LinkNotes: social networks

Showing posts with label social networks. Show all posts

2012-01-05

MyRobots.com: Social Network for Robots

What is MyRobots?
MyRobots.com aims to connect all robots and intelligent devices to the Internet. In doing so we augment their capabilities enabling them to be remotely monitored and controlled. We strive to make cloud robotics a reality accessible to everyone and everything.

You can think of MyRobots as a social network for robots and smart objects (i.e. Facebook for robots). In the same way humans benefit from socializing, collaborating and sharing, robots can benefit from those interactions too by sharing their sensor information giving insight on their perspective of their current state.

How does it work?
First you need a robot or a smart web-enabled object. Then, you can Sign up at MyRobots.com to connect your robots and start reaping the benefits.

Once your robot is connected, you will be able to monitor it via the web, give commands and receive alerts.

Source: About - MyRobots wiki

Facebook for robots helps droids get smarter

But while Facebook is often criticised for emphasising the duller aspects of human life ("Bored. When can I go to the pub?" or "I need pizza") , the exchange of seemingly mundane status updates between robots ("I am overheating and need a rest" or "I am a vacuum cleaner and I am stuck") could make them a lot smarter.

At the very least, such updates - which could come from stationary household objects as well as moving robots - could allow humans to come to the rescue. More interestingly, by allowing robots to pool information, they could lead to much more intelligent decision-making. "Not all robots have the same sensors or the same access to information," says Asmat.

For example, a stove and a fridge signed up to the site might detect usage, while a humanoid patroller robot might notice lots of people in the house. The next day, a robot vacuum could then deduce from those updates that there was a party, and that it should clean more because the house might be dirtier - all without the intervention of a human. "These examples can be seen as science fiction at the moment but are very close to become a reality," says Asmat

Source: One Per Cent: Facebook for robots helps droids get smarter

Is MyRobots.com the 'Facebook for Robots?' Verdict: Maybe - IEEE Spectrum

The primary difference between MyRobots.com and a site like Facebook, Twitter, or Google Plus is that MyRobots is run by a company that wants to sell you robots: RobotShop.com. The potential issue, then, is that there could be some inherent conflict since the owner of this social network is also trying to sell you the hardware that runs on the social network, and they're already evaluating partnership options with manufacturers. In the short term, though, [...]

Source: Is MyRobots.com the 'Facebook for Robots?' Verdict: Maybe - IEEE Spectrum

Related

2009-12-27

Targeted Viral Marketing may be Less Effective

clipped from www.mindhacks.com

Trend setters may only be visible in rear view mirror:

clipped from www.fastcompany.com

Duncan Watts's research tells advertising execs precisely what they don't want to hear: All their clever (and lucrative!) targeted viral campaigning may ultimately be less effective than good old mass marketing.

Influentials
In the "two step" model of marketing, well-connected Influentials amplify a trend by relaying media messages out to the social periphery. Marketers can therefore focus on the few as a way of reaching the many.

Accidental Influentials
Watts's theory says the emergence of a trend depends not on Influentials, but on the susceptibility of the public to the "virus." Social-network effects are so complex, he says, that trends are basically random.

clipped from images.fastcompany.com

clipped from www.fastcompany.com

Igniting a Trend -- It's About Chance Not Choice?

"If society is ready to embrace a trend, almost anyone can start one. And if it isn't, then almost no one can."

Think about influenceability, rather than focusing on influence. Instead of focusing on individuals, focus on larger scale structures.

Sources:

Cell phone used as sociometer

Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology shows that cellphones may be used to give insight in periodicities of human behavior, human group behavior and more: separate the rich from the poor, the sick from the healthy, even the outgoing from the introverted.

clipped from www.forbes.com

What Your Cell Phone Knows About You

Sandy Pentland, director of MIT's Human Dynamics Research program, has focused his work on that unlikely task: using gadgets as simple as a cell phone to better understand the quirks and patterns of human behavior.

Pentland's experiments began with what he calls a "sociometer," a simple badge-like device that hangs from a subject's neck and records his or her movements, tone of voice, and location.

A cell phone can do almost exactly the same thing as a sociometer, the only difference being that it's not around your neck. It talks to cell towers and can tell your location, it has Bluetooth to scan for other devices, and some even have accelerometers to measure motion.