David Black ? Gov. Nikki Haley?s choice to lead the S.C. Department of Insurance (SCDOI) ? abruptly resigned his post on Wednesday.
A resident of Greenville, S.C., Black was tapped by Haley to lead the agency less than a year ago. The former president and chief executive officer of Liberty Life Insurance, Black did not say what prompted his decision to step down ? only that it was reached last week.
?After reflection, I decided last week it would be best for me to resign as Director of the Agency,? Black wrote in an email to his employees.
?Since I have enjoyed this work and your friendship, this was not an easy decision,? Black continued. ?I have been touched from the very beginning by your hospitality and inspired by your hard work and dedication to making improvements within the Department for the public benefit. I know you?re proud of how much has been accomplished on every front in 2011.?
A copy of Black?s email was forwarded to a state lawmaker, who in turn provided it to FITS.
Black did not immediately respond to our request for comment. As is its custom, Haley?s office refused to respond to our request for comment.
?We?re thrilled that David Black has agreed to serve at the Department of Insurance,? Haley said in nominating Black on January 20. ?He understands that (SCDOI) can and should be an economic development agency, and that the agency must be as customer friendly and as pro-business as possible.?
?I?m really excited to accept this appointment,? Black said at the time. ?I look forward to working with the whole team.?
What changed in eleven months?
We?re not sure yet ? but we?re digging.
Early speculation centers on Black?s resignation having something to do with the brewing scandal over Haley?s rigged health care exchange committee ? which wasted money from a $1 million Obamacare grant to ?study? the feasibility of implementing a statewide exchange.
Emails published months later revealed that Haley?s administration predetermined the outcome of the hearing ? which has prompted at least one U.S. Senator to call for a federal investigation.
?It was certainly not the intent for those taxpayer funds to be distributed for a predetermined and meaningless outcome,? U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin said of Haley?s health care exchange panel. ?Spending taxpayer funds to construct an ideologically-motivated fa?ade not only violates Congress?s intent, but also the public?s trust in government.?
Compounding the problem is the fact that Haley?s administration failed to produce the emails when they were requested by a mainstream media outlet under the state?s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
Black is not the first high-profile member of Haley?s administration to jump ship.
George Schroeder ? who was appointed Inspector General in March ? lasted just six weeks. Schroeder?s resignation was never publicly announced ? with his departure having to be belatedly confirmed by the Associated Press over a month after the fact.
In July, Eleanor Kitzman ? Haley?s choice to lead the quasi-legislative, quasi-executive S.C. Budget and Control Board (SCBCB) ? stepped down to become Commissioner of Insurance in Texas. She was on the job just six months. The following month, Haley?s deputy chief of staff Trey Walker resigned his post.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida | Fri Dec 30, 2011 2:41pm EST
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Two robotic NASA probes are due to arrive at the moon this weekend to resolve a long-standing mystery of what is inside Earth's natural satellite and how it got there.
The 667-pound (303-kg) craft of the U.S. space agency's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, mission have been flying to the moon since their joint launch in September.
GRAIL A is due to begin a 40-minute braking maneuver to put itself into orbit around the moon at 4:21 p.m. ET on Saturday, with GRAIL B following suit 25 hours later. Both are needed for the intricate gravity-mapping mission scheduled to begin in March.
"We won't be celebrating a lot until after we get GRAIL B into orbit late afternoon on New Year's Day," said project manager David Lehman with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
Once in position 34 miles above the moon's surface, the GRAIL probes will fly in a line, speeding up and slowing down in response to minute gravitational tugs.
By constantly measuring changes in the distance between the two craft, scientists can create a gravity map of the moon. The changes in speed will be as subtle as a fraction of a micron per second. A micron is about the width of a red blood cell.
The data will be used to model the moon's interior, a key piece of information still missing despite more than 100 previous missions to the moon.
Scientists believe the moon formed when an object about the size of Mars smashed into Earth shortly after the formation of the solar system about 4.5 billion years ago.
"We understand little really of how this formation happened and how it cooled off after the violent event," said GRAIL lead scientist Maria Zuber with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
One long-standing puzzle is why the far side of the moon is so different from the side that permanently faces Earth. The near side is filled with large, dark plains formed by ancient volcanic eruptions but the far side is virtually all highlands.
"It seems that the answer is not on the surface," Zuber said. "We think the answer is locked in the interior."
Zuber and the team have 82 days to make their measurements. If the solar-powered probes, built by Lockheed Martin Corp, survive beyond the next lunar eclipse in June, the $496 million mission could be extended for a detailed mapping survey from as close as 15.5 miles above the moon's surface.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? When director David Fincher decided to make a film of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," Hollywood was abuzz with who might play the starring role of abused, vengeance-seeking computer hacker Lisbeth Salander.
Would it be an A-list actress like Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman, or someone completely unknown to audiences?
For Fincher, the Oscar nominated director of "The Social Network," the answer was never clear cut. Little did he know that his eventual choice, Rooney Mara, was under his nose the whole time. Fincher had cast her as the girlfriend of Facebook billionaire Mark Zuckerberg in "Social Network."
"Dragon Tattoo" opens across the United States on Wednesday. It is based on Swedish author Stieg Larsson's first novel in his mega-popular Millennium Trilogy series, and Fincher's film follows a Swedish movie version of the book.
To some, it may seem that Mara had a Hollywood "in" to play the troubled Salander, who helps a disgraced investigative journalist (Daniel Craig) solve a case. However, the 26-year old actress told Reuters it was quite the opposite.
"I think he was happy with the work I did in 'Social Network,' but because of that work, I think he thought I wasn't quite right for the part" of Salander, she said.
Her role in "Social Network" was that of a polished college girl, and she hadn't tackled any major starring roles in the movies. Moreover, her upbringing in a large and well-to-do family was far removed from Salander's dark and lonely life.
Admittedly, Fincher told Reuters Mara's casting was "a slow realization," but ultimately he found her to be an "emotional hanger" who wore the character like a suit of clothes.
Salander, with her dramatic storyline and elaborate look that includes numerous piercings, tattoos and closely cropped hair, is no doubt a Hollywood breakout role for Mara. Last week, she was nominated for her first Golden Globe Award in the best dramatic actress category.
Yet Mara shies from calling "Dragon Tattoo" her big break.
"I think everything I've ever done has led me to the next thing, so I can't say that I have one thing that I feel is a bigger break than the rest," she said.
CAREER TURNING POINT
Still, the Salander role is the most high-profile part Mara has ever tackled, and it may be the most demanding, too.
It required her to learn to ride a motorcycle and skateboard, and she underwent a physical transformation when she chopped off her long hair, colored it black, bleached her eyebrows and underwent numerous piercings all over her body.
In addition to the physicality of the role, there was just as much -- if not more -- emotional trauma to display including scenes of Salander being assaulted by her legal guardian.
But there is a payoff. The actress now finds herself in the enviable position of being on numerous filmmaker lists for major studio projects. She's already committed to star opposite Ryan Gosling and Christian Bale in filmmaker Terrence Malick's "Lawless" that will shoot next year.
Her Hollywood career is a far cry from the sports world in which her family is steeped. Her great-grandfathers Art Rooney and Tim Mara founded professional football's Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants, respectively. Both her uncle and father work for the Giants.
Mara says her family's sports background does not inform who she is today, even though she dropped her first name Patricia in favor of her middle name Rooney. But she recognizes that her family and its history in football is unique.
"I certainly appreciate it very much. I grew up surrounded by people who knew what they loved to do and worked very hard at that, so that was definitely instilled in me," she said.
Mara recalled a childhood of going to the theater and watching old movies, more than football. She moved to Los Angeles after her big sister, actress Kate Mara ("127 Hours"), was already living and working there.
Small parts came her way in guest-starring roles on TV's "Law & Order: Special Victim's Unit" and "E.R." Film roles included "Youth In Revolt" with Michael Cera, "Tanner Hall," and "A Nightmare on Elm Street" with Jackie Earle Haley."
Twenty-five days after Fincher turned in the finished version of "Social Network," he and Mara flew to Sweden to start shooting "Dragon Tattoo."
"This movie, especially, I feel like I learned so much from it," Mara said. "First of all, it shot for so much longer than anything I've ever worked on. And in between all the actors and the things I learned from David, I've grown so much."
Though it's too early to tell if the movie's producers plan on shooting the next two installments of the film, the actress already is mentally on board.
"I look very much forward to it," she said with certainty.
LONDON (Reuters) ? Easier European bank-to-bank lending rates and hopes a batch of U.S. data would confirm an improving economic picture, lifted world stocks and the euro on Thursday, but concerns that Europe's debt crisis could intensify kept a lid on the rises.
U.S. stock index futures also pointed to a higher open on Wall Street with the key S&P 500 index on track to record its third straight day of gains.
The final reading on third-quarter GDP, which is expected to confirm a 2.0 percent annualized pace of growth, will be key to sentiment. Investors will also be watching weekly jobless claims, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers and the November report on leading economic indicators from the Conference Board.
In Europe, bank stocks were among the top gainers on sharemarkets after Wednesday's first-ever three-year tender by the European Central Bank drew bids for a record 489 billion euros ($638 billion) for the low interest rate loans from 523 banks, well above the 310 billion euro take-up forecast.
The scale of the funding operation initially exacerbated concerns about the health of the financial system appeared to be easing pressure on the banks, though concerns remain that it offers no fundamental fix for the region's debt problems.
"In the longer-term the liquidity provided yesterday is not going to solve the debt crisis, it is not going to help southern European countries with their problems in getting control of their public debt," said Niels Christensen, FX strategist at Nordea.
Key euro zone bank-to-bank lending rates fell in response to the lending operation.
Three-month Euribor rates, traditionally the main gauge of unsecured interbank euro lending, fell to 1.410 percent from 1.416 percent on the prospect of a flood of new cash entering the financial system. Longer-term rates also fell.
However, U.S. dollar funding costs for euro zone banks rose further as the supply of greenbacks to money markets remained scarce, but this was seen as partly due to year-end pressures.
"Overall, we view the large uptake (at the ECB tender) as positive for the European banks. Leaving aside whether it is good policy or not, it removes funding risk, adds to profits, and also adds to retained earnings and capital," Deutsche Bank analysts wrote in a note.
The euro was up just 0.1 percent to $1.3060 after hitting a session high of $1.3120 in early trade. The single currency is holding steady above an 11-month low of $1.2945 hit last week with traders seeing major support around $1.30, the December 14 low.
In the share market the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index gained around 1.1 percent but is still set to end the year with over a 12 percent loss. The Stoxx Europe 600 bank index (.SX7P) was up 1.5 percent and has gained over 10 percent in the past month.
Miners and oils, which perform well when economic growth is strong, were also among the main movers, with the STOXX Europe 600 Basic Resources index (.SXPP) and the STOXX Europe 600 Oil & Gas index (.SXEP) both up 1.9 percent.
Global stocks, as measured by MSCI world equity index (.MIWD00000PUS) edged up 0.25 percent, on track for a fall of about 12 percent in 2011.
Investors are winding down for year-end and trading volumes are set to dwindle but the threat of mass credit ratings downgrades for the euro zone countries is still hanging over the market.
Euro zone debt markets are expected to come under fresh pressure with some 230 billion euros of bank bonds, up to 300 billion in government bonds, and more than 200 billion euros in collateralized debt all maturing in the first quarter of 2012.
ITALIAN CONFIDENCE VOTE
In debt markets attention was focused on Italy where a vote of confidence is due in the upper house on Prime Minister Mario Monti's government to seal approval of a 33-billion euro ($43 billion) austerity package.
The package passed in the lower house last week and is expected to succeed just as easily in the upper house. Were Monti to lose the vote, his government would collapse.
Italian 10-year bond yields were little changed ahead of the vote at around 6.8 percent after the ECB was forced to step back into the secondary market on Wednesday as yields jumped higher in the wake of the ECB's loan tender.
Commodities markets were muted in thinning pre-holiday trade, with London Metal Exchange copper up about 0.9 percent at $7,520 a ton and Brent crude oil gained around 0.3 percent to around $108.03 a barrel.
(Additional reporting by Nia Williams and Blaise Robinson; Editing by Toby Chopra, Ron Askew)
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's $410 billion sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp. CIC.UL is set to receive additional funding of up to $50 billion, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Friday.
The new funding comes along with an agreement between relevant Chinese government agencies to give CIC new money to manage every year, the sources said.
The agreement would lay out a long-term framework under which CIC would be allocated money to manage from China's foreign exchange reserves, and would also chart the future of its domestic investment arm Central Huijin Investment, sources said.
"The final plan for capital injection will be unveiled shortly and it could be $50 billion," a source close to the matter said.
CIC declined to comment.
The cash injection follows in the wake of plans -- reported by Reuters earlier this month -- to create a new $300 billion vehicle that would be affiliated with China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), the part of the central bank in charge of the daily management of China's $3.2 trillion in foreign exchange reserves.
The additional funding would give succor to CIC, which operates independently of the central bank, which said in March that it had fully invested all its cash and would like the government to allocate it more money.
Chinese media have reported since late 2009 that CIC was seeking $100-$200 billion in new funding, but there have been no subsequent reports of progress.
CIC was set up in 2007 with the aim of earning higher returns for a slice of China's $3.2 trillion foreign exchange reserves, the largest in the world.
(Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Nick Edwards)
If you're rocking and rolling one of these phones, devs now have some source to build new kick-ass goodies. Be on the lookout for them, and show them some love when it happens -- this sort of thing can be pretty rough on the nerves to do! If you're one of those developers and itching to get at it, hit the link to HTC-Dev and grab what you need.
(Reuters) ? Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke wrote to lawmakers on Tuesday defending Fed lending programs, saying reporting about those programs contained serious flaws.
"These articles ... have contained a variety of egregious errors and mistakes," Bernanke said in a letter to the chairs of the U.S. Senate Banking and House of Representatives Financial Services committees.
Recent press reports misrepresented Fed lending during the 2007-2009 financial crisis, the Fed chairman said.
Bloomberg Markets Magazine last month published an article called "Secret Fed Loans Gave Banks $13 Billion Undisclosed to Congress." Banks reaped an estimated $13 billion of income as a result of taking emergency loans from the central bank, Bloomberg said.
(Reporting By Mark Felsenthal; Editing by James Dalgleish)
Children exposed to family violence show the same pattern of activity in their brains as soldiers exposed to combat, new research has shown.
In the first functional MRI brain scan study to investigate the impact of physical abuse and domestic violence on children, scientists at UCL in collaboration with the Anna Freud Centre, found that exposure to family violence was associated with increased brain activity in two specific brain areas (the anterior insula and the amygdala) when children viewed pictures of angry faces.
Previous fMRI studies that scanned the brains of soldiers exposed to violent combat situations have shown the same pattern of heightened activation in these two areas of the brain, which are associated with threat detection. The authors suggest that both maltreated children and soldiers may have adapted to be 'hyper-aware' of danger in their environment.
However, the anterior insula and amygdala are also areas of the brain implicated in anxiety disorders. Neural adaptation in these regions may help explain why children exposed to family violence are at greater risk of developing anxiety problems later in life.
Dr Eamon McCrory, lead author from the UCL Division of Psychology and Language Sciences and the Anna Freud Centre, said: "We are only now beginning to understand how child abuse influences functioning of the brain's emotional systems. This research is important because it provides our first clues as to how regions in the child's brain may adapt to early experiences of abuse in the home".
Dr McCrory added: "All the children studied were healthy and none were suffering from a mental health problem. What we have shown is that exposure to family violence is associated with altered brain functioning in the absence of psychiatric symptoms and that these alterations may represent an underlying neural risk factor. We suggest these changes may be adaptive for the child in the short term but may increase longer term risk".
In the study, which is published in the journal Current Biology, 43 children had their brains scanned using an fMRI scanner. 20 children who had been exposed to documented violence at home were compared with 23 matched peers who had not experienced family violence. The average age of the maltreated children was 12 years old and they had all been referred to local social services in London.
When the children were in the scanner they were presented with pictures of male and female faces showing sad, calm or angry expressions. The children had only to decide if the face was male or female ? processing the emotion on the face was incidental. As described, the children who had been exposed to violence at home showed increased brain activity in the anterior insula and amygdala in response to the angry faces.
Professor Peter Fonagy, Chief Executive of the Anna Freud Centre and professor of psychology at UCL, said: "Dr McCrory's groundbreaking research has undoubtedly taken us an important step closer to understanding the devastation which exposing children to violence can leave in its wake. His exciting findings confirm the traumatic effects these experiences have on brain development.
Professor Fonagy added: "The report should energize clinicians and social workers to double their efforts to safeguard children from violence. By helping us understand the consequences of maltreatment the findings also offer fresh inspiration for the development of effective treatment strategies to protect children from the consequences of maltreatment."
Dr McCrory said: "Even though we know that maltreatment represents one of the most potent environmental risk factors associated with anxiety and depression, relatively little is known how such adversity 'gets under the skin' and increases a child's later vulnerability."
"The next step for us is to try and understand how stable these changes are. Not every child exposed to family violence will go on to develop a mental health problem; many bounce back and lead successful lives. We want to know much more about those mechanisms that help some children become resilient."
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University College London: http://www.ucl.ac.uk
Thanks to University College London for this article.
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Same-sex relationships are coming to the "Star Wars" universe, courtesy of video game developer BioWare and publisher Electronic Arts' new massively multiplayer online role- playing game (or "MMORPGs" or "MMOs" for short), "Star Wars: The Old Republic," and the decision is getting people talking.
MMOs are games that create immersive virtual environments in which millions of players can interact with computer-generated characters as well as characters created by fellow gamers. While this is BioWare's first MMO, the developer is known among fans for the emphasis they place on romantic relationships between characters in their single-player role-playing games. In the past, BioWare games have featured same-sex relationships between men and women, and in the case of the immensely popular sci-fi game "Mass Effect," relationships between men and women with an asexual alien.
BioWare originally announced that players and their companions in "Star Wars: The Old Republic" would only be able to experience mixed-gender romantic relationships. After many inquiries from fans asking the developer to explain the decision, earlier this week a new forum post by Stephen Reid, the senior online community manager for the game, showed up on the company's official website announcing that those fans had been heard and same-sex romance will be added to the game.
BioWare's statement explained that while the game will still launch with only male/female relationships, they will be adding same gender romance options in future updates.
"Due to the design constraints of a fully voiced MMO of this scale and size, many choices had to be made as to the launch and post-launch feature set. Same gender romances with companion characters in 'Star Wars: The Old Republic' will be a post-launch feature. Because 'The Old Republic' is an MMO, the game will live on through content expansions which allow us to include content and features that could not be included at launch, including the addition of more companion characters who will have additional romance options."
"Companion characters" are computer-controlled characters that follow player-created characters around the virtual world, aiding them as gamers maneuver through the story.
The response to BioWare's announcement has been massive. There are 326 pages of comments as of Friday afternoon on the official "Star Wars: The Old Republic" forum alone. They range from "thank you for listening to our requests" to "how dare you expose my children to this."
The game has no firm release date, only a release window of "holiday 2011." It has also already received an ESRB rating of "T for Teen," meaning the game is recommended for players 13 and older. Neither facts have stopped detractors from crying foul, such as John Nolte on the blog "Big Hollywood," who starts his post on the subject with "Say goodbye to your child's innocence," and ends with the inaccurate proclamation, "Announcing the gay relationships AFTER the game has been sold is pure bait and switch."
The game already has reportedly broken preorder records for publisher Electronic Arts.
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NEW YORK (Reuters) ? U.S. stocks are expected to end next year with modest gains, despite the threat of a global downturn brought on by the euro zone debt crisis and a tepid domestic economy that may still need more stimulus, a Reuters poll found.
Strategists polled had solid hopes for the U.S. economy and many cited historically low price-to-earnings ratios. But the euro zone crisis has battered stock markets this year and there was a wide range of views on where Wall Street is headed.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index (.SPX)(.INX) is expected to rise about 7.5 percent from Wednesday's close to 1,340 by the end of next year, according to a median forecast from over 40 respondents polled over the last week.
Forecasts range from a high of 1,550 to a low of 718, almost as low as the nadir of March 2009, when it touched 666. That 832-point spread was the widest in all of the quarterly Reuters polls since the financial crisis began in 2008.
But the benchmark index is expected to be about where it is now by mid-2012, following a tumultuous year that has it down a little under 1 percent since the close of 2010. Last year, it rose 12.8 percent.
Indeed, the S&P 500 has fallen in six of the past seven months, with many investors fearful of a hit to global growth if the crisis in Europe worsens or leads to euro zone breakup.
"The more Europe goes to the back burner, the more the market will rise," said Marc Pado, U.S. market strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. in San Francisco.
But that is a big if. Forecasts are decidedly less bullish than in the recent past, particularly for the big industrials. And U.S. economic growth is expected to be tepid next year at best, according to a recent Reuters poll.
The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) is expected to trade at 12,000 by the middle of next year, lower than Wednesday's close. It's expected to rise just 2.8 percent to 12,388 by the end of 2012.
Stocks have vacillated from despair to euphoria in the last two months, although most analysts generally agree that share prices are out of step with worries priced into government bonds.
Global indexes rallied on Wednesday after central banks around the world announced co-ordinated steps to prevent a credit crunch among banks in Europe struggling with the region's debt crisis.
The S&P surged to its best monthly performance in 20 years in October after euro zone leaders pushed for recapitalization of banks and to bolster the region's bailout fund.
Part of the reason for the tempered optimism is improving U.S. economic data, even though high unemployment persists and the housing market, ground zero of the financial crisis, remains in the doldrums.
Analysts also note that while U.S. companies may not be hiring much, they are sitting on huge piles of cash.
The S&P has a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 11.5, according to Thomson Reuters data. That compares with an average of 15 over the past decade.
"I've never seen the balance sheets of corporate America as strong as (they are) today," said Stanley Nabi, Vice Chairman at Silvercrest Asset Management Group in New York.
"The risk is not as high as people make it out to be."
(Reporting By Chuck Mikolajczak; Additional polling by Ashrith Doddi and Sumanta Dey; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)
ONR helps undersea robots get the big picturePublic release date: 2-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Tammy White onrcsc@onr.navy.mil 703-696-5031 Office of Naval Research
Scientists successfully transitioned fundamental research in autonomy to undersea gliders
ARLINGTON, Va. -- Scientists have successfully transitioned fundamental research in autonomy to undersea gliders, demonstrating in recent sea tests how the new software, sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), can help robots become smarter at surveying large swaths of ocean.
"Using the new algorithms, the vehicle has a greater ability to make its own decisions without requiring a human in the loop," said Marc Steinberg, program officer for ONR's Adaptive Networks for Threat and Intrusion Detection or Termination (ANTIDOTE), a multi-disciplinary university research program.
With plans to deploy squadrons of air, surface and undersea robotic vehicles later this decade, the Department of the Navy is investing in basic research programs to improve autonomous system capabilities.
"Advancing autonomy for unmanned systems allows you the ability to do things that wouldn't be practical otherwise because we don't have enough warfighters or communication today," said Steinberg, who works in ONR's Naval Air Warfare and Weapons Department. "If you incorporate some intelligence on the vehicles that can solve complex mission problems, then we can enable wholly new capabilities that can be achieved with limited numbers of people and communications in complicated, dynamic environments."
ONR provided funding to researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and University of Southern California (USC) to advance the intelligence of autonomous vehicles under both ANTIDOTE and a related university program called Smart Adaptive Reliable Teams for Persistent Surveillance. They developed a persistent surveillance theory that provides a framework for decision-making software that maximizes a robot's collection of information over a given area. It gives some guarantees on performance in dynamic environments.
"The ability to do surveillance that takes into account the actual conditions of the environment brings a whole new level of automation and capability," said Dr. Daniela Rus, co-director of MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory Center for Robotics. "We have come up with a solution that lets the robot do local reasoning to make decisions and adjust the path autonomously without having to come up to the surface to interact with humans."
The scientists produced an algorithm that incorporates both the user's sensing priorities and environmental factors, such as ocean currents, into a computer model to help undersea robots conduct surveys and mapping missions more efficiently.
Tests proved the benefits of using the new algorithm. The scientists conducted two separate experiments using underwater robots called gliders, operated by oceanographers. They used two gliders, one with the algorithm and one without, to measure whether the experimental technology yielded better maps of algae blooms and other underwater phenomena in the Pacific Ocean.
"In areas where the oceanographers wanted more information, the persistent surveillance algorithm actually produces more detail," said Dr. Gaurav S. Sukhatme, ANTIDOTE's principal investigator and director of USC's Robotic Embedded Systems Lab. "The system can automatically figure out how to divide its time between areas that are more interesting and areas that are less interesting."
The algorithm helps the gliders decide when to spend more time looking at regions that have changes in activity or environmental factors. Without the control algorithm, gliders paid equal attention to all areas and acquired less information during the experiments in Monterey Bay, Calif., and along the southern coastal waters near Los Angeles in October and November 2010. The first experiment lasted a period of three weeks; the second ran for two weeks. A third experiment in August 2011 took place in the Southern California Bight for 10 days. Results of the single-glider test are being analyzed.
Though the gliders were an ideal first test of the persistent surveillance theory and algorithm, the software is applicable to many different machines and robots, the scientists said.
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About the Office of Naval Research
The Department of the Navy's Office of Naval Research (ONR) provides the science and technology necessary to maintain the Navy and Marine Corps' technological advantage. Through its affiliates, ONR is a leader in science and technology with engagement in 50 states, 70 countries, 1,035 institutions of higher learning and 914 industry partners. ONR employs approximately 1,400 people, comprising uniformed, civilian and contract personnel, with additional employees at the Naval Research Lab in Washington, D.C.
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ONR helps undersea robots get the big picturePublic release date: 2-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Tammy White onrcsc@onr.navy.mil 703-696-5031 Office of Naval Research
Scientists successfully transitioned fundamental research in autonomy to undersea gliders
ARLINGTON, Va. -- Scientists have successfully transitioned fundamental research in autonomy to undersea gliders, demonstrating in recent sea tests how the new software, sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), can help robots become smarter at surveying large swaths of ocean.
"Using the new algorithms, the vehicle has a greater ability to make its own decisions without requiring a human in the loop," said Marc Steinberg, program officer for ONR's Adaptive Networks for Threat and Intrusion Detection or Termination (ANTIDOTE), a multi-disciplinary university research program.
With plans to deploy squadrons of air, surface and undersea robotic vehicles later this decade, the Department of the Navy is investing in basic research programs to improve autonomous system capabilities.
"Advancing autonomy for unmanned systems allows you the ability to do things that wouldn't be practical otherwise because we don't have enough warfighters or communication today," said Steinberg, who works in ONR's Naval Air Warfare and Weapons Department. "If you incorporate some intelligence on the vehicles that can solve complex mission problems, then we can enable wholly new capabilities that can be achieved with limited numbers of people and communications in complicated, dynamic environments."
ONR provided funding to researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and University of Southern California (USC) to advance the intelligence of autonomous vehicles under both ANTIDOTE and a related university program called Smart Adaptive Reliable Teams for Persistent Surveillance. They developed a persistent surveillance theory that provides a framework for decision-making software that maximizes a robot's collection of information over a given area. It gives some guarantees on performance in dynamic environments.
"The ability to do surveillance that takes into account the actual conditions of the environment brings a whole new level of automation and capability," said Dr. Daniela Rus, co-director of MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory Center for Robotics. "We have come up with a solution that lets the robot do local reasoning to make decisions and adjust the path autonomously without having to come up to the surface to interact with humans."
The scientists produced an algorithm that incorporates both the user's sensing priorities and environmental factors, such as ocean currents, into a computer model to help undersea robots conduct surveys and mapping missions more efficiently.
Tests proved the benefits of using the new algorithm. The scientists conducted two separate experiments using underwater robots called gliders, operated by oceanographers. They used two gliders, one with the algorithm and one without, to measure whether the experimental technology yielded better maps of algae blooms and other underwater phenomena in the Pacific Ocean.
"In areas where the oceanographers wanted more information, the persistent surveillance algorithm actually produces more detail," said Dr. Gaurav S. Sukhatme, ANTIDOTE's principal investigator and director of USC's Robotic Embedded Systems Lab. "The system can automatically figure out how to divide its time between areas that are more interesting and areas that are less interesting."
The algorithm helps the gliders decide when to spend more time looking at regions that have changes in activity or environmental factors. Without the control algorithm, gliders paid equal attention to all areas and acquired less information during the experiments in Monterey Bay, Calif., and along the southern coastal waters near Los Angeles in October and November 2010. The first experiment lasted a period of three weeks; the second ran for two weeks. A third experiment in August 2011 took place in the Southern California Bight for 10 days. Results of the single-glider test are being analyzed.
Though the gliders were an ideal first test of the persistent surveillance theory and algorithm, the software is applicable to many different machines and robots, the scientists said.
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About the Office of Naval Research
The Department of the Navy's Office of Naval Research (ONR) provides the science and technology necessary to maintain the Navy and Marine Corps' technological advantage. Through its affiliates, ONR is a leader in science and technology with engagement in 50 states, 70 countries, 1,035 institutions of higher learning and 914 industry partners. ONR employs approximately 1,400 people, comprising uniformed, civilian and contract personnel, with additional employees at the Naval Research Lab in Washington, D.C.
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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. ? Penn State University officials on Thursday said they will donate $1.5 million in bowl proceeds to a pair of sex-crime advocacy organizations in the wake of shocking sex-abuse allegations levied against a once-revered assistant football coach.
University President Rod Erickson promised the donation the morning after he and other administrators faced pointed questions at a student-organized town hall forum.
Erickson told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday that the Big Ten bowl revenue, which usually goes back to the athletic department, will go instead to the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.
"This presents an excellent opportunity for Penn State to raise the national visibility of this issue," Erickson said. "Our students and fans are focused on a cause to play for, to cheer for."
Also Thursday, Jerry Sandusky's lawyer said he has not discussed pleading guilty with his client and that the former coach continues to maintain he is innocent of the charges against him.
Joe Amendola said he would consider "possible alternatives" with Sandusky if new charges are filed that involve more victims than the eight boys covered by the 40 pending criminal counts, but that Sandusky has never considered a plea in his case. Sandusky, 67, is awaiting a preliminary hearing.
Amendola said the topic of a guilty plea came up as a "what-if" question from a reporter about potential additional charges.
"My answer to the `what if' question was analogous to saying, if weather forecasters were predicting a blizzard next week, which they are not, I would have to at least consider the possibility of postponing my scheduled trip to Philadelphia," Amendola said in an email.
The Wednesday night forum on Penn State's main campus came on the heels of fresh sex abuse allegations against Sandusky, who was accused in a lawsuit of sexually abusing a young boy more than 100 times after meeting him through the charity the coach founded in the 1970s.
The state police commissioner has criticized school leaders for failing to do more to alert authorities to the allegations, and Erickson told about 450 attendees at a crowded auditorium at the student union building that ethics would be raised "to a new level so that everyone at the university understands not just the legal thing to do, but the moral thing to do, so that we learn to do the right thing the first time, every time."
Students appeared grateful to get answers more than three weeks after Sandusky was charged Nov. 5, hopeful it would aid in the arduous healing process.
"I think this is a good start for a lot of good things that can happen at the university," said student Andrew Comes, 21, following the two-hour forum. "It's a singularly bad event, but there can still be positive repercussions and good things happening from it."
Administrators sought to reassure students worried about the unintended ramifications of the scandal, such as the reputation of a Penn State degree.
After several questioners mentioned they felt shamed by the scandal, vice president Henry Foley, as part of an answer about the school's top three priorities, told students to focus on academics and to "recognize that none of you are guilty. ... You may feel shame, but none of you are guilty. Just keep doing what you came here to do."
The scandal has resulted in the departures of head coach Joe Paterno and university President Graham Spanier. Athletic Director Tim Curley has been placed on administrative leave, and Vice President Gary Schultz, who was in charge of the university's police department, has stepped down.
Schultz and Curley are charged with lying to the grand jury and failure to report to police. They also maintain their innocence and have a preliminary hearing later this month.
Erickson told reporters after the forum that Spanier was currently on sabbatical, and that as a tenured faculty member would have the right to teach if he so desired.
Several students also asked about the treatment of Paterno, who was the only school leader fired in the scandal's aftermath. Erickson said afterward he could not offer a detailed answer because it was the trustees' decision.
He reiterated there was no truth to Internet-fueled rumors that Paterno's statue outside Beaver Stadium would be removed, or that the Paterno name would be removed from the campus library for which the Paterno family has donated millions.
"At some appropriate time down the road, I'm sure there will be an opportunity to also reflect on the many years of service Joe and (wife Sue Paterno) provided the university and the many good things that they've done for Penn State," Erickson said, eliciting brief applause.
BBC Worldwide isn't quite ready to debut its "global" iPlayer app for the iPad here in the US yet, but now it's a bit closer after updating to v1.2.5 and becoming available in Canada. The app debuted back in July bringing iPlayer streaming access to tablets across Western Europe, before taking its programmes to Australia back in September. It will cost Canadians $8.99 per month for access BBC shows like Fawlty Towers, Whitechapel, and Hustle, but viewers in all 16 territories with access can snag one free episode per day through December 25th. The Hollywood Reporter indicates this is all part of a year long pilot phase with a next step of opening it up to US audiences, so those with patience don't need to put on their snowshoes and move to the Great White North just yet.
MOGADISHU (Reuters) ? New convoys of heavily-armed Ethiopian troops have crossed into Somalia and are heading for central areas, residents said Sunday, days after Addis Ababa said it planned to send troops to help Somali and Kenya forces fighting Islamist insurgents.
Ethiopia, which intervened in Somalia between 2006 and 2009, said Friday that it would deploy troops inside Somalia again for a "brief period."
An Ethiopian government official also acknowledged Friday that a small force was already there on a reconnaissance mission. Ethiopia had previously denied scores of military trucks and armored vehicles had entered Somalia on November 19 and 20.
Sunday, residents from towns in central Somalia said they had seen new, larger convoys.
"We have seen heavily armed Ethiopian troops with tanks heading to Guriel and Baladwayne. There are many more of them and (they are) more armed than last week," Ahmed Muhudin Ugas told Reuters from Balanbal town.
"Since yesterday afternoon I counted over 100 armed trucks with tanks; their convoy has not stopped yet."
A senior official with the pro-Mogadishu Sufi militia group Ahlu Sunna Waljamaca also confirmed the deployment.
"Yes, Ethiopian troops are here and more have entered central Somalia," the official, who declined to be named, told Reuters by phone. "Al Shabaab will be ousted from central Somalia but when and how are political points we do not want to disclose now."
Kenya sent troops into Somalia last month to crush al Shabaab, accusing the militant network of frequent attacks on its security forces and tourists inside Kenya.
Ethiopian soldiers previously went into Somalia in 2006, and left the country in early 2009 after ousting the Islamist Islamic Courts Union (ICU) from de facto power in Mogadishu.
They were dogged by accusations that their intervention, hugely unpopular with Somalis, was a rallying call for militias such as al Shabaab, who were not as powerful at that time.
This time, Ethiopia insists the deployment will be brief, although it has not given details on the size of the contingent.
Another resident in Guriel, in the central Galgadud region, said he had seen two different convoys of Ethiopian forces.
"Last night there was a convoy of Ethiopian troops that reached the town," Abdinur Osman Moalim told Reuters. "I don't know their number, but early in the morning we saw more than 40 vehicles of armed Ethiopian troops."
(Editing by George Obulutsa and; Alessandra Rizzo)
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Public release date: 2-Dec-2011
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