Artificial sense of touch gets smarter, lets robots really feel

The verdict's still out on whether or not androids dream of electric sheep. But their ability to feel? Well, that's about to approach levels of human sensitivity. We're of course talking about the sense of touch, not emotions. And thanks to work out of Georgia Tech, tactile sensitivity for robotics, more secure e-signatures and general human-machine interaction is about to get a great 'ol boost. Through the use of thousands of piezotronic transistors (i.e., grouped vertical zinc oxide nanowires) known as "taxels," a three-person team led by Prof. Zhong Lin Wang has devised a way to translate motion into electronic signals. In other words, you're looking at a future in which robotic hands interpret the nuances of a surface or gripped object akin to a human fingertip and artificial skin senses touch similar to the way tiny hairs on an arm do.

What's more, the tech has use outside of robotics and can even be levereged for more secure e-signature verification based on speed and pressure of a user's handwriting. And the best part? These sensors can be manufactured on transparent and flexible substrates like the one pictured above, which allows for various real-world applications -- just use your imagination. Pretty soon, even robots will have the pleasure of enjoying the touch... the feel of cotton and maybe even hum that jingle to themselves, too.

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Via: MIT Technology Review

Source: Georgia Tech, Science

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/qdRcVZxQZ8k/

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Report: The Next Xbox Controls Your TV and Cable Box ? with Kinect

This would make a lot of sense in a lot of ways. According to the Verge, the next Xbox will control your TV, and makes some actual sense out of the rumored "always online" feature of the new console. It's also packed with some interesting new Kinect features that could foreshadow the direction Microsoft is headed. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/uSRyuYjUnm8/report-the-next-xbox-controls-your-tv-and-cable-box-++-with-kinect

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Non-invasive mapping helps to localize language centers before brain surgery

Apr. 8, 2013 ? A new functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technique may provide neurosurgeons with a non-invasive tool to help in mapping critical areas of the brain before surgery, reports a study in the April issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

Evaluating brain fMRI responses to a "single, short auditory language task" can reliably localize critical language areas of the brain -- in healthy people as well as patients requiring brain surgery for epilepsy or tumors, according to the new research by Melanie Genetti, PhD, and colleagues of Geneva University Hospitals, Switzerland.

Brief fMRI Task for Functional Brain Mapping

The researchers designed and evaluated a quick and simple fMRI task for use in functional brain mapping. Functional MRI can show brain activity in response to stimuli (in contrast to conventional brain MRI, which shows anatomy only). Before neurosurgery for severe epilepsy or brain tumors, functional brain mapping provides essential information on the location of critical brain areas governing speech and other functions.

The standard approach to brain mapping is direct electrocortical stimulation (ECS) -- recording brain activity from electrodes placed on the brain surface. However, this requires several hours of testing and may not be applicable in all patients. Previous studies have compared fMRI techniques with ECS, but mainly for determining the side of language function (lateralization) rather than the precise location (localization).

The new fMRI task was developed and evaluated in 28 healthy volunteers and in 35 patients undergoing surgery for brain tumors or epilepsy. The test used a brief (eight minutes) auditory language stimulus in which the patients heard a series of sense and nonsense sentences.

Functional MRI scans were obtained to localize the brain areas activated by the language task -- activated areas would "light up," reflecting increased oxygenation. A subgroup of patients also underwent ECS, the results of which were compared to fMRI.

Non-invasive Test Accurately Localizes Critical Brain Areas

Based on responses to the language stimulus, fMRI showed activation of the anterior and posterior (front and rear) language areas of the brain in about 90 percent of subjects -- neurosurgery patients as well as healthy volunteers. Functional MRI activation was weaker and the language centers more spread-out in the patient group. These differences may have reflected brain adaptations to slow-growing tumors or longstanding epilepsy.

Five of the epilepsy patients also underwent ECS using brain electrodes, the results of which agreed well with the fMRI findings. Two patients had temporary problems with language function after surgery. In both cases, the deficits were related to surgery or complications (bleeding) in the language area identified by fMRI.

Functional brain mapping is important for planning for complex neurosurgery procedures. It provides a guide for the neurosurgeon to navigate safely to the tumor or other diseased area, while avoiding damage to critical areas of the brain. An accurate, non-invasive approach to brain mapping would provide a valuable alternative to the time-consuming ECS procedure.

"The proposed fast fMRI language protocol reliably localized the most relevant language areas in individual subjects," Dr. Genetti and colleagues conclude. In its current state, the new test probably isn't suitable as the only approach to planning surgery -- too many areas "light up" with fMRI, which may limit the surgeon's ability to perform more extensive surgery with necessary confidence. The researchers add, "Rather than a substitute, our current fMRI protocol can be considered as a valuable complementary tool that can reliably guide ECS in the surgical planning of epileptogenic foci and of brain tumors."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Wolters Kluwer Health: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, via Newswise.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Melanie Genetti, Frederic Grouiller, Serge Vulliemoz, Laurent Spinelli, Margitta Seeck, Christoph Martin Michel, Karl Schaller. Noninvasive Language Mapping in Patients With Epilepsy or Brain Tumors. Neurosurgery, 2013; 72 (4): 555 DOI: 10.1227/NEU.0b013e318282cdad

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/mind_brain/child_development/~3/S8VbHVcMfSs/130408122314.htm

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Update: Police say 31-year-old woman killed along N. Central had ...

The scene of the crash along N. Central Expressway (KXAS-Channel 5)

Update at 3:41 p.m.: Richardson police have released the name of the woman who was killed this morning: 31-year-old Emily J. Krumrei of Frisco.

Police continue their investigation into her death, but Richardson police spokesman Sgt. Kevin Perlich says ?it?s possible she wasn?t stopping? for officers ?because she had several outstanding warrants for her arrest,? including in Dallas County, where, records show, she was indicted in April for possessing between one to four grams of cocaine. Perlich says she also has outstanding felony narcotics warrants in Smith County.

Update at 12:06 p.m.: In an interview with The Dallas Morning News, Sgt. Kevin Perlich, a spokesman with the Richardson Police Department, said the woman was killed by a single bullet fired by a Richardson officer who feared for his life.

Contrary to earlier reports, said Perlich, the woman behind the wheel of the Lexus ?made contact with an officer standing in the roadway? after she fled from two other Richardson officers attempting a traffic stop. The officer wasn?t hurt, said Perlich, ?however the officer, in fear for his life, fired upon the vehicle.? The car traveled a short distance, said Perlich, then crashed into a guardrail.

Perlich said the incident began around 8:30 this morning, near the 600 block of Belt Line Road. Perlich said an officer was ?attempting to get a violator to pull over into a parking lot? ? most likely for speeding, he said, but the reason remains unclear. But the woman kept on driving, and the officer put out a description of the car and driver over the radio.

Shortly after that, Perlich said, an officer in a squad car saw the vehicle and attempted his own stop. Once again, she refused to pull over and kept driving through a residential area near N. Central Expressway. She turned to go east on Dumont Drive and headed for the frontage road to southbound N. Central Expressway.

There, said Perlich, ?a third officer near Dumont and the frontage road was working a traffic accident. He stepped out into the road and tried to get her to stop.? Instead, he says, the woman accelerated and clipped the officer, who, Perlich says, fired the single shot that struck the woman who has yet to be identified.

When asked if she was killed from the gunshot, Perlich said, ?From what we can tell, yes.?

She was taken to Medical City Dallas, where she was pronounced dead. Perlich said it?s not clear where the bullet struck her.

Perlich said two investigations ? one criminal, one administrative ? will now take place ?to make sure the shooting was within the law and within policy.? The officer will be put on leave during the investigation.

Update at 11:45 a.m.: Our Haley Thayer?s been at the scene for more than an hour, and officers aren?t saying what happened. Instead, they?re deferring to the Richardson Police Department?s public information office, which has yet to issue a statement concerning the incident.

Original item at 10:33 a.m.: Richardson police say a woman died this morning after crashing her car into a guardrail along the N. Central Expressway service road near Belt Line Road. She?d been involved in a chase with an officer, and, according to several media accounts, the officer fired at least one shot at the woman when her Lexus got too close to his cruiser.

Police say the chase began when the officer tried to pull her over. She refused and kept driving. A witness heard a single gunshot, according to a tweet from Jeff Smith of KXAS-Channel 5.

The woman eventually crashed her car into the guardrail and was taken to Medical City, where she was pronounced dead.

It remains unclear if she was hit by the bullet or if she crashed into the guardrail while trying to escape.

Richardson police have promised to send further details following a departmental briefing. We have a writer on her way to the scene. Updates to come. Meanwhile the southbound frontage road along N. Central Expressway at Belt Line is closed.

Source: http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2013/04/woman-killed-in-crash-on-n-central-service-road-following-chase-with-richardson-police-officer.html/

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