Computers can tell when you’ve been drunk tweeting

In case the rambling string of misspelled words and incoherent thoughts weren't dead giveaways, scientists have developed a method of machine learning to sniff out drunk tweets. Researchers from the University of Rochester collected 11,000 geotagged...

nEmesis system machine reads tweets, tells you which burrito joint to avoid

nEmesis machine reads your tweets, tells you which burrito house to avoid

We all know that customer reviews can be prone to, shall we say, a little positive engineering. What if you could gather genuine opinions about a restaurant, or product before you commit your cash? Well, a new system developed at the University of Rochester might be able to offer just that. The "nEmesis" engine uses machine learning, and starts to listen when a user tweets from a geotagged location that matches a restaurant. It then follows the user's tweets for 72 hours, and captures any information about them feeling ill. While the system isn't able to determine that any resulting affliction is directly connected to their restaurant visit, results over a four-month period (a total of 3.8-million analysed tweets) in New York City found 480 reports of food poisoning. It's claimed these data match "fairly well" with that gathered by the local health department. The system's creators admit it's not the whole picture, but could be used alongside other datasets to spot potential problems more quickly. The only question is how long before we see "sabotage" tweets?

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Via: Motherboard

Source: University of Rochester

Scientists demonstrate unjammable radar based on quantum imaging

Scientists demonstrate unjammable radar using quantum imaging

Unfortunately for those in the enemy tracking game, sophisticated aircraft-equipped anti-detection systems can outfox radar by intercepting the signal and sending back a false image, as shown above. However, researchers from the University of Rochester have figured out a technique to defeat such a jamming system that harnesses the quantum properties of light. By polarizing photons before sending them toward objects to be scanned, any attempt at modifying the returning photons caused quantum interference that was easy to detect, in the form of the very high polarization errors shown in the second false image. According to the team, such a a system could "easily be realized and integrated into modern optical ranging and imaging systems," with a little work, making it infinitely more difficult to defeat radar systems. Check the source for more "light" reading, provided that quantum mechanics doesn't break your brain.

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Via: MIT Technology Review

Source: Arxiv (PDF)