_|+ Intrinsic relationships of the internet network +|_

The internet is an amazing man made phenomenon that has spread across the world like a virus. I found many fascinating tools that are used to graphically map the internet. There is an amazing amount of information and data available at CAIDA (Cooperative Association for Internet Data Analysis). They also provide visualization tools available for download here.



CAIDA has developed a special tool "skitter" which actively probes forward IP paths and round trip times (RTTs) from a skitter host to a specified list of destinations. They have deployed a number of monitors around the world. Each skitter monitor continuously sends probe packets to destinations in its target list. The number of times each destination is probed per day depends primarily on the the total number of destinations in the target list and, to a lesser extent, on the current global conditions of the network. They store data in individual files classified by skitter host and by day, where day is defined as 24 hour period starting from midnight UTC.


The intrinsic relationships that the internet has created are mind blowing. With the case of "worm" viruses, these diagrams help us understand the complexity of stopping them. I found many publications by CAIDA here that describe how to stop the spread.

Bill Cheswick and Hal Burch Map of the Internet
This is a movie made by the Internet Mapping Project at Bell Labs/Lumeta Corporation. The visualization represents data captured by sending billions of traceroute-type packets. It is only a general topology of the major networks, and comes nowhere near actually representing the full complexity of the whole Internet. Information for their project can be found here.

Fri, Dec 28, 2007  Permanent link
Categories: internet, topology, science

control | by | thought

In the near future I expect devices to enable users to control machines will be controlled by thought. Many new devices have been in development for a few years now and quite a bit of research has been done on the subject. Below is some information I managed to pull up on related devices.

Monkeys always seem to be able to do certain things differently than humans. In the video below this monkey could control the robotic arm better and more efficiently than humans.



Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems Inc. in Foxborough, Mass. has demonstrated the use of an implantable micro electrode array that combined with a digital signal processing system forms its so-called "BrainGate" interface, which has been used to allow thought to control a television. A paralyzed man in the U.S. became the first person to benefit from BrainGate, which effectively allows him to use his thoughts to control a television, according to a recent BBC report. Matthew Nagle, 25, was left paralyzed from the neck down after a knife attack in 2001, the BBC said, adding that the Nagle was put on the BrainGate program at New England Sinai Hospital, Massachusetts, last summer.

Berlin Brain-Computer Interface has made some pretty great advances on this technology.

Cerebral electric activity is recorded via the electroencephalogram (EEG): electrodes, attached to the scalp, measure the electric signals of the brain. These signals are amplified and transmitted to the computer, which transforms them into device control commands. The crucial requirement for the successful functioning of the BCI is that the electric activity on the scalp surface already reflects motor intentions, i.e., the neural correlate of preparation for hand or foot movements. The BCI detects the motor-related EEG changes and uses this information, for example, to perform a choice between two alternatives: the detection of the preparation to move the left hand leads to the choice of the first, whereas the right hand intention would lead to the second alternative. By this means it is possible to operate devices which are connected to the computer; such a communication can even be realised via the internet.


The project (BMBF Förderzeichen 01KO0121, 01IBB02A/B, 01IBE01A/B), which is supported by the ministry for education and research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung , BMBF), comprises the development of EEG-driven systems for computer-aided working environments. These systems will, for instance, allow for the control of a mouse pointer by means of brain waves. Furthermore, medical tools are being created for patients suffering from amyotrophia or quadriplegia.



Emotiv Systems is another company developing portable technology that will be used mainly in the gaming industry and has showed up to multiple large conferences recently.
In company simulations, face movements were duplicated on-screen with precise detail. The wearer can blink specifically and position his or her mouth into precise formations: grimacing, smiling, etc. — they’re all possible.

By far the most intricate part of the system though, is its ability to recognize emotions. Developer’s software displays interpretations of excitement. It can recognize immediate excitement and excitement across a plane. This information has a whole slew of implications for in-game utilization. Imagine a game where a heartbeat started pounding away when it detected your level of excitement. You’d have to cognitively slow your thoughts to suppress the heartbeat to hear the other game sounds better.



This demo is more impressive and hard to believe without seeing other videos (like the one above).



As an update to this article, this information was just published. It explains some of the technology and companies included in the above article...http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/news/2007/09/bci_games

Enjoy!

Fri, Jul 20, 2007  Permanent link
Categories: brain control

Kinetic Sculptures

"Theo Jansen, artist, studied science at the University of Delft Holland. The first seven years being a artist he just made paintings. Then he starts a project with a big flying saucer, which could really fly. It flew over the town of Delft in 1980 and brought the people in the street and the police in commotion. Since about ten years he is occupied with the making of a new nature. Not pollen or seeds but plastic yellow tubes are used as the basic matierial of this new nature. He makes skeletons which are able to walk on the wind. Eventualy he wants to put these animals out in herds on the beaches, so they will live their own lives."

"Animals are machines as well," said Jansen. "I was making animals with just the tubes because they were cheap but later on they turned out to be very helpful in making artificial life because they are very flexible and multifunctional as well. I see it now as a sort of protein — in nature, everything is almost made of protein and you have various uses of protein; you can make nails, hair, skin and bones. There's a lot of variety in what you can do with just one material and this is what I try to do as well."

His projects are out of this world...




Check out an interview with Theo Jansen:

Theo Jansen's Web Site

Mon, Jun 11, 2007  Permanent link
Categories: Kinetic, art, alien