Augmented Reality Sandbox

Augmented Reality Sandbox

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9JXtTj0mzE (Augmented Reality Sandbox with Real-Time Water Flow Simulation)

UC Davis' W.M. Keck Center for Active Visualization in the Earth Sciences (KeckCAVES), together with the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center, Lawrence Hall of Science, and ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center, is involved in an NSF-funded project on informal science education for freshwater lake and watershed science.

As part of this project, we are primarily developing 3D visualization applications to teach earth science concepts, but we also built a hands-on exhibit combining a real sandbox, and virtual topography and water created using a closed loop of a Microsoft Kinect 3D camera, powerful simulation and visualization software, and a data projector. The resulting augmented reality (AR) sandbox allows users to create topography models by shaping real sand, which is then augmented in real time by an elevation color map, topographic contour lines, and simulated water. The system teaches geographic, geologic, and hydrologic concepts such as how to read a topography map, the meaning of contour lines, watersheds, catchment areas, levees, etc.

Website at: http://idav.ucdavis.edu/~okreylos/ResDev/SARndbox/. Related links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki8UXSJmrJE (Augmented Reality Sandbox - realtime topographic contour line generation); http://nycity.today/content/283162-augmented-reality-technology-could-be-great-help-surgeons-and-firefighters (Augmented Reality Technology Could Be Great for Surgeons and Firefighters. June 30, 2015); further: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUAyZP5MA3Y (Hacking Augmented Reality with Kinect. Published May 2, 2015)

Google's Project Loon: Internet for All of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Is Considering Google's Project Loon for Country-Wide Internet Coverage (Updated)

Nathan Ingraham | July 29, 2015

Project Loon is undoubtably one of the most "Google" projects that Google is working on — Wi-Fi being delivered by giant floating balloons is certainly a unique approach to getting internet to hard-to-reach areas. While Project Loon still sits in the Google X "moonshots" lab, it got a vote of confidence from the nation of Sri Lanka, which announced yesterday it was investigating using Google's Project Loon balloons to cover the country with internet access. If this comes to fruition, Sri Lanka would be the first country to have universal internet coverage; the country's relatively small size (just over 25,000 square miles) certainly makes that easier, but it would still be a big deal for Project Loon.

The helium balloons are inflated to the size they reach in the stratosphere. The “ballonets” inside are filled with air or emptied to make the balloon fall or rise. Source: http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/534986/project-loon/

<more at http://www.theverge.com/2015/7/29/9069961/google-project-loon-internet-sri-lanka; related links: http://www.google.com/loon/ (Balloon-Powered Internet for Everyone) and http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/534986/project-loon/ (Project Loon
Billions of people could get online for the first time thanks to helium balloons that Google will soon send over many places cell towers don’t reach. 2015)>

GPS China

China Launches Two Satellites As It Builds GPS Rival

Phys Org | July 26, 2015

China launched two new satellites into space Saturday, state media reported, as it builds a homegrown satellite navigation system to rival the US's Global Positioning System.

Source: http://personal-mini-gps-tracker.sell.curiousexpeditions.org/pz6f2bce0-2015-china-top-ten-selling-product-pet-tracker-portable-small-gps-personal-tracking-device-mini-gps-tracking-system.html

A rocket carrying the satellites was launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern Sichuan province at 8:29 pm (1229 GMT), the official Xinhua news agency said.

<more at http://phys.org/news/2015-07-china-satellites-gps-rival.html; related links: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restrictions_on_geographic_data_in_China (Restrictions on geographic data in China) and http://www.virtualtrademission.org/documents/ChinaGPS2015.pdf (Welcome to the 2015 China Global Positioning Summer (China GPS) Program! Learn with China’s Present and Future Leaders in Beijing from July 12 to July 23)>

Your Sense of Time

Why Time Flies As We Get Older

Muireann Irish and Claire O'Callaghan | July 31, 2015

The passage of time is a puzzling thing. While few will dispute that a minute comprises 60 seconds, the perception of time can vary dramatically from person to person and from one situation to the next. Time can race, or it can drag interminably. On rare occasions, it feels as if it’s standing still.

               Source: http://www.buzzquotes.com/time-flies-quotes               

The difference between “real” time, measured by clocks and calendars, and our own individual sense of time can sometimes seem enormous. This is because, in many ways, we are the architects of our sense of time.

<more at https://agenda.weforum.org/2015/07/why-time-flies-as-we-get-older/; related link: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/mind-guest-blog/why-does-time-fly-as-we-get-older/ (Why Does Time Fly as We Get Older? December 18, 2013)>

Flying Cars: Terrafugia

The TF-X™

Website: http://www.terrafugia.com/tf-x (+Video)

                                Source: http://uncrate.com/p/2015/07/terrafugia-tfx-3.jpg                               

TF-X™ is the practical realization of the dream of countless visions of the future; it is designed to be the flying car for all of us.  In order to achieve this long-sought-after vision, Terrafugia will focus the TF-X™ program with clear goals that enhance the safety, simplicity, and convenience of personal transportation.  We believe these goals are achievable today. 

Related links: http://www.today.com/money/terrafugias-tf-x-brings-flying-cars-closer-reality-no-airport-t35586 (+Video) (Terrafugia's TF-X brings flying cars closer to reality (no airport needed). July 30, 2015) and http://www.cnet.com/news/terrafugia-unveils-new-tf-x-flying-car-design/ (+Video) (Terrafugia unveils new TF-X flying-car design; The company, which has been working for years on the development of a flying car, shows off a new look. July 21, 2015)

A "Tor Exit Relay" in Every Library

Crypto activists announce vision for Tor exit relay in every library

"Librarians see the value as soon as you say ‘privacy protecting technology."

Cyrus Farivar | July 31, 2015

Crypto nerds have now firmly set their sights on libraries, with the ultimate goal of setting up Tor exit relays in as many of these ubiquitous public institutions as possible. As of now, only about 1,000 exit relays exist worldwide. If this plan is successful, it could vastly increase the scope and speed of the famed anonymizing network.

Source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjJpoPMfp5V2VrmWozZnKz9VSBqL7qXJbkKjtGBfvdvuzqpWpYLGwMQHzZVfGdz_lzbSl_a9chGZ2cbVcf4spM01yDOCvwk_KF1AHKacvTWJzcHN9h7pPoL1xDcpcmtZ-4_2jW_-BH5OVz/s1600/Tor+software.png

"We love this—we hope that more libraries and news outlets will start hosting Tor exit nodes," Kate Krauss, a spokeswoman for the Tor Project, told Ars. "It's a bold statement for free speech."

<more at http://arstechnica.co.uk/tech-policy/2015/07/crypto-activists-announce-vision-for-tor-exit-relay-in-every-library/; related links: https://libraryfreedomproject.org/ (Tor Exit Relays in Libraries: A New LFP Project) and https://libraryfreedomproject.org/drilbabydril/ (#DRIL: Digital Rights in Libraries); further: https://www.eff.org/torchallenge/what-is-tor.html (What is Tor?)>

When Humans Become Obsolete

Scientists Think They Know the Exact Year Computers Will Render the Human Brain Obsolete

Max Plenke | July 29, 2015

This week, the greatest minds in science and technology pleaded with the world to prevent an artificial intelligence "arms race" — an apocalyptic scenario in which terrorists would have access to highly advanced weapons like killer robots.

Source: http://31.media.tumblr.com/jGXOa46G7j7w96s12vx9g3mSo1_500.jpg

The issue arose back in April when representatives from Human Rights Watch and Harvard Law School wrote a paper calling for the United Nations to ban "killer robot" production until regulation and legal stipulations — for instance, who's at fault when a robot shoots an unassigned target — could be put in place.

<more at http://mic.com/articles/123027/moores-law-explained-computers-more-powerful-than-human-brains; related link: https://www.hrw.org/report/2015/04/09/mind-gap/lack-accountability-killer-robots (Mind the Gap; The Lack of Accountability for Killer Robots. April 9, 2015)>