How to talk a computer into creating a program for you

With Apple's Siri and other voice-recognition software becoming commonplace, you might take it for granted that we can now talk to computers. But as dependable as these systems have become, you will not get them to do anything that they are not already programmed to do. But Regina Barzilay and colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have talked a computer into writing new software.

Their system takes a task described in natural language and automatically generates the computer code to carry it out – an important first step toward allowing people who are not familiar with computer code to program computers. "It won't replace the need for programmers, but it can help with specific programming tasks," says Barzilay.

The team focused on a common problem – writing software that reads the input given to a computer. By generating this code automatically, programmers are freed up to write the parts of software that require more creativity.

Code that checks input is at the heart of web forms, spreadsheets and databases. The challenge is to specify what kind of input is allowed. When you log in to a website, for example, software code checks that what you type matches the required format for a password or email address. An email address must consist of letters and/or digits, then an @ symbol, more letters and/or digits, and end with ".com" or ".co.uk" or similar.

Barzilay's team developed a technique that takes a natural-language description of the required input and automatically generates the code to check for that input. The system works by extracting noun phrases – such as "one or more letters and digits" and "an 'at' symbol" – and builds code accordingly.

Imprecise and ambiguous

They tested it with 106 natural-language descriptions of different input formats taken from ACM International Collegiate Programming Contests – input formats designed to challenge coders. They found that their system could automatically generate correct software for over 70 per cent of these descriptions.

The work will be presented in August at the annual meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Robert Chatley at software development consultancy Develogical in London agrees that generating code from natural language can be useful. But he notes that we are a long way from doing this for more complex tasks. "Natural language can often be imprecise, ambiguous and idiomatic, none of which are handled well by computers," he says.

Fake smile in a mirror makes you buy what you try on

"Does my smile look big in this?" Future fitting-room mirrors in clothing stores could subtly tweak your reflection to make you look – and hence feel – happier, encouraging you to like what you see.

That's the idea behind the Emotion Evoking System developed by Shigeo Yoshida and colleagues at the University of Tokyo in Japan. The system can manipulate your emotions and personal preferences by presenting you with an image of your own smiling or frowning face.

The principle that physiological changes can drive emotional ones – that laughter comes before happiness, rather than the other way around – is a well-established idea.

The researchers wanted to see if this idea could be used to build a computer system that manipulates how you feel. The system works by presenting the user with a webcam image of his or her face – as if they were looking in a mirror. The image is then subtly altered with software, turning the corners of the mouth up or down and changing the area around the eyes, so that the person appears to smile or frown.

Without telling them the aim of the study, the team recruited 21 volunteers and asked them to sit in front of the screen while performing an unrelated task. When the task was complete the participants rated how they felt. When the faces on screen appeared to smile, people reported that they felt happier. Conversely, when the image was given a sad expression, they reported feeling less happy.

As you like it

Yoshida and his colleagues tested whether manipulating the volunteers' emotional state would influence their preferences. Each person was given a scarf to wear and again presented with the altered webcam image. The volunteers that saw themselves smiling while wearing the scarf were more likely to report that they liked it, and those that saw themselves not smiling were less likely.

The system could be used to manipulate consumers' impressions of products, say the researchers. For example, mirrors in clothing-store fitting rooms could be replaced with screens showing altered reflections. They also suggest people may be more likely to find clothes attractive if they see themselves looking happy while trying them on.

"It's certainly an interesting area," says Chris Creed at the University of Birmingham, UK. But he notes that using such technology in a shop would be harder than in the lab, because people will use a wide range of expressions. "Attempting to make slight differences to these and ensuring that the reflected image looks believable would be much more challenging," he says.

Of course, there are also important ethical questions surrounding such subtlymanipulative technology. "You could argue that if it makes people happy what harm is it doing?" says Creed. "On the other hand, I can imagine that many people may feel manipulated, uncomfortable and cheated if they found out."

NASA's upcoming astronaut capsule has hints of Apollo

For similar stories, visit the Picture of the day Topic Guide

A flashback to the space future (Image: NASA/Robert Markowitz)

For an out-of-this-world commute, you need a perfectly tricked-out vehicle. With sky-blue LED lighting and seating for seven, this space capsule certainly fits the bill.

This photo gives a glimpse inside of the CST-100, a commercial crew capsule being built by Boeing with support from NASA, which aims to restore the US's ability to independently launch astronauts into space.

The full-scale mock-up of the capsule recently underwent a day-long series of tests by two NASA astronauts. The purpose of the tests was to see how the astronauts were able to work with the space and equipment available before the design is finalised.

Don't be fooled by its retro, Apollo-like exterior appearance – the CST-100 uses the latest technology, including enhanced thermal protection for that long drop back through the atmosphere and touchscreen tablets to replace the sea of buttons seen in space capsules of yore.

"What you're not going to find is 1100 or 1600 switches," says Chris Ferguson, a former astronaut and director of Boeing's commercial crew development programme. "We don't want to burden [the astronauts] with an inordinate amount of training to fly this vehicle. We want it to be intuitive."

The project is funded by NASA in its bid to get the US back in the astronaut transport business after it retired the shuttle programme in July 2011. Currently, US astronauts are dependent on Russia's Soyuz capsules. The US forks out $71 million (£46 million) per seat to reach the International Space Station.

Boeing has plans to test the CST-100 in 2016 in a crewed, three-day orbital flight, riding an Atlas V rocket into space. The capsule will attempt to dock with the ISS in 2017 – as long as NASA gets the funding from the US Congress.

NASA is also funding the development of Boeing's rivals: the Sierra Nevada Corporation's Dream Chaser spaceplane and SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft. Dragon is already powering ahead, charged with delivering crucial supplies to the ISS, having first successfully docked with it in May 2012.

Sensor knows when you're lying through your teeth

A sensor embedded in a tooth could one day tell doctors when people have defied medical advice to give up smoking or eat less. Built into a tiny circuit board that fits in a tooth cavity, the sensor includes an accelerometer that sends data on mouth motion to a smartphone.

Machine learning software is taught to recognise each telltale jaw motion pattern, then works out how much of the time the patient is chewing, drinking, speaking, coughing or smoking.

The inventors – Hao-hua Chu and colleagues at National Taiwan University in Taipei – want to use the mouth as a window on a variety of health issues. The device can be fitted into dentures or a dental brace, and the team plan to miniaturise the device to fit in a cavity or crown.

The researchers say the sensor shows great promise: in tests on eight people with a prototype implant installed in their dentures, the system recognised oral activities correctly 94 per cent of the time.

The prototype was attached to a power source by an external wire, so the team still needs a way to include a microbattery.

Once they manage this, the researchers want to add a Bluetooth radio to the device. But as that is a microwave energy source – albeit a very low power one – Chu says medical experts are advising the team on how to ensure the implant would be safe.

If miniaturised and made wireless, the device has potential, says Trevor Johnson, vice-chair of research at the Faculty of General Dental Practice in the UK. "This could have a number of uses in dentistry, for example as a research tool, for monitoring patients who clench or grind their teeth, and for assessing the impact of various dental interventions," he says.

Golden Rule To Internet Security: Change Your Passwords

In today’s technology-powered world, everything from our emails, social networking sites to our Internet banking details is protected by invisible walls built on code, accessible by us with a string of characters, also known as the password. As technology continues to better (and plague) our lives, it has become inevitable that our information can, and is stored online.

And why not? You get easy access to it regardless of where you go, where you are, and let’s not forget the convenience of not having to queue up to settle your banking and official matters (that electricity bill isn’t going to pay itself).

These days, even shopping can be done online. You can even order anything from fashion items to fast food, luxury items to everyday groceries over the Internet. We know how to use these tools and services, but do we actually know how to keep our online accounts and information safe?

If you secretly answered yes to that, then you’re in luck. Skip ahead to ‘Check the Strength of Your Password’ to give your password a try. See if it is actually strong enough to withstand hacking.

Hacking And Passwords

First of all, let’s make this clear: there is a difference between leaving your Facebook account logged on, and getting your account hacked. There are skills involved when it comes to hacking (and sometimes it’s just pure, yet smart, and brutal guesswork).

Now, you probably already know through movies and pop culture that the individuals who hack are called hackers. What you may not know is that they may come in several forms – designated by the color of hats, defined by their intent. Here’s a brief round-up:

• ‘White hat’ hackers: Security experts
• ‘Black hat’ hackers: computer criminals
• ‘Grey hat’ hackers: undecided
• Script kiddie: A hacker in progress

Site-Wide Breach

Recently, two online security breaches occurred, which prompted the writing of this topic. One, a hacker broke into 6.5 million LinkedIn accounts in June 2012 obtained their emails and passwords and listed half of them online.

Here’s an infographic by rapid7 about the top 30 LinkedIn passwords that were cracked by the hacker, which were then posted on a Russian hacker forum. See any of the passwords in there that you are using right now? If you do, you really need to change your password.

The second incident of concern was the Dropbox password leak in which users had used the same username and passwords for their Dropbox account as they have with other third-party accounts they own. It’s like having the same key for all the doors in your house. Open one, and you can open them all. Why tempt them by making your fort so easy to break in?

Creating A Strong Password

So passwords are important, but do you know what makes for a strong password? The general concensus, which is available everywhere on the Net, and I mean everywhere, is that it should NOT

• contain words that can be found in the dictionary,
• be in sequence or in repeated characters.
• contain particulars about your name, birth dates, social security, passport, driver’s license or any identifying documents. The same goes for details of your close family members.

It’s best to use a complex, varied and long-enough password to secure your accounts. The password should carry at least 8 characters and be a combination of numbers, symbols and letters in both lower and upper case. Change your passwords regularly to keep them effective.

Check The Strength Of Your Password

Not convinced that you should change your password(s)? Here are three websites that can help you check the strength of your passwords.

How Secure Is My Password

This site will tell you how long it takes for the computing power of a normal desktop PC to crack your password. The longer the time displayed, the stronger your password. Try it with ’123456′.

Test Your Password

Another password strength checker that tells you where your password stands on 4 levels of security. Just for the fun of it, try to make a password that will give you a BEST reading like what you see below. A long password does not automatically ensures you get a BEST reading.

Microsoft Password Strength Calculator

Length factors into this password strength checker, unlike the previous website. The site also carries some information on how to make strong passwords.

Forgot Your Password?

Experts say that you should generate unique passwords for every account you have online. This would ensure that even if one account has been compromised, the same password would not work on the other accounts that you have, even if you use the same username for each account. If you do however take this advice to heart, then you might face another problem: remembering all your unique passwords.

The Workaround

Here is a workaround to help you conquer and manage your passwords, and no, it doesn’t involve taping your password to your screen. Have a generic personalized bit of the password, one that you can add to each unique password just to make it harder to crack. Let’s use g33k as a (flimsy at best) example.

Then, fall back on something about the site that will occur easily to you to complete the password, for instance:

• Logo: for Twitter you can use g33kBluBi*d
• A variation of the name: g33k@fasbUK
• Service: g33kMYemelz

Feel free to jazz up the spelling so that it doesn’t reflect a word in the dictionary, in any language. Spruce it up with a mix and match of lower and upper case letters, and sprinkle some symbols in between to add flavor to your passwords.

This way, even if you forget your exact password, you can easily regenerate it based on your personal inclinations, and try until you can regain access to your account. When all else is lost, retrieve your password by following the site’s instructions.

Wrap Up

I’m no expert in creating and managing passwords, in fact, I get locked out a lot which can be a pain. But why go through all the trouble when there are plenty of tools found online that can help usmanage these invaluable passwords. Some tools can even generate, manage, and store your passwords for you. But tools are just tools, they still need someone to find and use them. So before you become a victim of a hack, or lose control of your personal accounts online, do some spring cleaning and change those keys to your gates. You never know which of your accounts could be the next target of a hacking exercise.

Cool Futuristic/Concept Gadgets That Really Inspire

About 10 years ago, we didn’t really expect the 1.4mb 3.5 inch floppy to evolve into flash drives 10x smaller with storage capacity as big as 32gb. The interesting thing about technology is; it’s just going to get more and more high-end but the size, is just going to get smaller and slimmer.

These concept gadgets you see before you today, have extremely high chance of getting into production anywhere in the future. For example, Microsoft’s Surface Computing Technology certainly tells us they are for real. Here’s some really cool concept gadgets, just concepts for now but we really hope it’ll be implemented, that inspires. If we happened to missed something impressive, please let us know in comment. Full list after jump.

B-Membrane Laptop/Desktop

Concept computer designed by Korean designer Won-Seok Lee. No bulky monitors, just a UFO shape system that displays screen like a projector. [via yankodesign]

Nokia Aeon Full Screen Concept Phone

The most prominent design feature of aeon is a touchscreen that stretches over the full surface area of the phone. [via engadget mobile]

Napkin PC

The Napkin PC is a multi-user, multi-interface, modular computer designed for creative professionals to collaborate and bring their greatest ideas to life. [via yankodesign]

Cellphone Code

This phone uses haptic technology to provide physical feedback for making a call. To turn it on…twist a section, to dial a number…twist a bunch of sections, to make an international call…break your wrist! [via yankodesign]

Virtual Goggles

Designed and conceived by Franz Steiner, he wondered what the personal assistant might look like in the future. [Blutsbrueder Design via Gizmodo]

New DSLR?

Concept of a digital camera which can be used in one hand. [perezprada via yankodesign]

Future Internet Search

All you need to do is point the tablet at any object and you should get search results as good as Google’s, just more interactivity. [petitinvention via behance.net]

Sunshine Pillow

We arent sure if it’s warm enough, but it’s good to own one. [Rei Gallery via gizmodo]

Capsule Radio Clock

Not rocket science, but definetely cool to get one. [sequoia-studio via tuvie]

Info-Live Watch

INFO Live is an data organizer for connected internet world. It is able to transfer data information to any hardware and person any moment in time of need. [via nextgendesigncomp]

Jive For The Elderly

Jive is a range of 3 products that were designed to get elderly technophobes connected to their friends and family. [jive via tuvie]

LifeMap

Touch screen digital photo storing and organization product. [via tuvie]

Microsoft Arc Mouse

When you go advanced in all your computer equipments, the next best thing is to get a futuristic mouse. [via geekandhype]

Pebble Key Port

Designed with many slots so that user can easily group their keys into categories such as car keys, home keys or office keys. [via tuvie]

Pixel Perfect Hour Glass

Title says it all. A perfect gadget anyone wants to own, I suppose? [Pavel Balykin via yankodesign]

Calliper Style Radio

Like a precision calliper tool, 08 Radio by Mikael Silvanto lets you precisely find the station you want by sliding the entire radio unit up and down the scale. [via yankodesign]

Google Glass

Augmented Reality has already gotten into our life in the forms of simulated experiment and education app, but Google is taking it several steps higher with Google Glass. Theoretically, with Google Glass, you are able to view social media feeds, text, Google Maps, as well as navigate with GPS and take photos. You will also get the latest updates while you are on the ground.

It’s truly what we called vision, and it’s absolutely possible given the fact that the Google’s co-founder, Sergey Brin has demo’ed the glass with skydivers and creatives. Currently the device is only available to some developers with the price tag of $1500, but expect other tech companies trying it out and building an affordable consumer version.

Firefox OS

iOS and Android are great, but they each have their own rules and policies that certainly inhibit the creative efforts of developers. Mozilla has since decided to build a new mobile operating system from scratch, one that will focus on true openness, freedom and user choice. It’s Firefox OS.

Firefox OS is built on Gonk, Gecko and Gaia software layers – for the rest of us, it means it is built on open source, and it carries web technologies such as HTML5 and CSS3.

Developers can create and debut web apps without the blockade of requirements set by app stores, and users could even customize the OS based on their needs. Currently the OS has made its debut on Android-compatible phones, and the impression so far, is great.

You can use the OS to do essential tasks you do on iOS or Android: calling friends, browsing web, taking photos, playing games, they are all possible on Firefox OS, set to rock the smartphone market.

London 2012 Olympics: Hidden Technology You Probably Don’t Know

No, this is not about the technology behind you being able to watch the live stream of events from the comforts of your laptop without paying a cent. It’s also not about the apps involved in getting you the latest medal counts, broken records or controversial calls. This post is about thetechnology used in the Olympic games themselves, the ones that help give you the best view of each dive, jump and fall, and help keep technicalities and results in check.

The Olympics may be about the spirit of competition but with a little help from science and technology this can make the games to be solely about the athlete’s performance. From timekeeping to camera technologies, photo cells to awesome 3D replays, this post will reveal some of the coolest technology that help keep the Olympic Games running smoothly, and you at the edge of your seat.

Time of the Essence

Ever wonder how they figure out who wins in swimming races? It’s not like you can take a photo finish, and since water splashes, that makes it even tougher. But not when electronic timekeeper brand Omega has something to do with it. The Swiss timepiece maker carries huge responsibilities in determining who takes the gold medal home in mega sports event like the Olympics. And they do this with a lot of technology, including "contact pads".

Four Fingers And 6.6 Pounds

Whenever you see swimmers finishing up the last lap, it all becomes a blur and spectators there and at home refer to the scoreboard to find out who won. Each swimmer’s best times is registered by the contact pads once 6.6 pounds of focused pressure is applied to the pad.

This technology is so sensitive that the pads could register a time difference of one one-hundredth (0.01) of a second, which was exactly what gave U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps the gold (and an Olympic record of 50.58 seconds) during the 100-metre butterfly event in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

From Start To Finish

In track events, even the starting gun and the finishing line is electronically timed. Once the starter pistol is shot to start the race, a timing console is also triggered, mainly to detect false starts. A false start is determined when the runner starts at less than a tenth of a second, the time it needs for a human to react to the starting pistol.

On the other end of the race, when the runners reach the finishing line, they will pass a laser beam that cuts across the track. This beam is received by a light sensor on the other side of the track. When a runner blocks this beam, the time is recorded, and as there are two photo cells placed at different heights to measure this, this will ensure that the runner’s torso (and not an arm) crossed the finishing line first.

Photo finish cameras complete the rigorous measures taken to determine who wins the race, as well as give judges and spectators a look into how technology can showcase the competitiveness of athletes in sports. With 2000 frames per second, there can be no question as to who takes which medals home.

Smile,You're on DiveCam!.

But what about that camera at diving events, the one that follows the divers as they make their somersaults and drop in through the surface of the water? It’s actually an invention called theDiveCam and it’s not as high-tech as you’d like to believe. It works with two things: a pulley system and believe it or not, gravity.

The man responsible for the DiveCam, Garrett Brown, is also the maker for SteadyCam – a mechanical arm that gives cameras that smooth moving run – and SkyCam – the camera that gives you the overhead view of football players as they run the field.

The Contraption

With DiveCam, the camera is placed inside a 50-foot long tube (yes, it’s that out-of-place flattened tube to the side of the diving boards) that extends well under the surface of the water. The cameraman times the diver as they leave the springboard, then drops the camera as the diver makes his or her descent.

Based on laws of physics, the diver and the camera should drop at the same time, giving spectators a perfect view of the dive as it happen. A brake system stops the camera from breaking from impact and it is pulled back up for the next dive.

Time-Slicing: The Coolest Instant Replay

Also in the mix is the Matrix-effect replays of gymnasts in mid-air. While I haven’t been able to pinpoint a video of this effect that is available for all (unless if you’re in the UK, in which case, here’s an example) but if you have been watching the gymnastics event you would have been seen these awesome 3D replays, which is something like what you see below .

Aiding Referees

Using feed from cameras taken from different angles, stop motion and rotation view, game referees can use the video feeds to get an all-round view of the action and in some cases settle controversial disputes on the spot. While the technology has already been around since the Matrix hit the big screen in 1999, it wasn’t used in sports until 2001, to be specific in the Super Bowl.

The Debut

Everything was kept under wraps until the day of the event itself but the 33 strategically placed cameras used in the system, called EyeVision, gave the spectators a brand new look into the sports event. One drawback to this is that the costs of the equipment can really add up and their area of focus is quite limited. However, it does add the coolness factor to stunt-filled sports like gymnastics and extreme sports.

The Olympic Torch

From 1964, the Olympic flame has been lit in Olympia, Greece before carried all over the host country of the Games for the year then lit in the Olympic Cauldron for the entirety of the Games. Throughout this long journey known as the torch relay, the torch must always stay lit, so a lot of technology is put into making this event a success.

As the torch makes it journey from Greece by air, land and across the seas, it has to be designed to be light enough (less than 1 kg usually) for the torch bearer yet sturdy enough to carry its own fuel supply and internal burning mechanisms.

For the 2000 Sydney Olympics, a combo mixture of butane and propane became the preferred liquid fuel as it produces the desirable yellow flame without the accompanying smoke. Further enhancements made to the torch gave it a double-flame design allowing it to be kept alight even underwater as it crossed the Great Barrier Reef.

Despite all the technological input, the flames occasionally go out when weather conditions are less than conducive but the torch can be relit from backup torches (but no other source) that were also lit from the same fire in Olympia. Each torch is remodeled and symbolically designed for each Olympic Games. Click here for an interactive view of the beautiful evolution of the Olympic Torch in the past century.