Cary NC – This week in our S.T.E.M. video series, we show a woman who is paralyzed controlling a robotic arm with nothing but her thoughts. Kids with an interest in science will find this video more inspiring than Futurama.

Controlling a Robot with Your Thoughts

It sounds like science fiction: controlling a robot with nothing by your thoughts. But that’s the big buzz this week, in a video that shows Cathy Hutchinson, who is paralyzed in all four limbs, controlling a robotic arm with her thoughts to get a sip of her morning coffee.

The research was done at Brown University and publish in the journal Nature.

The Science

Leigh Hochberg, Director of the BrainGate clinical study at Brown, described three components of a brain-to-robot-arm system:

1. Sensor
2. Decoder
3. Assistive Device (robot arm)

The sensor, which is implanted in the motor cortex at the top of the brain, connects through a wire to a computer. The computer “decodes” the electrical impulses of the motor cortex and sends instructions to the robot arm.

Cathy, who has been paralyzed for fifteen years, thinks about grabbing the tumbler of coffee. She literally moves the robot arm with her thoughts.

Future studies may focus on developing a wireless system and refining the complex movements of robotic hand, elbow and shoulder to be more nuanced and life-like.

Video: Paralyzed Woman Moves Robot with Her Mind

Of course, this video is more than a technology demo – it’s a profound human interest story. Cathy’s smile, getting herself a sip of coffee for the first time in 15 years, and the reaction of the scientists, speak to the deep human desire for dignity.

You can also see this video on YouTube.

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The  S.T.E.M. video series is sponsored by Citizen Websites, the website design arm of CaryCitizen.

Cary, NC –  The latest in our S.T.E.M. video series concerns Fibonacci Numbers, also known as the Golden Ratio. It is a sequence of numbers that influence mathematics, science, engineering, art and religion. This video also has the virtue of being beautiful to watch.

Fibonacci Sequence

Leornardo of Pisa (1170-1250), also known as Fibonacci, was one of the most talented mathematicians of the Middle Ages.

His book, Liber Abaci, introduced two startling concepts to mainstream intellectual thought in Europe: Arabic numbers (0-9) to replace Roman numerals and the Golden Ratio, later called the Fibonacci Sequence.

Both Arabic numbers and the Fibonacci Sequence began in India, traveling across Persia (modern day Iran) to the Middle East and North Africa.

Fibonacci numbers seem at first glance to be amazingly simple: start from 1, add the number to what came before and move on. It looks like this:

0+1=1
1+1=2
2+1=3
3+2=5
5+3=8
8+5=13
13+8=21
21+13=34
34+21=55

What is incredible about the Fibonacci Sequence is that this pattern of numbers is mirrored everywhere in nature: flowers, insects, snails. Expressed as a ratio, it is 1.618, also known as the Golden Mean or Ratio. Ancient Greek mathematicians including Pythagoras and Euclid explored the Golden Mean.

Renaissance artists, keen on understanding a wide variety of educational disciplines, latched onto the Fibonacci Sequence in works like Leornardo Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man a study of human proportions.

According to Wikipedia:

[Modern] applications include computer algorithms such as the Fibonacci search technique and the Fibonacci heap data structure, and graphs called Fibonacci cubes used for interconnecting parallel and distributed systems.

They also appear in biological settings, such as branching in trees, Phyllotaxis (the arrangement of leaves on a stem), the fruit spouts of a pineapple, the flowering of artichoke, an uncurling fern and the arrangement of a pine cone.

Today, the Fibonacci Sequence has importance in science, engineering, math, technology and even advertising. We use Fibonacci spirals to tight up graphic design for everything from brochures to business cards and banner ads. Yes, we use math to help improve the click-through rate and effectiveness of advertising design.

In some quarters, the Fibonacci Sequence is seen as proof of divine guidance in the development of the cosmos.

Video: The Fibonacci Sequence

This beautiful video by director Cristobal Vila illustrates the Fibonacci Sequence. Music is by Wim Mertens. You can also see the video on YouTube.

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S.T.E.M. video series is sponsored by Citizen Websites, the website design arm of CaryCitizen.

Cary, NC – New images from NASA’a Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) show the fiery evolution of Earth’s moon. This new video from the Goddard Space Flight Center is the latest in our S.T.E.M. video series.

Evolution of the Moon

It starts as a fiery mass, gradually cooling into a smooth sphere, a little like a golf ball.

About 4.3 billion years ago, a massive object strikes the south pole of the Moon, creating the Aitken Basin.

From 4.1 billion to 3.4 billion years ago, the Moon was showered with a heavy bombardment of meteors, like a rain of fire from space. Scientists call this basin formation.

For almost 3 billion years, seas of fire covered large parts of the moon. The period of Mare Vulcanism lasted until about 1 billion years ago, creating the dark “seas” we can see from Earth.

At the same time, a shower of meteors continued to rain down on the Moon during a period of intermediate cratering.

For the last billion years and up until today, a mild shower of meteors continues to strike the Moon in a process called ray cratering.

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

The video features animation on top of new high-definition pictures of the Moon’s surface.

Scientists at NASA’a Goddard Space Flight Center have learned more about the history of the Moon from the pictures sent by the Lunar Recon Orbiter.

Video: Evolution of the Moon

This beautiful to watch video can also be seen on Youtube. Show it to your kids with a nonchalant “check this out.”

You can also watch previous videos in our S.T.E.M. series.

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S.T.E.M. video series is sponsored by Citizen Websites, the website design arm of CaryCitizen.

Story by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC – In this installment of our S.T.E.M. (science, technology, engineering and math) video series, we take a look at a fully enclosed, self-balancing motorcycle from Lit Motors. Geeky kids of all ages will enjoy this one.

Lit Motors C-1

Lit Motors, based in the Bay Area of San Francisco, describes itself as a company that “designs and develops innovative and environmentally conscious transportation solutions for our growing world.”

The C-1 is a fully-enclosed two-wheeled vehicle that uses a system of weights to be self-balancing, or “gyroscopically stabilized.” It is fully electric and code-named “Rolling Smart Phone.”

Lit says the C-1 combines the efficiency and freedom of a motorcycle with the safety and convenience of a car.

Utilizing electronically controlled gyroscopes located under the floor (putting out over 1,300 lb/ft of torque), the vehicle balances at a stop and stays upright in the event of a collision. In-wheel electric motors (40 kw) provide the power and regeneration, while hub steering keeps you pointed in the right direction.

With a top speed of over 120 MPH and battery packs providing 200 miles per charge, the C-1 is perfect for commuters and city dwellers alike.

Lit expects the C-1 to be in showrooms by 2014. You can leave a deposit on one right now.

Technology Video: Self-Balancing Motorcycle

You can also see this video on YouTube.

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S.T.E.M. video series is sponsored by Citizen Websites, the website design arm of CaryCitizen.

Story by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC – Here’s a fascinating video about a mashup of science, music, technology and art. It’s called Aeolus, and it’s a giant harp that plays the wind and captures the sky.

Aeolus Wind Harp

British artist Luke Jerram plies the terrain between art, science and imagination. He is known for large scale public art projects like Sky Orchestra, a collection of colorful hot air balloons that float over cities and towns and project music down at the people on the ground.

Aeolus, which Jerram calls “an acoustic wind pavilion,” looks like a big sculpture of shiny pipies arranged in an arch. Some of the pipes are attached to long strings that are pulled tight and attached to towers.

The strings and the pipes vibrate with slight changes in the wind, “playing” the sculpture. The sound is best described by an observer who said that “it sounds like the wind’s got a secret.”

From Aeolus: “The sculpture a giant aeolian harp, designed to resonate and sing with the wind without any electrical power or amplification. Vibrations in strings attached to some of the tubes are transferred through skins covering the tops, and projected down through the tubes towards the viewer standing beneath the arch.”

The tubes, polished on the inside, reflect the changing sky like a steel prism.

From Aeolus: “The artwork was commissioned to inspire the public and engage them in the subjects of engineering, acoustics and aerodynamics. Aeolus sculpture and associated science public engagement is the result of a collaboration between Luke Jerram and Institute of Sound and Vibration Research at the University of Southampton and The Acoustics Research Centre at the University of Salford.”

Aeolus is named for the Greek god of the four winds. It has toured across the U.K. but has never been to the U.S.

Video: Aeolus, an Acoustic Wind Harp

You can also watch the video Aeolus at Eden on YouTube.

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S.T.E.M. video series is sponsored by Citizen Websites, the website design arm of CaryCitizen.

Story by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC – This week, our S.T.E.M. (science, technology, engineering and math) video series gives robots a rest and examines ferrofluids, fascinatingly magnetic liquids. Kids of all ages will find this one interesting and inspiring.

Ferrofluids

Ferrofluids contain a derivative of iron suspended in a liquid. The particles of iron are so small (less than 10 nanometers) that they avoid clumping together and precipitating out of solution.

However, the nanoparticles of iron (usually magnetite of hematite) respond strongly to a magnetic field. The liquid seems to spontaneously extrude strange shapes, like a cross between Christmas trees and crystals. If you’ve seen the Terminator movie series, you may remember the liquid Terminator guy, an improbable but fascinating  visualization of ferrfkuids.

In real life, ferrofluids are used to coat the spinning hard disks in our computers. A thin layer of ferrofluid is used to coat the rotating shafts of hard drives, held in place by magnets, sealing the disk from any debris. Ferrofluids are also used mechanical engineering (as a friction reducer), medicine (as a contrast agent for MRIs) and even auio (as a heat-transfer agent surrounding speaker coils).

Ferrofluids have also been of interest to artists, perhaps for their weird, other-worldly appearance. This video is by Sachiko Kodamam, a Japanese artist known for her work with technology.

Technology Video: Ferrofluids

You can also see this video on YouTube.

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S.T.E.M. coverage is sponsored by Citizen Websites, the web development arm of CaryCitizen.

Story by Hal Goodtree. Photo courtesy of PAL-V.

Cary, NC – Flying cars were big news at The New York Auto Show last week. Do you have kids who are interested in science, technology, engineering or math? Show them this video of a flying car to get their juices flowing.

Flying Cars

Terrafugia, based in Woburn, Massachusetts, grabbed a lot of headlines in the U.S. last week with its prototype of street-legal car that flies like an airplane. It evens runs on Premium gas, so you can fill up at any neighborhood gas station.

Over in Europe, the PAL-V, short for Personal Air and Land Vehicle, also released a video of its flying car last week. Unlike Terrafugia, the PAL-V flies like a gyrocopter. It has a range of 315 miles and a top speed of 110 mph.

One could fly from Cary to Rodanthe on the Outer Banks in under 2 hours. By car, the trip takes about 5 hours.

PAL-V Flying Car Video

I chose the clip from PAL-V principally because it’s a better video than the one from Terrafugia.

The marketing of science, technology, engineering and math is an important part building generational excitement about S.T.E.M.

Enjoy your trip in the flying car. Share it with your kids. This video can also be seen on YouTube.

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S.T.E.M. coverage is sponsored by Citizen Websites, the web development arm of CaryCitizen.

Story by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC – What inspires children to become interested in S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math)?  How about Nexi, a Mobile-Dexterous-Social (MDS) robot demonstrating her range of human emotions?

Meet Nexi, an Expressive Robot

Okay, I’m a robot geek. And one of the toughest areas of robotics is expression.

Nexi, developed at the M.I.T. Robotics Lab, uses facial gestures, her hands and eyes to convey an impressive range of emotions.

If you find this video interesting, show it to your kids. Say something casual, like “check this out.”

Technology Video: Nexi MDS Robot

You can also see this video on Youtube.

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S.T.E.M. coverage is sponsored by Citizen Websites, the web development arm of CaryCitizen.

Cary, NC – Banjo-picking legend Earl Scruggs died yesterday at the age of 88. He was a favorite son of North Carolina and forever changed the music we call bluegrass.

Earl Scruggs

Earl Scruggs was born in Shelby, North Carolina. He rose to prominence as part of Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys after 1945.

In 1948, Scruggs left the band to start his own outfit with guitarist Lester Flatt. First called the Foggy Mountain Boys, it later  came to be called Flatt & Scruggs.

Scruggs pioneered a three-finger style of banjo picking, now known as Scruggs style, that is a foundation sound of bluegrass.

Perhaps Scruggs best known performance was for television, not radio or records. In 1962, along with Lester Flatt and Jerry Scoggins, Scruggs recorded the theme song for the TV series Beverly Hillbillies. It became an instant hit on the country charts and an instant classic across the world.

Scruggs won a Grammy in 1969, another in 2002 and a Lifetime Achievement Grammy in 2008.

Foggy Mountain Breakdown

In this video, Flatt & Scruggs perform Foggy Mountain Breakdown from 1965 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN.

You can also see this video on YouTube. With thanks to the Grand Ole Opry.

Cary, NC – This video, from the University of Pennsylvania, shows a swarm of Nano-Copters, little self-controlled flying machines, performing acrobatic tricks in the air.

Nano-Copters

Nano-Copters, also called Nano Quadrotors, are little flying robots, about the side of your hand.  Much of their functionality is self-controlled, like take-off and landing and collision avoidance. They can also be programmed to do swoops and turns and fly in complex formations.

This video (also on YouTube) from the University of Pennsylvania’s GRASP Lab (General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception), shows the amazing capabilities of nano copters to fly in swarm like formations.

Science Technology Engineering and Math Series

The Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) series on CaryCitizen is sponsored by Citizen Websites.