22 Aug 2008 16:00
Intel chief technology officer Justin Rattner agrees with futurist Ray Kurzweil's assessment that the point is nigh when machine intelligence will surpass human intelligence.
To provide some evidence that technology is moving in that direction, he showed a number of advancements in robotics, communication, and other areas in a keynote speech on Thursday at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco.
In the above image, Rattner snatches an apple from the grasp of a robot arm and hand that can sense objects purely by changes in the surrounding electric field.
Alanson Sample, an Intel Research Seattle intern, shows off the apparatus for a Massachusetts Institute of Technology concept, 'Wireless Resonant Energy Link' (WREL), that can transmit power with no wires and without so much of the loss of energy that afflicts other wireless power-transmission technologies, such as induction.
The technology was used to transmit 60W of power to illuminate a light bulb; it has 75 percent efficiency.
Shown is the WREL apparatus. The two antennas are large and have a range only of two or three feet, but, with work, that could be enough for applications such as letting a mobile phone be charged when it's set on a special desk or a laptop computer to receive energy through its screen back, Rattner said.
Zachary Drake of Emotiv Systems demonstrates an interface that monitors external signals of brain activity with a special headset and then translates the data into actions in a basic video game. Here, his angry expression causes glowing sprites in the game to flee.
This Intel robot, called Herb, moved a mug without tipping it. Had the mug been full of liquid, none would probably have been spilt — up until the point when the robot unceremoniously dropped the mug it into its storage bin.
Rattner holds a Wisp (Wireless Identification and Sensing Platform) — a device with a processor, memory and radio that passively collects energy until it has enough to send a transmission.
This 'catom', shown close up, is bristling with electronic elements. Catom is a Carnegie Mellon University term, standing for claytronics atom.
Story URL: http://news.zdnet.co.uk/emergingtech/0,1000000183,39464527,00.htmCopyright © 1995-2009 CBS Interactive Limited. All rights reserved
ZDNET is a registered service mark of CBS Interactive Limited. ZDNET Logo is a service mark of CBS Interactive Limited.