"We are developing a robot helicopter integrated with a gripper, able to directly grasp and transport objects. The proof-of-concept system opens the door to future sophisticated aerial manipulation capabilities. This task is very challenging due to the need to precisely position the aircraft over the target object to grasp with a rigid gripper, the inherent instability of helicopters and the presence of aerodynamic disturbances." Pretty cool.



By The Grab Lab at Yale.

While studying marketing II, I came across this version of the BCG matrix and I thought it was kind of cute.



Via Krikor.

http://lospiesenelagua.blogspot.com/
http://lospiesenelagua.blogspot.com/
http://lospiesenelagua.blogspot.com/

:*

'Vivek Wadhwa has an interesting post at TechCrunch, pointing out that much of the world beyond the US, Europe and BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) are effectively a patent free zone. Even if many of these places do have patent laws, very few companies find it worth the trouble to file for patents in those places -- and, technically, that means that anyone producing products in those areas can legally copy from the patents filed elsewhere.'

http://techdirt.com/articles/20100801/10481810436.shtml
http://techdirt.com/articles/20100801/10481810436.shtml
http://techdirt.com/articles/20100801/10481810436.shtml

If only.

Or who copies who.

http://www.counterfeitchic.com/designs_designers/
http://www.counterfeitchic.com/designs_designers/
http://www.counterfeitchic.com/designs_designers/

"A bit over two weeks ago, a group of statistic wizards (Mark Grebner, Michael Weissman, and Jonathan Weissman) approached me with a disturbing premise -- they had been poring over the crosstabs of the weekly Research 2000 polling we had been running, and were concerned that the numbers weren't legit.

I immediately began cooperating with their investigation, which concluded late last week. Daily Kos furnished the researchers with all available and relevant information in our possession, and we made every attempt to obtain R2K's cooperation -- which, as I detail in my reaction post here -- was not forthcoming. The investigators' report is below, but its conclusion speaks volumes:

We do not know exactly how the weekly R2K results were created, but we are confident they could not accurately describe random polls."

The full story:

http://tinyurl.com/2vjpr22
http://tinyurl.com/2vjpr22
http://tinyurl.com/2vjpr22

Based on Pink's Drive. Really good.

The wing of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner passed its ultimate test Sunday, bending without damage to 150 percent of the load it is ever expected to experience in service.



More here.

Interpersonal Style examines visible behavior, it is not a psychological assessment. The dynamic energies involved are those that are common to us all, we just use them differently based on our preferences. When we do, it seems that we recapitulate underlying patterns that can be found in nature, the seasons, and even the stars. This enables us to construct models by which we can identify types of behavior and learn how they work with each other. Understanding the basics is powerful tool for effective interaction with others.

http://www.kalarhythms.com/ip/ip.thestyles.htm
http://www.kalarhythms.com/ip/ip.thestyles.htm
http://www.kalarhythms.com/ip/ip.thestyles.htm

For future reference.

http://rwdigest.blogspot.com/
http://rwdigest.blogspot.com/
http://rwdigest.blogspot.com/

The first person to send him a cease and desist notice wins!

http://evan-roth.com/
http://evan-roth.com/
http://evan-roth.com/

"These discussions are like another graduate degree for me, because I constantly have to think, rethink, defend and truly understand the arguments I'm making. It's hard to overstate how incredibly valuable that's been. The fact that many journalists refuse to engage in that sort of conversation actually shows through in their work: they don't want to bother. They like to position themselves as experts, but many don't really understand what they're talking about. Engaging in the conversation may be a lot of work -- and, at times, it can be frustrating or seemingly pointless. But, the massive amount of value I've received from those discussions -- just like the student in the story above -- is almost impossible to quantify. People talk about the importance of ongoing education. That's exactly what these conversations are for me."

http://techdirt.com/articles/20090428/0300334677.shtml
http://techdirt.com/articles/20090428/0300334677.shtml
http://techdirt.com/articles/20090428/0300334677.shtml

I just couldn't agree more. Also, the article Mike links on his post is pretty good; food for thought.

"Students often ask the obvious question: Why is government policy grounded in such a flawed theory? From a political point of view, advocating and implementing Keynesian policy is the surest way to election and reelection. The gains from printing and spending money are immediate, highly visible, and can be concentrated on individuals who make up powerful voting blocs. The costs of this policy are incurred at a later date and can be spread thinly across the entire population, making the link between policy and long-run consequences difficult for the voting public to perceive."

http://tinyurl.com/dewgge
http://tinyurl.com/dewgge
http://tinyurl.com/dewgge

Full text after the jump.

http://www.elidel.com/
http://www.elidel.com/
http://www.elidel.com/

"I’ll miss the free food. I’ll miss the occasional massage. I’ll miss the authors, politicians, and celebrities that come to speak or perform. I’ll miss early chances to play with cool toys before they’re released to the public. Most of all, I’ll miss working with the incredibly smart and talented people I got to know there. But I won’t miss a design philosophy that lives or dies strictly by the sword of data."

http://stopdesign.com/archive/2009/03/20/goodbye-google.html
http://stopdesign.com/archive/2009/03/20/goodbye-google.html
http://stopdesign.com/archive/2009/03/20/goodbye-google.html

Instinct beats the hell out of the sword of data.