will make any girl/guy drool. More so, if the “geek” is indeed challenged when it comes to communicating, how will he get further than the online profile? The site must be doing something right, though, as they have been in the business since 2008.

Has anyone tried Geek’s Dream Girl yet?

Gmail Motion – The Real-Life Version

by

Remember Google’s April Fools’ prank? Gmail Motion was – is – so ridiculous that we all knew that it was nothing but a prank. In case you missed it ((Have you been living in a cave???)), Gmail Motion is e-mail which can be controlled using your body. With this innovative Google development, all you need is your body and you can do whatever you need with your mail. As one person put it, be careful when you sneeze, though, as you may end up deleting all of your e-mails! Here’s the video of the Gmail Motion in action.

Anyhow, prank or not, the idea is actually realizable. Consciously or not, the guys behind the prank may have started something. You know how it is with creative minds, don’t you? When a bunch of guys from the Institute for Creative Technologies ((ICT at the University of Southern California)) saw the video above, their minds started working overtime.

I can just imagine them as they were watching the video. Hey, this is actually technically possible! Why don’t we give it a shot and give Google a dose of their own medicine while we’re at it?

Armed with a sensor taken from Microsoft’s Kinect (talk about the irony of it), they started a projected called the Software Library Optimizing Obligatory Waving, or SLOOW. You don’t have to be slow to use the set up, but you do have to move your butt (and other body parts). Check out the video the guys created to demo their project.

Now this isn’t exactly your run-of-the-mill scientific proposal, but it seems to work, doesn’t it? While it is real, I doubt that we’ll be seeing this kind of setup available to the general public any time soon.