Add Comment  FROM LA TIMES FDA expedites review of robotic arm The lifelike limb, controlled by a chip planted on the brain, is being tested as part of a program designed to speed development of medical devices. Reporting from Washington — Responding to the needs of badly wounded war veterans, federal officials said Tuesday they were accelerating reviews of a science-fiction-like robotic arm controlled by a computer chip on the brain. The device would make the use of prosthetic arms, hands and fingers seem almost natural by using a microchip implanted on the brain to record and decode signals to neurons that control the prosthesis. In a dramatic video accompanying the announcement by the Food and Drug Administration, the prosthetic arm wielded pliers and picked up a clothespin to demonstrate its dexterity. The system, developed over the last five years at a cost of more than $100 million by the Pentagon's advanced technology research program, will become the first to be reviewed under a new FDA program designed to make promising medical devices available sooner. The program seeks to quickly identify and nurture technology that has the potential to transform medical care and the way it is delivered to patients. The development and review of new drugs and devices typically takes so long and is so expensive that some critics of the process have called it a graveyard for innovation. "We must turn what has long been considered the valley of death into the pathway to success," said Jeffrey Shuren, head of the FDA's office of medical devices. The silver and black arm can rotate, twist and bend 27 different ways, mimicking the action of a natural limb, said Geoffrey Ling, program manager for the revolutionizing prosthetics program run by the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. READ MORE  Imaging gear would give soldiers 'Terminator'-like vision (Wired) -- No more will soldiers' vision be limited to the socket-embedded spheres that God intended. The Pentagon now wants troops to see dangers lurking behind them in real time, and be able to tell if an object a kilometer away is a walking stick or an AK-47. In a solicitation released today, Darpa, the Pentagon's far-out research branch, unveiled the Soldier Centric Imaging via Computational Cameras effort, or SCENICC. Imagine a suite of cameras that digitally capture a kilometer-wide, 360-degree sphere, representing the image in 3-D onto a wearable eyepiece. You'd be able to literally see all around you, including behind yourself, and zooming in at will, creating a "stereoscopic/binocular system, simultaneously providing 10x zoom to both eyes." And you would do this all hands-free, apparently by barking out or pre-programming a command (the solicitation leaves it up to a designer's imagination) to adjust focus. Then comes the Terminator-vision. Darpa wants the eyepiece to include "high-resolution computer-enhanced imagery as well as task-specific non-image data products such as mission data overlays, threat warnings/alerts, targeting assistance, etc." Target identified: Sarah Connor... The "Full Sphere Awareness" tool will provide soldiers with "muzzle flash detection," "projectile tracking" and "object recognition/labeling," basically pointing key information out to them. And an "integrated weapon sighting" function locks your gun on your target when acquired. That's far beyond an app mounted on your rifle that keeps track of where your friendlies and enemies are. The imaging wouldn't just be limited to what any individual soldier sees. SCENICC envisions a "networked optical sensing capability" that fuses images taken from nodes worn by "collections of soldiers and/or unmanned vehicles." The Warrior-Alpha drone overhead? Its full-motion video and still images would be sent into your eyepiece. It also has to be ridiculously lightweight, weighing less than 700 grams for the entire system -- including a battery powerful enough to "exceed 24 hours [usage] under normal conditions." That's about a pound and a half, maximum. The Army's experimental ensemble of wearable gadgets weighs about eight pounds. And it is to SCENICC what your Roomba is to the T-1000. READ MORE  From Popular science shills Swarms of Robot Soldiers Could Make Better Decisions Than Human Leaders on Data-Strewn Battlefields Modern warfare relies increasingly on robotics for intelligence gathering and increasingly for strike capabilities, but the decision-making capacity still rests solely in the hands of human commanders. But British defense company BAE systems is testing a way to turn over battlefield decisions over to robot troops as well. ALADDIN (Autonomous Learning Agents for Decentralised Data and Information Networks) is BAE’s response to the overload of sensors and data now confronting battlefield commanders who now have UAV observations, soldier-based sensors, satellite data, and reams of other intelligence washing over them in such volumes that, as Air Force Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula puts it, they’ll be “swimming in sensors and drowning in data.” The system allows a network of robot soldiers to quickly collect and exchange information and then to bargain with each other to determine the best course of action and execute it. Technology, Clay Dillow, machine thinking, military, robot soldiers, robotic warfare, robotics, robotsThe robots are armed to the teeth with algorithms employing a range of models – game theory, probabilistic modeling, optimization techniques – that let them predict outcomes and allocate battlefield resources far more quickly and efficiently than humans trying to process the same amount of data. All that should help troops – both robotic and otherwise – keep stay afloat in the data deluge. But does it work? ALADDIN hasn’t seen any trigger time yet, but BAE and university researchers collaborating on the system have put it through simulated natural disasters (another potential application). Disasters, they theorize, are similar to warfare in their chaotic nature, and therefore the simulations are a good analog. READ MORE  FS's blogged about this last month, so this is just an update, it would seem as though Conde Cast (wired magazines) 5 billion dollar company is at it again... This photo is courtesy of the US air force, not to me of course, to Conde Cast, I use it under fair use as I have no ads on my website, we shouldn't mind the fact that the US air force would endorse such an article. Consider what that means... on your own. Darpa’s Beady-Eyed Camera Spots the ‘Non-Cooperative’ Soon, keeping your head down won’t be enough to stump high-tech security cameras, thanks to Pentagon-funded researchers developing mini-cameras that can nab threats by hunting down — and scanning — their eyeballs. A team of electrical engineers at Southern Methodist University (SMU), led by Professor Marc Christensen, first created the cameras with funding from Darpa, the Pentagon’s research agency. Called Panoptes, the devices use low-resolution sensors to create a high-res image that can be captured using a lightweight, ultra-slim camera. Because they don’t use a lens, the cameras were originally designed for miniature drone sensors and troop helmet-cams. Only a year later, the Pentagon is giving SMU another $1.6 million, to merge the cameras with active illumination and handheld Pico projection devices. This allows photos captured on small devices to be transformed for large-format viewing. Whereas the first goal of the program was to create slim cameras with the power of a lens, the latest technology “lets us do even more than what a lens could do,” Christensen told Danger Room. “This platform is really just the base, upon which we’ll focus on different applications,” Christensen said. “Now, we’re enhancing resolution even more, so the images are a 3-D map with even better, more accurate details.” The new devices will yield a robust 3-D image that’ll be useful for seeing in caves and dark urban areas, and for the creation of versatile “non-cooperative” iris-detection security cameras. Smart-Iris, the name of the new Panoptes innovation, is being developed in conjunction with SMU Professor Delores Etter, who specializes in biometric identification. It’ll eliminate problems like glare, eyelashes, dim lighting — and an unwillingness to stop and stare directly into a dedicated iris-detection camera. Instead, Panoptes devices will zero in on a face, no matter angle or movement, then narrow right into the iris. A long line of people, moving through a line, could be scanned by wall-mounted cameras and they wouldn’t even notice it was happening. Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/05/darpas-beady-eyed-camera-spots-the-non-cooperative/#ixzz0pHqYtDCK  Artificial Intelligence/ Skynet/ and the internet -Nathan Human As a former psychology honors student, I have a fairly well developed understanding of the inner and outer workings of the mind, mostly acquired from my own independent analysis and work with actual human beings as a counselor, which was complimented by this long winded education (indoctrination). So this one isn't entirely pulled out of my ass. The brain consists of Neurons, all of which are connected by what are called dendrites (Send messages short distances, more numerous) and Axons (long distances less numerous, and connect to other things asides from neurons like muscles). In the same way the internet consists of terminals (servers, personal CPUS, phones, cables, wifi, which upload and download content). Out of this matrix of neuronal activity came consciousness. That is, an overarching system (order) was born out of this chaotic activity of information. In some circles this process is referred to as the theory of emergence. The interesting thing about this matrix of neuronal activity is that it by and large functions just like a computer, in that trillions of binary decisions amount to a complex and sophisticated and seemingly unified consciousness. This means that all of your thoughts, visualizations, no matter how complex are the sum of this binary activity. For example, a neuron can fire if the sum of its input exceeds a certain constant threshold (which is about -70 millivolts). If the incoming signals going into this neuron (determined by chemical influx charges) exceed this threshold the neuron will fire, and send a message to subsequent neurons which will typically have some outward expression when coupled with that of other neurons (like a thought or an action). This may make more sense in a bit, and is not as complicated as it sounds. For those up on the jargon this is not to advocate bio-reductionism, as there is much we do not know about how this matrix of activity amounts to consciousness. Many presume that Artificial intelligence will be invented. I think there is a greater likelihood that it will simply manifest out of these internet exchanges, in the same way that consciousness emerged from all of this binary neuronal activity. Take for example the “liking” function which is now available on most websites. If the sum total of likes exceeds a certain threshold, the fallacious principle of consensus validity tells us that people will be more apt to indulge and re-circulate that information, either by re-posting it, downloading it, and re-uploading it etc. Google has taken on the task of categorizing and ordering this information, in the same way the executive functions of the mind conform to create consciousness. Is it possible that when taken together things such as Google trends, street view, search, news, Gmail, Google latitude, Google earth etc, can combine to amass a global mind of sorts? Of course Google is but one of many services that is trying to order the internet (obviously in line with its own interests) but certainly among the most popular. What will happen when Google decides to integrate these programs? If we were to take this one step further we could assess the mental health of this global mind. Is it neurotic? Psychotic? How well does this global mind perceive reality.  Judging by the ramped corruption that persists in the real world, one would be compelled to view this amalgamation of inputs and outputs as insane, as what is typically held in this zeitgeist of “likes” does not reflect what is important in the real world nor the collective interests of human kind. For example the most “liked” thing on the internet hardly approaches what is of utmost importance to humankind, largely because the majority of people are brainwashed ignoramuses and morons. I won’t apologize for that. So what does it all mean? If not Google, or some other all infringing service, the internet will soon organize itself into something that resembles the infamous “skynet”, a system in the sci-fi movie “The Terminator” which was linked into everything and eventually became conscious. The fundamental mystery persists however, that is, the transition from order to chaos. This is the real New World Order. The global hive mind. I plan on revisiting this idea and providing a more in depth analysis when I have time and am not at work. Until then check out this article on Physorg   View PDF of Future Attribute Screening Technology FROM CFIR DARPA's homeland security sister working on device that 'detects' intentSince its inception, the Department of Homeland Security has promoted modern technology as a way to save the nation from terrorism, and it’s done so in part by emulating the Pentagon’s preoccupation with science and experimentation. Some of the country’s most significant achievements, in fact, were conceived by pioneering researchers the government hired to help give warfighters an advantage over their enemies. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, performed many of those tasks, taking credit in part for the Stealth Fighter and pilotless drones, as well as other advancements that are slightly more civilian in nature, like the Internet. DARPA is also frequently cast in popular culture and science fiction as the government’s secret laboratory for building disturbing tools that can do things like read our minds. That distinction now belongs to DARPA’s sister, the Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency, and officials are suggesting they’re closer to making the unthinkable a reality. Here at Elevated Risk, we’re reluctant to lead the tin-foil hat and 9/11 Truth crowds into fanciful conspiracy theories, but there’s no doubt the Department of Homeland Security believes it’s possible for the right technology to “sense” human intentions. Among a list of experimental achievements listed in the department’s budget request this year is the testing of a “real-time malintent detection capability,” or machinery that can measure things like heart rate, micro-facial expressions, breathing patterns and body heat as an individual walks through a security portal. Software algorithms would determine if a combined set of behaviors and physiological qualities amounted to someone hiding plans to carry out a terrorist attack. READ MORE FROM WIRED Imagine knowing you’ll be too sick to go to work, before the faintest hint of a runny nose or a sore throat. Now imagine that preemptive diagnosis being transmitted to a national, web-based influenza map — simply by picking up the phone. That’s the impressive potential of an ongoing Pentagon-funded research project, spearheaded by geneticists at Duke University. Since 2006, they’ve been hunting for a genetic signature that can accurately assess, well before symptoms appear, whether someone’s been infected with a virus. Eight months into a $19.5 million grant from Darpa, the Pentagon’s out-there research agency, the expert behind the program is anticipating a tool with implications far beyond military circles. Dr. Geoffrey Ginsburg, director of Duke’s Institute for Genome Science & Policy, is collaborating with a team of colleagues to create a gadget that can detect viral infection hours before the sniffles. Between 2006 and 2009, his team made rapid strides in identifying 30 genetic markers, found through blood samples, that are activated by a virus. They’ve since moved to human trials, testing 80 people in four studies. Healthy participants were exposed to three different viral strains. Their blood, saliva and urine were then tested for “viral specific signatures,” that would characterize illness. “Traditionally, we’ve diagnosed these conditions by testing for the actual pathogen, but that’s a slow process and it’s not effective until you’re already symptomatic,” Ginsburg told Danger Room. “To look at the actual host response instead is a really novel approach.” It’s an approach that Darpa sees as a tactic to boost war-zone performance. By checking soldiers for genetic markers of illness before they’re deployed, the military hopes to optimize the outcome of a given mission. The idea would also prevent an outbreak of illness in close military quarters, by quarantining troops before they have a chance to infect others. But what Ginsburg and company didn’t anticipate w Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/05/pentagon-virus-detector-knows-youre-sick-before-you-do/#more-24767#ixzz0o7DTED9F  Pentagon’s Flying Car Program Takes Of The Pentagon’s far-out research agency has unveiled more details of their plan to create a shape-shifting, multipurpose car. Flying cars have been tried before, dozens of times. And a few of the efforts have even succeeded. But the Pentagon concept is several steps ahead of existing vehicles, like the Terrafugia Transition, which is more like a lightweight plane that can, by folding up its wings, operate on land. The Transition also needs runways for takeoff and landing, and can’t fly in harsh weather. And, in what could either mean revolutionary progress or massive failure, this initiative has out-there military agency Darpa behind it. In January, the agency, who has been toying with the flying car idea since at least 2008, hosted a proposer’s day workshop for their new Transformer (TX) project. At the time, details were sketchy: Darpa wanted a “morphing vehicle body” that could operate largely autonomously, reducing the chance of human piloting error in high-risk war zones. Plus, the agency’s initial documents noted, a hovering car would be able to cruise over obstacles and avoid areas rife with IEDs. Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/04/pentagons-flying-car-program-takes-off/#ixzz0l7OGh4iU |    See all tech news here
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