Top 5 Coolest New Tech!

Researchers have created Cyborg Cockroaches by hijacking the cockroach brain and nervous systems using advanced computer chips

Recently researchers from North Carolina State have tried a new method wherein a battery operated micro controller is connected into the nervous system of a live cockroach.  Scientists built up a small back pack weighing around 3 grams which contained battery operated computer chip which was attached to the back of a cockroach. Then the chip was connected to the brain in such a way that would control the leg movements of the cockroach. The entire system is wireless and the operator can control movements of the cockroach as per their will and wish and the poor insect will not have any say as its nervous system has been hijacked. In their study, researchers found they could make the cockroach move using sensible stimulation of one or both sides of the nerve bundle. Researchers have named this cyborg cockroach as  “remotely controlled hybrid robotic system.” The back pack though small is still an additional burden which can be tiresome for the live cockroaches.

Cockroaches have been used earlier for cyborg treatment, wherein their antennae were stimulated. It was seen that stimulating the antennae would just trick the cockroach to think there is some obstacle ahead and change its direction, however its complete nervous system is not under operator’s control.  It was seen that a direct stimulation to the nervous system gave far better results. This is not the first time that a cockroach has been used, scientists have previously attached “Kinetic” to the insect for steering its direction, also in some other study the cockroach was made to survive on its fluid. Cockroaches are small in size and the “robot cockroaches” can be  used to reach places which human or a robot cannot reach.

Cyborg cockroaches could someday rescue disaster survivors of the nuclear power plants or collapsed mines. By attaching micro cameras and micro phones the rescuers can even communicate with the survivors who are  trapped beneath the debris. Having said that there are chances that these Cyborg cockroaches might also be used for eavesdropping, so be careful of such an insect if you are engaged in some important discussion!! However as of now researchers have converted the pest into most useful robot.

Lenovo Rapped for Preinstalling Spyware

Lenovo on Thursday came under fire for preinstalling spyware on some of its laptops.

The software, Superfish, uses the same techniques cybercriminals often employ to crack encrypted traffic from computers to the Internet.

"Superfish is purposely designed to bypass the security of HTTPS websites in a manner that would allow malware and attackers to also bypass the security provided by HTTPS," said Adam Ely, cofounder of Bluebox.

"Users are inherently at risk of being directed to malicious sites that appear valid," he told TechNewsWorld, "making it much easier for attackers to steal information and further infect computers with malware."

However, security concerns raised by malware fighters are misplaced, Lenovo insisted.

"We have thoroughly investigated this technology and do not find any evidence to substantiate security concerns," the company said in a statement provided to TechNewsWorld by spokesperson Brion Tingler.

No Tracking Involved

Superfish was installed on some consumer notebooks from September to December of last year to help customers potentially discover interesting products while shopping, Lenovo explained.

After receiving negative customer feedback, the company in January disabled the software on all Lenovo machines and stopped preloading it on new laptops.

"We will not preload this software in the future," the company said.

Although it has been reported that Superfish monitors user behavior, Lenovo refuted that claim.

"To be clear," it said in its statement, "Superfish technology is purely based on contextual/image and not behavioral. It does not profile nor monitor user behavior," the company maintained.

"It does not record user information. It does not know who the user is. Users are not tracked nor re-targeted. Every session is independent. Users are given a choice whether or not to use the product," Lenovo added.

Further, "the relationship with Superfish is not financially significant; our goal was to enhance the experience for users," the company said. "We recognize that the software did not meet that goal and have acted quickly and decisively."

Copycatting Bank Robbers

Preloading software that has more to do with marketing than utlilty is a common practice in the PC world, but what makes Superfish so disturbing to many in the security community is the program's disregard for SSL security. SSL is used to encrypt communication between computers and websites.

"Superfish allows every bit of communication with your bank, your email provider, or your healthcare provider to be inspected," said Kevin Bocek, vice president for security strategy and threat intelligence at Venafi.

"It uses the exact same technique that cybercriminals use for bank account takeovers," he told TechNewsWorld.

When SSL is used to encrypt a data stream from a device, a digital certificate is used to do it. Superfish circumvents that process by substituting its own certificates for the legitimate ones.

Communication isn't the only thing compromised by Superfish, noted Pavel Krcma, CTO of Sticky Password.

"It allows anything to be injected into the data stream from your computer," he told TechNewsWorld. "It can install a backdoor to your computer."

SSL Stymies Adware

Superfish can be removed from a computer through Windows uninstall, but that won't plug all security holes created by the program, Lenovo explained in one of its forums.

"If you uninstall the software, it doesn't remove the certificate created by it," Venafi's Bocek said. "That allows hackers to create malicious websites that will be trusted by those Lenovo computers."

As more and more websites start using SSL, advertisers will be looking at ways around it.

"Adware thrives on being able to monitor a user's activity when they visit websites," Bocek explained. "If I can't look inside that traffic because it's encrypted, that's a problem."

Just how pernicious Superfish is may lie in the eye of the beholder.

"When it comes to Superfish as an adware provider, they are not one of the biggest and most offensive companies out there," said Pat Belcher, director of security analytics at Invincea.

"They have a slick interface that allows for object-based searching based on photographs," he told TechNewsWorld, "and while they may collect personal information about you for eventual advertising purposes, there are lots of companies out there that do that and much, much, much worse.

Sony New Technology MUST WATCH

BMW fixes software glitch that exposed 2.2 million cars to theft

BERLIN: German automaker BMW says it has fixed a security flaw that made 2.2 million of its vehicles vulnerable to break-ins.

The company says the problem affected BMW, Mini and Rolls Royce models equipped with its ConnectedDrive technology, which allows drivers to access certain car functions with a smartphone.

German automobile club ADAC, which discovered the flaw last summer, says hackers could have used a fake cellphone base station to intercept network traffic from the car and lower the windows or open the doors. There are no reports such a break-in ever took place.

BMW spokeswoman Silke Brigl said today that hackers wouldn't have been able to start or stop the engine. Brigl said the problem has been fixed with an automatic update and customers don't need to take any action.

Bicycle with Semi-Enclosed Design

The new bicycle design by Torkel Dohmers has recently won the ‘commuter bike for masses’ 
design competition. The bicycle named “ThisWay” has been designed keeping in mind the safety and security of the rider from all sorts of situation. Care has been taken by designer to ensure that the rider is safe from weather as the concept has covered top thereby giving the concept an automobile like feel. Also the material used is light weight with the front and rear lights being operated by solar cell placed above the roof, space has been provided on the back for keeping luggage and other stuff. Quite a practical concept as the vehicle will be cost effective as the running cost is still lesser than that of the car.

Low Budget Laptop 

Hackers develop new ways to attack Android phones

Hacking experts on Wednesday demonstrated ways to attack Android smartphones using methods they said work on virtually all such devices in use today, despite recent efforts by search engine giant Google to boost protection. Experts showed off their prowess at the Black Hat hacking conference in Las Vegas, where some 6,500 corporate and government security technology workers gathered to learn about emerging threats to their networks.

"Google is making progress, but the authors of malicious software are moving forward," said Sean Schulte of Trustwave's SpiderLabs.

Google spokeswoman Gina Scigliano declined to comment on the security concerns or the new research.

Accuvant researcher Charlie Miller demonstrated a method for delivering malicious code to Android phones using a new Android feature known as near field communications.

"I can take over your phone," Miller said.

Near field communications allow users to share photos with friends, make payments or exchange other data by bringing Android phones within a few centimeters of similarly equipped devices such as another phone or a payment terminal.

Miller said he figured out how to create a device the size of a postage stamp that could be stuck in an inconspicuous place such as near a cash register at a restaurant. When an Android user walks by, the phone would get infected, said Miller.

He spent five years as a global network exploit analyst at the U.S. National Security Agency, where his tasks included breaking into foreign computer systems.

Wild west
Miller and another hacking expert, Georg Wicherski of CrowdStrike, have also infected an Android phone with a piece of malicious code that Wicherski unveiled in February.
That piece of software exploits a security flaw in the Android browser that was publicly disclosed by Google's Chrome browser development team, according to Wicherski.

Google has fixed the flaw in Chrome, which is frequently updated, so that most users are now protected, he said.

But Wicherski said Android users are still vulnerable because carriers and device manufacturers have not pushed those fixes or patches out to users.

Marc Maiffret, chief technology officer of the security firm BeyondTrust, said: "Google has added some great security features, but nobody has them."

Experts say iPhones and iPads don't face the same problem because Apple has been able to get carriers to push out security updates fairly quickly after they are released.

Two Trustwave researchers told attendees about a technique they discovered for evading Google's "Bouncer" technology for identifying malicious programs in its Google Play Store.

They created a text-message blocking application that uses a legitimate programming tool known as java script bridge. Java script bridge lets developers remotely add new features to a program without using the normal Android update process.

Companies including Facebook (FB.O) and LinkedIn (LNKD.N) use java script bridge for legitimate purposes, according to Trustwave, but it could also be exploited maliciously.

To prove their point, they loaded malicious code onto one of their phones and remotely gained control of the browser. Once they did that, they could force it to download more code and grant them total control.

"Hopefully Google can solve the problem quickly," said Nicholas Percoco, senior vice president of Trustwave's SpiderLabs. "For now, Android is the Wild West."

Google brings 3D maps to iPad, iPhone

While Apple is getting ready to replace Google Maps with its own native mapping app on iOS, Google is beefing up its Google Earth app on the platform adding 3D maps and a handy tour guide feature. Owners of the new iPad, the iPad 2 and the iPhone 4S can now virtually fly through agrowing list of cities including Boston, Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Cruz, San Francisco and Rome in three dimensions on Google Earth.“We’ll keep building and releasing 3D imagery for new locations as fast as we can and by the end of the year we aim to have coverage for metropolitan areas with a combined population of 300 million people,” said Peter Birch, Google Earth Product Manager in a post on Google’s Lat Long blog.

Google’s recently introduced tour guide feature is now available for iOS, enabling iDevice owners to discover and explore popular sites in more than 110 countries and regions.

“We’ve put together short tours of thousands of famous places and historical sites across the globe so it’s easier than ever to discover amazing places,” said Birch. “Just pull up the tab at the bottom of the screen to open the tour guide. Each image highlights a tours or place of interest in the area you are looking. Click on an item and you will be flown there. As you fly in and around the sites, snippets from Wikipedia provide additional information about the location. It’s like having a local expert right beside you!”

Google released a similar update to its Google Earth app for Android last month.

Micromax Funbook

In a market flooded with Android tablets, with increasingly competitive pricing, Micromax announced Funbook – an Android 4.0 tablet focused for 10-21 years olds with focus on education and entertainment, the two tenants the micromax claims are the primary for this age group.
SpecificationsMicromaxFunbook has decent specifications under the hood. A Dual Mali 1.22 GHz Cortex A8 processor ensures smoother processing to run applications and multi-task and powers the latest version of Android for smartphones and tablets - Ice Cream Sandwich. The 7-inch tablet has a 17.78cm multi-touch capacitive display. The device allows HD video playback at 1080p and the HDMI output allows you to play your desired media content on external display at home. The 4GB internal storage can be expanded up to 32 GB with a memory card.
Now for the negatives, although justifiable for the pricing and target audience it focusses on. The tablet includes a modest 2800 mAh battery. Interestingly, the tablet does not feature a rear camera, although includes a front-facing VGA camera for video calls et al.There is no SIM slot, so the only Internet connectivity is via WiFi or via the bundled Tata Photon USB dongle to provide additional 3G connectivity with free 1 GB of additional downloads for the first 2 months.
The device comes in two colors – Suave Silver and Brilliant Black – and the slim and sleek design with only a centimeter of thickness, is not only attractive, but also easier to carry and work in both landscape and portrait modes.
Final TakeFor just Rs. 6499, the MicromaxFunbook seamlessly brings everything from study material to games to a single platform packaged in a neat device that you can carry anywhere. While there are several other alternatives in the market at a sub-10K pricing, MicromaxFunbook impresses the most. With useful bundled content and well thought-out hardware compromises to lower the price, it is a highly recommended device for your school going kid or the Web surfing friend.
MicromaxFunbook can be purchased online from micromaxfunbook.com while Micromax works on an exhaustive distribution plan so that the device would be available at stores in both top-tier and middle-tier cities through the physical retail ecosystem as well.

Halo 4 heralds limited edition Xbox 360

For those who would be partial to picking up a new Xbox 360 in celebration of Halo 4's November launch, there's just such the thing in production, as Microsoft has a Limited Edition console bundle up its sleeve. The bundle, which will carry a recommended price of $399 (€399 /) Xbox 360 wrapped in Halo 4 detailing, as well as two controllers, a headset, a copy of the game, plus tokens for in-game items and avatar marketplace trinkets.Wireless controllers, whose Guide buttons glow blue like the bundle's pack-in versions, are to be sold separately for $59 (€49 / £39).Halo 3 and Halo Reach themed versions of the Xbox 360 accompanied the launch of each game, as did models commemorating Resident Evil 5, Modern Warfare 2, Gears of War 3 and Final Fantasy XIII and Kinect Star Wars among others.

Outside of the Metal Gear Solid 4 run, Sony has tended to limit special edition PlayStation 3s -- such as the Yakuza, Final Fantasy, One Piece and Ni no Kuni models -- to Japan.

Tomorrow's drivers may owe their relaxed rides to a robot named RUTH.

The robot arm uses its special sense of touch to act like a human buyer poking and prodding Ford cars, so that engineers can replicate the same sense of comfort for riders in each new generation of cars.

The Ford robot has six joints that allow it to turn knobs and push buttons inside of vehicles like a choosy customer.

It can also provide exact measurements of softness, roughness, hardness and even temperature for maximum human comfort — a more sure method than just relying on surveys from human testers.

"Thanks to the data provided by RUTH, we can be sure the customer who buys a car like Fusion will experience the same type of quality they might feel if they were to buy a high-end luxury car ," said Eileen Franko, Ford craftsmanship supervisor. "I might be biased, but RUTH isn't."

The Robotized Unit for Tactility and Haptics (RUTH) deployed in North America to help Ford design its 2013 Fusion car earlier this year. It previously also made its debut in Europe.

Having such a touchy-feely robot helps human engineers
feel out vehicle interiors much more effectively, said Luke Robinson, Ford metrologist and RUTH technician.

Engineers previously only used handheld measuring tools that didn't give a good sense of the comfort inside vehicles.

An "engineer outside of our department might even have pushed a dictionary and a pop can into an armrest to measure its resistance and softness," Robinson said. "But now engineers can contact us and we can put RUTH into a vehicle; within a few hours, we can give them tangible data."

"With years of Ford customer research to tell us where to start," Robinson added, "we can use RUTH to measure exactly what the majority of customers want."

The cars customers buy may increasingly come to resemble robots themselves. Smart cars already have features such as robot co-pilots that can take the wheel in certain situations — technologies paving the way for commercial self-driving cars.

BMW The Ultimate 3

The ULTIMAT3 comes with Rear wheel drive’, which provides optimum agility and ma­neuverability to your car.The drive configuration enables an ideal weight distribution across the entire chassis. Thus creating perfect transmission of power and traction on to the road. Know more at http://bit.ly/theUltimat3

Android team takes developers to school with Android Training program

Dust off your Trapper Keeper and strap on those brand new sneakers, because Android  school is now in session. Yesterday, the Android Developers team announced the launch of Android Training -- a set of online classes designed to help users create better apps. The tutorials, available for free, provide aspiring devs with step-by-step instructions and tips on how to implement effective navigation tools, optimize battery life and solve other "common Android development problems." At the moment, the program is divided into 11 sections with a total of 34 individual lessons, though the team plans to expand its offerings "over the coming months." Try it out for yourself at the source link below.
Android team takes developers to school with Android Training program

Aakash tablet goes on sale for Rs 2500 online

DataWind, the Canadian company that is manufacturing Aakash, has started the online booking and pre booking of the much anticipated low cost Android tablet. Online booking is for students' version of the tablet and pre booking is for UbiSlate 7, the upgraded version of Aakash.


Students' version of Aakash will be available for Rs 2,500 and will be delivered in seven days. The commercial version, UbiSlate 7 is priced at Rs 2,999. The payment mode for both the tablets is cash on delivery.


The commercial version of Aakash tablet will be powered by Android 2.3 and will have a resistive touchscreen, Cortex A8-700 MHz processor and graphics accelerator HD video processor, 256 MB of RAM and 2 GB of internal memory.


Other specifications are a one standard USB port, 3.5 mm audio jack, a 7 inch display with 800 x 480 pixel resolution, resistive touchscreen, GPRS and WiFi support.


"The improved version of Aakash tablet will be available in retail outlets by January end," a spokesperson of DataWind told The Mobile Indian.


The tablet was to be made available in retail stores by the end of November. "The delay in the availability of the tablet has been due to upgradation in the tablet and some unforeseen delay in manufacturing," the spokesperson said.


To book and prebook student and commercial versions respectively of Aakash tablet, users have to visit DataWind's website and fill up the required form. In case of booking they will get a booking ID and a message which will state, "You will shortly receive an email confirmation from our support team with further details."


In case of pre booking users will get a confirmation message which will state, "The commercial version of the Akash UbiSlate 7 would be launched in early weeks of December. After the commercial launch we would get in touch with you to deliver your device as soon possible."


As a matter of fact, the confirmation message a reader will see is factually incorrect as The mobile Indian had reported earlier the Aakash tablet will be available only by January end.


Datawind has however not cleared how it is going to establish the identity of students who will book the cheapest version of Aakash tablet. When The Mobile Indian contacted spokesperson of Datwind he said, "Anyone can book the student version of Aakash tablet."


This defeats the purpose of providing students an affordable tablet as now anyone can place an order to get the tablet. Interestingly, now it has been revealed that the government has procured only 10,000 Aakash tablets for distribution in schools and colleges of the initial 1 lakh proposed.


It looks like the company was in a hurry to start the online booking process and has not done not proper homework before staring it.

MIT builds camera that can capture at the speed of light (video)

A team from the MIT  media lab has created a camera with a "shutter speed" of one trillion exposures per second -- enabling it to record light itself traveling from one point to another. Using a heavily modified Streak Tube (which is normally used to intensify photons into electron streams), the team could snap a single image of a laser as it passed through a soda bottle. In order to create the slow-motion film in the video we've got after the break, the team had to replicate the experiment hundreds of times. The stop-motion footage shows how light bounces through the bottle, collecting inside the opaque cap before dispersing. The revolutionary snapper may have a fast shutter but the long time it takes to process the images have earned it the nickname of the "the world's slowest fastest camera."

Microsoft launches ExcelMashup.com, looks to make spreadsheets both hip and exciting

Most of our day jobs aren't nearly as amusing as life at Wernham Hogg and Excel  doesn't make things any more exciting. But, if you're looking to spice up your spreadsheets, Microsoft's ExcelMashup.com may be just what you've been waiting for. The site lets you create apps of your very own using Redmond's various products. For example, you can combine some Excel JavaScript, a workbook stored on SkyDrive  and a little HTML to create apps that run in a browser. Add a dash of Bing  Maps and you've got a Destination Explorer! For the uninitiated, there are tutorials and for the showoffs a shared code space. There's even nifty Interactive Code Snippets for trying out bits of script before adding them to your own project. Want to make the cute girl in reception notice you? Coding your own apps in Excel won't help, but it'll probably land you in less trouble than putting Gareth's stapler in Jello again.

Sony A77 reviewed: A 24.3 megapixel game-changer?

It's been a long time coming, but the patience has paid off with Sony's A77 finally getting its first pro review. Sure, the $1,400 cost of entry (body only) will weigh heavily on even the most enthusiastic cameraman conscious. But, what's a few hundred dollars when it comes to a camera that Popular Photography says has "radically changed the world of DSLRs"? It seems only the rival Canon 7D holds a candle to this would-be king, besting Sony's latest when it comes to noise and performance at higher ISOs. However, the A77 wins on its all-around charm, with a 24.3 megapixel Exmor APS-C sensor, articulated LCD screen, world-first OLED EVF and impressive video-shooting chops. Video-wise, that top dollar gets you a high-end performance of 60fps at 1920 x 1080 with the fast phase-detection auto-focus we've also seen on its predecessors, the Sony A55 and A33.

Neuroimaging Of Brain Shows Who Spoke To A Person And What Was Said

Scientists from Maastricht University have developed a method to look into the brain of a person and read out who has spoken to him or her and what was said. With the help of neuroimaging and data mining techniques the researchers mapped the brain activity associated with the recognition of speech sounds and voices.

 In their Science article "'Who' is Saying 'What'? Brain-Based Decoding of Human Voice and Speech," the four authors demonstrate that speech sounds and voices can be identified by means of a unique 'neural fingerprint' in the listener's brain. In the future this new knowledge could be used to improve computer systems for automatic speech and speaker recognition.

Seven study subjects listened to three different speech sounds (the vowels /a/, /i/ and /u/), spoken by three different people, while their brain activity was mapped using neuroimaging techniques (fMRI). With the help of data mining methods the researchers developed an algorithm to translate this brain activity into unique patterns that determine the identity of a speech sound or a voice. The various acoustic characteristics of vocal cord vibrations (neural patterns) were found to determine the brain activity.

Just like real fingerprints, these neural patterns are both unique and specific: the neural fingerprint of a speech sound does not change if uttered by somebody else and a speaker's fingerprint remains the same, even if this person says something different.

Moreover, this study revealed that part of the complex sound-decoding process takes place in areas of the brain previously just associated with the early stages of sound processing. Existing neurocognitive models assume that processing sounds actively involves different regions of the brain according to a certain hierarchy: after a simple processing in the auditory cortex the more complex analysis (speech sounds into words) takes place in specialised regions of the brain. However, the findings from this study imply a less hierarchal processing of speech that is spread out more across the brain.

The research was partly funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO): Two of the four authors, Elia Formisano and Milene Bonte carried out their research with an NWO grant (Vidi and Veni). The data mining methods were developed during the PhD research of Federico De Martino (doctoral thesis defended at Maastricht University

Scientists Developing Robotic Hand of the Future

 Researchers at Carlos III University of Madrid's (UC3M) Robotics lab are participating in the international research project known as HANDLE. The objective of the project is to create a robotic hand that can reproduce the abilities and movements of a human hand in order to achieve the optimal manipulation of objects.

HANDLE is a large scale "Integrated Project" that is part of the Seventh European Framework Programme FP7; Spain is a participant in the project, whose goal is to reach an understanding of how humans manipulate objects in order to replicate its grasping and movement abilities in an artificial, anthropomorphic articulated hand, thus endowing it with greater autonomy and producing natural and effective movements. "In addition to the desired technological advances, we are working with basic aspects of multidisciplinary research in order to give the robotic hand system advanced perception capabilities, high level information control and elements of intelligence that would allow it to recognize objects and the context of actions," explains the head researcher on the UC3M team working on this project, Mohamed Abderrahim, of the Madrid university's Department of Systems Engineering and Automation.

His team has already gotten very good results, in his opinion, in the areas of visual perception, and cinematic and dynamic systems, which allow the system to recognize an object in its surroundings and pass the information on to the robotic hand's planning and movement system.

The robotic hand that these researchers are working with is mostly made up of numerous high precision pieces of mechanized aluminum and plastic, as well as sensor and movement systems. In all, it has 20 actuators and can make 24 movements, the same as a human hand. Its size is also the same as that of an average adult male's hand and it weighs approximately 4 kilograms. According to the partner in the project who manufactures the hand, the approximate cost of the version that is currently in development at UC3M comes to about 115,000 euros.

The problems involved in imitating a hand

When trying to recreate the movements of a human hand with a robotic system, there are several complex problems that must be resolved. In the first place, there is a lack of space. This is because "a human hand is incredibly complete, which makes it a challenge to try to put all of the necessary pieces into the robotic hand and to integrate all of the actuators that allow for mobility similar to that of a human hand," comments Professor Mohamed Abderrahim. Second, another problem is that there are currently no sensors on the market that are small enough to be integrated into the device so that it can have sensitivity similar to that of a human hand and, thus, be able to make precise movements. Finally, although the researchers may manage to make a perfect robot from the mechanical and sensorial point of view, without intelligence elements the device will not be able to function autonomously nor adapt its movements and control to the characteristics of the objects, such as their geometry, texture, weight or use.

"It is not the same to take hold of a screwdriver to pass it to someone, or to put it away, as it is to use it, because in the last situation, it has to be reoriented in the hand until it is in the right position to be used. This position has to be decided by the intelligence part of the robotic hand," the researchers say. "A robotic hand that is able to perform this seemingly simple task autonomously," they say "only exists in science fiction movies." "My personal estimation is that it will take around 15 years of research into these areas to build a robotic hand that is able to perform certain complex tasks with a level of precision, autonomy and dexterity that is similar to that of a human hand," predicts Professor Abderrahim.

The research carried out by the HANDLE project's partners has brought about results that are very interesting in the area of visual perception, motion planning, new sensors, acquisition of motor skills using artificial intelligence techniques, etc. Nevertheless, important challenges still remain when it comes to integrating the results obtained by all of the partners into a single system, which will be the result of the next two years of work.

HANDLE (Developmental pathway towards autonomy and dexterity in robot in-hand manipulation) is a Large Scale "Integrated Project" funded by the European Union within The Seventh Framework Programme FP7, in which nine European institutions, coordinated by the Pierre and Marie Curie University of Paris (France), participate.