Brain-machine interface （BMI） and cyborg intelligence

Brain-machine interfaces （BMIs） aim at building a direct communication pathway between the brain and an external device, and represent an area of re- search where significant progress has been made during the past decade. Based on BMIs, mind infor- mation can be read out by neural signals to control machine actuators, and machine-coded sensory in- formation can be delivered to specific areas in the brain. BMI techniques provide the opportunity to integrate machine intelligence with biological intel- ligence at multiple levels to develop a more powerful intelligent system, thereby creating a new field called ＇cyborg intelligence＇.     

Intelligence in the internet age: The emergence and evolution of Open Source Intelligence (OSINT)

This paper introduces the concept of Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) as an important component for understanding human problem solving in the 21st century. OSINT is in many ways the result of changing human–information relationships resulting from the emergence and growing dominance of the Internet and the World Wide Web in everyday life. This paper suggests that the Internet/Web changes the dynamic relationship between what Cattell and Horn have identified as the two general factors of human intelligence: crystallized intelligence and fluid intelligence. The Internet/Web open up new possibilities for accessing information and transcending over-determined cultural intelligence in problem solving. This offers fluid intelligence, which often trails off in adulthood, a new vitality across the lifespan. But the diminishment of crystallized intelligence, and especially cultural intelligence, also presents a number of important problems in maintenance of cohesive, social cooperatives. The development of OSINT (using tools and ethos created by the Open Source movement of the last few decades) offers both a framework for reaching beyond the boundaries of traditional cultural intelligence and ways to create cooperative, open, problem solving communities. The Internet/Web will continue to create confusion and fear as we move deeper into this new age, but also presents extraordinary possibilities for augmenting human intellect if we can understand it and learn to harness its potential.     

A computational intelligence technique for the effective diagnosis of diabetic patients using principal component analysis (PCA) and modified fuzzy SLIQ decision tree approach

Knowledge inference systems are built to identify hidden and logical patterns in huge data. Decision trees play a vital role in knowledge discovery but crisp decision tree algorithms have a problem with sharp decision boundaries which may not be implicated to all knowledge inference systems. A fuzzy decision tree algorithm overcomes this drawback. Fuzzy decision trees are implemented through fuzzification of the decision boundaries without disturbing the attribute values. Data reduction also plays a crucial role in many classification problems. In this research article, it presents an approach using principal component analysis and modified Gini index based fuzzy SLIQ decision tree algorithm. The PCA is used for dimensionality reduction, and modified Gini index fuzzy SLIQ decision tree algorithm to construct decision rules. Finally, through PID data set, the method is validated in the simulation experiment in MATLAB.     

Datenbank-DIALOG: how to communicate with your database in German (and enjoy it)

The paper discusses the requirements for practical natural language interfaces (NLIs), claiming that acceptance is not only based on the linguistic capabilities of a system but on other features as well, particularly portability and ease of handling. It is shown how these features have been realised in Datenbank-DIALOG^*, a German language interface to relational databases. After a brief look at the linguistic capabilities of Datenbank-DIALOG we demonstrate our approach towards a portable and easy-to-handle system. We also show the dependability of the solutions on the design of the core system. The aspects mentioned have rarely been treated in the technical literature, furthermore it is their combination and interaction that makes Datanbank-DIALOG a suitable device for casual users of databases.     

Driver sitting comfort and discomfort (part II): Relationships with and prediction from interface pressure

Pressure at the driver–seat interface has been used as an objective method to assess seat design, yet existing evidence regarding its efficacy is mixed. The current study examined associations between three subjective ratings (overall, comfort, and discomfort) and 36 measures describing driver–seat interface pressure, and identified pressure level, contact area, and ratio (local to global) variables that could be effectively used to improve subjective responses. Each of 27 participants was involved in six separate driving sessions which included combinations of two seats (from vehicles ranked high and low on overall comfort), two vehicle classes (sedan and SUV), and two driving venues (lab-based and field). Several pressure variables were identified as more effective for assessing sitting comfort and discomfort across a range of individual statures. Based on the results, specific approaches are recommended to improve the sitting experience: (1) lower pressure ratios at the buttocks and higher pressure ratios at the upper and lower back; and (2) balanced pressure between the bilateral buttocks, and between the lower and upper body. Finally, separate analyses supported that human–seat interface pressure was more strongly related with overall and comfort ratings than with discomfort ratings.

Relevance to industry

Several interface pressure variables were identified that showed associations with subjective responses during sitting. Use of these measures is suggested to improve the quality of car seats.     

Autonomous Vehicles and Avoiding the Trolley (Dilemma): Vehicle Perception,Classification, and the Challenges of Framing Decision Ethics

Abstract

This article aims to introduce a degree of technological and ethical realism to the framing of autonomous vehicle perception and decisionality. The objective is to move the socioethical dialog surrounding autonomous vehicle decisionality from the dominance of “trolley framings” to more pressing ethical issues. The article argues that more realistic ethical framings of autonomous vehicle technologies should focus on the matters of HMI, machine perception, classification, and data privacy, which are some distance from the decisionality framing premise of the MIT Moral Machine experiment. To support this claim the article appeals to state-of-the-art technologies and emerging technologies concerning autonomous vehicle perception and decisionality, as a means to inform and frame ethical contexts. This is further supported by considering a context specific ethical framing for each time phase we anticipate regarding emerging autonomous vehicle technology.