 A multi-national group of researchers is developing a robot for rescue missions employing artificial whiskers to help it navigate. The whiskers would be used to generate a 3D model of the environment to augment a visual system. To this end, they are studying exactly how the average rat is capable of using its whiskers to navigate and obtain information about its environment. |
 The U.S. rejected a proposal by Russia, and backed by China, to ban space-based weapons, claiming that the treaty was directed at them and still allows nations to use earth-based weapons to attack satellites. In 2006, President Bush signed an order asserting the U.S.'s right to space-based weapons and opposed participation in treaties or other measures that would curtail this right. Instead, they state that they are committed to peaceful use of space but would take whatever steps are required to protect their spacecraft and satellites. (See also this New Scientist article) |
 The International Intellectual Property Alliance lists Canada as joining Russia and China as one of the worst violators of US copyright law, and recommends that Canada be added to the US Trade Representative (USTR) Priority Watch List. According to this CBC article, countries on this list could be subject to trade sanctions in response to their actions. Canada is considered to be the only country in the 30-member Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development that has not yet modernized it's copyright law to meet the standards set out in the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) treaty that it had signed in 1996. Canada joins a list of 51 countries considered to be significant violators of U.S. copyright law, a factor that has lead some Canadian copyright experts to take this announcement with a grain of salt.Found on Slashdot. See also this Globe and Mail article Edit: Michael Geist writes an article on the Business Coalition for Balanced Copyright which does not support a Canadian version of the DCMA. |
 Canon has copyright a method for using the iris pattern of the photographer to watermark photos they take. The photographer would register their iris by looking at a dot through the viewfinder and pressing the shutter button. The iris information is then embedded as metadata in all images taken by that user. A camera with this feature would allow up to five registered users. Click on the image to read the patent details.Found on Slashdot. |
 New data collected by US scientists appears to bolster the US claim to up to 25% of an oil-rich disputed region in the Arctic. Data collected by the University of New Hampshire and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) extends the end of the continental shelf off Alaska by more than 185 kilometres. One sticking point is that the US chose not to be a signatory nation in the Law of the Sea treaty. The treaty confers national sovereignty to portions of the continental shelf that extend outward from the nation's shores, provided scientific evidence can back up that claim. |
 Canadians can have that junk mail eliminated from their mailbox by filling out a form and placing it in your mailbox. The form can be downloaded from www.reddotcampaign.ca which describes how you can have delivery of junk mail curtailed. So far, only 2% of Canadians have opted out of receiving junk mail. Canada Post officials are calling the campaign redundant because Canadians have known about the option to eliminate junk mail since it was introduced in 1997. Junk mail is defined as unaddressed advertising mail and represents one of Canada Post's fastest growing sources of revenue. Junk mail also includes municipal service notices such as snow removal and garbage pick-up schedules so careful consideration is required before opting out of receiving junk mail. |
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