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So, what exactly is the point?
By Zurtex on 3/10/2008 4:51:41 PM , Rating: 3
As a mathematician looking at this I seem to be missing something.

They've created a pendulum that can be slightly manipulated by a complex computer program to slightly get closer to a theoretical model of it. The computer program can be viewed as an abstract and is slightly correlated to being closer to the real life version. All of this in a highly controlled environment, doesn't seem that exciting.

This is also not truly bidirectional, there is still going to be a small error, it would of seemed to make more sense to create a 1-1 mapping from real life to the virtual model as to exactly measure the error of the theory with a great degree of accuracy.

Can someone explain what I'm missing?

By KristopherKubicki on 3/10/2008 5:14:14 PM , Rating: 1
The breakthrough isn't exactly that they've been able to create a mixed reality state, but that via processing and feedback the device can fix the real pendulum in real time when changes occur in in the real environment that aren't expected in the virtual environment.

RE: So, what exactly is the point?
By clovell on 3/10/2008 5:15:17 PM , Rating: 3
I'm kind of seeing the same thing. The idea, from what I can gather, is to be able to accurately, and adaptively simulate reality before it happens - like some sort of real-time bayesian analysis (which probably a better term as this idea will inevitably be probability-based).

Still, there will always be lag between the stimulus and response, however minute - if there wasn't then we wouldn't have any need of a model, as we'd simply use the instantaneous (for lack of a better word) mechanism to adjust based solely on the real-world conditions - there'd be no simulation involved. The philosophical arguement seems to be headline fodder, as it simply can't happen without holding time still.

Adaptive computing simulations are useful, and I'm pretty sure they're already used in common applications like automatic transmissions among other things. Another bottleneck for this type of thing has been measurement technology its economics (you wouldn't put a breadboard on a 4x4...)

RE: So, what exactly is the point?
By RobinBee on 3/10/2008 5:18:08 PM , Rating: 2
Mixed reality can:

- Let a robot man grab an egg with a »soft hand«.
- Let a robot car drive with a »soft foot«.
- Anything in a »soft« way. Meaning clever.

It will make machines much safer. And more dangerous.

Combat robots: A young female soldier can be far away from the battlefield, with feedback sensors on her body, feeling the fight being done with her (avatar) robot. That would make a young girl a very dangerous opponent, because of her much faster reactions compared to Ordinary Man, and even helped by mixed reality technology, a »model« that anticipates what is going on. Much better than that, is currently impossible.

