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Researchers at Ben-Gurion University in Israel developed a computer program that they think can detect depression among bloggers. To test their hypothesis, they scanned 300,000 English-language blogs and had clinical psychologists read the subjects that the computer indicated were depressed. The psychologists agreed with the computer 78% of the time:
“The software program was designed to find depressive content hidden in language that did not mention the obvious terms like “depression” or suicide,” explains Prof. Neuman. “A psychologist knows how to spot various emotional states through intuition. Here, we have a program that does this methodically through the innovative use of ‘web intelligence.’”
For example, the program spots words that express various emotions, like colors that the writer employs to metaphorically describe certain situations. Words like “black” combined with other terms that describe symptoms of depression, such as sleep deprivation or loneliness, will be recognized by the software as “depressive” texts.
We’ve previously posted about a ceiling-walking robot developed by the robotics lab at Ben Gurion University. Here are four more ingenious robot designs developed at that same laboratory, each of which scales walls using different mobility techniques:
First, a magnetic climber that has compliant magnetic wheels and is capable to climb on ferromagnetic surfaces. This robot can be used for inspection of ship hull or bridges. Second, is a Snail inspired wall climbing robot capable of climbing on non metallic surfaces using hot melt glue. The robot secretes the adhesive at the front and peels off the track from the wall at the bottom leaving a trail behind just like the snail does. Third, is a robot that uses sticky wheels in order to attach itself to the wall. It simply has 3Ms sticky tape on the wheels. It can climb on smooth surfaces like glass. Fourth, is a four legged wall climbing robot for climbing on rough surfaces. It has 12 claws made of fishing hooks mounted on each footpad, and it climbs like cat or other rodents.
via Gizmodo
The robotics lab at Ben Gurion University in Israel has created a robot that walks on the ceiling. SpiderBot has suction cups tethered to the ends of its four legs. It aims a leg at a spot on the ceiling, then shoots the cup at it. Then it reels itself toward the spot, releases a rear leg’s suction cup, and slowly repeats the process. Video at the link.
