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NEW TECHNOLOGY MADE SPEACHLESS EMPOWERED A new technology that could help speechless people who use devices to talk, speak in real human voices instead of a computerised sound, has been developed by researchers, including one of Indian-origin. One of the most famous speechless individuals is British physicist Stephen Hawking. To communicate with people, he uses computers that generate synthesised voices, but they sound stilted and unnatural. Scientists have now developed VocaliD, a product that blends real human voices from healthy talkers with characteristics of the client's unique speech patterns. "Right now, people who need to use synthesised voices to talk for them use a handful of generic voices, because creating them is time-consuming and costly," said Rupal Patel, associate professor at Northeastern University. "We feel strongly the voice from the device should reflect something about that individual," Patel said. Patel, along with T...

ROBOTS TURN KEY IN HUMAN RELATIONS Given the proper stimulus and behaviour, humans are able to form relationships with just about anything - even with robots! It's becoming more common to have robots sub in for humans to do dirty or sometimes dangerous work. But researchers are finding that in some cases, people have started to treat robots like pets, friends, or even as an extension of themselves. That raises the question, if a soldier attaches human or animal-like characteristics to a field robot, can it affect how they use the robot? Julie Carpenter from the University of Washington interviewed highly trained soldiers in the US who use robots to disarm explosives – about how they feel about the robots they work with every day. Part of her research involved determining if the relationship these soldiers have with field robots could affect their decision-making ability and mission outcomes. Soldiers told her that attachment to their robots didn't affect ...

BULLION ASSOCIATION SUPPORTS MODI The Bombay Bullion Association Ltd (BBA), the apex body of bullion and jewellery bodies in the country, has announced its support for Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as BJP's prime ministerial candidate. BBA president Mohit Kamboj along with some others joined BJP in the presence of senior party leader Gopinath Munde here yesterday. BBA had extended its support to Modi as the UPA government had brought about a "policy paralysis" in the economy, Kamboj said. "There are over 50 lakh workers associated with the bullion and gold industry, which has been facing the brunt of the current policies of the UPA government. "We at BBA strongly believe that a Modi-led NDA government would normalise the industry by introducing friendly policies," he added. Members of Bharat Diamond Bourse have said they will host Modi at a function at Bandra-Kurla Complex here on Sept. 30. BJP president Rajnath Singh had last ...

MANY MORE HAPPY RETURNS  OF THE DAY TO THE LEGEND <iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Vedm2UfgoVE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

DIAMOND FOR AUCTION A 118.28-carat white diamond is displayed at a press preview at Sotheby's auction house,    Thursday, Sept. 19, 2013 in Hong Kong. The oval stone will be auctioned off in Hong Kong on Oct. 7 and has a pre-sale estimate of US$28 million to $35 million. The current record for any white diamond is US$26.7 million.

CONGRESS ON ELECTION FEVER Rahul Gandhi today held deliberations with senior leaders including Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit as the party has chalked out plans for rallies and visits of top leaders for five election-bound states. The closed-door meeting that took place at Rahul's residence was attended among others by Mizoram Chief Minister Pu Lalthanwala and AICC general secretaries Shakeel Ahmed, Gurudas Kamath, B K Hariprasad, Luizinho Falerio and Mohan Prakash, who are looking after Delhi, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Madhya Pradesh respectively. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi will visit Rajasthan on September 21 and 22 respectively to inaugurate metro and oil refinery projects in the state. Rahul will address a rally in Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh on September 26. Sources said that during the meeting, Rahul reviewed the poll preparations of the party and took a report of the ground realities in all the five state...

NEW STEERING DEVICE TO AVOID ACCIDENTS An innovative new steering device that could help prevent hazards like rear-end collisions and rollovers caused by panic over-steering has been developed. It can take up to two and a half turns to steer a modern vehicle. While turning, the driver must release the wheel in the necessary hand-over-hand movement, which is unsafe. In the upcoming Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) 2013 Annual Meeting, Rene Guerster will propose an alternative steering device that could help to prevent hazards such as rear-end collisions and rollovers caused by panic over-steering. Severe sudden turns are extremely difficult with today's steering systems, researchers said. Developing what he terms "computer-mediated steering," Guerster believes his proposed technology, already common in engine controls, would enable steering around a suddenly-appearing obstacle without hand-over-hand fumbling. Guerster's yoke-like device...