Friday, April 27, 2012

Control Robots With Your Mind

Some sort of sci-fi joke?

No joke. Over the past several years there have been legitimate developments in the area of detecting electrical signals from the brain and putting them to work.  


Earlier this week it was reported that scientists at the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne Switzerland were able to reliably recognize and translate the brain signals of a partially disabled man in order to move a robotic arm. The man was able to concentrate on controlling the robotic arm motion, and the signals from his brain were clear and consistent enough to decode and transmit, resulting in the action happening on the robot.


In recent years, similar results have been reported by Honda and others.


It's hard to say whether this approach will continue to hold promise and deliver results. But if it does, it has exciting implications. Together with more advanced wheelchairs and with exoskeletons, it could bring mobility to those who have lost it. It could lead to remote control of robots for dangerous situations such as battlefields of severe fires.


Are practical mind control capabilities to deliver mobility for the disabled and Avatar-like experiences in our future? Leave a comment and tell us what you think.


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Friday, April 20, 2012

Big Philanthropy

The Giving Pledge

What are the wealthiest Americans like? People who live in mansions, hoard their wealth and spend extravagantly on themselves? 


That's certainly the image some of us have of the '0.01%,' and it may even be a fair portrayal of some of the richest Americans. But some of the most accomplished, successful people on earth are also among the most generous. 


Warren Buffet is a well known investor and philanthropist who has lately been associated with the "Buffet Rule" which suggests a higher minimum tax rate for the wealthiest to ensure that they pay income taxes that are at least as high as those in the middle class. He and Bill Gates are also well known for something called The Giving Pledge. Those who follow Buffet and Gates in this pledge make a commit to give the majority of their wealth to philanthropy.


This week, another dozen made the pledge. Among them is serial entrepreneur Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Motors and SpaceX. Like many of the others who have made the pledge, he is a person of great talent and vision who makes his mark by the things he creates as well as through his philanthropy. 


The high-tech industry in which I work is a field in which many have become very wealthy over a short period of time. I'm encouraged and inspired to see how some of these people have handled their money, investing back into their industry as venture capitalists. Doing so rather than spending extravagantly can help to drive the economy. Some have made big philanthropy an important part of their life and their eventual legacy. Through the Giving Pledge, much of their great wealth will eventually find its way to charities that make a difference in the lives of others.


Not everyone with great wealth today is a legitimate "job creator," and fewer still are great philanthropists. But perhaps those who are can set an important example for the future.


I encourage you to visit the Giving Pledge and read the letters of the donors.

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Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Pen Registers

Who Ya Gonna Call?



The numbers you call from your home phone or smartphone are nobody else's business, and if the government wants to know who you are calling they'll need a court order for a wiretap, right? Yes and no. 


Yes, most people would say that those calls are usually nobody else's business, and No, the government doesn't need a court order for a wiretap. Since you voluntarily hand that information to your telephone service provider (so that they can complete your calls), the called number information isn't private. With that justification, there's a lower bar to clear to get the information.


Let me back up a little bit. Three key types of information about telephone calls are

  1. Who you call
  2. Who calls you
  3. What gets said
If law enforcement wants to listen in on what's getting said on your calls, they need to get a wiretap. For that they need a court order and they usually need a good reason. The other two types of information, who you call and who calls you, involve a much lower standard.

Pen registers are used to record the numbers that you call, while trap devices record the numbers that call you. Law enforcement can get pen/trap orders merely by asking the courts, and without any kind of good reason other than their own belief that the information would assist in some investigation. And they need not report back on findings.

When targeting a cell phone, a Pen Register also allows collection of associated cell tower information (which potentially provides coarse location information), and if the tower at the end of the call is different than the one on which the call started, that information is captured, too (which potentially provides coarse movement information).

Since the enactment of the US Patriot Act, pen/trap orders also apply to Internet communications. A pen/trap served to an ISP allows law enforcement to collect information such as IP addresses and the protocols used along with time stamps. It provides access to email header information other than the subject line (and not the email content), so it allows collection of data on who you send email to and receive email from, the dates and times, and how large the messages are.

What's your expectation about the privacy of numbers that you call, and those that call you? What's your expectation about the privacy of the email you send and receive? 

If Pen Register data is too easy to get, there's a risk of law enforcement casting too wide a net and involving everyone who ever communicated with anyone who ever communicated with a person of interest. If it's too hard to get, law enforcement can't efficiently do their legitimate job. What's the right balance? Should getting a pen/trap order be held to the same high standard as getting a wiretap order, or is it appropriate that it is substantially easier?

Leave a comment and let us know what you think.


(Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer and I don't play one on TV. I won't claim to be an expert on this subject, but I find it interesting, and maybe you will, too. If I get the facts wrong, perhaps my lawyer friends may set me straight.)


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Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Google Glasses

Google's "Project Glass" Not Yet Clear

The date was so close to April 1st (April Fools Day in the USA) when the news broke that some thought that this was a joke. But it's not. There has been industry buzz on and off for quite some time about this. We now know that Google Project Glass is intended to (eventually) deliver augmented reality glasses with voice command capabilities and visual overlays. There are photos of Google co-founder Sergey Brinn wearing a prototype. Mainstream media including the New York Times and the Washington Post are covering the story, and describing uses such as video chat and location services.

In high-tech circles we've been talking about augmented reality glasses for well over a decade and we've all seen the heads-up overlays in Sci-Fi movies, so as a concept this seems familiar. But a practical, light-weight, wearable gadget integrated with a range of Google applications (gmail, Google Maps, Google+ Hangouts, etc.) could be very interesting. At first it might be mostly a novelty. We see a photo of our friend's face while we talk on the phone or read their email. We see a map of the area we're in and get directions by looking up and to the right. But control through voice commands might be cumbersome, and a touch interface on the glasses or wired to the wrist might be clunky.

Eventually, though, the interfaces could smooth out (even before the inevitable Google Brain Interface is fully ready), and the application set could evolve and become more advanced. Augmented reality coupled with enough information might be magical. With facial recognition software and a populated address book, we can "remember" the names and details of acquaintances when we see them (see also my blog post, The Rest Of My Brain). With online databases, location services, and pattern recognition we can know the architect of every building we see and the artist behind every sculpture we encounter. Sometimes we'll be able to see through walls, such as when information and images regarding the opposite side is available.

If Google makes a version intended to work only with Google applications, and Apple and others make their own versions intended to work only with their services, this space could be disappointing. What would be best is wearable hardware (with choices from multiple sources) with the flexibility to access a broad range of services from a variety of service providers. Let's hope it plays out that way.

Does Google Project Glass sound interesting?

Follow Google Project Glass on Google+, and leave a comment on this blog post to say whether you'd wear these glasses, why, and what new functionality you hope they enable.

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Wednesday, April 4, 2012

RapidGroove Anniversary

One Year of Blogging

Happy Anniversary RapidGroove!

A year ago I wanted a creative outlet where I could talk about tech topics of interest to me, but also wander into other areas like fishing reports, recipes, a little philosophy and more. It's been a fun year. Readership has been steadily growing. For the first three months of 2012 I'm averaging 900 page views a month, so I'm confident that somebody is reading. I'm grateful for the participation in the form of readers, comments (I always want more comments!), and input on topics to tackle.

I recognize that without you, this would be a diary. So I'd like to ask for your input on what should come next for RapidGroove.

  • Do you prefer frequent short form blog entries as I've been posting? 
  • Or would twice a month in longer form be better? 
  • Does the mix of topics work for you, or should I stick to technology? 
  • Do you have specific topics you'd like to see me cover?

Please let me know! Leave me a comment, post to my FaceBook or Google+ pages, stop me at the supermarket checkout, or send me an email message. Your input will help to drive the direction of RapidGroove for the months to come.

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