From medGadget:

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Your anatomy textbooks are 2D. CAVEman is 4D, meaning it’s as cool as your average text book squared. Of course, if your text book’s coolness is <1, then that means CAVEman isn’t very cool at all…so maybe the math doesn’t hold up, cut us some slack, it’s Thursday. Oh, the research, right: The University of Calgary unveiled their 4D (that’s typical 3D + time) high-resolution model of a functioning human. Essentially, they integrated data from assorted 3D imaging sources along with text books and can scale from a whole-body view down to micro-scale structures in a virtual reality room…

CAVEman resides in the CAVE, a cube-shaped virtual reality room, also known as the “research Holodeck”, in which the 4D human model floats in space, projected from three walls and the floor below.

“Six years ago, we gathered a team of computer scientists, biologists, mathematicians, and artists,” says Christoph Sensen, PhD, director of the Sun Center of Excellence for Visual Genomics at the University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine. “Our goal was to build a model of a complete human, at 10 times the resolution of anything else on the market. I am proud to say today, we have reached that goal.”

This project first began as the brainchild of a small company in Red Deer, Alberta. “Our initial goal was to make computer models that could be utilized for our massage therapy training program,” says Brenda Grosenick, co-owner of Kasterstener Inc. “We approached U of C with the concept, and suddenly, we were working on something much more elaborate than we could have ever imagined!”

The 4D human atlas is built upon data from basic anatomy textbooks. Fundamental body systems and organs were rendered into animated drawings by a graphic artist, and converted into Java 3DTM to bring them to life in the CAVE environment. “CAVEman is designed to look like a real human, but can also be sized to any scale we want,” says Sensen. “We can display all or only a few select components of the model at any given time.”

CAVEman is designed to help medical researchers investigate the genetics of various diseases, and new approaches to targeted treatments. “This technology is a powerful tool for my research into how genetic mutations lead to developmental problems such as cleft lip and palate,” says Benedikt Hallgrimsson, PhD, associate professor of cell biology and anatomy, U of C’s Faculty of Medicine. “As the technology grows, it will be useful for diverse studies of growth and development, both for creating predictive models and also for complex visualization.”

Probably at least as expensive as your anatomy text squared…

More from the University of Calgary Press Release and the actual CAVE project page – complete with demos!

Internet titan making its next giant leap
Peter Nowak, Financial Post
Published: Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Anyone can get the Web on their cellphone these days. But now it seems Google is interested in so much more than that. It has reportedly approached the Federal Communications Commission recently about obtaining wireless spectrum, the base upon which mobile-phone networks are built, in the U.S. agency’s next auction.

Never mind the potential buyout of Bell Canada Inc. or Apple Inc.’s much-hyped introduction of the iPhone yesterday, there’s a much larger, game-changing force in telecommunications lurking just around the corner.

Search engine giant Google Inc. has been putting together a massive cable network to provide customers around the world with telecommunications services ranging from broadband Internet to home and mobile phones.more>>>

iRobot Corp.: Arming robots with Tasers offers non-lethal weapon
By Mark Jewell
The Associated Press
Updated: 6:03 p.m. CT June 28, 2007

BOSTON – RoboCops and robot soldiers got a little closer to reality
Thursday as a maker of floor-cleaning automatons teamed up with a
stun-gun manufacturer to arm track-wheeled ‘bots for the police and the
Pentagon.

By adding Tasers to robots it already makes for the military, iRobot
Corp. says it hopes to give soldiers and law enforcement a defensive,
non-lethal tool.

But some observers fear such developments could ultimately lead to
robots capable of deciding on their own when to shoot and kill.

“It’s one more step in that direction,” said John Pike, director of
GlobalSecurity.org, an Alexandria, Va.-based military research organization.

“It is not the first step in that direction, but I think at some point
toward the end of the next decade, you’re going to start seeing
RoboCops, or a Terminator,” Pike said, referring to a pair of 1980s
robot-themed sci-fi films. “We may see autonomous robots capable of
inflicting lethal force.”more>>>

Humanoid toddler reacts to touch, sound
Robot designed to move just like a real child between 1 and 3 years old
The Associated Press
Updated: 11:41 a.m. CT June 8, 2007

OSAKA, Japan – A group of scientists in Japan have developed a robot
that acts like a toddler to better understand child development.

The Child-Robot with Biomimetic Body, or CB2, was developed by a team of
researchers at Osaka University in western Japan and is designed to move
just like a real child between 1 and 3 years old.

CB2, at just over 4 feet tall and weighing 73 pounds, changes facial
expressions and can rock back and forth.more>>>

New technology lets mind move toy train
Scientists set to develop brain-controlled TV remote
The Associated Press
Updated: 7:50 a.m. CT June 22, 2007

HATOYAMA, Japan – Forget the clicker: A new technology in Japan could
let you control electronic devices without lifting a finger simply by
reading brain activity.

The “brain-machine interface” developed by Hitachi Inc. analyzes slight
changes in the brain’s blood flow and translates brain motion into
electric signals.

A cap connects by optical fibers to a mapping device, which links, in
turn, to a toy train set via a control computer and motor during one
recent demonstration at Hitachi’s Advanced Research Laboratory in
Hatoyama, just outside Tokyo.

“Take a deep breath and relax,” said Kei Utsugi, a researcher…more>>>

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material
may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19368036/

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