Studying sixth sense in fish help equip robots with multiple sensors

Washington, August 29 : A team of scientists is exploring the fundamental basis for the unique sixth sense of fish to "touch" objects in their surroundings without direct physical contact, or to "see" in the dark, which could better equip robots to orient themselves in their environments with multiple sensors.

The research work is being led by Professor Leo van Hermmen and his team in the physics department of the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) in Germany.

Even in murky waters hardly penetrated by light, pike and pickerel can feel out their prey before making contact.

The blind Mexican cave fish can perceive structures in its surroundings and can effortlessly avoid obstacles.

“It’s not just that it describes a different quality of reality, but also that in place of just two eyes or ears this sense is fed by many discrete lateral-line organs, each of which in turn is composed of several neuromasts. The integration behind it is a tour de force,” he added.

The neuronal processing and integration of diverse sense impressions into a unified mapping of reality is a major focus for van Hemmen’s group.

“My dream is to endow robots with multiple sensory modalities. Instead of always building in more cameras, we should also along the way give them additional sensors for sound and touch,” said van Hemmen.

Catfish on the hunt follow invisible tracks that lead directly to their prey.

The organ that makes this possible is the lateral-line system, which registers changes in currents and even smaller disturbances, providing backup support for the sense of sight particularly in dark or muddy waters.

“The lateral-line sense fascinated me from the start because it’s fundamentally different from other senses such as vision or hearing, not just at first glance but also the second,” van Hemmen said.

Infrared light, electromagnetic waves, and ultrasound are just a few examples of the external influences that we humans can grasp only with the help of technological measuring devices - whereas some other animals use special sense organs, their own biological equipment, for the purpose.

Court slaps ban on some Microsoft Word

A US district court in Texas ruled in favor of i4i Ltd in its long-running patent dispute against Microsoft, slapping more than $290 million in damages on Microsoft and issuing an injunction preventing the world's top software company from selling versions of Word that contain the disputed patent technology.

The patent in question relates to the use of XML, or extensible markup language, in the 2003 and 2007 versions of Word.

The injunction, set to take effect in 60 days, is not expected to hurt Microsoft. The software giant could easily adjust its programs to comply with the court's ruling, according to industry experts, or settle with i4i.

The injunction, set to take effect in 60 days, is not expected to hurt Microsoft. The software giant could easily adjust its programs to comply with the court's ruling, according to industry experts, or settle with i4i.

And a new version of Word -- which does not include the disputed patent technology -- goes on sale next year with the release of Office 2010, potentially side-stepping the issue.

Shares of Microsoft ended Wednesday up 2% and inched up another 0.3% in after-hours trade.

Microsoft, which is involved in a number of legal battles over patents, said it plans to appeal the verdict.

"We believe the evidence clearly demonstrated that we do not infringe, and that the i4i patent is invalid," Microsoft spokesman Kevin Kutz said.

Word is Microsoft's core word-processing application in its flagship Office suite of business software, used worldwide and long the U.S. software developer's reliable cash cow.

Toronto-based i4i had claimed in a 2007 suit that Microsoft knowingly infringed one of its patents in its Word application and its Vista operating system.

The final judgment from the US District Court ruled that Microsoft did infringe on i4i's patents, following a jury verdict issued in favor of i4i on May 20.

Govt cautions mobile firms on equipment

Equipment suppliers must register with the Department of Telecom, agree to monitoring by security agencies and obtain clearance from the home ministry, two unnamed officials, who attended the meeting between senior executives and the government on Friday, told the paper.

The moves comes shortly after the federal government put restrictions on state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd from placing equipment orders with Chinese vendors, the Financial Express reported.

Telecom service providers do not manufacture any equipment in India, but source optical transmission solutions, mobile terminals, software solutions etc from vendors, the paper said.

The Economic Times said the govt was seeking a ban on Chinese manufactured equipment in 20 states but mobile firms opposed the move.

"The government has not placed any restrictions on Chinese vendors," S.C. Khanna, secretary-general, Association of Unified Services Providers, told the Financial Express.

Telecommunications Secretary Siddharth Behura has asked the chiefs of the country's top mobile operators to adopt a policy of self-regulation in sourcing telecoms equipment, newspapers reported on Saturday.

Operators including Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications, Vodafone and Idea have been asked to come out with guidelines on sourcing equipment but a decision on whether to ban Chinese equipment was pending, papers said.

"We have been assured that whatever would be done by the government would be in consultation with the industry."

New face of L'Oreal becomes the Cheryl Cole

"Cheryl is a glamorous, stylish and talented young woman whose warmth and charm has captivated the nation and helped to establish her as an inspiration to women throughout the UK," said L'Oreal Paris general manager Gayle Tait."We are thrilled to welcome Cheryl Cole as a new spokesperson for L'Oreal Paris," he added. The 26-year-old singer has apparently been paid £500,000 to represent the beauty giant in Britain.Earlier this month, the singer had stunned fans when she dyed her hair a cherry red colour, but she has now returned to her normal brown.
"I used to keep a stick in my hand and straighten all the colony boys if they acted smart. I used to be very short as a child and I was the monitor in school. When the tall boys would be upto mischief, I'd jump on their back during breaks and pull their hair and beat them up," the Bollywood star revealed.

China regular flights to Taiwan row

Direct flights between mainland China and self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing regards as a breakaway province, have become increasingly frequent since the first one in 2005. But they were still technically considered charter flights.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China on Friday said that starting on Monday, 270 direct flights will take place along 32 regular flight routes.
In April this year, China and Taiwan signed agreements to begin regular flights and boost cooperation in finance and criminal investigation.China has authorised 16 airlines to operate regular direct flights to Taiwan, a sign that the Dalai Lama's upcoming visit to the island is unlikely to spoil warming ties.

University of Birmingham in India

The new learning base in the heart of New Delhi has been established to maintain partnerships with local providers and further consolidate research collaborations.
" The move marks the 100th anniversary of links between Birmingham University and India, with the first students from the Asian country welcomed to its Edgbaston campus in 1909, the university said. The event was also attended by the British High Commissioner Sir Richard Stagg.
The University of Birmingham of the UK has established its first overseas office in India, in a bid to consolidate research collaboration and provide local services to those students who want to study at the varsity.

iPhone troubles with Apple for french

French newspapers have reported several cases in which consumers described problems with the popular devices, which have sold by the million and helped Apple defy the global recession.
In one case, a teenager said he was slightly injured when his iPhone made a hissing noise and shattered. He said his complaints to the Apple customer service staff had been dismissed.
Consumer affairs minister Herve Novelli will meet the commercial director of Apple France to discuss the problems after the DGCCRF, the consumer affairs and antifraud directorate, sought an explanation of the incident
The European Commission in Brussels said earlier this month that Apple was investigating media reports that one or more of the company's iPhones had exploded in Europe.