Computer System Will Be an Angel on Your Shoulder, Whispering Advice, Step-by-Step Instruction

by Byron Spice,  Carnegie Mellon News

Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) researchers are developing Gabriel, a computer system that will give users instructions for a wide range of tasks. Gabriel uses a wearable vision system and leverages the cloud via a separate CMU innovation called a “cloudlet,” a data center that provides some of the computational power of the cloud and supports multiple mobile users.

CMU researchers, led by professor Mahadev Satyanarayanan, recently have developed proof-of-concept implementations that guide the assembly of LEGO models, teach freehand sketching, and coach Ping-Pong.

Satyanarayanan says Gabriel “gives you instructions when you need them, corrects you when you make a mistake and, most of the time, shuts up so it doesn’t bug you.” Recent advances in computer-vision technology make it possible for computers to recognize objects and understand the context of scenes. In addition, cognitive algorithms enable computers to direct tasks and cloud computing helps perform the intensive computations to run such algorithms.

The speed and agility necessary for these applications are made possible by cloudlets, which are situated close to users so they are just one wireless “hop” away, reducing the round-trip time of communications to just a few tens of milliseconds.

The researchers will be focusing on the fundamental technologies necessary to make wearable cognitive assistants, such as further improvements in computer vision and the incorporation of audio and location sensing. The initial applications will be for tasks that require specialized knowledge or skills, but ultimately cognitive assistance could be applied to virtually all facets of everyday life. Full article