Reuters | Stanford team clinches top spot in robot desert race

So they did it! In a Volkswagen, nogal. Or should I say, with a Volkswagen, since no-one was actually driving it. No-one I know, anyway. Well done! Damn, last time these guys couldn't get beyond 10km and now they did 132 miles (what's that in real units?) in 7 hours.

Go to Grand Challenge and click on the Win webcast. Very interesting. Stanley, for it is the winner's name, got through the whole course without a scratch. Way to go, Stan.

More on Stan:

The Stanford Vehicle (nicknamed "Stanley") is based on a stock, Diesel-powered Volkswagen Touareg R5, modified with full body skid plates and a reinforced front bumper. Stanley is actuated via a drive-by-wire system developed by Volkswagen of America's Electronic Research Lab.

So not any old Volkswagen. There I was expecting a 1959 Beetle (four wheel drive, mind you).

All processing takes place on seven Pentium M computers, powered by a battery-backed, electronically-controlled power system. The vehicle incorporates measurements from GPS, a 6DOF inertial measurement unit, and wheel speed for pose estimation.

Now, I wonder what my Lego rover will do with seven Pentium M computers (apart from not moving under all the weight...shit...).

While the vehicle is in motion, the environment is perceived through four laser range finders, a radar system, a stereo camera pair, and a monocular vision system. All sensors acquire environment data at rates between 10 and 100 Hertz. Map and pose information are incorporated at 10 Hz, enabling Stanley to avoid collisions with obstacles in real-time while advancing along the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge route.

Technorati tags: science, robotics, artificial intelligence

'Miracle mouse' can grow back lost limbs - Health news - Times Online

Original date of this post: August 28, 2005

A fascinating development (something I'm sure you'll find is quite common on this blog). Scientists have created a self-healing mouse. The things they did to this mouse! And yet, it regenerated limbs, organs, it healed holes, perforated ears and who knows what else. It came through oh kay.

“We have experimented with amputating or damaging several different organs, such as the heart, toes, tail and ears, and just watched them regrow,” she said.

'She' being the lead scientist. The only organ that is unaffected by this pathologically self-healing gene seems to be the brain. Everything else regenerates. What's more is that when they injected cells from this mouse strain (and obviously strained mouse) into other, normal, mice, the self-healing ability was acquired.

The discoveries raise the prospect that humans could one day be given the ability to regenerate lost or damaged organs, opening up a new era in medicine.

Technorati tags: longevity, science, medical science, senescence

Stem Cells Repair Damaged Spinal Cords in Mice

Similar to the previous post. The things they do to these mice!

In this case they are looking at regenerating spinal cord neural cells. Injecting human stem cells into mice, after damaging the mice' spinal cords. The human stem cells develop into neural cells (of various types) and establish connections, such that the damage is reversed.

"We show that these [stem] cells make connections with the nervous system of the mouse in a way that is appropriate … and could mediate recovery," Anderson said. "That's a big thing."

And she should know.

Within four months, mice that had been transplanted with human stem cells showed long-term recovery of motor function.

Not quite as exciting as the self-healing mouse, perhaps?

Technorati tags: senescence, stem cell research, health

Photos: Robot racers tune up for Darpa Challenge | CNET News.com

A couple of photos of the challengers. I like the motorbike entry, but I'm not sure if it's in the 20 that will take part.

Technorati tags: robotics, artificial intelligence