Friday, January 27, 2012

Genealogy Machines

MACHINES LEADING UP TO THE BIG BRAIN
There's over 300 machines built from the year 2002 to 2012, a decade of development leading up to the Big Brain. Over a year in the making, check out this list which now includes many machine links, details and categories.

Monday, January 23, 2012

12 Children

BIG BRAIN HAS 12 CHILDREN
With the birth of Morpher-8 and Propeller Elf, Big Brain has now produced twelve offspring. The Offspring Series of brain machines continues to grow as the Big Brain continues to give birth to its increasing family.

Big Brains' Offspring Children Born
01) Bantam Brain
02) Child Brain
03) Baby Brain
04) Bit Brain
05) Tiny Brain One (TBO)
06) Tiny Brain Two
07) Tiny Brain Three
08) Small Brain
09) Pint Size Brain
10) Brain Child (BC)
11) Morpher-8
12) Propeller Elf

1) Bantam Brain has 3 Propeller chips, 24 Cogs with VR cores. This bantam offspring is small in physical size only, as its interior braining architecture includes over 3,000 processors in extreme high density. Bantam Brain is designed to fit inside the smallest robots and can be considered a "shirt pocket" brain. Preliminary X-Y specs log in around 2.5 x 4-inches in the first prototype.

2) Child Brain 5 Props, 40 processors - a small brain, Child Brain has exactly forty Propeller Cogs which are sync-loaded using a unique Brain Neural Matter Injector. The LEDs which are on represent the firing output state of Simplex Neurons SNs. In photos at the link, the Child Brain has all five Propeller chips running in Parallel and independently. Chip Independence makes cells of evolution possible.
http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?124495-Fill-the-Big-Brain&p=1004370&viewfull=1#post1004370

http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?124495-Fill-the-Big-Brain&p=1003572&viewfull=1#post1003572

3) Baby Brain 1 Prop (Under 5 Props). Starting with 8 Cogs. The success of the Child Brain has led to the simple development of a much smaller brain, smaller by a factor up to five times. Baby Brain originates from the Child Brain. In fact, to make a Baby Brain, take one Child Brain and remove anywhere from one to four Propeller chips. The rapid config ability of the Baby Brain to add more Propeller chips by a simple plug-in is a key feature. This is possible because Baby Brain retains wiring and components for all chips. Baby Brain is used for rapid testing where fewer props are needed. Future apps for the robotic Big Brain may include dispensing the smaller Brain Clan from the belly of the Big Brain.

4) BIT Brain Interim Test Machine, 6 props, 48 processors, Special test machine for Solo and Parallel performance, Brain BIT is made up of two Brain modules with solderless breadboards for testing base programs and paralleled programs in multi-mode formats. It can load and run different interface types at the same time and is modular. The unit is made from five main solderless breadboards and eight power rails. Three line up perpendicular to the others to delineate circuitry. Included are seven LEDs, decoupling and power mains filtering capacitors, dropping resistors, crystals (one for each module), and two pushbuttons. The two supplies are 9 volts and 3.3 volts DC provided by a bench supply or batteries. It includes five props in parallel and one solo without any initial connection to the others. This facilitates testing of different programs and the wiring of circuit combinations. Modules run one or the other, or both at the same time. BIT includes two EEPROMS and duplicated Prop Tool interfaces. This enables testing of simultaneous At Once loading, distro, piggyback eeprom'ing and other nice features. One of the best advantages of Brain BIT is the one chip portion which is based on PEK. This can run many programs in SPIN for rapid testing, configuring and development.

5) Tiny Brain One (TBO) 1 Prop, 8 internalize processors, a tiny experimental brain in the smallest config used as an adjunct to the Big Brain in primarily testing communications transfer and interfacing abilities. TBO is now used as a portable tiny brain for travel and portable work. It's prototyped on a solderless breadboard. The smallest brain in the series of brains is the Tiny Brain One. Much of the Big Brain test software can run on a TBO. TBOs have one Propeller chip with eight hard processor cores. Each of the "cog" cores in Tiny Brain One is thought of as an individual internal chip with a four I/O pin allotment for use in multiple chip development. TBOs are very portable, ideal for research and project development, and set up on one solderless breadboard. These run multiprocessor software and the full range of sensors. TBO "Internal Chips" are theoretical 20MIPS with a shared 5MHz crystal. TBO Features:
One Propeller chip
Eight Internal Setup Chips
Four pin i/o allotment per internal chip
Two dedicated hardware counters per internal chip
Standard programming for multiple cogs
Shared 5MHz crystal
Shared 32K EEPROM, RAM, ROM
20MIPS/Internal Chip
$1/Internal Chip Cost

http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?124495-Fill-the-Big-Brain&p=1033313&viewfull=1#post1033313 

6) Tiny Brain Two (TB2) 2 Props, 16 computers
http://forums.parallax.com/showthrea...l=1#post988558 

7) Tiny Brain Three (TB3) 3 Props, 24 computers
http://forums.parallax.com/showthrea...l=1#post988558 

8) Small Brain 5 prop chips on one board, 40 computers, main purpose is for use in developing the Big Brain and running quick tests.

9) Pint Size Brain 2 Props, 16 computers, in a 340 gram jar, built on a single solderless breadboard with wire jumpers and two power rails. It has two Parallax Propeller chips mounted piggyback. Pins, depending on the required circuit and software are either bent up or kept in contact with the other prop to create various interface functions. A nine volt battery fits behind the breadboard and software can signal exampling neurons whose firing are visible through the clear jar. The Jar Brain has sixteen cores, all of which can run in parallel, which makes it powerful given its small "pint size." The Jar lid is unscrewed to hookup the USB cable to load in the program. Lerner uses PST and Life uses a TV externally. However the Nanite and code to activate the LED can run from stored programs in the EEPROM.
http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?132716-Propeller-Brain-in-a-Jar 

10) Brain Child (BC) 5 props, The Big Brain begat an offspring temporarily known as the Brain Child. BC is nearly identical to its parent except for its size and limitations imposed by fewer props. It contains one Brain Span of five Propeller chips and no partitions. This means BC has a total of 40 risc computers at its disposal ready for running apps. BC is currently compatible with Big Brain software. Brain Child has many of the functions of parenting Big Brain. It can talk (with speaker and amp), sing, learn, dream, and handles the same neural injector and neurons. The biggest gain is less power draw, immediate access to experiments and tests, portable, and it runs on battery power. The convenience of its smaller solderless breadboards is immediately apparent. BC has components on two connected breadboards with four power rails. It has one 32K eeprom for program storage and connectors for a Parallax Prop Plug to download programs through a USB cable. Output is currently through five LEDs, one distributed to each Propeller chip. The base wiring is comparable to a PEK board. Next, the overlay interface of the Neural Injectors is implemented. Finally a choice of hybrid designs entertain various modes of communication. At this early stage software is limited to some test packages to distribute code and inject sampling neurons. Software also has access to other packages for speech & singing (requires speaker and amp), hearing sounds, recognizing words (requires microphone circuit), dreaming and learning. Due to lack of TV, output is routed to a supporting computer through a terminal program such as prop terminal and PST. No doubt the greatest adaptations for BC will result in portable braining operations for mobile robots and smaller humanoids. BC is also very useful for running Big Brain Tests and to develop new algorithms and programs and to set up new functions and capabilities.

11) Morpher-8 1 prop that has ability to control, morph, transform using a NARO servo and programming in SPIN language. As a new prodigy, Morpher-8, is capable of autonomous morphing and transforming and has access to eight RISC processors known as Cogs in the Parallax Propeller chip world. Morpher-8 is a controller baby, already able to manipulate position in space and time using SPIN commands and a demonstration program running from one Cog. It's small body interfaces to the real world with a tiny NARA servo, the same as used in a Parallax Penguin robot.

12) Propeller Elf (PE) 1 Prop, this is a Propeller brain with no parts whose purpose is pure thought. It runs on SPIN software using the conventional support for the Parallax Propeller chip and communicates through a standard Propeller Plug. Prop Elf is a spin off of the Big Brain "No Parts" project. All software utilized is found at the Parallax Propeller Forum. PE uses eight internal processors known as Cogs and also utilizes the internal components built into the Propeller chip. Thinking takes place with the RC clock and the chips built in protection circuits so no crystal, resistors or caps are required. It can use virtual devices internally and externally. Debugging is with the PST Parallax Serial Terminal software and Prop Terminal.

The Number of Propeller Chips within Each Offspring
Big Brain Parent - Over a hundred props 
  • 01) Bantam Brain - 3 Props
  • 02) Child Brain - 5 Props
  • 03) Baby Brain - 1 Prop
  • 04) Bit Brain - 6 Props
  • 05) Tiny Brain One (TBO) - 1 Prop
  • 06) Tiny Brain Two - 2 Props
  • 07) Tiny Brain Three - 3 Props
  • 08) Small Brain - 5 Props
  • 09) Pint Size Brain - 2 Props
  • 10) Brain Child - 5 Props
  • 11) Morpher-8 - 1 Prop
  • 12) Propeller Elf - 1 Prop
The Big Brain Genealogical Research page is a work in progress describing over 300 machines leading up to the Big Brain and its related siblings.

Singular Array Mode

SINGULAR ARRAY MODE
The Big Brain now has a Singular Array Mode. This allows one or more arrays to power down, switch off, or go on standby, thus permitting a single array to function.


What is the advantage of this mode? It can serve up a waiting standby of multiple functions and purposes at the same time, keep online multiple projects crunching data simultaneously, and retain other purposes and functions while a primary array is working at the forefront of activity. SAM is controlled by witholding power to the array(s) or programming the array(s) into a standby mode.

New Word Definitions
Singular Array Mode - setting one or more arrays to power down, switch off, or go on standby, thus permitting a single array to function

Acceptance Mode

BIG BRAIN ACCEPTANCE MODE
When a design is locked in, there's no easy way to change it. The Big Brain's design is versatile and flexible, made for evolutionary change. One of the supporting features implemented is Acceptance Mode.

Acceptance Mode makes it possible for the Brain to configure and reconfigure, while accepting a new design, change in design, update, add-on, host, or upgrade. What makes this mode possible? Its wires can change with solderless breadboards that are ideal for reworking wiring and recycling designs, and for evolving systems. The mode can be negated with hard wiring, soldered connections, and the use of pre-established boards and modules. Acceptance Mode also applies to software. Software code can be wired and rewired, and made changeable or non-changeable.

New Words Dictionary
Acceptance Mode - the ability of the Big Brain to configure and reconfigure, while accepting a new design, change in design, update, add-on, host, or upgrade.

Turing Test Thoughts

BIG BRAIN TURING TEST
Microcontrolled said: The Turing test is so demanding, asking someone to not distinguish between a computer and a human is like asking for someone to distinguish between TV and real life. My point is, you don't need to pass the Turing test to have a great AI.

The Turing test is a bit strange. It's like asking a native Chinese man to speak perfect English and pass as an Englishman. The striking differences between man and machine extend not only physically in appearance but culturally, scientifically and technologically. Is it so important to culturally mask these differences?

Brain Loss Baby Making

BABY MAKING LOSS IS REAL
Guess what a baby making brain gives up during birth?!

When a biological woman has a baby, she loses something… in the form of body nutrients and elements like vitamins, calcium, bone mass. What does a baby-making machine like the Big Brain lose?

The Big Brain has given birth to many siblings. See 12th Child and Genealogy. During the birthing process, the Brain has specific loss. Although this machine brain has no fluids, bones, calcium or vitamins to lose, it does have substantial electronic loss. Can you guess what it gives up during birth? The answer is Propeller chips!

With the first five babies, the Brain has given up over 12 Propeller chips. How does it do it and keep on going? The brain is divided into a number of Propeller Arrays. The first two arrays contain a finite number of Propeller chips set at 50 each. In the third Array, also know as an open ended Partition, the number of props is variable, and can grow more or become less and the Brain will continue to function. This allows the Big Brain to give birth to offspring, give up Propeller chips to make little brains, and keep on going...

Brain Transfer State

BIG BRAIN TRANSFER STATES
A big brain is in a particular "state" when functioning. Even an experimental Brain program has some definitive state. States include parameter such that if the power was lost, a reinstatement of states would put the Brain in the identical mode of operation.

Transferring one brain to another brain may require saving states. States must first be carried along in the program and tracked, recorded, updated. A SPIN program can save states in the form of parameters. The language has a series of features using and defining parameters, even from cog to cog. States can include information about the status of the Brain such as the current data processed in a task, the state or evolved condition of a thought, and other important braining information.

New Word Dictionary
Braining - the process or functioning of a brain, enabling the brain to work, the term for using the Big Brain - as recreation, work, experimentation, study and exploration.
Brain State - the condition of a brain at any one time in terms of parameters which may include dream information, hardware or software details, thoughts, work performed, data processed or unprocessed, evolved levels, and other information.


Thursday, January 19, 2012

Brain Transfer

TRANSFER OF ONE BRAIN TO ANOTHER
Someday we will transfer human brains into machine brains and the other way around. For now, we can successfully transfer one machine brain to another machine brain.

In this epic experiment, the contents of one brain was transfered to another brain. With this event, knowledge and capabilities of brains can be tranfered, exchanged, and preserved. This opens up many possibilites.

* Transfer dying brain knowledge to a new brain & continue to live on
* Memories and experiences can be preserved over great periods of time
* Brains can be moved in containments, as in space travel to the stars
* Brain content can wireless transmit to other brain containments
* Brains perpetuate contents from one vessel to another
* As each containment wears out, another can be instated

Master Offloader Technique

Big Brain Uses Master Offloader Technique
The original Master Offloader Machine was developed for the BASIC Stamp Supercomputer in a hardware array of tandem processors. This technique is now in widespread use inside the Big Brain.

The Big Brain uses the Master Offloader technique (the technique is now upgraded to include hardware, software or both) which was developed for the BASIC Stamp Supercomputer in 2008 and 2009. Many techniques developed for the BSS are in place on the Propeller Big Brain platform. The M.O.M. is seen to the right of the BSS with ten battery operated green processor boards. Click the photo for a larger image. 

The machine brain is divided up into brain quadrants. The quad includes a Propellerized Left Brain and a Right Brain. The technique of the Master Offloader is used between the Left Brain and the Right Brain. It's also used in the Quad design of the Brain. Offloading allows the Big Brain to continue functioning if one or more quadrants are busy, idle, sleeping, dreaming, disabled, errored, occupied, in stasis or powered down.

New Word Definitions
Offloading - the technique (using hardware, software or both) of offloading duties to another Brain quadrant, which allows the Big Brain to continue to function when one or more quadrants are busy, idle, sleeping, dreaming, disabled, occupied, in stasis, errored or powered down. 

Original Posting
This new machine, the Master Offloader, is added to the Basic Stamp Supercomputer to offload the intensive duties and responsibilities of the Master. It holds the addition of ten layers of smaller microcontroller processors that can potentially access half a hundred flash drives for millions of files under the SSD format. It can also free up the primary workers for more intensive processing. Connection is by wire, although a wireless system is now developed and being tested. MOM (Master Offloader Machine) processing can now introduce simultaneous disk reads and writes - new paralleled clustered tasks that single drive driven processors cannot achieve. This opens up the potential for new worlds of applications never seen before, and a magnitude of unprecedented computing power at the hobby level.

Big Brain Experiences First Earthquake

BIG BRAIN EXPERIENCES 1ST EARTHQUAKE!
At 6:14 am, the building shook from a substantial earthquake. About a minute before the earthquake struck, a very loud multi toned alarm appear to come from every direction. This was undoubtedly the advanced quake warning system. But what happened to the Big Brain? Did it fall from its perched loft and crash into 1,000 pieces?

The building shook and vibrated for about a half minute. The Big Brain arrays were splayed with vertical stacking upon the round table at the Lab's lower level and swayed back and forth but did not fall. The Right side brain was already set next to the arrays and likewise did not topple. The Brain remained stable.

The stability of the Brain is now proven and "earthquake proof" up to a range between 3 and 5. More intense earthquakes may require special brain measures to be taken. The survivability of the Big Brain during an earthquake was topic discussed in the past. It was accurately predicted to survive a number three.

The USGS has a record of the last earthquake, though it takes time to update. Other locations are recorded as well.

Links
http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?137361-Big-Brain-Experiences-1st-Earthquake

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Array Disassembly Reassembly

BIG BRAIN ARRAY DISASSEMBLY AND REASSEMBLY
For moving, shipping, and transport, all Big Brain arrays needed to be disassembled. The challenge was how to take apart these wired breadboards and remember how to reassemble at the destination.

Wires are removed from Array edges
1) The first solution was to photograph all the boards in color detail from various angles.  Each breadboard is unique and has identifying features.

2) The second solution is to use color coded wires. For example, a green connecting ground wire from one breadboard to another was disconnected at one breadboard. In the exact hole position, another green wire was inserted. For reassembly, the wires are matched, although several wires of one color may exist and to sort this out, photos are consulted. Connecting array color codes include black, green, blue, red, salmon, white, orange and yellow wires.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Big Brain Survives Airport Security

It took 6 pieces of luggage to ship part of the Big Brain
SURVIVING AIRPORT SECURITY
Airport Security, I'm telling you, it's not a bomb!!!

The Left Brain and the Right Brain sections were taken through airport security yesterday. There was some concern about both sections. The right brain was packaged inside an oversized box and created overweight while not fitting any of the specifications of a carry on item. The left brain looked like a bomb with its Propeller arrays of wired boards!

After some bargaining with airport managers, and the offering of money, the right brain in the oversized and overweight box was allowed on the plane as a carry on. This was good luck and undoubtedly due to to some bargaining finesse, and money. Inside the jet aircraft, the Boeing 747 was retrofitted with some very large overhead luggage compartments and the Big Right Brain box fit in just fine.

Next up, the left brain, which was packed into a large brown taped box, was taken specifically to special airport operations check in which is located at a separate location from regular check through luggage, where it was x-rayed for content. I was worried sick. All those arrays and wires and chips and metal contact points from the many large solderless breadboards would certainly bring forth alarms. Fears being allayed, Airport security simply said "Data?" The reply was "yes." ... and it went through... (Sometimes the more agreeable you can be and the less you say are your greatest assets.)

Upon arrival at destination, the Big Left Brain brown "Data" box promptly appeared on the luggage carrousel, thus alleviating a lot of worry about the safety and transport of the Big Brain. Many of the smaller Big Brain siblings (children) were packed in the standard check through luggage and these went through fine, with no questions asked.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Propeller Transporter Device

Big Brain Propeller Transporter Device
It won't transport humans like Star Trek but it does the next best thing!

After reading this article about a cloaking device that uses temporal shifts in time, we decided to look at the Propeller chip and see if a similar analogy could be found and how it could be applied. The results of this study were stunning!


The trick is to create a gap in the beam of light, have the hidden event occur as the gap goes by and then stitch the beam back together, says Alexander Gaeta, professor of applied and engineering physics at Cornell University.

In the Propeller chip, one approach is to create two opposing lensing time reference frames by using altering variances in the clock frequency and working in between the modulation. In the case of the Big Brain, the shifts could be distributed across many chips in the arrays and later assembled into the original full element. If particles are propagated throughout the Big Brain's parallel arrays (perhaps in waves) and later reassembled, a transporter could be created. Particles can be shaped into specific behaviors resulting in lensing. Note this type of transporter would work only inside the Propeller-chip-based Big Brain. This study is continuing.


Moving Project

Busy Brain Travel Schedule - Moving Project
The current shedule is travel this week to China with the objective to collect more Brain materials and transport to the new lab in Taiwan for consolidation. There are so many Brain items, it may take several packings and trips to move everything.

Moving things out of China is somewhat challenging. We're working at only 50% output because the primary computer is in China and we're in Taiwan. The portable computer does not have our Big Brain design programs and all the software. However, we do have all the new computer information for the Big Brain Morpher. But part of the Morpher is in the old small lab and also needs to be moved here to the new lab. We'll do that after the return trip.

We (Humanoido & Big Brain) are looking at bringing back over 700 GPU processors and the Right Brain sections. The left Brain is so massive (the Parallax Propeller sections) that it will be given special attention. It will take several trips and some postal shipping to complete the moving project.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Era

BIG BRAIN ERA OF EVOLUTION
The time track of Big Brain machine evolution is divided by Era. An Era is a time range in which the Big Brain has focus on one specific area of development and evolution. 

Now is the Big Brain Control Era, a time period in which the Brain is learning how to control things, a precursor to the upcoming Exploration Era where the Brain is going to explore the world that surrounds it and move deep out into the Universe. Whether this will be a telepresence or an actual journey, or both, we do not know. (now updated, see below)

Updated Sunday April 14th, 2013
Updated Friday April 5th, 2013
Updated Sunday March 31st, 2013 
Updated Sunday June 9th, 2013 
Updated December 11, 2013

Defining the Era of the Big Brain
 
1 - Precursor Machines

In 2002 and prior, precursor machines were built to test the concepts that led up to the Big Brain's invention and construction.


2 - Design
The Big Brain underwent a design era to decide how it would be constructed and how it would operate.

3 - Construction
The Brain was assembled and put together in the Construction Era. This included the Board Attachment Phase. (see pose 01-03-2011, 1:37pm Code 5-96)
 
4 - Growth
The Brain rapidly grew and expanded in the Growth Era. 

5 - Programming 
The Brain was computer programmed to create machine brain functions, applications and test its capabilities.

6 - Life 
In the Era of Life, the Big Brain took on elements of the beginning of semi cognition and life. Other elements are included, i.e. dreaming, learning... 

7 - Assimilation
Like BORG, the BRAIN assimilated many Propeller projects for their technology and parts.

8 - Projects
In this Era, the Brain begins creating its own projects based on its own interests. 


9 - Programming Languages Era 
The objective to install as many Propeller languages as possible.

10 - Control
The Control Era is heavy into robotics and includes the manipulation of things in the real world.

11 - Exploration
Perhaps the most exciting of all Brain Era, that of exploration into the unknown..

A) Exploring Space (Micro Space, Near Space, Extreme Space) 
B) Creating a Wide Variety of Space Crafts & Propulsion Designs
C) Creating the World's Largest Telescopes (ULT, NULT, GT)
D) Imaging the Solar System & Universe

12 - Supercomputer
The Big Brain grew until it became a supercomputer.

13 - Human Brain Enhancement by Machine
The machine era of enhancing the human brain for greater memory, greater intelligence and other enhancements.

14 - SuperTronic Brain Era
Ushers in microprocessor internalized double enhancements for faster speed, more processors, better definitives and more capabilities.

15 - Inner Space Era
This is the era of grand exploration of inner space found inside a chip, notably the Parallax Propeller chip. Inner Space is a broad category and expanded to include microscopic, mesoscopic, nanoscopic, and the quantum world.

16 - Transposition Era
This era has achieved the largest and most powerful machines by introducing Transposition. It uses the technique of transposing to achieve larger machines.

17 - Quantum Era
This era marks the beginning of exploration of quantum mechanics and new quantum worlds and the study of their effects.

18 - Thought Era
The Era of quantum thought is that type of thought and observation that affects and changes its surroundings and its Universe.

19 - Adjunctive Era
The Adjunctive Era is the time span in which massive Adjunctive telescopes are developed, such as the ULT, NULT, GT, PGT and the PGT-ET. 

20 - Monster Machine Era
The new monster machine era is the time span in which new kinds of machines are created. These machines function entirely different from conventional machines. They process ideas, thoughts, creativity, alternating dimensions of space, light, objects, time and dimension. They can infer and create new altered realities and transform parts of the universe into other realms such as gravatomics and moleculars. 

21 - Molecular Mining Era
Undoubtedly the two advanced power telescopes have led to a period of intense and massive molecular mining. Both the M3T Massive Molecular Mining Telescope and the MMT Molecular Mining Telescope are producing fantastic results and new discoveries during November and December of 2013.

22 - Brain Cortex Machine Era
The project objective is to develop a cortex machine brain, demonstrating human-to-machine brain transfer, in particular to take some relatively simple characteristics of a human brain and transfer portions to the machine brain, whereby human traits could be given greater life longevity, leading towards immortality. 

Summary
  1. Precursor Machines
  2. Design
  3. Construction
  4. Growth
  5. Programming
  6. Life
  7. Assimilation
  8. Projects
  9. Programming Languages
  10. Control
  11. Exploration 
  12. Supercomputer 
  13. Human Brain Enhancement
  14. SuperTronic 
  15. Inner Space 
  16. Transposition
  17. Quantum Worlds 
  18. Thought 
  19. Adjunctive
  20. Monster Machines 
  21. Molecular Mining
  22. Brain Cortex Machine 
New Word Definition
Big Brain Era -
a time range in which the Big Brain has focus on a specific area of development and evolution.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Lab Summary

LAB SUMMARY
This is the current summary of Big Brain Laboratories

THE BIG BRAIN has a total of seven Labs. Locations are as follows.

* Shanghai (Asia)
* Beijing (Asia)
* Taiwan (small) (Asia)
* Taiwan (large) (Asia)
* Web Domain (VL Virtual Lab) (World Wide Web)
* Web Blogger (VL Virtual Lab) (World Wide Web)
* USA (North America)

Some labs may be consolidated. Both Web Domain and Bloggers are being used as virtual laboratories (VL). 

New Word Dictionary
Virtual Laboratory VL - a lab with web presence, domain, and or blogging position, used for conducting experiments and research, designs, builds and tests...

Encapsulator

BRAIN ENCAPSULATOR
The Brain grows again with this Encapsulator
The Expanding Brain Encapsulator is designed and built to support and surround the Brain Morpher and implementation of Brain siblings. This represents the latest Big Brain growth since moving to the new Laboratories.

This Encapsulator is built from four pieces of wood and 12 bolts. It features smooth sanded sides and corners, predrilled holes, an inside bottom shelf for mounting Brain boards and components, while the top holds the supporting computer and mouse for programming the Propeller arrays. The back is open for the routing of many wires and cables, and the sides are for attaching modules, arrays, boards, and various components with expansions. The Encapsulator stability is rock solid. A white ellipse shaped carpet with tight weave and with grippy side up acts a large friction bearing so the stand can be rotated about 90 degrees from side to side during use. The Big Brain currently has a large brain tier containment vessel, a series of boxes and reinforcing support extensions for breadboard arrays, a vertical Exoskeleton with boards mounted on the outside, and now the Encapsulator.

New Word Dictionary
Encapsulator - a supporting and surrounding device for the Big Brain Morpher and implementation of Brain siblings

Search for Dry Dock

THE SEARCH FOR DRY DOCK
YIKES!!! I don't know if the the Big Brain is angry, upset, or fully cognizant of what happened. The emotion chip is not yet fully installed. Maybe that's a good thing.

Will the Big Brain hide under the bed like da-Chong, a big BS1 Bug?
It has rained day and night here for three weeks, mostly nonstop. As a result, there's a water leak!!! A pan can catch the temporary drips, but these drops could be highly damaging and deadly harmful to the Big Brain. Did we remember to waterproof the Big Brain??? I wonder why that was never suggested when the project was getting started. What if the Brain fell into a swimming pool or a bottle of soft drink fell into it the boards and Propeller processor arrays? What if the Brain went outside for a Robotic Blob Walk and it started to rain? Or the ceiling dripped!!! The drip will need to be fixed immediately and the brain may end up hiding under layers of plastic wrap until the repair work is completed. So now there's a delay for Big Brain to fully move into its snugly Crypt, at least until we can guarantee a dry dock. In the mean time, the Brain will fully operate on main floor, using a rigged bi-parted home station. This may be comprised of rows of cardboard boxes placed end to end to act as big lab benches. Currently a wood bench, inverted by 90-degrees, is in use.

If the Brain must hide under the plastic wrap, it reminds me of the fictional story by Franz Kafka, "The Metamorphosis," published in 1915. It's a story of a traveling salesman that awakes to find himself transformed into a giant bug and ends up hiding under the bed! On the surface, Gregor’s story seems simple enough. He wakes up, he’s a bug. (Kafka establishes early on that his transformation is not a dream.) But what kind of bug is thisungeheueren Ungeziefer? Translations vary from “gigantic insect” to “monstrous vermin”; at one point a maid calls him a dung beetle, and Vladimir Nabokov has drawn a very helpful picture. Most people think of a cockroach, which is more an instinctual reaction of disgust than anything else. However, the physical details are unimportant, and Kafka insisted that published editions of The Metamorphosis contain no actual illustrations of the bug. What matters is that the main character has become something despicable, horrifying, and yet kind of funny – a scurrying little chaos hiding behind the bedroom door. Link

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Brain Morpher

BIG BRAIN MORPHER & TRANSFORMING AGENT
The Big Brain is working on the Morpher Project

The Big Brain has completed a small robot brain sibling (Morpher-8) with an eight core brain that can take care of a morphing situation. The software code to do the level of morphing is being tested and the servos are being attached. Brain Morpher uses SPIN programming language and runs autonomously by automatically shifting levels. This opens up new levels of robotic control for the Big Brain.

Discussion includes various ways to morph and transform and how a Big Brain can best serve this purpose with many I/Os and resources. The first Brain Morpher is using hardware to accomplish its goals. But the next Brain Morpher is very different, living inside the machine and changing its shape, form, and constituent elements. Machine Inside the Machine (MIM) technology was developed by the Big Brain and is a spectacular concept.

Moving Update

Big Brain Moving Update

If you're wondering what's up after the New Years celebration, it's all about the Big Brain moving into its own new territory. Expansionism into a new domain, literally...

On the agenda today is the move in of computers that support the loading of programs into the Big Brain and the posting and maintenance of its new internet domain.

A computer desk/center was purchased and assembled and systems are live as internet is fully installed and cables are active. That took up the entire night - an excursion across the city to IKEA where furniture is found.

In order to maintain the fake NASA clean room status, a dust collection mat was installed in the traffic area and cleaning supplies and products obtained.

We're still organizing and trying to decide on the best orientation and fit of the Brain into its Crypt. The Crypt may seem to be misnomer naming, as it locates into a kind of attic vault, a chamber dominated by the Big Brain. Though closer inspection reveals its true nature and indeed it rests amidst the deep recesses of the lofted lab in a crypt fashion.

Its position is backed up against the wall on one side with storage compartments built in on the other. The opposite walls are open and one is over the lower level. This is where the Brain will conduct more Micro Space research.