Click to read about the record breaking walking robot, Gmail’s new auto response feature, an obstacle-avoiding drone, Facebook’s accessibility initiative, and the International Space Station’s 15th birthday. Creative commons image from Halftermeyer.
Lauren Yang | News Editor
The International Space Station is as old as some current freshmen and sophomores at Menlo. Photo from NASA.
1. Happy 15th Birthday, International Space Station!
The International Space Station (ISS) celebrated its 15th birthday on Nov. 2, marking an outstanding achievement for space exploration. Although the ISS’s lifespan is predicted to last through 2015, scientists now believe the ISS can function another nine years until 2024. The continuation of the ISS means scientists can conduct even longer, more complicated experiments in space, like how to survive on Mars. Read more about it here.
Facebook is prototyping a new feature that will aid the visually impaired as part of a greater initiative to increase accessibility to everyone. Creative commons image from Tkgd2007.
2. Facebook Helps the Visually Impaired
Facebook announced recently that its artificial intelligence researchers have been developing a way for blind users to “hear” a picture. Currently, Facebook’s software will read aloud a short description of the picture at hand by utilizing artificial intelligence. This initiative is part of a larger goal of making Facebook more accessible to everyone. Read more about it here.
Watch a short clip that documents how the record breaking robot walked. Video from Tân Hoa.
3. Robot Outwalks Others to Break a Guinness World Record
A robot constructed by Chinese engineers broke the Guinness World Record for the farthest distance travelled by a quadruped, or four legged, robot. The robot, named Xingzhe No.1, walked for 54 hours around a circular track, taking more than 360,000 steps and travelling 83 miles. Why did Xingzhe No.1 eventually stop walking? Its makers say the robot ran out of battery. Read more about this here.
Google Inbox will soon enable users to send computer-generated responses, thanks to a new feature called Smart Reply. Image from infobae.
4. Bad at Responding to Emails? Google’s Got You Covered
Google’s Inbox app will soon be equipped with Smart Reply, a feature that will automatically suggest email responses to emails you receive. Because this feature is still in its prototyping state, it will only be able to generate snappy three to six word responses. Even so, there are around 20,000 responses that can be sent, such as “I’ll send it to you” or “I’ll be there”. For a more technical explanation behind the Smart Reply, click here.
The video above displays both the normal and computer-processing view of the cameras mounted on the aircraft. As you can see, the drone is not on a predetermined path, as it is making decisions as it flies. Video from MITCSAIL.
5. Don’t Worry Crashing Your Drones Anymore
As part of his Ph.D. thesis, Andrew Barry, a researcher at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab, developed a drone that can autonomously dodge trees and obstacles while travelling at 30 mph. This innovation cost Barry $1700 to build and is comprised of common components such as cameras and computer processors. This breakthrough gives hope to delivery drones or other practical applications of unmanned aerial vehicles, especially since it increases the maneuverability of drones. To find more about the technical process of how the drone was constructed, click here.
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