The ability to develop a form of communication that becomes an actual language is apparently innate, new University of Chicago research on the use of gestures among deaf children and experiments with adults shows.
Psychologist Susan Goldin-Meadow’s work with adults and children also shows which features of language seem to come more easily, and are therefore resilient, such as using order to convey who does what to whom. Her research also shows which characteristics are more difficult t
You should never use a pen, pencil or hard-tip marker to write on your CDs
That is among several recommendations made by computer scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), who sliced, diced and baked CDs and DVDs to see how long the digital information would survive.
Most CDs and DVDs will last 30 years or more if handled with care, but many factors can slash their longevity. Direct exposure to sunlight can do a great deal of damage both from
For his PhD thesis, the engineer, Jorge Teniente Vallinas, has developed a method for designing antennas used in satellites such as Hispasat. The PhD, at the Public University of Navarre, was awarded the second prize in the latest edition of the Rosina Ribalta Awards from the Epson Ibérica Foundation for the best PhD thesis in the field of Information and Communications Technology.
The aims of this doctoral thesis were, on the one hand, to establish the bases for the design of Gaussian prof
ESA PR 10-2004. A pioneering demonstration of communications between the European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter and NASA’s Mars exploration rover, Spirit, has succeeded.
On 6 February, while Mars Express was flying over the area that Spirit is examining, the orbiter transferred commands from Earth to the rover and relayed data from the rover back to Earth.
“This was the first in-orbit communication between ESA and NASA spacecraft, and we have also created the first
What project can possibly bring together techniques as diverse as data mining and decision support with the fields of online dating, traffic accident analysis and many more. Only one! SolEuNet.
Modern solution-oriented work processes often bring together loose networks of highly-skilled and entrepreneurial individuals – creating in effect virtual organisations. Such virtual workgroups form up to solve a problem, then break apart and reform around the next challenge. A highly efficien
An e-commerce solution developed for Alpine tourism combining geographical 3D information with actual offers for visitors has met with success and is being extended to other tourist regions.
In the pilot version created by IST-Project TourServ, a portal site was developed and tested in the Italian winter resort of Scopello, available for use by foreign travel agents and tourists on site to prepare actual and relevant information tips. Among the information supplied is lodging, travel, weathe
Planning a visit to one of Europe’s remote nature reserves? An information system under development by the REGEO project will allow you to plan hiking routes in 3D from your PC or access local restaurants over a PDA once you have arrived.
Four different nature parks in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland tested a geo-multimedia information system developed by IST project REGEO, based on mainly four components that can work independently.
The Web application is bas
Being able to predict customer trends has just become much easier thanks to new research sponsored by the ESRC into the use of website and other new media data.
A project led by Dr Bruce Hardie of the London Business School has resulted in the development of simple systems – or mathematical models – which can enable companies to describe, diagnose and forecast the behaviour of subscribers to these services.
Dr Hardie said: “Website operators are collecting volumes of data all the ti
A new initiative to implement open, ontology-based software on 12 European travel websites, creating an electronic market place for tourism is set to allow the travel industry to share information across geographical, linguistic and technological boundaries.
The Tourism Harmonisation Network (THN), a consortium open to public and private organisations set up by the Harmonise project partners with funding from the European Commission ’s IST programme, is currently in the process of launc
Draw a picture on the computer and it immediately shows up on the screen of a hand-held computer in Africa. The person with the palm computer can then use the tiny screen to access a supercomputer in France to perform advanced graphic calculations that a number of logged-on people can see simultaneously. This solution is called Verse, a new protocol for 3D graphics created by a 27-year-old with no previous knowledge of programming at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm. Verse was re
University of Central Florida researchers are looking into how people form opinions about others through e-mail
Online romantics trying to win over valentines and businesspeople seeking to impress colleagues and clients may get some help from University of Central Florida research looking into how people form opinions about others through e-mail.
Professor Michael Rabby of UCF’s Nicholson School of Communication and graduate student Amanda Coho want to find out what mes
Potential applications in robotic surgery, more
The bubbly clarinet solo that opens a 1940s swing classic begins, setting a pair of dancers in motion. They move in constant rhythm, varying their steps to the song’s changing tempo. Slight pushes and pulls of the dancers’ hands allow seamless transitions between swing-outs, tuck turns and Texas Tommies.
You might call this swing dancing. Or you might call it a highly evolved system of communication and control via haptic (touc
Long considered an ivory-tower technology, virtual reality (VR) is beginning to fulfil its promise. VR tools are becoming accessible to everyone, thanks in part to hardware and software advances driven by the computer gaming industry. The result is mainstream-applications that range from entertainment to information delivery and even medical rehabilitation.
“Virtual reality technology has progressed considerably over recent decades,” says Hungarian-born Dr Barnabás Takács, founder/President
Visually-impaired visitors to the National Railway Museum in York will be able to find their way around the buildings more easily and enjoyably from today, thanks to specially designed ’tactile guides’ produced by the University of York.
Visitors use their fingertips to trace their way around the building and its famous engines following the guide, a two-dimensional picture of lines, shapes and textures.
The guide has been tested by visually impaired people, who were so
Work to develop new methods of digitally restoring archive film footage could breathe new life into old recordings and improve on the quality of the originals.
The new approach aims to make the whole process cheaper, faster and more effective than current methods. The work could also dramatically improve public access to previously unavailable historic, artistic and cultural material.
Many historic events are captured on celluloid but its fragile nature means we are gradually los
It is well known that unborn babies can recognize their mothers’ voices and distinguish music from noise. But exactly what they hear remains unclear.
Now, scientists at the University of Florida have added a piece to the puzzle. In a series of unique experiments on a pregnant ewe designed to record exactly what sounds reach the fetal ear, UF research has bolstered previous findings suggesting that human fetuses likely hear mostly low-frequency rather than high-frequency sounds. That mea
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