Friday, March 23, 2007

Human Computing - by Prof. Luis von Ahn

ABSTRACT Tasks like image recognition are trivial for humans, but continue to challenge even the most sophisticated computer programs. This talk introduces a paradigm for utilizing human processing power to solve problems that computers cannot yet solve. Traditional approaches to solving such problems focus on improving software. I advocate a novel approach: constructively channel human brainpower using computer games. For example, the ESP Game, described in this talk, is an enjoyable online game -- many people play over 40 hours a week -- and when people play, they help label images on the Web with descriptive keywords. These keywords can be used to significantly improve the accuracy of image search. People play the game not because they want to help, but because they enjoy it.

Read More...

if you're gonna do a "car driving fast with the top down" TV ad...

it's gotta be like this one...

Read More...

Firedoodle - Turn the web into a whiteboard!

Firedoodle - Turn the web into a whiteboard! And add intelligence to bookmarking while you're at it...

Welcome to Firedoodle

When you install Firedoodle, you add a whiteboard to every web page you visit using the Firefox Browser. This is great for reviews, jotting ideas, or just goofing off. You can also mark your place on looooong pages so if you need to leave and come back, you can easily pick up where you left off. It's easy to use and you can even save your highlights or placemarks if you register so they don't disappear when you close Firefox. You can find help here covering everything the add-on can do, or keep track of development on my personal blog.

Read More...

Flickr Multi Parameter Search

FlickrCash -- Fastr Flickr Searchr Savr Sharer - multi parameter search with negative keywords (e.g. "flowers -bees") - saved searches with rollback (to save your work selecting thumbnails) - shareable lightboxes with ratings (to enable clients to give feedback to designer) - we'll display the maximum number of thumbnails your screen can hold - you can email a lightbox link to a client so they can "heart" or "hate" your selections, like the following shareable lightbox Pastel Flowers - http://flickrcash.com... - here's a video demo of the basic features of the service - we're getting some pickup

Read More...

Computer-Generated Image Looks Exactly Like a Beautiful Woman

cg_image.jpg

It's hard to believe, but you're looking at computer-generated image of Korean actress Song Hye Kyo, created by Indonesian CG artist Max Edwin Wahyudi. To create this stunning shot, he used a combination of digital sculpting and design application Pixelogic Zbrush and animation modeling software Autodesk 3DS Max.

Now that's one remarkable piece of artwork—showing that the holy grail has been reached: computer-generated imagery of the human face that's indistinguishable from reality.

Making of the Korean Actress Song Hye Kyo [CG Arena]

Read More...