Turing's Radiator

Saturday 10th January 2015

Global Game Jam (Does what it says on the tin)

Some gaming news for a change; we probably don’t do this sort of thing often enough on this blog … On Friday 23rd of January, students and staff across the world will be taking part in the two-day Global Game Jam (GGJ) event. GGJ’s goal is for tens of thousands of would-be developers to come together in a shared attempt to make thousands of computer games from start to finish within a strict 48-hour period. The event is designed to bring people together from all backgrounds and encourage creative thinking – resulting in the development of a variety of small but innovative and experimental games.

As a local illustration, once again, Glyndwr University is representing Wales in the 2015 GGJ and, by participating, its students and staff are hoping to help set another world record for the world’s largest ‘Jam’. Continue reading

Leave a comment | tags: Computer games, Game design, Game development, Game programming, Games jam | posted in Academia, Algorithms, Computing, Education, Software

Thursday 11th December 2014

The Travelling Santa Problem

By Vic Grout

Why is the annual Father Christmas world tour ‘NP-Complete’? What is ‘NP-Complete’ anyway? In fact, what’s ‘NP’ even? And why can only Santa do it? And what’s a ‘Decision Elf’? And just how awesome is Rudolph’s nose? What’s ‘Inspirational Magic’? This and so much more you didn’t know about the annual Christmas Eve ritual …

We all know the problem well enough … Father Christmas has to travel around the world, visiting all the good girls and boys, in a single night, and return to where he started at the North Pole. Sounds like a tall order! Can it be done?

4 Comments | tags: NP, NP-complete, Travelling Salesman Problem, TSP | posted in Algorithms, Computer Science, Mathematics, Philosophy

Monday 10th November 2014

The Ins and Outs of Robot Sex

By Vic Grout

This post is not for the faint-hearted or easily offended. With the First International Congress on Love and Sex with Robots taking place in Portugal this week, once again, many of the key issues relating to emerging technology extend well beyond the purely technological …

Without labouring on detail, there’s a certain type of spiritual confession, which takes place all over the world, in which past sexual conduct is a major aspect. Some crude advice often given to those (males, in this case) about to confess is along the lines of, “Don’t worry – I’ve heard it all before. In the end, there’s only five things you can really have sex with: a man, a woman, a child, an animal and a milk bottle.” So … in the AI simulated world of the future, does that taxonomy still work? Is an android sex-machine still a milk bottle or something more? Continue reading

6 Comments | tags: Cyber sex, Moralty and ethics, Robot sex, Sex industry, Sex legislation, Simulation | posted in Computing, Engineering, Hardware, Philosophy, Politics, Software

Friday 10th October 2014

Top 10 Dos and Don’ts of Google Glass

By Vic Grout

With Google Glass becoming more widely available, at least in its developmental form, here’s a list of top tips, learned from practical – and sometimes painful – experience …

OK, so you’ve given in to the hype and got your hands on a Google Glass set. Now, what are you going to do with it? Well, whether you just intend to have fun or you’ve serious development in mind, here are a few pointers for getting the best from the kit … and avoiding the worst:

FIVE DON’Ts

Never take the set of the box unless you’re fully clothed. (This has to be top of the list. With technology that can accidentally take a photo with a wink and post it online with a cough, you have to be very careful.)
Don’t tell anyone you’ve got one. (Well, not many people anyway. Apart from the increased risk of getting it pinched, you’ll be constantly pestered by people wanting to ‘have a go’. If you are prepared to loan it out, refer everyone to rule 1: remember, it’ll probably be your accounts things appear on.)
Don’t put it on in public if you’re the slightest bit shy. (Most people still haven’t seen Glass in the flesh so you’re bound to get a large number staring at you pretty quickly.)
Give Google Glass a miss if you’re remotely prone to headaches. (For some people, the problem seems to go away after a time but for many it doesn’t.)
Glass might not work for you if you’re short-sighted. (You may only see a blur. Somewhat surprisingly, long-sighted people don’t seem to have much of a problem.)