On Tuesday, November 12, 2013, the first non-human rang the closing bell on the NASDAQ stock market. A robotic arm was selected to ring the bell to mark the launch of a new robotics stock index, ROBO-STOX, which is the first index to benchmark the value of robotics, automation and related technologies. Click here to watch the robotic arm in action at NASDAQ. Forbes.com announced the milestone event and additional details about the robotic arm equipped with a three-fingered gripper. They also included thoughts on the future of the robotics industry. The debate over the state of the robotics industry and its future continues – sell to academic labs or push […]

Code.org is putting CSEdWeek on steroids this year! My department, like many of yours, has traditionally run a programming contest and an open house in conjunction with Computer Science Education Week – the week of Grace Murray Hopper’s birthday each year. This year, Code.org has established a new, audacious goal:  have every student – every American, in fact – spend one hour learning to code!   A phenomenal new programming environment has been created to make this possible – students will learn about flow of control, etc., using a drag-and-drop interface, not by writing C or Java. This is a GREAT OPPORTUNITY for you to get involved with K-12 institutions in […]

Check out the webcast of the White House OSTP “Big Data” event, November 12, 2013 beginning at 1 p.m. ET, 10 a.m. PT. Webcast here: http://live.science360.gov/1/ Agenda (pdf) is linked from that page, but also here: http://tinyurl.com/OSTP-BD

The National Science Foundation is looking to hire a Deputy Division Director in the Division of Computing and Communication Foundations, a unit within the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE). According to the USAJOBS website, this position: Serves in the Division responsible for administering CISE programs and activities that seek advances in computing and communication theory, algorithms for computer and computational sciences, and architecture and design of computers and software. CCF-supported projects also investigate revolutionary computing paradigms based on emerging scientific ideas and integrate research and education activities to prepare future generations of computer science and engineering workers.  The Deputy Division Director participates with the Division Director in providing […]

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Robotics and Automation Society (IEEE-RAS) will be publishing a special edition of Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering (T-ASE) that is focused on Cloud Robotics and Automation. From the Call for Papers: This Special Issue addresses the potential of the “Cloud” (Internet) to enhance automation and robotics for manufacturing, healthcare, transportation, logistics, security, agriculture, and many related industries by improving performance in at least five ways: 1) Big Data : indexing a global library of maps and object data; 2) Cloud Computing : parallel grid computing on demand for automation; 3) Open-Source/Open-Access : humans sharing code, data, algorithms and hardware designs; 4) System Learning : machines sharing parameters, control policies and outcomes; […]

Computer science has been an active component of medical devices for a long time, but has recently been brought to the spotlight by former Vice President Dick Cheney, when he spoke about turning off the wireless component of his heart defibrillator. Kevin Fu is an Associate Professor at the University of Michigan, where he conducts research on making embedded computer systems smarter through better safety and security, reduced energy consumption, and faster performance.  Much of his work is focused on medical devices.  Fu was recently interviewed for a New York Times article titled, “Of Fact, Fiction, and Cheney’s Defibrillator,” by Gina Kolata.  When asked about the possibility of a heart […]