>How Do People Respond to Being Touched by a Robot?

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Georgia Institute of Technology – Cody, a robot in Charlie Kemp’s Healthcare Robotics Lab at Georgia Tech, was used in a study testing how subjects responded to being touched by a robot in a healthcare setting.  …

For people, being touched can initiate many different reactions from comfort to discomfort, from intimacy to aggression. But how might people react if they were touched by a robot? Would they recoil, or would they take it in stride? In an initial study, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology found people generally had a positive response toward being touched by a robotic nurse, but that their perception of the robot’s intent made a significant difference. The research is being presented today at the Human-Robot Interaction conference in Lausanne, Switzerland.

“What we found was that how people perceived the intent of the robot was really important to how they responded. So, even though the robot touched people in the same way, if people thought the robot was doing that to clean them, versus doing that to comfort them, it made a significant difference in the way they responded and whether they found that contact favorable or not,” said Charlie Kemp, assistant professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University.

In the study, researchers looked at how people responded when a robotic nurse, known as Cody, touched and wiped a person’s forearm. Although Cody touched the subjects in exactly the same way, they reacted more positively when they believed Cody intended to clean their arm versus when they believed Cody intended to comfort them.

These results echo similar studies done with nurses.

via How Do People Respond to Being Touched by a Robot?.

>How Do People Respond to Being Touched by a Robot?

>

Georgia Institute of Technology – Cody, a robot in Charlie Kemp’s Healthcare Robotics Lab at Georgia Tech, was used in a study testing how subjects responded to being touched by a robot in a healthcare setting.  …

For people, being touched can initiate many different reactions from comfort to discomfort, from intimacy to aggression. But how might people react if they were touched by a robot? Would they recoil, or would they take it in stride? In an initial study, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology found people generally had a positive response toward being touched by a robotic nurse, but that their perception of the robot’s intent made a significant difference. The research is being presented today at the Human-Robot Interaction conference in Lausanne, Switzerland.

“What we found was that how people perceived the intent of the robot was really important to how they responded. So, even though the robot touched people in the same way, if people thought the robot was doing that to clean them, versus doing that to comfort them, it made a significant difference in the way they responded and whether they found that contact favorable or not,” said Charlie Kemp, assistant professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University.

In the study, researchers looked at how people responded when a robotic nurse, known as Cody, touched and wiped a person’s forearm. Although Cody touched the subjects in exactly the same way, they reacted more positively when they believed Cody intended to clean their arm versus when they believed Cody intended to comfort them.

These results echo similar studies done with nurses.

via How Do People Respond to Being Touched by a Robot?.

>No Joke: America’s First Laughing Competition Guffaws Off Ground

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It’s no joke: The United States’ first-ever laughing championship takes place Saturday in San Luis Obispo, Calif., and a few dozen gigglers, guffawers and chortlers will yuck it up in hopes of winning the coveted title of “California’s Best Laugher.”

We’re serious: It’s a laughing contest and the contestants will compete in events such as “Best Diabolical Laugh” and “Most Contagious Laugh” and face off in “Laughter Duels” to see who can make the other person crack up most.

And while just mentioning the contest is enough to make some skeptics start rolling on the floor in ridicule, it’s part of a serious effort by Albert Nerenberg to raise awareness of the power of laughter.

Nerenberg is a self-proclaimed “laughologist” who started noticing the power of laughter while, inexplicably, watching Ultimate Fighting Championship bouts.Before all these fights, there is a stare-down and, many times, the fighters begin to spontaneously laugh,” Nerenberg told AOL News. “They triggered laughter through eye contact and their proximity to each other. This is not uncommon.”

Nerenberg decided to take the laughter to its inevitable conclusion by having contests in which people compete for the best laugh, rather than punch each other’s lights out. …

“I do recommend contestants eat a light meal before the contest and make sure to hydrate because you will be using a lot of energy,” she said.

One of the potential contestants, Marcia Alter, is an accomplished laugher and says the key to laughing long, loud and hard is to “empty out the right brain so you feel a connectedness with everything.”

She has some other advice as well.

“Yes, you should go to the bathroom first,” she said.

via No Joke: America’s First Laughing Competition Guffaws Off Ground.

 

>Scientists attempt to discover the color of the Atlantic Ocean

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A team of scientists from four countries have set out on a seafaring expedition to discover what color the Atlantic Ocean is.

They want to discover the impact of hazy clouds of aerosol particles hanging above the water on algae that are the basis of the marine food chain.

Around a third of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by human activities is absorbed by microscopic algae in the sea.

This process gives the waters a greenish hue as algae blooms close to the surface flourish.

But satellite images in recent years have shown large aerosol clouds forming above the oceans, particularly in the southern part of the Atlantic.

They increase the amount of the sun’s rays reflected away from the sea, reducing the amount of algae and therefore lessening the water’s greenish hue. …

via Scientists attempt to discover the colour of the Atlantic Ocean – Telegraph.

>Scientists attempt to discover the color of the Atlantic Ocean

>

A team of scientists from four countries have set out on a seafaring expedition to discover what color the Atlantic Ocean is.

They want to discover the impact of hazy clouds of aerosol particles hanging above the water on algae that are the basis of the marine food chain.

Around a third of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by human activities is absorbed by microscopic algae in the sea.

This process gives the waters a greenish hue as algae blooms close to the surface flourish.

But satellite images in recent years have shown large aerosol clouds forming above the oceans, particularly in the southern part of the Atlantic.

They increase the amount of the sun’s rays reflected away from the sea, reducing the amount of algae and therefore lessening the water’s greenish hue. …

via Scientists attempt to discover the colour of the Atlantic Ocean – Telegraph.

>Did ‘supermoon’ cause Japan earthquake and tsunami?

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A whirlpool caused by currents from a tsunami near the port of Oarai after Japan was struck by a strong earthquake off its north-eastern coast today.

The powerful tsunami that today slammed into Japan’s eastern coast comes just two days after warnings that the movement of the moon could trigger unpredictable events on Earth.

Astrologers predicted that on March 19 – a week tomorrow – the so-called ‘supermoon’ will be closer to Earth than at any time since 1992, just 221,567 miles away, and that its gravitational pull will bring chaos to Earth.

Others on the Internet have predicted it will cause further catastrophes such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.

Coming just three weeks after the quake which devastated Christchurch in New Zealand killing hundreds, this latest disaster will only add fuel to their fire.

However the ‘supermoon’ date is still eight days away. But those that adhere to this particular belief could claim that this was still close enough for there to be some kind of effect.

Two days ago, in an interview with ABC radio discussing the potential impact of the March 19 supermoon, astrologer Richard Nolle, who first coined the term in 1979, said he was convinced that lunar perigees cause natural disasters on Earth.

‘Supermoons have a historical association with strong storms, very high tides, extreme tides and also earthquakes,’ he said.

However, scientists dismiss this as utter nonsense and that although it makes a good photo opportunity for astronomers it has no impact on Earth.

Dr David Harland, space historian and author, said: ‘It’s possible that the moon may be a kilometre or two closer to Earth than normal at a perigee, but it’s an utterly insignificant event.’

Professor George Helffrich, a seismologist at the University of Bristol was equally dismissive.

‘Complete nonsense. The moon has no significant effect on earthquake triggering.

‘If the moon triggers “big” earthquakes, it would trigger the many of millions of times more “small” earthquakes that happen daily. There is no time dependence of those; hence no moon effect.’ …

via Japan earthquake and tsunami: Did ‘supermoon’ cause today’s natural disaster? | Mail Online.

>Did ‘supermoon’ cause Japan earthquake and tsunami?

>

A whirlpool caused by currents from a tsunami near the port of Oarai after Japan was struck by a strong earthquake off its north-eastern coast today.

The powerful tsunami that today slammed into Japan’s eastern coast comes just two days after warnings that the movement of the moon could trigger unpredictable events on Earth.

Astrologers predicted that on March 19 – a week tomorrow – the so-called ‘supermoon’ will be closer to Earth than at any time since 1992, just 221,567 miles away, and that its gravitational pull will bring chaos to Earth.

Others on the Internet have predicted it will cause further catastrophes such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.

Coming just three weeks after the quake which devastated Christchurch in New Zealand killing hundreds, this latest disaster will only add fuel to their fire.

However the ‘supermoon’ date is still eight days away. But those that adhere to this particular belief could claim that this was still close enough for there to be some kind of effect.

Two days ago, in an interview with ABC radio discussing the potential impact of the March 19 supermoon, astrologer Richard Nolle, who first coined the term in 1979, said he was convinced that lunar perigees cause natural disasters on Earth.

‘Supermoons have a historical association with strong storms, very high tides, extreme tides and also earthquakes,’ he said.

However, scientists dismiss this as utter nonsense and that although it makes a good photo opportunity for astronomers it has no impact on Earth.

Dr David Harland, space historian and author, said: ‘It’s possible that the moon may be a kilometre or two closer to Earth than normal at a perigee, but it’s an utterly insignificant event.’

Professor George Helffrich, a seismologist at the University of Bristol was equally dismissive.

‘Complete nonsense. The moon has no significant effect on earthquake triggering.

‘If the moon triggers “big” earthquakes, it would trigger the many of millions of times more “small” earthquakes that happen daily. There is no time dependence of those; hence no moon effect.’ …

via Japan earthquake and tsunami: Did ‘supermoon’ cause today’s natural disaster? | Mail Online.

>Rep. Markey in E&C Hearing asks GOP if they plan to legislate against Gravity, Relativity

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YouTube – Rep. Markey in E&C Hearing asks GOP if they plan to legislate against Gravity, Relativity.

Beautiful. Found on marjoriekayesbabylondreams.wordpress.com

>Laughter eases hospital pain

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… “In the future, patients watching humorous videos could become a standard component of some medical procedures.”

The US study, Rx Laughter, is a collaboration between the entertainment industry, paediatrics and psychiatry.

They asked 21 children aged eight to 14 to put their hand into cold water and found the whole group tolerated the temperature longer while watching a funny video.

Those who laughed most remembered less of the pain and hormone tests on their saliva showed their stress levels were lower after laughing. …

via BBC News | HEALTH | Laughter eases hospital pain.

Just make sure your patient doesn’t have Coulrophobia before you put on that red nose.

>Global Protests & Uprisings Maps Time-Lapse

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YouTube – Global Protests & Uprisings Maps Time-Lapse.