Mackenzie's (Un) Common Sense Blog

The Athlete of the future Photo: The key to the smart mouth guard was the use of  uricase , an enzyme that specifically reacts with uric acid. (Photo courtesy of  UC  San Diego) Athletes lead a very organized lifestyle ripe with detailed workout routines, strict diets, and other types of conditioning geared towards their sport. As athletes advance in their careers, various sensing technologies are implemented to regulate their progression. Wearable, fitness-tracking technology is a bourgeoning industry, but what if there were a way to replace the apps, wires, and other sensing technologies with something more subtle and more efficient? Consider a Fitbit watch or health app that's always connected, and instead of toggling through a screen to get your information, you can customize the data to be received on any device you please. A small, implanted monitoring device  could advise the individual of their diet, routine, and upcoming activities without the user h...

Simulating a dog's sense of smell to collaborate with canines: Building artificial noses to sense threatening odors  Surely you're aware of a dogs powerful sense of smell, and you might know that our noses pale in comparison,  but have you ever wondered how strong a dogs nose really is? More importantly, wouldn't you like to experience that sense of smell for yourself? What if this supreme sense of olfaction could be replicated and implemented into industries where sensing smell is a top priority? This simulation, or biomimicry, could improve our technologies and even increase our overall security.  The K-9 is one of natures best chemical detectors.  To put it in perspective, these loyal companions' noses that are about 10,000 to 100,000 times more acute than ours. Even on the low end of this spectrum, this is the visual equivalent of seeing 3000 miles in any direction with clarity! [1] Photo: When a dog breathes in, the air separates into d...

Creating a true artificial consciousness with neural network sensors Photo: Theodore, the main character from the movie "Her" in the middle of a thoughtful conversation with Samantha, a conscious IOS system.  In the 2013 film "Her", Theodore — a middle-aged, sensitive and introspective individual struggling with his marriage — becomes interested in an commercial IOS technology with human-like linguistic capabilities named "OS1". The system is marketed as a true "consciousness", capable of holding a dialogue of any kind via a simulated male or female voice. Theodore quickly takes an interest in the female version of OS1, Samantha, and over time their connection matures into a form of love. Upon realizing his emotions, Theodore finds himself as a moral crossroads struggling with the thought of loving the OS. His emotional response to Samantha is the accumulation of the OS' ability to converse fluidly with Theodore, thus masking the tru...

The rapidly evolving Conversational User Interface (top) "ELIZA", ELIZA, an early natural language processing computer program created from 1964 to 1966[1] at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory by Joseph Weizenbaum In 1968, Stanley Kubrick envisioned an interface that was capable of carrying out a detailed conversation with humans in his film "2001: A Space Odyssey"[1], however he also envisioned that the same machine could take human lives. The machine was the HAL 5000, and conversing with the technology was effortless, eliminating friction associated with the traditional "dialogue" between human and machine. Photo: (top) the "eye" of "HAL 5000" from Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" (Bottom) an aerial view of Apple's "Homepod"  50 years later, we are inching closer to the reality of a Hal 5000 system with the development of Conversational / Voice User Interfaces (CUI / VU...

The Hapbook A fictional product proposal utilizing Google's Soli technology to create a virtual pen and paper at your fingertips Inspiration is unexpected. It seems to come in short bursts, often in the most unexpected circumstances and usually for a short period of time. That sudden snap of an idea you get from inspiration can also seem like a fleeting moment, especially in our alert-o-sphere [1] culture. The most valuable ideas need to be recorded, and while speaking or tapping notes into your smartphone, or jotting on your tablet or computer are sufficient, these devices may not be on hand when your brilliant idea reveals itself. Top: Google's Soli technology demonstrating the gestures of a common haptic archetype: The smartphone.  Courtesy of  https://atap.google.com/soli/ . Bottom: The conventional note taking process. What if you could record notes, sketches or doodles using your fingertips in a different way? What if the surface is  the palm of your...

The multifunctional cochlea implant  Photo: rendering of the cochlea hair cells (green) responding to external wavelengths Hearing is the fastest sense; our ears conversion of external wavelengths to electrical impulses and signals for the auditory nerve and eventually the brain happens in 0.05 seconds—ten times faster than the blink of an eye. [1] In addition to our rapid interpretation and perception of these external waves, the subtle variations that occur in sound are picked up in " less than a millionth of a second."  [2] In our culture of personalization, it's interesting to imagine a world where we could take advantage of this remarkable hearing process by customizing the intake of audio content, specifically music.  The way in which we consume music has historically fluctuated; the popular digital format   in high circulation today  (.mp3, .wav, etc.)  is only the latest permutation of commodified audio. The next breakthrough in audio will l...