Tag Archives: Avatar

SciFi Movie Review: Avatar

Review: September 10, 2010
[James Cameron’s Avatar makes a reappearance this fall of 2010 (a 3-D limited theatrical release, a new set of DVD/Blu-ray disks, stories about sequels). It’s a good excuse to write about the movie, and assume that most have already seen it.] Avatar is no more ‘just a movie’ than the first Star Wars episode was [...]
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Halfway between robot and avatar

Impact: Robotics    September 8, 2010
Telerobot physician consulting with nurse………….credit: InTouch Technologies, Inc. What’s halfway between an autonomous robot and an avatar? You’ve probably seen avatars in the movies (James Cameron’s Avatar being the prime example). No doubt you’ve also seen various kinds of (semi) autonomous robots that move about under their own power and have a kind of intelligence, [...]
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Microsoft: 3-D is better without glasses

Impact: Virtual/Augmented Reality    June 14, 2010
We see the world in three dimensions. Naturally, it would be desirable to see all kinds of images in three dimensions. This is one of those things in science and technology that’s relatively easy to describe, has many ways to accomplish, and has proven to be very difficult to get right. I’ve mentioned this before [...]
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Sci-Fi movie review: Surrogates

Review: May 26, 2010
[Surrogates. Directed by Jonathan Mostow. Writers Michael Ferris, John D. Brancato (two others). Released 2009, now in DVD and Blu-Ray. As customary for SciTechStory, this review contains many spoilers.] We get it: Surrogates (robots) bad; being human good. In fact, I’d wager most people more than get it before the opening credits are over. The [...]
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New Product: A telecommuting telepresence robot named QB

News: Robotics    May 20, 2010
The telepresence robot, ”QB”. . Credit: Anybots, Inc. As a field of study and product development, it is in the nature of robotics, as often as not, to want to emulate the human being. Why this should be so given that the erect and bipedal human being is already an engineering nightmare, speaks to our [...]
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Should junk science be banned from movies and television?

Essay: February 28, 2010
Most of you reading this will think – yeah, banning junk science that wouldn’t be bad – but you’re probably skeptical. You don’t need to work in the entertainment industry to know that scientific accuracy is almost never a priority. So a ban on bad science? Good luck with that – right? An academic complaint [...]
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