Games At Work dot Biz

A 51st way to leave your lover: AI, iPod Hi-Fi hacks, @PetoiCamp ’s Nybble, @Snap ’s @nextmind acquisition, @LEGO_Group @StarWars dioramas and @JustBornInc ’s iconic Peeps

Andy, Michael and Michael start up this week’s episode in a musical way, beginning with an iPod Hi-Fi hack.  Michael M misremembers the iPod Hi-Fi as the B&W Zeppelin (see show notes below for the difference).  Then the team moves on to Petoi’s robot cat Nybble which uses an ultrasonic sensor to react to its environment.  Next up is Snap’s recent acquisition NextMind, a Paris-based brain-computer interface company who has developed a device to read neural activity in the cortex.  This intrigues the co-hosts with the combination of Snap’s Spectacles with AR and the ability to think about pressing a virtual button via the NextMind device.  

Then, the co-hosts consider a story about an AI agent that could do one of the hardest parts of relationship work for you – breaking up with a partner.  No need to discuss much, just fire up the AI, and set yourself free to paraphrase the song.

The team wraps up with some very cool LEGO Star Wars diorama builds – the trash compactor is a favorite, some Star Wars spinoff shows, and because it’s that time of year, Peeps!

What is your favorite Peep?  Let us know over at @gamesatwork_biz ! 

Thanks for listening!  

Selected Article Links

Cult of Mac article: iPod Hi-Fi hack adds support for … Nintendo 3DS?

C|Net article: Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin iPod speaker review

Definitely one for @GamesAtWork_Biz https://t.co/fNbkSQEhbx

— Ian Hughes/epredator (@epredator) March 23, 2022

GamesatWork.biz Episode 360 — Bark < Byte

Petoi Nybble Robot Cat

TechCrunch article: Snap buys mind-controlled headband maker, NextMind

Snap Newsroom: Welcome NextMind

Mel Magazine article: Breaking Up Is Hard, But What If You Had An A.I. Do It For You?

Cult of Mac article: Studio Display adds ‘Hey Siri’ to older Mac models, has 64GB of storage

CBR.com article: LEGO’s New Star Wars Sets Recreate Iconic Original Trilogy Scenes

SlashFilm article: The Never-Aired Star Wars Detours Would’ve Featured New Weird Al Songs

Mashed article: Survey Reveals America’s Favorite Peeps

Peepsfest 

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#ML in @MichaelRowe01’s project, @DeepMind’s Ithaca, @Meta’s BCI thought-to-text tech, mapping your home for VR gaming, movies made from games, “laser” enabled wayfinding for bicycles, ancient games newly available

Michael R describes his greeting card application, and the machine learning classification system he is building.  He would love to get more examples of greeting cards for his training data set, so if you have any, please share them!  

Staying on the machine learning theme, Michael and Michael marvel at the DeepMind model that augments historians in their efforts to fill in the gaps in ancient texts.  DeepMind has developed project Ithaca to restore and attribute ancient Greek inscriptions.  You can even give it a spin using the link in the show notes below.

Then, Michael and Michael turn to a brain-computer interface (BCI) example from Meta.  This system uses a polymer sheet with sensors that is laid onto the surface of the brain and deciphers the words that the person thinks via, wait for it… machine learning.  The co-hosts imagine where this technology could go, with Michael R recollecting the Emotiv headset and Michael M imagining the incorporation of micro expressions and feelings to allow the computer to tune and tailor the exchanges with the user.  

After a fun discussion on Amazon’s upcoming God of War game made into a movie, and an exploration of what games could (or should/should not) be made into movies, Michael M brings up Neil Stephenson’s example of reactors from Diamond Age.  A blending of movies and immersive games could become much more real in the not-to-distant future, with people following live-action entertainment via a Twitch-like observational manner, or an even more in-depth karaoke/acting style engagement directly with others.

A bright idea for bicycle way finding up next, with a product from Lasercube which uses lasers to project directions on the road right in front of the bicycle.  Michael and Michael wrap up this episode with a couple of game news stories, including how Windows will run on the Steam Deck, and the ancient game F-Zero coming to the Switch.

What would you like to do with a BCI?  What movies would you like to see made from a game?   Let us know over at @gamesatwork_biz ! 

Thanks for listening!  

Selected Article Links

I am working on an app, and I need pictures for greeting cards (all major holidays) how about dropping a few here please #greetingcards

— Michael Rowe (@michaelrowe01) March 12, 2022

The Verge article: DeepMind’s new AI model helps decipher, date and locate ancient inscriptions

DeepMind’s Ithaca

How brain-computer interfaces are turning thoughts into text https://t.co/JseAs0eRAi

— ZDNet (@ZDNet) March 11, 2022

ZDNet article: How brain-computer interfaces are turning thoughts into text

The Ghost Howls blog: Custom Home Mapper lets you map your house and play VR games in it!

Sketchup 

Kotaku article: Report: Amazon Wants To Make A God of War TV Show

Neil Stephenson’s The Diamond Age or, A Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer

Gizmodo article: Laser-Projected GPS Directions Should Be a Standard Feature on Every Bicycle

Lasercube

The Verge article: The Steam Deck now runs Windows

The Verge article: N64 classic F-Zero comes to Switch this week with online play

slither.io

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