Flying Plates Learn To Catch Flying Poles In Switzerland

Imagine a plate, like a dinner plate, hovering mid-air. The technical name for this gizmo is a quadrocopter. But what it's about to do is something you might see at the circus. So in comes the man with the top hat, (me) saying "Laaadies and Gentlemen ... Hold on to your seats, Prepare to be astonished ..." Then this happens:

Let's take a pole, basically a three foot stick, and fling it at the plate.

What are the chances that we could get the plate to zoom under the pole, catch it mid-air, (remember, it's got no arms, it's a plate!) and balance it upright? Oh, and the plate isn't being guided by a person. It's got to do this itself. It has to learn this, through trial and error.

That would be one very, very, very talented plate.

And now before your very eyes, I'm going to show you one, designed by a grad student working in Switzerland, Dario Brescianini. He studies artificial intelligence at ETH Zurich's Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control, where they design clever robots. In recent years, the students there have been building these simple, dinner-plate thingies that fly. Plates with propellers.

But First, Ball-Tossing

Last year some students in Zurich taught these plates to toss a rubber ball, which was a little surprising. Then they got the plates to "catch" the ball and ricochet it back and forth; they call this mid-air "juggling." I'd call it "pingpong," but whatever you call it, it was very impressive, as you can see here ...

And then along comes Dario.

As I said, he tossed poles (with shock absorbers ? a balloon filled with flour at one end) at his robots, hoping the plates could catch, balance, then juggle these flying sticks. Impossible? No. Dario, quoted on a AI site called Robohub, said he found the problem "interesting" ...

... because it combined various areas of current research and many complex questions had to be answered: How can the pole be launched off the quadrocopter? Where should it be caught and ? more importantly ? when? What happens at impact? The biggest challenge to get the system running was the catching part.

And Now, Pole Tossing

I'll say. But, as you're about to see, he did it. Dario gave the machine physics lessons, but it took trial and error for the robots to figure out the timing. I find this totally amazing.

One more thing ? Some of you are going to say this was Photoshopped, or it's all a trick. I don't think so. Dario worked with fellow grad student Markus Hehn and Professor Raffaello D'Andrea, artificial intelligence scholars with impressive resumes. The school is well-known. If this video is a slick prank, they would have chosen a slicker narrator. Dario (if that is Dario) reads his copy like an embarrassed announcer at a funeral. He will never get a job in broadcasting, but that's no problem, because he's aces with flying poles.

Watch his plates learn to:

1. throw
2. catch
3. juggle

I can't imagine what's next.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2013/02/25/172906352/flying-plates-learn-to-catch-flying-poles-in-switzerland?ft=1&f=1007

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Tunisian secularists protest against new Islamist PM

Tunis (Reuters) - Thousands of Tunisians protested on Saturday against the new prime minister-designate Ali Larayedh, a hardliner from the main Islamist Ennahda party.

President Moncef Marzouki asked Larayedh to form a government on Friday, in the aftermath of the February 6 assassination of secular opposition politician Chokri Belaid.

Outgoing prime minister Hamadi Jebali resigned on Tuesday because Ennahda rejected his plan for an apolitical technocrat cabinet to prepare for elections.

Larayedh, the new premier-designate, is controversial because opposition secularists accuse the Interior Ministry which he headed of failing to curb Islamist violence.

About 3000 secularists flocked to the capital's main street Habib Bourguiba raising banners hostile to the Ennahda party and Larayedh.

They chanted "Larayedh out" and "The people want to bring down the regime".

Tunisia plunged into political crisis on February 6 when the assassination of secular opposition politician Chokri Belaid ignited the biggest street protests since the overthrow of strongman Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali two years ago.

Larayedh, 57, is viewed as part of Ennahda's hardline wing, which rejects any role for parties linked to the Ben Ali era.

A maritime engineer, Larayedh spent 15 years in jail under Ben Ali.

(Reporting By Tarek Amara; Editing by Stephen Powell)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tunisian-secularists-protest-against-islamist-pm-170933771.html

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Election Washes Rome in Wave of Posters

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Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323549204578318263568380862.html?mod=europe_home

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Petition to legalize phone unlocking reaches goal

Devin Coldewey , NBC News ? ? ? 13 hrs.

A Whitehouse.gov petition to rescind the recent decision making personal unlocking of cell phones illegal has reached the 100,000 signatures necessary for an official response from the administration.

Unlocking is the process of removing carrier restrictions on a device; For instance, a phone bought at Verizon might only work on its network, even if its hardware is compatible with AT&T's network. By unlocking it, a user could take their phone to another network and avoid having to buy a new one.

Various carriers took different approaches to unlocking phones, some offering unlocked phones out of the box, some making the process a chore. But if you wanted to do it, you generally could.

That is, until October of 2012 brought a decision from the Librarian of Congress that, under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), unlocking your own phone was technically illegal, and could only be done with carrier permission. A 90-day grace period allowed one last chance to unlock, but ended on Jan. 26, at which point it became forbidden by law.

The decision was criticized widely by groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation for removing consumer options for no good reason. Owners of phones, they argued, should be able to do whatever they like with them ? from installing custom software to unlocking the device for new carriers.

Shortly before unlocking became officially illegal, a petition on the Whitehouse.gov We The People site was started, asking for the decision to be rescinded, or if that wasn't possible, to pass a law allowing phone unlocking. With just two days left before its expiration, it hit the 100,000-signature mark that means the administration will issue an official response.

It's doubtful that unlocking will be made legal again in a hurry (such legislation would certainly take time), but at the very least, it is clear that many are concerned about this perceived misstep in tech governance.

Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. His personal website is coldewey.cc.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/petition-legalize-phone-unlocking-reaches-goal-1C8485954

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Asian markets decline on Europe concerns

BEIJING (AP) ? Asian stock markets fell Friday following weak economic data from Europe and moves by China's government to cool inflation pressures.

Oil rose to just above $93 a barrel despite Wall Street's overnight decline and higher U.S. jobless numbers.

The Asian heavyweight, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index, fell 0.5 percent to 11,252.41 while in the region's biggest economy, China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.1 percent to 2,323.72. Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore and Taipei also suffered declines.

Australia was the region's only major gainer, with the ASX/S&P 200 rising 1.1 percent to 5,033.50, recovering from Thursday's 2.3 percent plunge.

The Shanghai index slid 3 percent Thursday for its biggest decline in 15 months after Beijing announced new measures to cool politically sensitive housing costs. Also this week, the central bank drained liquidity from markets in a sign it is trying to restrain pressure for prices to rise as the economy gradually recovers.

"Policy will try to sharply slow availability of funds in the economy," said Credit Agricole CIB economist Dariusz Kowalczyk in a report.

Asian markets followed European bourses down after weaker-than-expected industrial data from heavyweight economies France and Germany. France's CAC-40 tumbled 2.3 percent on Thursday and markets in Germany, Britain and Italy suffered marked declines.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.7 percent to 22,746.37, Seoul's Kospi was off 0.2 percent at 2,010.81 and Taipei's Taiex lost 0.4 percent to 7,921.08. Singapore fell 0.3 percent.

U.S. markets were rattled by Wednesday's release of notes from the Fed's last policy meeting that suggested some policymakers were worried about the cost of its monetary stimulus.

That sparked concern the Fed might wind down asset purchases, though some analysts suggested such fears were overblown.

On Thursday, the Labor Department reported the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits rose 20,000 last week to 362,000 but said longer-term, the job market appears to be improving.

The Dow Jones industrial average declined 0.5 percent and the broader S&P 500 index fell 0.6 percent.

The benchmark price of crude for April delivery was up 36 cents to $93.20 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $2.24, or 2.4 percent, to $92.98 on Thursday, the second drop of 2 percent in two days.

In currency markets, the dollar fell to 93.15 yen from 93.26 yen late Thursday. The euro was up slightly at $1.320.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/asian-markets-decline-europe-concerns-032159489--finance.html

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The 'Spring into TEGRA' Contest: Win a Tegra-powered HTC One X+!

It's contest time again! With the seasons changing -- soon, we hope, as it's been a cold winter -- and spring fast approaching, we're teaming up with NVIDIA to award two Tegra-powered HTC One X+ devices (International edition) to a couple of lucky Android Central members.*

To enter, simply follow these three steps:

1. Take a picture of yourself with your tired and worn out mobile device.
2. Head over to the official contest thread.
3. Post the picture, AND tell us why you absolutely NEED a new HTC One X+.

That's all there really is to it! Head over to the official contest thread and get your entry in. You never know… with a little luck and creativity (hint, hint!) you may end up with a brand new device at your front door.

* Contest closes on March 1, 2013, at 11:59 PM EST. Winners will be selected shortly thereafter via PM and e-mail. ONE entry per person. Contest open to all Android Central members.

Good luck!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/slfU0bu4V1o/story01.htm

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Indian filmmaker, Muslim groups reach agreement - Charlotte ...

NEW DELHI Indian movie star Kamal Hassan has reached a settlement with Muslim organizations in southern India and agreed to delete seven scenes from his latest spy thriller, Indian media reported Sunday.

The Tamil Nadu government had banned Hassan's film "Vishwaroopam" in the state following protests from several Muslim groups objecting to the film's portrayal of Islam.

Hassan and Muslim leaders reached an agreement Saturday after more than five hours of talks.

Islamic groups have promised to call off their protests against the film and withdraw legal cases that they have filed against the filmmaker.

Hassan is the producer, director and star of the film, which was released abroad and in some Indian states on Jan. 25. The film has received a tremendous response in states where it has been released and has earned favorable reviews from film critics.

The film has been made in the Tamil, Telugu and Hindi languages.

It had been cleared by India's Censor Board before the Muslim groups raised objections to some scenes prompting the Tamil Nadu government's ban. That decision was followed by similar bans on the film in Sri Lanka and Malaysia.

The film is expected to be released in Tamil Nadu as early as Friday.

Source: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/02/03/3831085/indian-filmmaker-muslim-groups.html

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'Star Trek' Super Bowl Ad Brings Battle To Earth

Brand-new 'Into Darkness' trailer gives Trek fans a menacing look at Benedict Cumberbatch.
By Ryan Rigley

Chris Pine in "Star Trek Into Darkness"
Photo: Paramount

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1701280/star-trek-into-darkness-super-bowl-trailer.jhtml

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