Tag Archives: TokyoInstituteOfTechnology

SOINN gets intelligence boost, uses web-based image search to ID objects

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SOINN robot gets intelligence boost, uses webbased image search to identify objects

Tokyo Institute of Technology's SOINN (Self-Organizing Incremental Neural Network) bot was impressive enough during our first introduction back in 2011, but the intelligent device can now tap the web for its latest trick: accurate object identification. The updated system, which appears to utilize a database akin to Google's image search, can scour the web for similar shots, making it possible to ID objects based on comparable structures published on the web. It can distinguish a box cutter from a knife, for example, or a rickshaw from a car. For now, SOINN is limited to identifying objects in images, including those captured in realtime with a camera, but its designers imagine that future revisions could enable content recognition in video streams, and audio clips, too. Our friends at DigInfo saw the update in action -- check it out for yourself in the video after the break.

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Source: DigInfo.TV

NTT DoCoMo confirms successful 10Gbps wireless test, clears a path to 5G

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NTT DoCoMo confirms successful 10Gbps wireless test, paves the way to 5G

No, it's not the world's most conspicuous surveillance van -- it's one of the first steps toward 5G data. NTT DoCoMo has just confirmed that the gear-laden vehicle above successfully conducted a 10Gbps wireless test in Ishigaki this December with the help of the Tokyo Institute of Technology. The dry run relied on frequencies and bandwidth well outside of usual cellular service, in the 11GHz band with 400MHz of spectrum, but proved that it was possible to blow past the speeds of LTE and LTE-Advanced while moving outdoors; the test used 24 antennas to maintain the link. DoCoMo ultimately hopes for similar speed in frequencies over 5GHz, and it's not shy about hoping the technology will define mobile communication as it improves. Although we're not expecting this kind of breakneck performance in a phone for years, it's good to know that 4G isn't necessarily the end of the line.

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Source: NTT DoCoMo

Japanese research group concocts 3D restoration magic from regular photos (video)

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Japanese research group concocts 3D restoration magic from regular photos video

Reconstructing 3D spacial data has long been possible, but convincing the average consumer of that would be another chore entirely. In the future, however, it may be simpler to believe. A crew of researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology are hard at work developing a new system that "quickly creates 3D spacial data from photos taken with a digital camera." According to Assistant Professor Akihito Torii, the method can use JPEGs from a conventional point-and-shoot camera -- no specialized equipment needed -- which are then shot over to a PC via a wireless Eye-Fi SD card. From there, it's the magic of the software that takes over, reconstructing a 3D model in mere minutes. The goal? To save Earthlings time, naturally. As it stands, pilots shooting aerial shots usually have to land, offload imagery and see if they missed anything; in theory, this could allow a more real-time process to fall into place, enabling patch shots to be taken just minutes after they're missed. Looking for more? Hit up the explanatory video just after the break.

Continue reading Japanese research group concocts 3D restoration magic from regular photos (video)

Japanese research group concocts 3D restoration magic from regular photos (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 02:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Humanoid bot created to analyze mechanics of swimming, replace unreliable carbon-based life forms

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Humanoid bot created to analyze mechanics of swimming, replace unreliable carbon-based life froms

Meet Swumanoid. He's the replacement Tokyo Institute of Technology researchers have whipped up for pesky earthlings who can't identically repeat tests or minutely change their swimming style. The bot can reproduce a swimmer's full body movement and measure water resistance in an effort to shed some light on the forces acting on creatures like Michael Phelps. Created with 3D printed parts of an inferior human swimmer at half scale, it's attached to a drive unit and confined to a circulating water tank; Swumanoid takes two minutes and thirty-six seconds to swim roughly 300 feet, so it'll be a while before he and his kin chase you down. In the meantime, you can watch nightmare fueling footage of the bot presumably training for the Ironman Triathlon after the break.

Continue reading Humanoid bot created to analyze mechanics of swimming, replace unreliable carbon-based life forms

Humanoid bot created to analyze mechanics of swimming, replace unreliable carbon-based life forms originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jun 2012 13:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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T-rays produce 3Gbps short-range wireless, make WiFi pout in the corner

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The last time we saw T-rays, they were busy scanning bodies for tumors and security threats. Six researchers from the Tokyo Institute of Technology are now aiming the terahertz-level frequencies at a less organic target: fast wireless. Running at 542GHz, a rate that makes 60GHz ultra wideband look pokey, the scientists are sending data through the ether at about 3Gbps. The speed isn't as fast as the 7Gbps peak of WiGig, and the bandwidth runs dry at just 33 feet away, but it comes out of a resonant tunneling diode measuring 0.04 square inches -- definitely small enough to fit into a smartphone. The speed could magnify using higher frequencies and power levels, too, with 100Gbps being the dream. Knowing that it can take years for academic papers to translate to real products, we're not holding our breath for T-ray routers anytime soon. Still, the technology could make wideband a realistic option for handhelds and put the mere 1.3Gbps of 802.11ac WiFi to shame.

[Thanks, Andrew. Image credit: Deborah Miller and Warren Scott, Connexions]

T-rays produce 3Gbps short-range wireless, make WiFi pout in the corner originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 10:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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