Shadow’s robotic hand uses AI to grip any object

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Shadow’s Dexterous Hand

It’s not easy to build a robot that can compete with that astounding piece of machinery called the human hand.  But the UK company Shadow has a solid contender. And while its robotic hands imitate nature, why keep nature’s limitations? Shadow’s Dexterous Hand “sees” the shape of the object approaching it to help it determine how to hold it. (Video)

 

 

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New Year’s Eve Blue Moon Eclipse

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On December 31st, we will see the second full moon of the month, or the 13th full moon of the year. These rare occasions are called a blue moon, as in “once in a blue moon”. But that’s not the only thing special about New Year’s Eve this year. There will also be a partial lunar eclipse on the 31st (visible in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia)!

Only a very small portion of the Moon’s southern limb will be in the Earth’s umbral shadow, but there will be a noticeable darkening visible over the Moon’s face at the point of greatest eclipse. Need more?

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Dark Dating

 dating in the dark

The waiter knows in advance where the dogs are sitting

Love is after all blind. So is it bad to go on a blind date – where you don’t know whom you are meeting? Dark dating as an idea, which is a hot favorite among Londoner’s this hunting season.

“It is very interesting. Something quite different the fact you talk with people without seeing them. It’s funny because you can’t judge the height, you can’t judge the features. You completely talk freely with the other person. And after it’s funny to discover how the person looks like,” said a dark dater. Video after the jump.

 

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Shadow Reaching

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Su4ZIqxaObo[/youtube]

Shadow Reaching is a new kind of user interface for large touch screen displays developed by Garth Shoemaker, Anthony Tang, and Kellogg S. Booth from the University of British Columbia. It creates a rather unusual way of interacting with very large displays.

 
According to information from the video, Shadow Reaching “supports natural interaction over the entire large display surface and provides strong user embodiment”.

 

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