Mind-reading robot developed

Honda is working on some pretty nifty technology that can control robots by the power of thought alone, says Business Week.

At a Tokyo briefing this week, the company introduced reporters to a system that reads people's minds, and then allows those people to control a bipedal robot. According to the company, the robot, named Asimo, has a 90% success rate at recognising and then carrying out four commands.

Honda reassures doubters that its "non-invasive" technology needs no special training and doesn't require the installation of electrodes inside people's heads. To control Asimo using Honda's "Brain-Machine Interface", a willing human has to wear a special helmet that is connected to a large box of top-secret machinery.

US senators have drafted legislation that would give the federal government unprecedented authority over the nation's critical infrastructure, including the power to shut down or limit traffic on private networks during emergencies, reports The Register.

The Bill would also establish a broad set of cyber security standards that would be imposed on the government and private sector, including companies that provide software, IT work or other services to networks that are deemed to be critical infrastructure. It would also mandate licences for all individuals administering to strategically important networks.

The Bill was expected to be referred to a senate committee yesterday. Shortly after a working draft of the legislation began circulating, some industry groups lined up to criticise it for giving the government too much control over the Internet and the private companies that make it possible.

The chaos predicted by some as the Conficker worm updates itself have so far failed to materialise, says the BBC.

There had been concerns that the worm could trigger poisoned machines to access personal files, send spam, clog networks or crash sites.

Many of the infected machines are based in Asia where there have been no reports of unusual PC behaviour. Conficker is believed to have infected up to 15 million computers to date.

Wireless industry executives at the CTIA Wireless 2009 trade show, in Las Vegas, say that despite the economic meltdown, the cellphone industry remains strong. And they're confident it will be a driving force in pulling the nation out of the current financial crisis, reports CNet.

Verizon Communications CEO Ivan Seidenberg and Robert Dotson, CEO of T-Mobile USA, which is owned by Deutsche Telekom, took the stage yesterday, the opening day of the trade show, with a similar message.

These executives said that despite the economic troubles facing the nation and the world, the wireless market is thriving and innovation is flourishing.