The Tablet:

 It’s the most anticipated product of the year.  The mythical tablet computer (which everyone seems to be working on).  There are beautiful Android tablets, concept tablets, and, of course, the one tablet which could define the category, the Apple Tablet.  Or iSlate or whatever it’s called.  If Steve Jobs is not working on a tablet, he’d better come up with one because  anything else will be a huge disappointment.Why do we need yet another computer in between a laptop and an iPhone?  We won’t really know until we have it.  But the answer lies in the fact that increasingly the Web is all you need.  As all of our apps and data and social lives move to the Web, the Tablet is the incarnation of the Web in device form, stripped down to its essentials.  It will also be a superior e-reader for digital books, newspapers, and magazines, and a portable Web TV.

REALTIME SEARCH

 After licensing realtime data streams from Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and others, Google and Bing are quickly ramping up their realtime search.  But realtime search is still treated as a silo, and is not regularly surfaced in the main search results page.  In 2010, I expect that to change as the search engines learn for what types of searches it makes sense to show Tweets and other realtime updates.  In the meantime, a gaggle of realtime search startups such as Collecta, OneRiot, and Topsy will continue to push the ball forward on the realtime search experience.  Realtime search will also become a form of navigation, especially on Twitter and Facebook.  The key will be to combine realtime search with realtime filters so that people are delivered not only the most recent information but the most relevant and authoritative as well.

Chrome OS: In November, Google gave the world a sneak peek at its Chrome operating system, which is expected to be released later this year.  The Chrome OS is Google’s most direct attack on Windows with an OS built from the ground up to run Web apps fast and furious.  Already a Google is rumored to be working on a Chrome Netbook which will show the world what is possible with it a “Web OS.” It sounds like it would be perfect for Tablet computers also (see above).  Chrome is a risky bet for Google, but it is also potentially disruptive.

VIA reveals 1.6GHz Nano DC processor at Computex, shows it handling 720p (video)

Guess who showed up at Computex with an all-new dual-? Nah, we're t referring to AMD or Intel (though they certainly did) -- we're talking about VIA . The company quietly (re)introduced a dual-core desktop chip here in Taipei, with the codename Nano DC being used to describe it for the time being. The device utilized a VN1000 Digital Media Chipset and fully supported dual-channel DDR3 memory. A Chrome 520 GPU was helping to push out a 720p movie trailer on the demo system, and the innate compatibility with HDMI and DisplayPort should keep home cinema owners happy. The 65nm chip was clocked at 1.6GHz, and we were told that it wouldn't be venturing into mobile machines in its current form. 'Course, this device has been a bit of unicorn for the past couple of years, but company representatives seemed certain that it would finally be ready to ship (using a different process technology, mind you) in around six months. We shall see. Live action video is just past the break.

One Step at a Time – Power Generating Floors at Tokyo

Train Stations

In two Tokyo train stations, steps are under way to generate electricity from the floors of the ticket gates and staircases. If successful, passengers could help provide the train stations with 1,400 kilowatts per second each day.

Soundpower The science of piezoelectricity

Tokyo train station, 8 a.m. One of the 400,000 daily commuters passes through the ticket gate and walks the stairs to the train platform, as he has always done. But, for the moment, this walk is different. For each step the commuter takes, he generates electricity. The floors have been outfitted with power-generating mats that capture the vibrations of the pedestrian and transforms them into electricity.

So far, the power-generating floors are only on trial in two Japanese train stations – the Tokyo station and Shibuya station, which is used by about 2.4 million people on an average week day. When the test period ends in February 2009, the makers –Soundpower Corp. and East Japan Railway Company (JR East) – hope the floors have improved to the point that they can provide all the electricity needed to run the automatic ticket gates and electronic display systems.

Ten steps at a time

The technique behind the power-generating floors is called piezoelectricity, and comes from the ability of some materials to generate an electric potential when stressed or squeezed. When a person steps on one of the mats, the piezoelectric elements beneath it are stretched a little by the weight to produce a small electric current, which is captured by a mini-generator that turns it into electricity. (Read more about piezoelectricity).

In late 2006, when JR East and Soundpower Corp. first put the piezoelectric floor to a test in the Tokyo train station, one average person with the weight of 60 kg (approx. 130 lbs.) generated 0.1 watt stepping across the tile. When the experiment was repeated in 2007, this power generating capacity had increased tenfold to 1 watt per second, along with an improvement in the resilience of the floor.

After the current trial period ends, in February 2009, construction engineers expect another tenfold increase in the generating capacity per passenger – with an aim of 10 watt per second, as well as a two-month capacity decrease of "only" 90%.

If these figures hold, an average of 1,400 kilowatts per second will be produced by the power-generating tiles covering 25 square meters of floor at Tokyo station's Yaesu ticket exit and seven steps of a staircase inside the gate each day. According to JR East, this will be sufficient to run the automatic ticket gates and the electronic display systems.

Dance floors, shopping malls, roads

While the idea of power-generating floors seems especially well suited for train stations where there are always people walking around, it is also being tested elsewhere. All that is required is some sort of kinetic power – someone or something moving to produce "good vibrations."

In London and Rotterdam clubs, power generating-dance floors have already been introduced to absorb the movements of the dancing crowd and turn it into electricity.

In Israel, "energy-harvesting" firm Innowattech is paving the way for power-generating roads, as well as power-generating railways and airport landing and takeoff runways. According to Innowattech, on a busy expressway with 20 cars and trucks passing per minute, one kilometer of road (0.62 miles) could produce up to 1 megwatt per hour.

In the UK, British engineer David Webb of the consultancy Scott Wilson says the "heel strike mechanism" – a technology related to piezoelectricity – is likely soon to be installed in railways, supermarkets, shopping malls, etc., as the technology proves more viable. According to Webb, the probable place to start will be the touristy Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth.

GADGETS

A SOFTWARE CAN READ OUR MIND

NEW DELHI: Imagine a software which can read your emotions and help you overcome stress, depression, anxiety or a small handheld device which can do a CT-scan, keep record of your heartbeat etc just at the click of a button. In the nascent stages, these are some technologies which may change the course of medical treatment in the years to come. Presenting these and many such innovations were scientists from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and from India at a seminar — EmTech India 2009 — held in the city recently. The seminar was organized by Technology Review, a 109-year-old blue chip magazine of MIT. Indian edition of the magazine was launched in the presence of renowned scientist and policy maker Prof M G K Menon. The two-day long seminar saw innovators from India and MIT present path-breaking research in the field of technology that will be used in the near future. "We have noted a recent trend where Indian technologists and innovators who built successful careers abroad are now returning to India to start new enterprises back at home," said Jason Pontin, editor-in-chief and publisher, Technology Review. Working on the software called, Meta Therapy, that can help people overcome depression , anxiety or stress Vinay Gidwaney, a research affiliate, MIT Media Lab, said, ‘‘ The project is in the last stages. It has been found that patients undergoing painful procedures required less amount of drugs to ease the pain if a person was talking to him or her. Based on this we have developed a software in the MIT lab which first screens the patient by asking him or her a few questions about them and then plays an appropriate audio tape which helps them disassociate themselves from the pain, anxiety, stress, etc. The tapes and its content are designed after conducting psychological analysis on different patients.’’ Similarly, researchers have made a prototype of a small device which can perform a CT-scan of the hand. ‘‘ We are in the nascent stages, but the idea is to develop a device which is smaller than a mobile phone and can keep a record of the changes happening in your body and can also store images of various scans performed on the body,’’ said Ramesh Raskar, associate professor, MIT Media Lab. The seminar saw a lot of Indian technologists present their innovative work in various fields. Among them was a group of experts who are working on a software, which can help intelligence agencies gather information from various quarters in an effective manner. ‘‘ During probe into terror attack, information comes from various sources and the investigating body doesn’t have the time to go through all the information. This advance algorithm will help investigators integrate all the data and use it as per their convenience. Through this we can trace peculiar patterns in conversations, telephone calls and all communications between the terror groups and track location of terror cells. It also helps in finding relevant text material from various information sources that can be vital in solving the case,’’ said Srikanth Sampara, CEO, Tuple Technologies. Another group of students from Jagan Institute of Management Studies (JIMS) presented a prototype for tamperproof fare-meter in autorickshaws . In this, the fare is calculated using a global positioning system (GPS). ‘‘ At present , the electronic fare-meters can be tampered, as it has mechanical parts to measure the wheel rotation. But with this technology, the distance is calculated on the basis of distance covered as per longitude and latitude. So there is no way an auto driver can fleece a passenger ,’’ said Rahul Gupta, a student of JIMS.

Evolution of Technology

~ 350 B.C
The brilliant Greek mathematician, Archytas ('ahr 'ky tuhs') of Tarentum builds a mechanical bird dubbed "the Pigeon" that is propelled by steam. It serves as one of histories earliest studies of flight, not to mention probably the first model airplane.

~ 322 B.C.
The Greek philosopher Aristotle writes...

“If every tool, when ordered, or even of its own accord, could do the work that befits it... then there would be no need either of apprentices for the master workers or of slaves for the lords.”

...hinting how nice it would be to have a few robots around.

~ 200 B.C.
The Greek inventor and physicist Ctesibus ('ti sib ee uhs') of Alexandria designs water clocks that have movable figures on them. Water clocks are a big breakthrough for timepieces. Up until then the Greeks used hour glasses that had to be turned over after all the sand ran through. Ctesibus' invention changed this because it measured time as a result of the force of water falling through it at a constant rate. In general, the Greeks were fascinated with automata of all kinds often using them in theater productions and religious ceremonies.

1495
Leonardo DaVinci designs a mechanical device that looks like an armored knight. The mechanisms inside "Leonardo's robot" are designed to make the knight move as if there was a real person inside. Inventors in medieval times often built machines like "Leonardo's robot" to amuse royalty.

1738
Jacques de Vaucanson begins building automata in Grenoble, France. He builds three in all. His first was the flute player that could play twelve songs. This was closely followed by his second automaton that played a flute and a drum or tambourine, but by far his third was the most famous of them all. The duck was an example of Vaucanson's attempt at what he called "moving anatomy", or modeling human or animal anatomy with mechanics." The duck moved, quacked, flapped it's wings and even ate and digested food.

1770
Swiss clock makers and inventors of the modern wristwatch Pierre Jaquet-Droz and later joined by his son Henri-Louis Jaquet-Droz start making automata for European royalty. They create three dolls, each with a unique function. One can write, another plays music, and the third draws pictures.

1801
Joseph Jacquard builds an automated loom that is controlled with punched cards. Punch cards are later used as an input method for some of the 20th centuries earliest computers.

1822
Charles Babbage demonstrates a prototype of his "Difference Engine" to the Royal Astronomical Society. He continues his work by designing an even more ambitious project "the Analytical Engine" that reportedly was to use punch cards inspired by Joseph Jacquard's invention. During his lifetime he never produces a functional version of either machine. Despite this shortcoming he is often heralded as the "Father of the Computer" and his work lives on as the foundation for the binary numbering system that is the basis of modern computers.

1847
George Boole represents logic in mathematical form with his Boolean Algebra.

1898
Nikola Tesla builds and demonstrates a remote controlled robot boat at Madison Square Garden.

1921
Czech writer Karel Capek introduced the word "Robot" in his play "R.U.R" (Rossuum's Universal Robots). "Robot" in Czech comes from the word "robota", meaning "compulsory labor"

1926
Fritz Lang's movie "Metropolis" is released. "Maria" the female robot in the film is the first robot to be projected on the silver screen.

1936
Alan Turing introduces the concept of a theoretical computer called the Turing Machine. Despite being a fundamental advance in computer logic it also spawns new schools in Mathematics.

1940
Issac Asimov produces a series of short stories about robots starting with "A Strange Playfellow" (later renamed "Robbie") for Super Science Stories magazine. The story is about a robot and its affection for a child that it is bound to protect. Over the next 10 years he produces more stories about robots that are eventually recompiled into the volume "I, Robot" in 1950.

Asimov is generally credited with the popularization of the term "Robotics" which was first mentioned in his story "Runaround" in 1942. But probably Issac Asimov's most important contribution to the history of the robot is the creation of his Three Laws of Robotics:

1. A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Asimov later adds a "zeroth law" to the list:

Zeroth law: A robot may not injure humanity, or, through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.

1946
George Devol patents a playback device for controlling machines.

1950
Alan Turing publishes Computing Machinery and Intelligence in which he proposes a test to determine whether or not a machine has gained the power to think for itself. It becomes known as the "Turing Test".

1951
The Day the Earth Stood Still premieres in theaters. The movie features an alien named Klaatu and his robot Gort.

1956
Alan Newell and Herbert Simon create the Logic Theorist, the first "expert system". It is used to help solve difficult math problems.

1956
Aided by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation John McCarthy, Marvin Minsky, Nat Rochester and Claude Shannon organize The Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence at Dartmouth College. The term "artificial intelligence" is coined as a result of this conference.

1959
John McCarthy and Marvin Minsky start the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

1961
Heinrich Ernst develops the MH-1, a computer operated mechanical hand at MIT.

1962
The first industrial arm robot - the Unimate - is introduced. It is designed to complete repetitive or dangerous tasks on a General Motors assembly line.

1963
John McCarthy leaves MIT to start the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at Stanford University.

1966
The Stanford Research Institute (later to be known as SRI Technology) creates Shakey the first mobile robot to know and react to its own actions. Amongst other achievements SRI was also the research institute that helped bring us modern day laundry detergent in the development of Tide.

1966
An artificial intelligence program named ELIZA is created at MIT by Joseph Weizenbaum. ELIZA functions as a computer psychologist that manipulates its users statements to form questions. Weizenbaum is disturbed at how quickly people put faith in his little program.

1967
Richard Greenblatt writes, MacHack, a program that plays chess, in response to a recent article written by Hurbert Dreyfus where he suggests, as a critique to efforts in artificial intelligence, that a computer program could never beat him in a game of chess. When the program is finished and Dreyfus is invited to play the computer he leads for most of the game but ultimately loses in the end in a close match. Greenblatt's program would be the foundation for many future chess programs, ultimately culminating in Big Blue the chess program that beats chess Grand Master Gary Kasparov.

1968
Stanley Kubrick makes Arthur C. Clark's, 2001: A Space Odyssey into a movie. It features HAL, an onboard computer that decides it doesn't need its human counterparts any longer. Hear HAL by clicking here.

1969
Victor Scheinman, a Mechanical Engineering student working in the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab (SAIL) creates the Stanford Arm. The arm's design becomes a standard and is still influencing the design of robot arms today.

1970
Stanford University produces the Stanford Cart. It is designed to be a line follower but can also be controlled from a computer via radio link.

1971
The film Silent Running is released starring Bruce Dern. Bruce's co-stars are three robot drones Huey, Dewey and Louie.

1974
Victor Scheinman forms his own company and starts marketing the Silver Arm. It is capable of assembling small parts together using touch sensors.

1976
Shigeo Hirose designs the Soft Gripper at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. It is designed to wrap around an object in snake like fashion.

1977
Star Wars is released. George Lucas' movie about a universe governed by the force introduces watchers to R2-D2 and C-3PO. The movie creates the strongest image of a human future with robots since the 1960's and inspires a generation of researchers.

1977
Deep space explorers Voyagers 1 and 2 launch from the Kennedy Space Flight Center.

1979
The Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University is established.

1979
The Stanford Cart is rebuilt by Hans Moravec. He adds a more robust vision system allowing greater autonomy. These are some of the first experiments with 3D environment mapping.

1980
Seymour Papert publishes Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas where he advocates constructionism, or learning through doing.

1981
Takeo Kanade builds the direct drive arm. It is the first to have motors installed directly into the joints of the arm. This change makes it faster and much more accurate than previous robotic arms.

1982
"A new life awaits you on the Off-World colonies." Blade Runner is released. This Ridley Scott film is based on the Philip K. Dick story "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" and starred Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard a retired Blade Runner that hunted Replicants (or illegal mutinous androids).

1986
LEGO and the MIT Media Lab colaborate to bring the first LEGO based educational products to market. LEGO tc Logo is used by in the classrooms of thousands of elementary school teachers.

1986
Honda begins a robot research program thats starts with the premise that the robot "should coexist and cooperate with human beings, by doing what a person cannot do and by cultivating a new dimension in mobility to ultimately benefit society."

1989
A walking robot named Genghis is unveiled by the Mobile Robots Group at MIT. It becomes known for the way it walks, popularly referred to as the "Genghis gait".

1989
At MIT Rodney Brooks and A. M. Flynn publish the paper "Fast, Cheap and Out of Control: A Robot Invasion of the Solar System" in the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society. The paper changes rover research from building the one, big, expensive robot to building lots of little cheap ones. The paper also makes the idea of building a robot somewhat more accessible to the average person.

1989
Dr. Seymour Papert becomes the LEGO Professor of Learning Research.

1992
In an attempt to build a radio controlled vaccuum cleaner Marc Thorpe has the idea to start a robot combat event.

1992
Dr. John Adler came up with the concept of the CyberKnife a robot that images the patient with x-rays to look for a tumor and delivering a pre-planned dose of radiationto the tumor when found.

1993
Dante an 8-legged walking robot developed at Carnegie Mellon University descends into Mt. Erebrus, Antarctica. Its mission is to collect data from a harsh environment similar to what we might find on another planet. The mission fails when, after a short 20 foot decent, Dante's tether snaps dropping it into the crater.

1994
Dante II, a more robust version of its predicessor, descends into the crater of Alaskan volcano Mt. Spurr. The mission is considered a success.

1994
Marc Thorpe starts Robot Wars at Fort Mason center in San Francsico, CA.

1995
The second annual Robot Wars event is held at Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, CA.

1996
A RoboTuna is designed and built by David Barrett for his doctoral thesis at MIT. It is used to study the way fish swim.

1996
Chris Campbell and Stuart Wilkinson turn a brewing accident into inspiration at the University of South Florida. The result is the Gastrobot, a robot that digests organic mass to produce carbon dioxide that is then used for power. They call their creation the "flatulence engine."

1996
Honda debuts the P3, the fruit of its decade long effort to build a humanoid robot.

1996
The third annual Robot Wars event is held at Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, CA.

1997
The first node of the International Space Station is placed in orbit. Over the next several years more components will join it, including a robotic arm designed by Canadian company MD Robotics.

1997
The Pathfinder Mission lands on Mars. Its robotic rover Sojourner, rolls down a ramp and onto Martian soil in early July. It continues to broadcast data from the Martian surface until September.

1998
Tiger Electronics introduces the Furby into the Christmas toy market. It quickly becomes "the toy" to get for the season. Using a variety of sensors this "animatronic pet" can react to its environment and communicate using over 800 phrases in English and their own language "Furbish".

1998
LEGO releases their first Robotics Invention System^TM 1.0. LEGO names the product line MINDSTORMS after Seymour Papert's seminal work of 1980.

1999
LEGO releases The Robotics Discovery Set, Droid Developer Kit and the Robotics Invention System 1.5.

1999
SONY releases the AIBO robotic pet.

2000
Honda debuts new humanoid robot ASIMO.

2000
The Battlebots event is held in Las Vegas, Nevada.

2000
LEGO releases the MINDSTORMS Robotics Invention System^TM 2.0

2001
LEGO releases the MINDSTORMS Ultimate Builder's Set

2001
In August, the FDA clears the CyberKnife to treat tumors anywhere in the body.

2002
Honda's ASIMO robot rings the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange.

2003
June 10th - NASA launches the MER-A "Spirit" rover destined for Mars.
July 7th - NASA launches the MER-B "Opportunity".

2003
SONY releases the AIBO ERS-7 it's 3rd generation robotic pet.

2004
Jan. 4th - After six minutes of holding our breath (during EDL) as it burned and bounced its way to the red planet the robot rover Spirit lands on Mars.

Jan. 23rd - The second Mars Exploration Rover - "Opportunity" safely lands on the Meridium Planum.

This is obviously not an exhaustive history. If you have a great moment in robotics history that you would like to see added to this list please send it to: robothistory@megagiant.com

---

Check out these other timelines of robotic history:

• The Age of Intelligent Machines: Chronology
• A short history of robots at NASA's ROVer Ranch
  
• A history of robotics and robots
  
• The History of Robotics by Adam Currie
  
• An excerpt from ROBOT EVOLUTION, The Development of Anthrobotics. by Mark E. Rosheim
  
• History Timeline of Robotics
• History of Automatons
• A History of Computers
• The Robotics FAQ
• BBC News - Timeline: Real Robots
• Brief History of Artificial Intelligence
• Timeline of Computer History at the Computer Museum History Center
• Important Dates and Events in Robotics History
• Robots: Re-Evolving Mind by Hans Moravec
• MSNBC - A Brief History of Robotics
• The History of Robotic Combat