A digital ‘totem’ leads the way in one of New York’s oldest museums

Museums, for all the wonders they contain, have a reputation for being staid and musty. At their worst they’ve even been described as mausoleums. That’s a problem when it comes to exhibits about an active, living culture like the Haida people of British Columbia. The American Museum of Natural History has taken it upon itself to change that perception of the native groups of the Pacific Northwest, implementing new technologies in its oldest hall to educate millions of visitors about these thousands of people living on the other side of the continent.

It’s easy to think of the cultures portrayed in the AMNH as being firmly in the past. That’s because the museum itself is a relic, with many exhibits having remained unchanged for decades. The Hall of Northwest Coast Indians, the oldest extant gallery of the museum, opened in 1900 and showcases a variety of artifacts from tribes such as the Kwakwaka’wakw, the Tlingit and the Tsimshian. The scent of old wood is strong in the room, and it’s kept dark in order to protect the items housed inside the antique glass cases. It’s not exactly the friendliest hall, which means it’s not uncommon for visitors to pass through quickly on their way to brighter, more exciting displays.

It became clear that the room was in need of revitalizing when the museum began to receive complaints from First Nation tourists. But the hall’s historic nature and the cost of renovating it made any kind of extensive redesign impossible. The museum opted instead for a lighter, more technological approach — something that could work around and respect the facility’s historic architecture.

The centerpiece of this initiative is the “digital totem,” an interactive monolith that sits in the middle of the hall. It doesn’t resemble a traditional-looking totem pole so much as those giant kiosks that made their debut in New York’s subway system a few years back. And that’s fine: According to curator Peter Whiteley, “totem” is an Ojibwe word that white settlers took from the east and applied to the native sculptures they found in the Pacific Northwest. It doesn’t have strong cultural significance for the cultures portrayed in the gallery.

However, if you’re looking at it as a source of information about a tribe, the digital totem in the Hall of Northwest Coast Indians has plenty of stories to tell. Each side of the totem is occupied by a large touchscreen, with the home page displaying a map of the northwest region and a series of icons depicting the various topics the various topics a visitor can explore. They can learn more about particular First Nations individuals the museum interviewed, including artisans, educators and linguists. Or they can play with audio common to the area, mixing and matching sounds like the cry of an eagle with drum beats and rattles to create a unique beat. Most relevant to the hall itself is the ability to zero in on particular artifacts, rotating them and zooming in to examine the fine details that visitors often miss because these objects spend their days behind glass in a dark corner of a case.

There’s a lot to do on the totem, which carries the risk of visitors spending too much time there, at the expense of other parts of the hall. So the totem isn’t the only piece of tech the AMNH has introduced to further engage visitors. Once a month, an employee of the Haida Gwaii Museum will virtually wander the hall using a telepresence robot, approaching groups to help educate them about the displays they might be looking at and answer any questions they have. There’s also a mobile app with some AR functionality: Children color in worksheets depicting artifacts like a bird mask and, when the camera is pointed at the sheet, the app will display a 3D representation of the mask, complete with all the colors and scribbles added by the child.

The AR feature and the Hall of Northwest Coast Indians are merely the tip of the iceberg for the AMNH’s Explorer app. Although still in beta, the app is filled with features intended to enhance your visit to the museum, like ticket sales and exhibit information. There are maps — but instead of a static image for you to puzzle out, the app uses Bluetooth to connect to beacons throughout the museum, marking your location on the diagram. It then populates with bubbles representing notable artifacts in the room, which you can then tap on for more info, along with directions to that spot in the room.

Digital architecture director Matthew Tarr worried that visitors might be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information, but instead staff found that people browsed it like they use Instagram, scrolling through images and “liking” the ones that intrigued them the most. The app has a bookmark feature so visitors can revisit the parts of the museum they enjoyed even after they leave.

Lots of museums have experimented with technology to further engage the public, and the American Museum of Natural History will continue to push forward on that front. The staff hopes to expand projects like the digital totem into other areas of the museum, increase the amount of artifacts available to look at the in the app and experiment with other technologies as well. In the end it’s all about making connections: bringing the museum closer to its visitors, joining people in New York to living cultures all across the world and also bridging a museum founded in the 19th century to the 21st.

Android Central 299: Say Anything

Phil’s got some big plans, someone’s got a few four-letter words — and we’ve got a lot of your emails and voicemails to go through. Don’t miss this one!

Podcast MP3 URL: http://traffic.libsyn.com/androidcentral/acpc299.mp3

Japan’s latest humanoid robot makes its own moves

Japan’s National Science Museum is no stranger to eerily human androids: It employs two in its exhibition hall already. But for a week, they’re getting a new colleague. Called “Alter,” it has a very human face like Professor Ishiguro’s Geminoids, but goes one step further with an embedded neural network that allows it to move itself. The technology powering this involves 42 pneumatic actuators and, most importantly, a “central pattern generator.” That CPG has a neutral network that replicates neurons, allowing the robot to create movement patterns of its own, influenced by sensors that detect proximity, temperature and, for some reason, humidity. The setup doesn’t make for human-like movement, but it gives the viewer the very strange sensation that this particular robot is somehow alive. And that’s precisely the point.

The project is an attempt to bridge the gap between programming a robot to move and allowing it to move for itself. With a neural network in place, movement is given a loose degree of flexibility, what the researchers are calling “chaos.” Alter’s arm movement, head and posture will adjust and change on the system’s own volition. The neural network ticking behind the scenes offers multiple movement modes, switching between a longer movement mode and a more random “chaos” mode. The decision to switch is influenced by the sensors dotted around the base and take in what’s happening around Alter: proximity, humidity, noise and temperature. These sensors operate like the robot’s version of skin, copying our own senses, even if the system is far, far simpler. If the proximity sensors detect a lot of people nearby, for example, the torso shudders as the robot’s body reacts to its environment.

Alta the robot isn’t terrifying at all. #alta #robot

A video posted by Mat (@thtmtsmth) on Jul 29, 2016 at 12:40am PDT

Alter also sings — in a horrific, nightmare-inducing way. The haunting melody that comes from the machine are sine waves vocalizing how the robot’s fingers move. (The team apparently tested other noises and melodies but decided to keep things simple for this early model.)

The theory behind the CPG is based on one of the simplest artificial models for neurons, the Izhikevich neuron, which reacts in a way that’s called “spiking and burst behavior”: Something builds up, and the robot’s system creates a signal spike, which chains together with other neurons. Professor Ikeue from Tokyo University describes the central pattern generator as “coupled pendulums” — one bumps into another into another and a movement in formed. While not an equal, balanced rhythm, this becomes Alter’s own rhythm. The researchers didn’t make the movement; the robot made it itself.

Osaka University’s Kouhei Ogawa, who worked on previous humanoids at the Ishiguro lab, added: “This time, Alter doesn’t look like a human. It doesn’t really move like human. However, it certainly has a presence.” It’s true. It feels like there’s something alive in there that’s neither human nor robot. Movement seems random — even if it’s nonsensical.

“Until now, making androids talk or interact for 10 minutes was an incredible amount of hard work — simply to program something to react for that long. Alter, moving for itself, can do so easily.” The robot will be on display to the public for a week while the Tokyo and Osaka teams hope interactions will inspire new ideas on what they should teach Alter next.

Source: MIraikan (Tokyo)

Android 7.0 Nougat tipped for August release as internal testing build leaks

And no update for 2013’s Nexus 5, according to reliable leaker.

It’s looking more and more likely that Android 7.0 will hit stable release status in the coming month, with the usually reliable Evan Blass (a.k.a. @evleaks) claiming that Nougat will land “next month” along with the Aug. 5 Android security patch.

That’s not surprising given Google’s regular rollout of monthly Nougat developer previews over the past five months. The most recent preview hit on July 18, so mid-to-late August is a decent bet for a stable Nougat release on supported Nexus devices, as well as an open-source code drop to AOSP (the Android Open Source Project.)

The new Android version should arrive comfortably ahead of the usual release window.

A new Android version is usually closely followed by new Nexus phones. There’s no word on when the rumored HTC-built Nexuses might land, but given that Nougat is running ahead of Google’s previous yearly schedule, it’s probably safe to expect them comfortably before the normal October launch window.

As we welcome new Nexus phones to the mix, it could be curtains for the Nexus 5, as Blass also says the three-year-old phone won’t be getting an official update to Nougat.

Android 7.0 releases next month, with the 8/5 security patch. Sorry Nexus 5 owners, no Nougat for you

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) July 30, 2016

The Nexus 5 will continue to receive Android’s monthly security updates — for now.

That’s in line with the official Google update advisory for Nexus devices, which puts the last guaranteed update for the LG-built device at October 2015. (The 2013 Nexus 7, which received Marshmallow despite having a “last update” date of July 2015, is almost certain to remain on Android 6.0.1 as well.)

The Nexus 5 will continue to receive security updates for the time being, in line with Google’s promise of monthly patches for three years from availability, or 18 months from when the Google Store last sold the device.

Even though the N5 may be reaching the end of its life, the open nature of Nexus devices — and internal similarities with the officially supported Nexus 6 — should mean there’ll be plenty of unofficial Nougat ROMs for the phone.

Whoops! Someone’s Nexus 6P was mistakenly sent a Googlers-only testing build.

In other Nougat news, there are further signs of an impending stable release, as one Nexus 6P owner on Reddit appears to have inadvertently received an over-the-air update to an internal Google testing build. Poster Brian Moyano received the 49MB OTA when attempting to revert back to the Marshmallow from the Nougat developer preview; instead of going back to Android 6.0.1, it pushed him to 7.0, build NRD90M.

The “R” in that build number means it’s on the “release” branch (as opposed to P for preview), suggesting it’s almost ready for prime time. Moyano says the “Android Beta Program” widget no longer displays in the quick settings area, and that the phone shows the Aug. 5 security patch level. Besides that, no major changes have been reported — not surprising since the fifth developer preview was supposed to be “near final” anyway.

Despite the best efforts of commenters, neither the build itself nor the OTA to get there have been pulled from the phone for wider release. So we’ll have to wait a little longer to get our hands on updated Nougat bits.

Bottom line: We’re getting closer to the final release of Android 7.0, and that means new Nexus phones probably aren’t far behind. So strap in — the usually quiet month of August is about to get a whole lot busier.

Recommended Reading: Nintendo’s NX sounds weird and that’s okay

NX is different,
and different is
Nintendo’s best option
Oli Welsh,
Eurogamer

Based on the rumors so far, Nintendo’s upcoming NX handheld console will be… unique. This piece from Eurogamer, a site that’s been the source of some of the details, takes a look at why switching things up a bit may be the company’s best bet. A touchscreen device with detachable controllers may sound strange, but if the reports are true, “we should savor and celebrate NX’s weirdness” like Eurogamer explains here.

ICYMI: Eye exams go DIY and smartfeeding your pets

Today on In Case You Missed It: A new device can calculate people’s eyeglass prescriptions without needing to see an optometrist, though whether that’s actually responsible or not is up to you. Meanwhile a cloud-connected smart petfeeder that suffered from downed servers had to send a notice to owners to feed their pets manually, since the machines lost all connection and didn’t release food.

There’s a lot to talk about this week but we recommend reading up on NOAA’s three month weather outlook, since everyone will be talking about the DNC this weekend anyway. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.

Mercedes pulls confusing autonomous car ad

Mercedes has pulled its 2017 E-class sedan ad after critics pointed out that it could mislead people into thinking it’s an autonomous vehicle. In the commercial, you’ll see the E-class sedan on the road, overtaking the automaker’s F015 autonomous car concept — the same futuristic car we previewed last year that looked like it came right out of Minority Report. A voiceover then says “Is the world truly ready for a vehicle that can drive itself? Ready or not, the future is here” You’ll also see the sedan’s driver taking his hands off the wheel while the car is in motion.

Problem is, the E-class sedan is not an autonomous vehicle. It only has a driver assist feature called “Drive Pilot” for cruise control and automated steering, designed to frequently remind people to keep their hands on the steering wheel. According to Automotive News, safety advocates such as Consumer Reports and the Center for Automotive Safety asked the FTC to investigate the ad and the company. In the end, Mercedes decided to pull the ad completely. A spokesperson from the automaker told the publication:

“The new 2017 E class is a technological tour de force and is a significant step towards achieving our vision of an accident-free futur:We do not want any potential confusion in the marketplace to detract from the giant step forward in vehicle safety the 2017 E class represents.”

The company already removed the video from its YouTube channel, but Automotive News was able to preserve a copy, which you can watch below:

Via: The Verge

Source: Automotive News