The Game Animators Guide to Maya
Book’s Description:
Game animation is a demanding art. Not only do you have to deliver realistic, beautiful animations, but you have to do so under strict real-time, video-game constraints. The Game Animator’s Guide to Maya is your focused resource for using Maya to create professional-level game animations for console and PC games. Written by a game industry veteran and featuring interviews with professional animators and artists from around the country, this focused book features specific, detailed, real-world game animation techniques. It’s the perfect reference and tutorial for those looking to develop or refine their game animation skills.
Download Link:
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Monday, September 1, 2008
Robotics for Kids: Robot Playmates Help Autistic Kids With Social Skills
Robotics is going pupular with kids…
A news say that robots may help kids for their social skills:
THURSDAY, Aug. 7 (HealthDay News) — Many children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) interact more easily with mechanical devices than with humans, according to new reports.
Researchers at the University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering, who have presented their finding at various conferences in the United States and in Europe this summer, found that Socially Assisted Robotics (SAR) that blow bubbles, toot horns and even make facial expressions appear to increase the child’s speech and interaction levels.
“I am gratified by these preliminary results,” Maja Mataric, a professor at the USC Interaction Laboratory, said in a news releases issued by the university. “I believe that Socially Assistive Robotics has a part to play in helping families, both the affected children and their parents and siblings.”
The initial study, reported in a June Conference on Interaction Design for Children with Special Needs in Chicago, paired an ASD child with a colorful bubble-blowing wheeled robot that either operated on its own or blew bubbles when the child pushed a button.
“We found that the behavior of the robot affects the social behavior of a child (both human-human interaction and human-robot interaction): social behavior with a contingent robot was greater than with a random robot,” the report stated.
“Generally, when the robot was acting contingently, the child was more sociable,” the authors wrote.
Two other presentations — made at the International Symposium on Experimental Robotics in Athens, Greece, in July, and at the IEEE Proceedings of the International Workshop on Robot and Human Interactive Communication — discuss these results and efforts to make the robots flexible and useful tools in ASD therapy.
http://www.washingtonpost.com
A news say that robots may help kids for their social skills:
THURSDAY, Aug. 7 (HealthDay News) — Many children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) interact more easily with mechanical devices than with humans, according to new reports.
Researchers at the University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering, who have presented their finding at various conferences in the United States and in Europe this summer, found that Socially Assisted Robotics (SAR) that blow bubbles, toot horns and even make facial expressions appear to increase the child’s speech and interaction levels.
“I am gratified by these preliminary results,” Maja Mataric, a professor at the USC Interaction Laboratory, said in a news releases issued by the university. “I believe that Socially Assistive Robotics has a part to play in helping families, both the affected children and their parents and siblings.”
The initial study, reported in a June Conference on Interaction Design for Children with Special Needs in Chicago, paired an ASD child with a colorful bubble-blowing wheeled robot that either operated on its own or blew bubbles when the child pushed a button.
“We found that the behavior of the robot affects the social behavior of a child (both human-human interaction and human-robot interaction): social behavior with a contingent robot was greater than with a random robot,” the report stated.
“Generally, when the robot was acting contingently, the child was more sociable,” the authors wrote.
Two other presentations — made at the International Symposium on Experimental Robotics in Athens, Greece, in July, and at the IEEE Proceedings of the International Workshop on Robot and Human Interactive Communication — discuss these results and efforts to make the robots flexible and useful tools in ASD therapy.
http://www.washingtonpost.com
Line Follower Robot Tutorial
Build your own line follower / line tracker robot…!
Microcontroller : Atmel ATMega8535
Sensor: 6 photodioda sensor
Motor driver : L298 dual driver (up to 1A of electric current)
Download the full tutorial include schematic diagram and program code ( C language ):
DOWNLOAD LINK
Microcontroller : Atmel ATMega8535
Sensor: 6 photodioda sensor
Motor driver : L298 dual driver (up to 1A of electric current)
Download the full tutorial include schematic diagram and program code ( C language ):
DOWNLOAD LINK
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Automatically close non-responsive programs
With a small registry tweak, Windows XP can be set to automatically close any program that 'stops responding' (crashes), eliminating the need for you to use the task manager to close down the offending software manually.
To do this:
Open REGEDIT and navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\ Desktop
Modify the REG_SZ entry AutoEndTasks with a value of 1
To do this:
Open REGEDIT and navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\ Desktop
Modify the REG_SZ entry AutoEndTasks with a value of 1
Set monitor refresh rate
Every monitor has a maximum refresh rate it is capable of displaying at a given resolution (for example, a typical 17-inch monitor of a few years ago will happily crank out 85Hz or more at a resolution of 800x600, but may only be capable of 60Hz at 1600x1200).
If this refresh rate is exceeded, the image will be distorted and unusable.
Older CRT monitors, especially 15-inch or smaller ones, tend not to be capable of a refresh rate much over 60Hz, especially at resolutions greater than 640X480. Also, setting the refresh rate does not have the same effect on LCD or flat panel monitors, as their screens are not redrawn in the same way.
To change your monitor refresh rate: Right click on an empty space on your desktop (no icons) and select 'properties.' Click the 'settings' tab and choose the 'advanced' button. Now choose the 'adaptor' tab and click the 'show all modes' button.
This presents you with a list of resolution, colour and refresh rate options that your video card\monitor combination is capable of displaying. You can experiment with these settings by using the 'apply' button. Note that a refresh rate of 75Hz or above is generally recommended, (keep in mind most monitors do not support settings higher than 85Hz).
After you set the refresh rate, you may feel a little uncomfortable for a short while as your eyes adjust, but rest assured you will grow to appreciate the difference in ease of viewing.
If this refresh rate is exceeded, the image will be distorted and unusable.
Older CRT monitors, especially 15-inch or smaller ones, tend not to be capable of a refresh rate much over 60Hz, especially at resolutions greater than 640X480. Also, setting the refresh rate does not have the same effect on LCD or flat panel monitors, as their screens are not redrawn in the same way.
To change your monitor refresh rate: Right click on an empty space on your desktop (no icons) and select 'properties.' Click the 'settings' tab and choose the 'advanced' button. Now choose the 'adaptor' tab and click the 'show all modes' button.
This presents you with a list of resolution, colour and refresh rate options that your video card\monitor combination is capable of displaying. You can experiment with these settings by using the 'apply' button. Note that a refresh rate of 75Hz or above is generally recommended, (keep in mind most monitors do not support settings higher than 85Hz).
After you set the refresh rate, you may feel a little uncomfortable for a short while as your eyes adjust, but rest assured you will grow to appreciate the difference in ease of viewing.
Renaming The Recycle Bin icon:
To change the name of the Recycle Bin desktop icon, click Start then goto Run, write Regedit and press Enter. It opens Registry Editor. Now in Registry Editor go to:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/CLSID/{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
and change the name "Recycle Bin" to whatever you want (don't type any quotes).
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/CLSID/{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
and change the name "Recycle Bin" to whatever you want (don't type any quotes).
Modify autoplay for different types of CD
Windows XP includes the ability to perform different actions depending on the type of CD you insert into the drive. For example, you could set your system to always respond to CDs containing MP3 files by opening Windows Media Player.
To edit the Autoplay properties: Open 'my computer'. Right click on the drive you wish to set and select 'properties.' Choose the autoplay tab. Use the dropdown box to see the various recognized types of CD and choose appropriate actions for them.
To edit the Autoplay properties: Open 'my computer'. Right click on the drive you wish to set and select 'properties.' Choose the autoplay tab. Use the dropdown box to see the various recognized types of CD and choose appropriate actions for them.
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