On Thursday, August 20, 2009, students of the Instititue of Forensic Science of the University of Lausanne presented their master thesis.

François Rey evaluated in his master thesis ASTIS™, the automatic shoe tracks information system. An english summary of his master thesis can be downloaded.

René Waser studied the intra- and intervariability of notch patterns on the dorsal fins of great white sharks and their impact on computer-assisted comparisons. An english summary of his master thesis can be downloaded.

The brain is composed not only of neurons but also of glia celles. Up to date, science relegated glia to the background and it was once thought that these celles merely hold the brain together. However, without glia, our brains would be useless. Science still don’t really understand the role of glia completely, but what is, if these cells are the real movers and shakers of thought and intelligence?

(via Discover)

Intelligente Mikrochips und lernende Computer: Keine Science Fiction sondern Realität in Glattbrugg. Das Kleinunternehmen Semantic System hat einen Mikrochip und die dazugehörende Software entwickelt, die ähnlich funktionieren wie das menschliche Hirn. Die Firma will damit unter anderem die Polizeiarbeit revolutionieren.

Dieser Beitrag der Sendung «Regionaljournal Zürich Schaffhausen» von DRS 1 kann auch heruntergeladen werden.

According to a new set of experiments, it would appear that robots have the ability to deceive other robots. The robots are equipped with artificial neural networks and programmed to find “food”. They eventually learned to conceal their visual signals from other robots to keep the food for themselves. 

The researchers outfitted robots with light sensors, rings of blue light, and wheels and placed them in habitats furnished with glowing “food sources” and patches of “poison” that recharged or drained their batteries.  The original bots simply roamed the surfaces, emitting light randomly. After each of the trials, in which they had to find as much food as possible, the researchers would copy the digital brain of the most successful machine, and insert it into the next generation of robots, alongside a few changes, so as to favor “evolution.”

Read how after a few generations some robots learned how to recognize flashing lights emitted by others as a clear indicator that food was nearby and how others learned to mute their signals so as not to draw the attention of other machines (PNAS)

Semantic System AG just moved into premises next to Bird Rock Coffee Roasters in La Jolla, California.

Via (jollalight.com) 

The human brain can adapt to changing demands even in adulthood, but researchers have now found evidence of it changing with unsuspected speed. This suggests that the brain has a network of silent connections that underlie its plasticity.

(via NewScientist)

John Searle devised the Chinese Room argument. The Chinese Room argument attempts to show that a symbol-processing machine like a computer can never be properly described as having a “mind” or “understanding”, regardless of how intelligently it may behave. In short, it is an argument against the possibility of true artificial intelligence.

Read a stimulating interview by Machines Like Us with John Searle or watch his talk “Beyond Dualism” (dailymotion.com) to make up your mind about AI.