Image via Wikipedia

It wasn’t too long ago that the desktop computer was considered the hottest technology and something everyone wanted. We moved from the desktop to the laptop and today have access to an even greater technology. The Android Tablet, and similar tablet computers, have quickly impacted the way we communicate with each other. Like all pieces of technology, it is also being used as a springboard for new technologies. In fact, today, many tablet computers are being utilized in conjunction with robotics to create a new breed of robot. When robotics meet tablets, the sky is the limit.

Tablets, like the Android Tablet, are being utilized in several different ways to help create a more fully functioning robotic machine. For example, a company in France has developed Kompai, a robot companion. Engineered to serve as a helping hand to the elderly or other home bound individuals, the robot uses a tablet interface to ensure the end user can easily communicate with the robot. It can be used to help with a variety of everyday tasks, but is primarily used as a communication tool.

In other cases, engineers are utilizing the Android Tablet as a sort of control interface for basic robots and their functions. Its wireless capabilities makes it the ideal ‘remote control’ for simple robots. As technology continues to grow and we reach a higher understanding of the field of robotics, tablet computers will continue to play a big role in how we engineer and communicate with the robots of the future.

Image from TOURBOT Project

Robotics technology has impacted many areas of our lives. One new advance is improving the way people visit, view, or interact with museum exhibits. New advancements in museum technologies have previously included web-cams and virtual tours, as well as some robots within the museum itself. Currenlty a new advancement may further impact the ability for individuals all over the world to access and enjoy museum exhibits.

The technology is called TOURBOT, or Tour guide Robot. The idea is to provide visitors with an interactive museum experience by using a robotic avatar. This new robotic technology will allow visitors to view museum exhibits through interactive experiences over the internet. People will be able to enjoy the museum from all over the world at any time day or night. The tour guides or TOURBOTS can provide detailed images of exhibits with different resolutions, angles, and distances as well as, a wealth of information on the exhibits, or interactions with the exhibits itself.

The project was started in 2000, by the European Commission Information Technologies Societies or EU-IST. It is expected that the implementation for this new robotics technology will allow museums the ability to reach even greater numbers of visitors all over the world and those unable to visit the museum physically. TOURBOT will also give individuals a more personalized and accessible view of the museum or exhibits than previous technology has allowed.

Although this new technology has only reached a few museum floors, the potential for robotic tour guide avatars could change the way we look at and access museum exhibits improving the accessibility of museums all over the world.

Cover of A Wrinkle in Time

Teleportation has long been seen as a staple of science fiction. From Star Trek’s famous “Beam us up, Scotty,” to books such as Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time teleporting has been explained in countless ways and shows up again and again in works of fiction; however, teleportation might soon be a part of our everyday lives.

The theory of Quantum Entanglement is very complicated and still has many unanswered questions surrounding it, but the simple gist of it is that two particles of light are “entangled” and when one changes charge, the other changes charge at the same time. Measuring these changes in charge, scientists can transfer information instantly, getting around the Light Speed Barrier. A team in China recently successfully transferred information using this method over a distance of 16 kilometers (just under 10 miles), about 20 times as far as had previously been completed. This has led many scientists to look at the future of Quantum Entanglement Teleportation using satellites to send information around the world.

Communications sent with Quantum Entanglement Teleportation would not be any faster than traditional, since the information must be deciphered with a code that arrives in traditional ways; however, QET has a big advantage over traditional forms of communication: Protection. Since information would be teleporting with QET, communications could not be intercepted.

Quantum Entanglement Teleportation is just getting off the ground, but the possibilities are astounding. The recent breakthroughs have even gotten some Scientists and Engineers to asking if it might soon be possible to teleport matter, even people, in a similar fashion.

As we see advances in robotics, from the industrial aspects to those being introduced to consumers, speech is always going to be an important topic. This is no wonder, as speech is of course an integral facet to human behavior, and this will be necessary if humans will use robots on some regular basis (at least ideally).

Today there are already programs and artificial intelligence software that uses natural language to simulate intelligent conversations. Ultra Hal and Alicebot are probably the two most popular manifestations currently available. As important pieces of software that could potentially be a vital part of robotics, this type of software is one that has successfully measured imitating human beings.

So, what is the future in this type of technology? It is likely that as technology progresses it will create more lifelike forms of humanity within robots. Supporting this kind of technology is voice recognition, done with software that can read a particular voice, recognize it, and develop a language that can respond to other robots as well as to a human.

As this area of technology grows we will see how these advancements come together to create new means of communication between man and machine. Already software that can speak is being used for things like creating reminders or making reservations at a restaurant through various common communication devices. Perhaps in the future we will all be able to have thought provoking conversation with robots, as well as use them for tasks in our everyday lives.

One piece of computer hardware that many people use but never pay much attention to is the computer mouse. The first prototypes were invented in the early 1960s; however, the patent that was originally taken out on the concept expired before they were ever used for computers. The mouse concept was thrown around throughout the 1970s, but never gained any momentum until 1984 when apple debuted a design that was used with the latest Macintosh computer system.

Throughout the late 1980s and the 1990s, the mouse was the standard device for navigating on the computer. The standard layout of the mouse had a left and right button and a trackball to sense movement. Later on, mice would be created with extra buttons on the side, a scroll wheel, and other features. Now, few mice are actually made with a trackball, but instead use lasers to sense the movement of the user. Regular mice are not the only tools for navigating on the computer. Many people prefer the feel of a large trackball that is maneuvered with the thumb. Laptop computers often come with touch pads installed as standard equipment, and there are many other devices available for navigation.

Despite the alternatives that are available, the mouse remains extraordinarily popular among computer users, mainly because it is what many people used when they were first learning how to operate a computer. In the future, we will likely see the touch pad become more and more popular as people are becoming accustomed to using touch screens on their phones and in everyday life. Another concept that may one day take off is the product that many call a bat. This is a device that can sense movement in three dimensions. The device is held in the hand and can move every direction in the air as well as function like a traditional mouse.

The combined efforts of NASA and General Motors have changed history though with their new humanoid robot dubbed Robonaut 2. The robot has a human-like head, human-like shoulders and arms. It also has great dexterity in its fingers and thumb.

It can not only hold objects, but it can lift them, too. Its ability surpasses past dexterous robots. Before now the record for robots weight lifting was five pounds. Robonaut 2 can lift a 20 pound weight, both holding it close and extending it away from itself. Amazingly, Robonaut 2′s talents aren’t just limited to exercise though, it has other abilities that make it ready for the working world. It can hold a pen and write the word “hello” as well as dial a cell phone.

This superior robotic triumph is set to ride aboard the Discovery shuttle which will launch into space in February 2011. It has been reported that this humanoid is safe enough to labor side-by-side with humans, which it will do. Its lists of tasks to perform in space range from risky (doing space walks) to repetitive (cleaning internal surfaces on the space station to prevent bacteria build-up).

The debut of Robonaut 2 is just the beginning for NASA and General Motors. The latter hopes to use the technology utilized in Robonaut 2 for its assembly lines. With this cutting-edge technology, the first ever human-like robot, NASA is sure to continue engineering robots and developing new robotic technologies that not only will help in space, but may eventually become a household commodity.

Now the world of finance, thanks to developing technology, is finding that there are more than enough resources to answer their financial questions, and answer them precisely. Companies are arming the average person with knowledge in order to gain their trust and their business.

Many people have a basic problem with the way that they budget their money. Certainly a financial planner understands the struggles and has the answers to make a good and balance budget. But for most people this is an expensive option. For those customers who are not interested in buying a budget can plan one online. Most larger financial institutions offer free budget tools, or budgeting software, free of charge to the general public.  Often times it is easy to receive this software with free file sharing programs like FileZilla.  This is a great tool and you could use this software to upload your files to a site to store as well. The best feature of File Zilla is that it is free and easy to use.

This isn’t just an act of kindness by these major financial players. It’s a shrewd business move. The idea is that a customer will begin to use the budgeting tools and realize that they know less about what to do with their money than they already thought they knew. For this they will contact someone from that company about further financial services.

For those looking above and beyond the month to month expenses there are a number of companies that offer calculators for retirement as well as an in depth look at mutual funds and stock market returns. It’s all a part of the advancements the Internet has brought.

Google recently announced the debut of version 3.0 of the Android mobile operating system. Previous versions of the Android system were specifically designed for smartphones. The Android 3.0 also know as the Honeycomb was designed for tablet PCs. Demos for the Honeycomb appeared to show an operating system that was unlike any previous version of the Android. Google Talk was one of the most important features of the Honeycomb operating system. Google Talk unites tablet and PC users through voice and video chat with the built-in cameras that are installed on many devices. The Android 3.0 expects to integrate all the features.

Some of the other important aspects of the new operating system include improved web-browsing, the ability to use Google’s eBook library, easy access to interactive Google Maps in 3d and versions of Gmail and YouTube that have been optimized for tablet use.  Android 3.0 promises to fix features such as multi-tasking, notifications and app access.

The Android was already expected to be one of the bigger stories of 2011, but with the issue of the Honeycomb the expectations for the Android operating system have only grown. In the last quarter of 2010, the Android emerged as competition to take over the smartphone market from the iPhone. In 2011, the Android might be able to surpass Apple in the tablet market as well. The Android’s potential seems limitless in the emerging smartphone and tablet markets.

A graphics card is a printed circuit board that contains three parts — graphics processor, video memory, and video BIOS. Regular updates to the graphics card are particularly important to people who are power users of graphics, such as photo editors, gamers, and web designers.

Sometimes it is well worth considering the convenience of using open source freeware such as Handbrake, Xvid or Virtual Dub for all your multimedia player needs. These free programs help to view multimedia types across different platforms and codes and is often simpler and more convenient than relying on the media player loaded on your PC which may have issues with certain formats.

If your computer is experiencing issues with the display or the processing speed of graphics, it is likely that you need to upgrade your video card. This is after you have ensured that other components are not causing problems as well. You can diagnose these issue using tools such as a defrag program to see if your hard drive has any bad sectors. You can run other optimization programs to see if you experience improvements. If these prove not to be the problem, you can pretty much be assured that the video card needs upgrading.

When upgrading your card, you need to research the type of video slot your computer has. There are differing types, but most computers today use what is called an accelerated graphics port. After you have determined the type of your computer’s video slot you can choose the upgraded card that best suits your requirements. You should keep in mind, though, the new card’s power requirements in relation to your computer’s power supply. These need to be compatible for a successful upgrade.

You should also look at your computer’s RAM in conjunction with the RAM requirements of your new graphics cards. Modern graphics card generally require much more memory than older models.

Simply follow manufacturer’s instructions carefully to install your card and get ready to experience that increased performance!