Mind controlled
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Blog entry by Ambrea Kuhn, The Leonardo's Intern
It seems as though Avatar has everyone thinking about the future of mind-controlled devices...a future that may not be so far away. Mind-controlled devices can be extremely helpful to people like Pierpaolo Petruzziello, who had his arm amputated. Researchers at the University of Rome connected a prosthetic hand to his nervous system by electrodes controlled by brain impulses that move his "muscles" to precisely control his hand and fingers.
Most of these mind-controlled devices work on electroencephalograms, or EEGs, which measure the brain's electrical activity. In order to develop these waves you need a lot of practice to help strengthen your mind's control. One way to practice is via Mindflex, a game where you use your concentration to to move a ball through different obstacles. In each one of these experiments you must wear a bulky EEG helmet, but Emotiv is working on slimming them down while preserving numerous measuring points for brain activity.
This technology has the potential to create an entirely new form of communication as common as email. But you won't catch me walking around in one of those EEG headsets until someone turns it into a Gossip Girl headband.
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It seems as though Avatar has everyone thinking about the future of mind-controlled devices...a future that may not be so far away. Mind-controlled devices can be extremely helpful to people like Pierpaolo Petruzziello, who had his arm amputated. Researchers at the University of Rome connected a prosthetic hand to his nervous system by electrodes controlled by brain impulses that move his "muscles" to precisely control his hand and fingers.
We have all at one point in our lives thought about conveying secret messages by thought. The U.S. military is funding research at University of California, Irvine, University of Maryland, and Carnegie Mellon University in hopes that soldiers will one day be able to communicate strictly telepathically without interruption or interception of messages. Research began in 2008, and since then, scientists have determined the different thought processes needed to communicate short messages. They have also began to pinpoint where in the brain different thoughts occur so it will be easier to decipher the messages. Turns out that it is relatively simple to send short messages, but researchers are still working on sending lengthier instructions such as those needed in combat conditions (or needed at home to play Modern Warfare 2).
This technology has the potential to create an entirely new form of communication as common as email. But you won't catch me walking around in one of those EEG headsets until someone turns it into a Gossip Girl headband.
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Labels: body, round up, science, technology
Looking for Artists
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Where, oh where, are the artists out there? The world needs great art. Our friends over at Zer01 in San Jose, Calif., are looking for a variety of 5-minute shorts that were shot using a cell phone or other mobile devices. The theme for their biennial this fall, "Build Your Own World," focuses on innovation that can change the world. The selected shorts will receive a cash prize and will be screened at the 2010 01SJ Biennial. Enter your video here by May 15.
The Utah Transit Authority also has a call for artists to work on the airport TRAX extension in Salt Lake City. The works will be displayed at each stop along the route, which will run along North Temple. The art will be one of the first impressions visitors get of Utah, so the stakes are high! Applications for this project are due March 8, 2010.
Finally, The Leo just closed its submission period for the art installation in the main lobby of the building — three finalists will be announced by the end of March, with a winner selected by mid-June. This piece will illustrate The Leonardo's blend of science, art and technology. I can't wait to see the chosen piece inside the building when we open April 15, 2011, and I'm sure we will give all of you blog readers a sneak peak before then!
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The Utah Transit Authority also has a call for artists to work on the airport TRAX extension in Salt Lake City. The works will be displayed at each stop along the route, which will run along North Temple. The art will be one of the first impressions visitors get of Utah, so the stakes are high! Applications for this project are due March 8, 2010.
Finally, The Leo just closed its submission period for the art installation in the main lobby of the building — three finalists will be announced by the end of March, with a winner selected by mid-June. This piece will illustrate The Leonardo's blend of science, art and technology. I can't wait to see the chosen piece inside the building when we open April 15, 2011, and I'm sure we will give all of you blog readers a sneak peak before then!
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Labels: art, Leo, renovation, round up
Round up
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
To combat our heat fatigue (and yours!), here are a couple of cool links to great stuff we've seen around the internet lately.
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First off is the SEED Magazine Mathematicians slideshow. I always imagined mathematicians toiling in relative obscurity in dusty corners of a campus' oldest building. But in this SEED slide show, the practitioners of the field get the high art treatment with intriguing portraits and audio narration describing the allure of the field. One person's inspiration was a dramatic pause in a conversation from her childhood, and another compares his work to a secret garden in which he grows beautiful theories. Creative minds find inspiration in and draw connections to everything. Please click through the link to the show, especially because I can't repost the entire show here.
The next highlight is this post from the Brooklyn Museum about sun bleaching an Arshile Gorky print from the museum's collection. The post shows the process step by step, including before photos, process photos and the "after" result. The museum has taken a routine conservator's task, brought it into the sun (literally and online, of course) and made it a fascinating glimpse into the behind-the-scenes work of a large institution.
The final entry in today's round up is the Indianapolis Museum of Art blog. The blog has a wide variety of voices from within the museum, some snarky, some hip, some straight-laced, but all entertaining and informative. They plug their local institutions and build links in their community and online. It's a great model and something to which The Leo aspires. Particular recent favorites include Look at all those Jiggawatts!, Echinacea Nation and Bicycles, Art and Robots (which served as inspiration for our recent Chalkbot post).
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