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Biotic video games

Scientists create a gaming machine that uses real live single-celled organisms in an experiment that aims to make learning about microscopic living creatures fun Mumbai Mirror Bureau mirrorfeedback@indiatimes.com Video game designers are always striving to make games more lifelike,but theyll have a hard time topping what Stanford researcher Ingmar Riedel-Kruse is up to.Hes introducing life itself into games.Riedel-Kruse and his lab group have developed the first video games in which a players actions influence the behaviour of living microorganisms in real time while the game is being played. These biotic games involve a variety of basic biological processes and some simple single-celled organisms (such as paramecia) in combination with biotechnology. HAVING FUN WHILE STUDYING The goal is for players to have fun interacting with biological processes,without dealing with the rigor of conducting a formal experiment,said Riedel-Kruse,an assistant professor of bioengineering. We hope that by playing games involving biology of a scale too small to see with the naked eye,people will realise how amazing these processes are and theyll get curious and want to know more, he said. The applications we can envision so far are on the one hand educational,for people to learn about biology,but we are also thinking perhaps we could have people running real experiments as they play these games. Applying their lab equipment and knowledge to game development,Riedel-Kruses group came up with eight games falling broadly into three classes,depending on whether players directly interact with biological processes on the scale of molecules,single cells or colonies of single cells. The results have been published in the journal Lab on a Chip. UPGRADING FROM PAC MAN Initially,Riedel-Kruse said,the researchers just wanted to see whether they could design such biotic games at all,so this first round of development produced fairly simple games. We tried to mimic some classic video games, he said.For example,one game in which players guide paramecia to gobble up little balls,a la PacMan,was christened PAC-mecium.Then there is Biotic Pinball,POND PONG and Ciliaball.The latter game is named for the tiny hairs,called cilia,that paramecia use in a flipper-like fashion to swim around and in the game enables kicking a virtual soccer ball. HOW IT WORKS The basic design of the games involving paramecia the single-celled organisms used in countless biology experiments from grade school classes to university research labs consists of a small fluid chamber within which the paramecia can roam freely.A camera sends live images to a video screen,with the game board superimposed on the image of the paramecia.A microprocessor tracks the movements of the paramecia and keeps score. The player attempts to control the paramecia using a controller that is much like a typical video game controller.In some games,such as PAC-mecium,the player controls the polarity of a mild electrical field applied across the fluid chamber,which influences the direction the paramecia move.In Biotic Pinball,the player injects occasional whiffs of a chemical into the fluid,causing the paramecia to swim one direction or another. The game on the molecular level involves a common lab technique called polymerase chain reaction,or PCR,an automated process that lets researchers make millions of copies of an organisms DNA in as little as two hours. In this game,called PolymerRace,the player is linked to the output of a PCR machine that is running different reactions simultaneously.While the reactions are running,the players can bet on which reactions will be run the fastest.The game PolymerRace is inspired by horse races,where you have different jockeys riding different horses, Riedel-Kruse said.There is a little bit of bio-molecular logic involved and a little bit of chance. NO PAIN INVOLVED Riedel-Kruse emphasised that paramecia,being single-celled organisms,lack a brain and the capacity to feel pain.We are talking about microbiology with these games,very primitive life forms.We do not use any higher-level organisms, he said.Since multiple test players raised the question of exactly where one should draw this line,these games could be a good tool to stimulate discussions in schools on bioethical issues. Riedel-Kruse wants to maximise the educational potential of these games to enable lay people to contribute to biomedical research.The team hopes that by publishing his groups initial efforts,other researchers in the life sciences will be prompted to explore how their own research could be adapted to biotic video games. Left: A screengrab of one of the games Top: A small camera (white object with green circuit board on top),poised above the fluid chamber in the centre of the stand,transmits images of the paramecia as they swim about in response to changes in the fluid chamber made by the game player using a laptop computer

iPad 2 in April, iPhone 5 in Summer

Here's good news for Apple fanatics out there!
A report from Engadget says that Apple's eagerly anticipated upgrade of the iPad will probably be released in April this year. The site's highly reliable sources said the iPad 2 will be a slimmer, sleeker tablet that will have a new screen technology similar to iPhone 4's Retina Display and will be "super high resolution". The device will still be 10 inches and will feature front and rear cameras, confirming earlier speculations about it. 

The Ipad 2, according to Engadget's sources, will have a built-in dedicated SD slot and will feature a dual GSM/CDMA chipset by Qualcomm, This means that Apple will likely veer away from Infineon and will make Qualcomm its chipset maker for all of its mobile devices. The dual-mode chipset was most likely adapted so Verizon and AT&T can offer the same iPad simultaneously.

iPhone 5, on the other hand, will be a completely redesigned handset which is set to launch this summer. The phone, according to the sources, will also feature a Qualcomm chipset that does triple duty as the GSM/CDMA/UMTS baseband processor.

Customers can also purchase accessories for the iPad, though shipping times are currently varied. The iPad Case, which runs $39, and the iPad Dock, for $29, are both expected to ship by April 3. The iPad Keyboard Dock is scheduled to ship in mid-April and costs $69.

The $29 iPad 10W USB Power Adapter ships in late April, while the $29 iPad Dock Connector to VGA Adapter ships by April 3. Finally, the Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic, which cost $79, ship within 24 hours.

Bio Robot Refrigerator

As promised, here are the details on the Electrolux Bio Robot Refrigerator, a concept that has been making quite a splash in the blogosphere! In lay terms, the fridge is a concept where the Bio Robot cools biopolymer gel through luminescence. A non-sticky gel surrounds the food item when shoved into the biopolymer gel, creating separate pods. The design features no doors or drawers, and the food items are individually cooled at their optimal temperature thanks to the robot. And since it can take any orientation (hung vertically, horizontally, and even on the ceiling), and can be modified in size, you can fit it in any apartment.

More details in the images…

Designer: Yuriy Dmitriev

Blackberry Empathy Concept Phone by Kiki Tang

For their sponsored project held by RIM Blackberry at the Art Center College of Design, designers Kiki and Daniel had to incorporate an interface that integrates human emotions with the concept of social networking. The result of this exercise was the Blackberry Empathy concept. The phone is used in conjunction with a biometrics ring that is worn by the user to collect “emotional data”. Spec-wise it features a transparent OLED screen that becomes transparent when not in use and opaque during interaction. The front is all touch surface, while on the back there is a physical keyboard.

As Daniel describes the interface:

It is of course touch based and all the user’s connections are shown graphically so you can see who is connected to whom. Each contact has an avatar that is encompassed by two colored rings. The inner colored ring shows the contact’s previous emotional state, and the outer ring represents the contact’s current emotional state. It is important to show the shift in emotions in order to see how an event has affected that contact.

Another important feature that we felt was important was the “Emotional Health Chart”. This chart would monitor the user’s emotional health through an indefinite period of time. One would be able to see how a certain event, or phone call/ message has affected the user. Obviously, if the chart shows someone is always upset, there would be a problem… If permitted, a user would be able to view other user’s charts as well.

Designers: Kiki Tang & Daniel Yoon