In online auctions of the future, it'll be bot vs bot vs. bot

Article Abstract:

The world of electronic commerce, with regard to the use of "intelligent" software Internet search programs or "bots," is about to change dramatically. A competition was held in July in Boston, Massachusetts to determine how effective bots, or autonomous agents, as they are known among software designers, were in finding and booking the best prices for round-trip airfare, hotel rooms and entertainment. Twenty teams of software engineers, programmers and researchers from six countries pitted their bot designs against each other. The rules were that each bot had to find the best deals in all catagories to be considered the "winner." Interestingly, it was determined that some of the bots were behaving like their human counterparts: bidding on prices based on what the "competition" was doing rather than the value of a particular service or item. Researchers say consumers and businesses will have to be prepared for the changes bots will bring to the electronic marketplace. With hundreds of millions of bots expected to roam the Internet in the near future, knowing what they can do is paramount. Dr. Peter Stone, head of the team from AT&T Labs, said his team's winning entry was more sophisticated and able to adapt to changing conditions, but cautioned against consumer reaction to possible pricing errors as the bots "learn" from their mistakes, or the "Liddite instinct" according to the AT&T researcher.

Internet, Equipment and supplies, Software development/engineering, Software engineering, Competitions, Computational complexity, Computational complexity (Machine theory), Self-organizing systems, Intelligent agent, Intelligent agents

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A wave of the hand may soon make a computer jump to obey

Article Abstract:

Research is being conducted by scientists like Dr. Jakub Segen of Bell Labs to develop computer systems and software that can swiftly understand and react to human hand gestures. Applications could range from home automation to military communications. Some, like Dr. Charles J. Cohen of Cybernet Systems Corp., are developing gesture-driven computer screens or kiosks. Experts predict that in the future the most advanced wireless interface between humans and computers will be optical.

Communications Equipment, Telecommunications Equipment, Communications Equipment Manufacturing, Telecommunications equipment industry, Telecommunications systems, Lucent Technologies Inc., LU, Software product development, Gesture, Scientific software, Segen, Jakub, Bianchi, Frederick, Cohen, Charles J.

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Roaming the world with a translator in your pocket

Article Abstract:

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon has developed a translation system for the Army where an American can converse with a native of Zagreb, Croatia via headsets plugged into their computers. English is translated, then produced into Croatian via a speech synthesizer; the Croatian responds and the process is reversed. The Army developed the process for their chaplains to use during wartime using a Croatian-English dictionary of up to 10,000 words. Many of the chaplains voices are in the database to account for flexibility around those with southern accents. The synthesizer uses phonemes, or representative sound units to make the words being pronounced.

Electronic computers, Product development, Croatia, Computer industry, Product Announcement, Product enhancement, United States. Army, Voice communications software, Translators (Computer programs), Program translators, Frederking, Robert E., Black, Alan W., Carnegie Mellon University

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