Tag Archives: Avatar (2009 movie)

Neuromorphic (brainlike) computing and your car (a Mercedes Benz Vision AVTR concept car)

If you’ve ever fantasized about a batmobile of your own, the dream could come true soon,

Mercedes Berz VISION AVTR [downloaded from https://www.mercedes-benz.com/en/innovation/concept-cars/vision-avtr/]

It was the mention of neuromorphic computing in a television ad sometime in September 2022 that sent me on a mission to find out what Mercedes Benz means when they use neuromorphic computing to describe a feature found in their Vision AVTR concept car. First, a little bit about the car (from the Vision AVTR webpage accessed in October 2022),

VISION AVTR – inspired by AVATAR.
The name of the groundbreaking concept vehicle stands not only for the close collaboration in developing the show car together with the AVATAR team but also for ADVANCED VEHICLE TRANSFORMATION. This concept vehicle embodies the vision of Mercedes-Benz designers, engineers and trend researchers for mobility in the distant future.
,,,
Organic battery technology.
The VISION AVTR was designed in line with its innovative electric drive. This is based on a particularly powerful and compact high-voltage battery. For the first time, the revolutionary battery technology is based on graphene-based [emphasis mine] organic cell chemistry and thus completely eliminates rare, toxic and expensive earths such as metals. Electromobility thus becomes independent of fossil resources. An absolute revolution is also the recyclability by composting, which is 100% recyclable due to the materiality. As a result, Mercedes-Benz underlines the high relevance of a future circular economy in the raw materials sector.
…
Masterpiece of efficiency.
At Mercedes-Benz, the consideration of efficiency goes far beyond the drive concept, because with increasing digitalisation, the performance of the large number of so-called secondary consumers also comes into focus – along with their efficient energy supply, without negatively affecting the drive power of the vehicle itself. Energy consumption per computing operation is already a key target in the development of new computer chips. This trend will continue in the coming years with the growth of sensors and artificial intelligence in the automotive industry. The neuro-inspired approach of the VISION AVTR, including so-called neuromorphic hardware, promises to minimise the energy requirements of sensors, chips and other components to a few watts. [emphasis mine] Their energy supply is provided by the cached current of the integrated solar plates on the back of the VISION AVTR. The 33 multi-directionally movable surface elements act as “bionic flaps”.
Interior and exterior merge.
For the first time, Mercedes-Benz has worked with a completely new design approach in the design of the VISION AVTR. The holistic concept combines the design disciplines interior, exterior and UX [user experience] from the first sketch. Man and human perception are the starting point of a design process from the inside out. The design process begins with the experience of the passengers and consciously focuses on the perception and needs of the passengers. The goal was to create a car that prolongs the perception of its passengers. It was also a matter of creating an immersive experience space in which passengers connect with each other, with the vehicle and the surrounding area [emphasis mine ] in a unique way.
…
Intuitive control.
The VISION AVTR already responds to the approach of the passengers by visualising the energy and information flow of the environment with digital neurons that flow through the grille through the wheels to the rear area. The first interaction in the interior between man and vehicle happens completely intuitively via the control unit: by placing the hand on the centre console, the interior comes to life and the vehicle recognises the driver by his breathing. This is made visible on the instrument panel and on the user’s hand. The VISION AVTR thus establishes a biometric connection with the driver [emphasis mine] and increases his awareness of the environment. The digital neurons flow from the interior into the exterior and visualise the flow of energy and information. For example, when driving, the neurons flow over the outside of the vehicle. [emphasis mine] When changing direction, the energy flows to the corresponding side of the vehicle.
The vehicle as an immersive experience space.
The visual connection between passengers and the outside world is created by the curved display module, which replaces a conventional dashboard. The outside world around the vehicle and the surrounding area is shown in real-time 3D graphics and at the same time shows what is happening on the road in front of the vehicle. Combined with energy lines, these detailed real-time images bring the interior to life and allow passengers to discover and interact with the environment in a natural way with different views of the outside world. Three wonders of nature – the Huangshan Mountains of China, the 115-metre-high Hyperion Tree found in the United States and the pink salt Lake Hillier from Australia – can be explored in detail. Passengers become aware of various forces of nature that are not normally visible to the human eye, such as magnetic fields, bioenergy or ultraviolet light.

[downloaded from https://www.mercedes-benz.com/en/innovation/concept-cars/vision-avtr/]

Bionic formal language.
When the boundaries between vehicle and living beings are lifted, Mercedes-Benz combines luxury and sustainability and works to make the vehicles as resource-saving as possible. With the VISION AVTR, the brand is now showing how a vehicle can blend harmoniously into its environment and communicate with it. In the ecosystem of the future, the ultimate luxury is the fusion of human and nature with the help of technology. The VISION AVTR is thus an example of sustainable luxury in the field of design. As soon as you get in, the car becomes an extension of your own body and a tool to discover the environment much as in the film humans can use avatars to extend and expand their abilities.

A few thoughts

The movie, Avatar, was released in 2009 and recently rereleased in movie houses in anticipation of the sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water to be released in December 2022 (Avatar [2009 film] Wikipedia entry). The timing, Avatar and AVTR, is interesting, oui?

Moving onto ‘organic’, which means carbon-based in this instance and, specifically, graphene. Commercialization of graphene is likely top-of-mind for the folks (European Commission) who bet 1B Euros in 2013 with European Union money to fund the Graphene Flagship project. This battery from German company Mercedes Benz must be exciting news for the funders and for people who want to lessen dependency on rare earths. Your battery can be composted safely (according to the advertising).

The other piece of good news, is the neuromorphic computing,

“The neuro-inspired approach of the VISION AVTR, including so-called neuromorphic hardware, promises to minimise the energy requirements of sensors, chips and other components to a few watts.”

On the other hand and keeping in mind the image above (a hand with what looks like an embedded object), it seems a little disconcerting to merge with one’s car, “… passengers connect with each other, with the vehicle and the surrounding area …” which becomes even more disconcerting when this appears in the advertising,

… VISION AVTR thus establishes a biometric connection with the driver … The digital neurons flow from the interior into the exterior and visualise the flow of energy and information. For example, when driving, the neurons flow over the outside of the vehicle.

Are these ‘digital neurons’ flowing around the car like a water current? Also, the car is visualizing? Hmm …

I did manage to find a bit more information about neuromorphic computing although it’s for a different Mercedes Benz concept car (there’s no mention of flowing digital neurons) in a January 18, 2022 article by Sally Ward-Foxton for EE Times (Note: A link has been removed),

The Mercedes Vision EQXX concept car, promoted as “the most efficient Mercedes-Benz ever built,” incorporates neuromorphic computing to help reduce power consumption and extend vehicle range. To that end, BrainChip’s Akida neuromorphic chip enables in-cabin keyword spotting as a more power-efficient way than existing AI-based keyword detection systems.
…
“Working with California-based artificial intelligence experts BrainChip, Mercedes-Benz engineers developed systems based on BrainChip’s Akida hardware and software,” Mercedes noted in a statement describing the Vision EQXX. “The example in the Vision EQXX is the “Hey Mercedes” hot-word detection. Structured along neuromorphic principles, it is five to ten times more efficient than conventional voice control,” the carmaker claimed.
…
That represents validation of BrainChip’s technology by one of its early-access customers. BrainChip’s Akida chip accelerates spiking neural networks (SNNs) and convolutional neural networks (via conversion to SNNs). It is not limited to a particular application, and also run [sic] person detection, voice or face recognition SNNs, for example, that Mercedes could also explore.
…

This January 6, 2022 article by Nitin Dahad for embedded.com describes what were then the latest software innovations in the automotive industry and segues into a description of spiking neural networks (Note: A link has been removed),

The electric vehicle (EV) has clearly become a key topic of discussion, with EV range probably the thing most consumers are probably worried about. To address the range concern, two stories emerged this week – one was Mercedes-Benz’ achieving a 1,000 km range with its VISION EQXX prototype, albeit as a concept car, and General Motors announcing during a CES [Consumer Electronics Show] 2022 keynote its new Chevrolet Silverado EV with 400-mile (640 km) range.
In briefings with companies, I often hear them talk about the software-defined car and the extensive use of software simulation (or we could also call it a digital twin). In the case of both the VISION EQXX and the Silverado EV, software plays a key part. I also spoke to BlackBerry about its IVY platform and how it is laying the groundwork for software-defined vehicles.
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Neuromorphic computing for infotainment
This efficiency is not just being applied to enhancing range though. Mercedes-Benz also points out that its infotainment system uses neuromorphic computing to enable the car to take to “take its cue from the way nature thinks”.

The hardware runs spiking neural networks, in which data is coded in discrete spikes and energy only consumed when a spike occurs, reducing energy consumption by orders of magnitude. In order to deliver this, the carmaker worked with BrainChip, developing the systems based on its Akida processor. In the VISION EQXX, this technology enables the “Hey Mercedes” hot-word detection five to ten times more efficiently than conventional voice control. Mercedes-Benz said although neuromorphic computing is still in its infancy, systems like these will be available on the market in just a few years. When applied on scale throughout a vehicle, they have the potential to radically reduce the energy needed to run the latest AI technologies.
…

For anyone curious about BrainChip, you can find out more here.

It took a little longer than I hoped but I’m glad that I found out a little more about neuromorphic computing and one application in the automotive industry.

Japan’s Minister of Digital Affairs becomes a cybernetic avatar

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Caption: Left: Geminoid TK (Avatar of Taro Kono, Minister of Digital Affairs) Right: Geminoid HI-6 (Avatar of Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro). Credit: ATR & JST Moonshot R&D Avatar Symbiotic Society Project

Amazingly lifelike, eh, and nothing like what you see in James Cameron’s Avatar movies,

“Avatar: The Way of Water” will show in cinemas around the world from December 16. 2022 [downloaded from https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/23/movies/avatar-china-release-intl-hnk/index.html]

Before getting to the press release, this image’s caption helps to explain what Japan’s government wants to accomplish,

Caption: To overcome the challenges of a declining birthrate, aging population and associated labor shortage, the key is to realize a society free from the limitations of body, brain, space, and time and to allow people with various backgrounds and values – such as the elderly and those with responsibilities for nursing and childcare – to actively participate in society. Our R&D will develop core technologies related to cyborgs and avatars, called ‘Cybernetic Avatars’, allowing expansion of human physical, cognitive and perceptual abilities. We will build ‘Cybernetic Avatar Infrastructure’ in the cloud while easing the acceptance of Cybernetic Avatars into future society. Credit: Japan Science and Technology Agency

An October 21, 2022 Japan Science and Technology Agency press release (also on EurekAlert but published November 16, 2022) announces Japan’s Minister of Digital Affairs’ cybernetic avatar (or you could call it a robot),

The use of cybernetic avatars⁽¹⁾ (CAs) will allow their operators to take part in social activities without being physically present at a particular location, thereby enhancing the efficiency of business operations. Further productivity increases will be achieved if a single individual operates multiple avatars. For operations that must be carried out by a designated person (e.g., those in which a designated responsible party must provide some explanation), a CA that closely resembles the individual will create the impression that they are on site, allowing work to be carried out remotely. However, a CA closely resembling the operator may be equated with the individual, even when it is operated by a different person or by artificial intelligence. To realize the use of CAs within social activities, problems related to their “identity” must be taken into consideration: that is, whether perceiving the doings of a CA as the same as those of its operator is acceptable. Such problems should be considered not only by specialists engaged in the design of social systems but also by those experienced with using CAs.
As part of the Moonshot Research and Development Program lead by the Cabinet Office and promoted by the Japan Science and Technology Agency, the group lead by Takahiro Miyashita, director of the Interaction Science Laboratory at Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR), and Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro of the Osaka University Graduate School of Engineering Science are aiming to create highly hospitable CAs capable of moral discourse and conduct; they will conduct a proof-of-concept test using a government minister’s CA to determine the norms for a CA society.
The current project will seek to undertake a proof-of-concept test using the CA of Taro Kono, Minister of Digital Affairs, by the year-end. Using a physical CA, the test will assess whether people feel that the minister is addressing them, whether they are more receptive to what the minister is saying, among other potential effects. Further, a broad range of people will be asked to consider whether it is acceptable to equate the actions of a CA with those of its operator, to aid the determination of new social norms for a CA society.
This initiative is curried out with the cooperation of the Guardian Robot Project, Riken led by a team leader, Dr. Takashi Minato.
(1) Cybernetic Avatar: Cybernetic Avatar is a concept that includes not only remote avatars using robots and 3D images as proxies but also augmentations of physical/cognitive abilities of humans using ICT and robotics. It aims to allow for free action within the cyber-physical environment of Society 5.0. CAs may have various functions and forms that aim to remove the natural limitations of the body, brain, space, and time.
Moonshot Research and Development Program
Moonshot Goal 1: Realization of a society in which human beings can be free from limitations of body, brain, space, and time by 2050.
Program Director (PD): Hagita Norihiro, Chair and Professor, Art Science Department, Osaka University of Arts
The program will utilize a superior level of cyborg- and avatar-related technologies to promote the development of CA technologies that will expand human physical, cognitive, and perceptual abilities, while considering social acceptability. This shall be undertaken in the hope of creating a society wherein humans are liberated from the limitations of body, brain, space, and time, by 2050.
Project: The Realization of an Avatar-Symbiotic Society where Everyone can Perform Active Roles without Constraint
Project Manager: Ishiguro Hiroshi, Professor, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University
The project will see multiple highly hospitable CAs capable of moral dialogue , which act according to users’ reactions while being operated remotely, allowing for participation in a range of daily activities (work, education, healthcare and other everyday activities) without being physically present at a particular location. By the year 2050, lifestyles will have changed markedly in terms of location choice, the use of time, and the expansion of human capacities. Nonetheless, this project will seek to achieve a society wherein people and avatars coexist harmoniously.

If you want to take a look at Minister Kono and his cybernetic avatar in action (one of Hiroshi Ishiguro’s Geminoid robots) in action together, watch the embedded video in this October 25, 2022 news item on the NHK world Japan website “Humanoid replica to assist Japan minister in digital push.”

Hiroshi Ishiguro and his work have been featured here a number of times starting with a March 10, 2011 posting about Danish philosopher, Henrik Scharfe, who commissioned a Geminoid in his own image for his research. I have not been able to find any published articles about Scharfe’s work post Geminoid but that may be due to my inability to read to Danish.

The most recent previous ‘Ishiguro’ posting here is a March 27, 2017 post titled: “Ishiguro’s robots and Swiss scientist question artificial intelligence at SXSW (South by Southwest) 2017.”

TRIUMF (Canada’s national particle accelerator centre) welcomes Nigel Smith as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) on May 17, 2021and some Hollywood news

Nigel Smith and TRIUMF (Canada’s national particle accelerator centre)

As soon as I saw his first name, Nigel, I bet myself he’d be from the UK (more about that later in this posting). This is TRIUMF’s third CEO since I started science blogging in May 2008. When I first started it was called TRIUMF (Canada’s National Laboratory for Particle and Nuclear Physics) but these days it’s TRIUMF (Canada’s national particle accelerator centre).

As for the organization’s latest CEO, here’s more from a TRIUMF February 12, 2021 announcement page ( the text is identical to TRIUMF’s February 12, 2021 press release),

Dr. Nigel Smith, Executive Director of SNOLAB, has been selected to serve as the next Director of TRIUMF.
Succeeding Dr. Jonathan Bagger, who departed TRIUMF in January 2021 to become CEO of the American Physical Society, Dr. Smith’s appointment comes as the result of a highly competitive, six-month international search. Dr. Smith will begin his 5-year term as TRIUMF Director on May 17, 2021.
“I am truly honoured to have been selected as the next Director of TRIUMF”, said Dr. Smith. “I have long been engaged with TRIUMF’s vibrant community and have been really impressed with the excellence of its science, capabilities and people. TRIUMF plays a unique and vital role in Canada’s research ecosystem and I look forward to help continue the legacy of excellence upheld by Dr. Jonathan Bagger and the previous TRIUMF Directors”.
Describing what interested him in the position, Smith spoke to the breadth and impact of TRIUMF’s diverse science programs, stating “TRIUMF has an amazing portfolio of research covering fundamental and applied science that also delivers tangible societal impact through its range of medical and commercialisation initiatives. I am extremely excited to have the opportunity to lead a laboratory with such a broad and world-leading science program.”
“Nigel brings all the necessary skills and background to the role of Director,” said Dr. Digvir Jayas, Interim Director of TRIUMF, Chair of the TRIUMF Board of Management, and Vice-President, Research and International at the University of Manitoba. “As Executive Director of SNOLAB, Dr. Smith is both a renowned researcher and experienced laboratory leader who offers a tremendous track record of success spanning the local, national, and international spheres. The Board of Management is thrilled to bring Nigel’s expertise to TRIUMF so he may help guide the laboratory through many of the exciting developments on the horizon.
Dr. Smith joins TRIUMF at an important period in the laboratory’s history, moving into the second year of our current Five-Year Plan (2020-2025) and preparing to usher in a new era of science and innovation that will include the completion of the Advance Rare Isotope Laboratory (ARIEL) and the Institute for Advanced Medical Isotopes (IAMI) [not to be confused with Amii {Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute}]. This new infrastructure, alongside TRIUMF’s existing facilities and world-class research programs, will solidify Canada’s position as a global leader in both fundamental and applied research.
Dr. Smith expressed his optimism for TRIUMF, saying “I am delighted to have this opportunity, and it will be a pleasure to lead the laboratory through this next exciting phase of our growth and evolution.”

Smith is leaving what is probably one of the more unusual laboratories, at a depth of 2km, SNOLAB is the deepest, cleanest laboratory in the world. (more information either at SNOLAB or its Wikipedia entry.)

Is Smith from the UK? Some clues

I found my subsequent clues on SNOLAB’s ‘bio’ page for Dr. Nigel Smith,

Nigel Smith joined SNOLAB as Director during July 2009. He currently holds a full Professorship at Laurentian University, adjunct Professor status at Queen’s University, and a visiting Professorial chair at Imperial College, London. He received his Bachelor of Science in physics from Leeds University in the U.K. in 1985 and his Ph. D. in astrophysics from Leeds in 1991. He has served as a lecturer at Leeds University, a research associate at Imperial College London, group leader (dark matter) and deputy division head at the STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, before relocating to Canada to oversee the SNOLAB deep underground facility.

The answer would seem to be yes, Nigel James Telfer Smith is originally from the UK.

I don’t know if this is going to be a trend but this is the second ‘Nigel” to lead TRIUMF. (The Nigels are now tied with the Johns and the Alans. Of course, the letter ‘j’ seems the most popular with four names, John, John, Jack, and Jonathan.) Here’s a list of TRIUMF’s previous CEOs (from the TRIUMF Wikipedia entry),

Since its inception, TRIUMF has had eight directors [now nine] overseeing its operations.

John Warren – 1968–1971
John Reginald Richardson – 1971–1976
Jack Sample – 1976–1981
Erich Vogt – 1981–1994
Alan Astbury – 1994–2001
Alan Shotter – 2001–2007
Nigel S Lockyer – 2007–2013
Jonathan A Bagger – 2014–present [Bagger’s appointment as the CEO for the American Physical Society was announced on August 13, 2020]

The first Nigel (Lockyer) is described as an American in his Wikipedia entry. He was born in Scotland and raised in Canada. However, he has spent the majority of his adult life in the US, other than the five or six years at TRIUMF. So, previous Nigel also started life in the UK.

Good luck to the new Nigel.

UBC forestry professor, Suzanne Simard’s memoir going to the movies?

Given that Simard’s memoir, Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest, was published last week on May 4, 2021, this is very heady news,. From a May 12, 2021 article by Cassandra Gill for the Daily Hive (Note: Links have been removed),

Jake Gyllenhaal is bringing the story of a UBC professor to the big screen.
The Oscar nominee’s production company, Nine Stories, is producing a film based on Suzanne Simard’s memoir, Finding the Mother Tree.
Amy Adams is set to play Simard, who is a forest ecology expert renowned for her research on plants and fungi.
Adams is also co-producing the film with Gyllenhaal through her own company, Bond Group Entertainment.
…
The BC native [Simard] developed an interest in trees and the outdoors through her close relationship with her grandfather, who was a horse logger.
Her 30 year career and early life is documented in the memoir, which was released last week on May 4 [2021]. Simard explores how trees have evolved, have memories, and are the foundation of our planet’s ecosystem — along with her own personal experiences with grief.
The scientists’ [sic] influence has had influence in popular culture, notably in James Cameron’s 2009 film Avatar. The giant willow-like “Tree of Souls” was specifically inspired by Simard’s work.
…

No mention of a script and no mention of financing, so, it could be a while before we see the movie on Netflix, Apple+, HBO, or maybe a movie house (if they’re open by then).

I think the script may prove to the more challenging aspect of this project. Here’s the description of Simard’s memoir (from the Finding the Mother Tree webpage on suzannesimard.com)

From the world’s leading forest ecologist who forever changed how people view trees and their connections to one another and to other living things in the forest–a moving, deeply personal journey of discovery.
About the Book
In her first book, Simard brings us into her world, the intimate world of the trees, in which she brilliantly illuminates the fascinating and vital truths – that trees are not simply the source of timber or pulp, but are a complex, interdependent circle of life; that forests are social, cooperative creatures connected through underground networks by which trees communicate their vitality and vulnerabilities with communal lives not that different from our own.
Simard writes – in inspiring, illuminating, and accessible ways – how trees, living side by side for hundreds of years, have evolved, how they perceive one another, learn and adapt their behaviors, recognize neighbors, and remember the past; how they have agency about the future; elicit warnings and mount defenses, compete and cooperate with one another with sophistication, characteristics ascribed to human intelligence, traits that are the essence of civil societies – and at the center of it all, the Mother Trees: the mysterious, powerful forces that connect and sustain the others that surround them.

How does Simard’s process of understanding trees and conceptualizing a ‘mother tree’ get put into a script for a movie that’s not a documentary or an animation?

Movies are moving pictures, yes? How do you introduce movement and action in a script heavily focused on trees, which operate on a timescale that’s vastly different.

It’s an interesting problem and I look forward to seeing how it’s resolved. I wish them good luck.

FrogHeart

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