Happy New Year!

Hey guys!  Hope you had a wonderful holiday season!!  I'd just like to give a quick FIRST update.  Kickoff is a week from tomorrow and everyone is psyched for it!  We're all patiently waiting for the game, and while we wait the Game Design Committee (or GDC) has given us a little clue as to what the game will be.  Every year the GDC releases clues to stir up conversation in the FIRST environment.  This year, the first clue was a picture of Little Eva, the singer of locomotion.  Although there has been a lot of speculation on what this could mean, I have two favorite ideas.  One is that the correlation between locomotion and the game is that our robots will be towing something.  Possibly a cart?  Anyways, that's an idea that a lot of people believe.  I also have a long shot idea.  On the robotics forum "Chief Delphi", there was one person who posted an idea that everyone kind of disregarded.  He said, "EVA can also stand for Electronic Video Assistant. Couldn't it be possible that it has something to do with robot vision? they've been trying to get teams to do more with vision for awhile now, maybe we're required to do it in endgame or something. Or better yet, earlier people were mentioning a major game change before end game but after auto, maybe the screen darkens in front of the drivers and they have to use their vision code to see what's going on."  I really think this statement has some merit.  There has been discussion in FIRST about wanting to make the game more interactive, making teams utilize video feedback.  Granted this idea is a long-shot, and we won't know until the game comes out, but I think it has potential.  So any FIRST-ers out there reading this, comment and let me know what you think!  I'd love to hear ideas :)  Until kickoff, happy waiting!

Information from: http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88030

Seiman's Award

Every year there is a competition where high school students can enter innovations that they have created for a chance to win $100,000.  This is a competition where great minds come together.  This year, the winners were two junior boys who worked together to create a voice-recognition algorithm.  This algorithm allows computers to "hear" the voice of a speaker and interpret the emotion being portrayed.  It utilizes frequencies and previously defined voice clips in order to determine what emotion the speaker is feeling.  It is currently very accurate in deciphering happy and sad, but still struggles when emotions like fear and anger are added into the mix.  The pair has big plans for this new technology.  One use they have in mind is at call centers, where extremely upset customers can be identified and sent to a real person more efficiently.  Additionally, they have plans to make a watch for autistic children.  In their minds, these watches will read what the speaker is portraying and display a face on the screen that will match the emotion.  The inspiration from the two boys came from the movie iRobot, where a robot identifies fear in its user and acts to protect the person.  The two students that can be credited with this amazing innovation are Matthew Fernandez and Akash Krishnan. 

Information from: http://www.npr.org/2010/12/08/131913220/Team-Wins-Siemens-Prize-For-Speech-Analyzer

Team Paragon Updatesss :)

Hey everyone!!!! So there's not too much going on at robotics now, just trying to get ready for the season.  Everyone is getting their last bit of hours in for travel requirements, and as always, the focus is fundraising, fundraising, fundraising!  Last week was a good week, but we need to keep it up.  So I'm asking everyone who sees this to come to our first annual pancake breakfast.  It is from 8-11 am December 12th at the Elks Lodge in Windsor, on Deerfield Ave.  It is $7.00 for adults and $5.00 for Seniors (not the high school kind) and kids under 12.  It's sure to be a blast!  Come and support Team Paragon in our fundraising efforts! :)

Nanotechnology!!! IBM Nanophotonic Chip

The world of nanotechnology is totally cool!!!  Obviously over the past few decades there has been an enormous jump in the world of computer technology, hence the need for a project on the race for technology.  IBM has made a great deal of jumps in the world of technology, and this is yet another great move forward.  The idea of connection through light has been tossed around some, but IBM has revealed a gel-silicon chip that uses light to send signals.  Although the technology to implement this new innovation is lagging in production, it is soon to come.  The great thing about this technology jump is that it is pressing for more to come.  It is challenging innovators to keep up, which is huge in the race for technology.  Because, no matter how much of a competition it is, the race for technology is all about working together and different countries pushing one another to find the next big thing.  In the end, everyone benefits.  These chips in particular are expected to begin shipping next year, and will very much increase the speed of computers for the future.

Information from: http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-12/ibm-unveils-nanophotonic-chips-could-lead-exascale-computing-revolution