Gizmodo: intelligent

Inkjet-Like Smart Waterfall Makes Animated Falling Water Show

Kit Eaton — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 05:34:00 EDT

The recent waterfall installations in New York will seem just like so much plain old falling water, once you've seen this video of a computer-controlled waterfall "printing out" amazing patterns and pictures. It's in Canal City Hakata, which is a shopping and entertainment complex in Fukuoka, Japan, and seems to work using similar principles to an inkjet printer. Basically a computer is controlling hundreds of nozzles to precisely deliver water drops so that they fall forming a pattern... and that's anything from words to pictures. My faves are the eye-dazzling geometric patterns—they suffer less from the distortion caused by free-falling. Mesmerizing stuff. [Hacknmod]

Robocup 2008 Droids Cooperate Like Real Soccer Team, With Fewer Hissy Fits

Kit Eaton — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 05:22:00 EDT

Miniature humanoid robots are getting more impressive by the day: this video shows the Darmstadt Dribblers team in action in the recent 2008 Robocup. And if you notice, they're really playing like proper autonomous soccer teams. It's the first year that three-on-three playing action has happened, and thus required some nifty role negotiation and info exchange over Wi-Fi. That's in addition to avoiding obstacles, finding the ball visually and trying to score goals. Okay, so that opposing team needs a better goalie, but at least watching this robotic version of the beautiful game means you get to see less diving and hissy fits at the referee. Impressive stuff, no? [YouTube.—Thanks Stefan]

IBM Brings Big Brother to the Windy City

blongo3 — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 15:25:09 EDT

A video surveillance program, similar to the one that has proven to be so "effective" in London, is coming to Chicago with the help of Big ~~Brother~~ Blue, IBM. The cameras, which will reportedly cost less than current city-wide surveillance methods, will also be linked to intelligent software.

For instance, the system will be able to send out an alert if it locates a stolen car or even a missing child. It's too bad this seems just a little too smart, if you ask us. Like, who gets to determine what the network tracks? Sure, right now it's just Amber Alerts and stolen cars, but what happens when it starts following people who don't particularly like the current administration or have ideas that are deemed "too" radical? While we love our technology and the feeling of being safe and protected, we also like doing as we please without being watched. [Yahoo News, Photo courtesy of the AP]

Smart Coaster Alerts Bartender of Empty Drink

Travis Hudson — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 15:30:15 EDT

Another way to be the most efficient alcoholic is ensuring that your glass is never empty, and this invention from students and a professor at the University of Munich can do so. The intelligent coaster includes a gravity and weight sensor. It can be calibrated to an empty glass before any drinking is done. Once an empty glass is placed on the coaster it can then notify the bartender immediately. No idea on how the bartender would be alerted, but I would assume it would be by some kind of computer or pager system. –Travis Hudson

Coaster wary of empty glasses [Ubergizmo]