Obscure Research Blog July Archive

Computer scientists at the Ruder Boškovic Institute in Croatia have developed and launched the Quantum Random Bit Generator Service (QRBGS), a "true" random number generator that relies on the unpredictable quantum process of photon emission. It is available online, providing the academic and scientific community access to true random numbers free of charge. QRBGS is a fast non-deterministic random bit (number) generator whose randomness relies on intrinsic randomness of the quantum physical process of photonic emission in semiconductors and subsequent detection by photoelectric effect.

Source: Power Architecture zone editors' notebook

"Targeting implantable applications like pacemakers, nerve stimulators, drug pumps, and other such medical devices, an ultralow-power RF transceiver chip has been developed that delivers high data rates, low power consumption and unique wake-up circuitry. This article discusses the design of an in-body communication system...."

On page 53 of the June 2007 issue of Coal Age Magazine, Philip Smith, global product line manager of Joy Mining Machinery says:

"In the U.S., it seems that the coal reserves are either getting harder or they are getting thinner."

If management of the worlds leader of coal mining machinery is saying that coal is becoming to hard to get, then it is clearly time to move onto other sources of energy, and leave coal where it belongs, in the ground.

"Finger Length Helps Predict Test Exam Results, Homosexuality, Cancer, Musical Ability and Aggressive Personality -- Study Shows."

"Reading, writing and arithmetic... In a recent study, the results of mathematics and literacy (reading) tests for seven-year-old children could be predicted by measuring the length of these two fingers."

Do you know of any similar studies?

"CLARAty is the Coupled Layer Architecture for Robotic Autonomy. The first release of its software, version 0.10-beta, is now available publicly at http://claraty.jpl.nasa.gov.

CLARAty is an integrated framework for reusable robotic software. It defines interfaces for common robotic functionality and integrates multiple implementations of any given functionality. Examples of such capabilities include pose estimation, navigation, locomotion and planning. In addition to supporting multiple algorithms, it provides adaptations to multiple robotic platforms. CLARAty development was primarily funded by the Mars Technology Program and it serves as the integration environment for the program's rover technology developments.

With this release, a total of 44 CLARAty modules (~100K lines of source code) are now available under Caltech TSPA License. This release is intended to share with the robotics community some of the core robotic modules which were jointly developed with NASA Ames Research Center, Carnegie Mellon, and University of Minnesota. This first release represents about 10% of all CLARAty modules and 30% of the generic modules planned for future release.

Primary functionality in these modules includes math infrastructure, rotation matrices with Euler angles, quaternions, and coordinate transformations (interoperable homogeneous and quaternion transforms). It also includes the coordinate frame infrastructure that connect transformations and mechanisms with moving parts. Additionally, you will find mechanism models for wheeled, legged and hybrid vehicles. Other modules include device and device group infrastructure with support for generic digital and analog I/O, cameras, and motors. Several modules in this release provide vision infrastructure for images, color images, camera models, 3D point cloud, and surface normal image representations."

-- http://www-robotics.jpl.nasa.gov/news/newsStory.cfm?NewsID=69