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Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Science
International
Bali News
International
Apes show complex cognitive skills watching ‘King Kong’ videos
REUTERS/Jim Drury
(From L-R) Daan Bregman and assistant professor Andrea Sciacchitano, from Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), and Teun Van Erp, sports scientist at Team Giant-Alpecin, pose with a 3D-printed mannequin replica of Dutch cyclist Tom Dumoulin wearing a special skinsuit they co-designed, in Delft, the Netherlands October 4, 2016.
3D mannequin helps cyclist go for gold
WASHINGTON - Scientists using homemade videos featuring a person in a King Kong costume have documented a remarkable cognitive skill shared by chimpanzees, bonobos and orangutans: the human-like ability to recognize when someone else’s beliefs are wrong. The research demonstrated that these great apes, humankind’s closest living evolutionary cousins, possess a capability thought until now to have been the exclusive domain of people, the scientists said on Thursday. As individual apes were shown videos featuring a human actor and a costumed ape-like King Kong character, researchers tracked their eye movements. In the video, the human watches King Kong hide an object in one of two boxes. When the person leaves, King Kong moves the object to a new location. When the person returns to find the object, the apes looked intently at the original spot in anticipation of the person searching there. Even though the apes knew the object had been moved, they understood that the human thought it was still there, said study co-leader Fumihiro Kano, a comparative psychologist at Kyoto University in Japan. The ability to think about others’ thoughts and emotions is at the heart of so much of human social behavior, including our unique forms of communication, cooperation and culture, said study coleader Christopher Krupenye. At the core of this ability is understanding that others’ actions are guided not necessarily by reality but by their beliefs about reality, even when false, added Krupenye, a comparative psychologist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany who worked on the study, published in the journal Science, at Duke University. Human children fully develop this understanding by around age 4 or 5. “Apes are incredibly intelligent, which isn’t so surprising given that they are our closest relatives, but I think that a lot of people underestimate the cognitive abilities of animals in general,” Krupenye said. By studying these apes, researchers seek to learn which aspects of human psychology are unique to people and which are shared with other apes and thus likely were present in the common ancestor that lived some 13 to 18 million years ago before the split of the evolutionary lineage of humans and those other species, Krupenye added. (rtr)
DELFT - By printing a 3D mannequin of leading international cyclist Tom Dumoulin and testing a series of skinsuits on his replica inside a wind tunnel until they found the perfect fit, researchers-at-tu-delft-believe-they-can-help-team-giant-alpecin-win-gold-at-the-uci-roadworld-championships”>researchers at TU Delft believe they can help Team Giant-Alpecin win gold at the UCI Road World Championships in Doha. Olympic silver medalist Tom Dumoulin is confident of winning a gold medal in the men’s time trial at the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) Road World Championships in Doha on October 12 - and the leading cyclist has a secret weapon. A skinsuit worn by the Dutchman was developed by researchers at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), in conjunction with his team, Team Giant-Alpecin, using an unusual technique. The inter-disciplinary team from TU Delft scanned Dumoulin’s body using photogrammetry, before 3D printing a full-sized replica mannequin of his body in classic riding
posture. The mannequin was then dressed in a series of skinsuits made of various fabrics and placed on his bicycle saddle, where it underwent tests in the university’s wind tunnel. Dr Jouke Verlinden, of TU Delft’s Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, led the development of the mannequin, which first involved placing 150 DSLR cameras in a room and programming them to each simultaneously take a single image of Dumoulin sitting absolutely still on the cycle. Verlinden told Reuters: “You really want to have someone like that fixed in the right position and you need to have an instant 3D scan
of that. We used a system based on photogrammetry, so taking a lot of pictures with a high-resolution camera, an SLR camera, and we had a rig with 150 of these cameras which took one picture completely at the same time, and from that we could reconstruct a 3D model.” The mannequin was constructed using an inexpensive 3D printing method. This consisted of turning two household 3D printing machines on their head, so they could print up to two meters high, producing Dumoulin’s replica in eight separate parts. It took a total of 50 hours to print, before each part was attached via simple pinand-hole joints. (rtr)
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
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Banyuwangi - Lombok sea toll road will require bans in Bali
IBP/eka
The governemnt has not given much attention to maintaining the beauty of these importatnt beaches and so their appearance has become chaotic.
Chaotic appearance of Segara and Sindhu Beaches to be addressed
DENPASAR - Bali’s roads already bear a heavy load, but this condition is made even worse by the fact that Bali’s roads are classified as class II, while those in Java are classified as class II. This differnece alone means that many trucks coming from Java bear heavier loads than Bali’s roads can handle. Tonnage violations by frieght trucks are common making the Denpasar-Gilimanuk road way prone to congestion and dammage is caused to many other of Bali’s roads too. “Hopefully, the Banyuwangi-Lombok sea toll will in fact be built so that the burden on Bali’s roads can be alleviated – particularly the Gilimanuk Padangbai section of road over which many freight trucks form Java pass everyday”, said Secretary of Commission III of the Bali House of Representatives, Ketut Kariyasa Adnyana, when contacted on Sunday (Oct. 9). Kariyasa added that not only do trucks with escessive tonnage accelerate the rate of deterioration of Bali’s roads, but they also ose a threat to other infrastructure, such as briges that threaten to collapse. Bali’s parliament therefor strongly supports the building of the Banywangi-Lombok sea toll, so that trucks heading for Lombok will be able to bypass Bali altogether. Certainly adequte regulations alos need to be issued, he added. “Such a seaway needs to be accompanied by regulations that would forbid freight trucks that are heading to Lombok from using Bali’s roads”, explained Kariyasa. Member of Commission II of the Bali House of Representatives, Tjok Asmara Putra Sukawati, says that Bali has been suffering great losses due to trucks carrying excessive tonnage. To make matters worse, many of these trucks are using Bali’s roads to transport freight that is not destined to meet the needs of the Island of the Gods. “The sea toll will have a postitive impact on Bali as the burden on the isalnds roads will be lessened when only trucks carrying goods destined for Bali are allowed to use Bali’S roads, and will also make it easier to keep tabs on freight trucks in terms of tonnage”, said Tjok Sukawati. He also pointed out that presently all too many overwieght trucks paly a game of hide and seek with authorities and end up dammaging Bali’s infrasturcture. Tjok Sukawati added that in order to optimize the utilization of Bali’S roads by freight trucks, there also needs to be a warehouse built in Gilimanuk so that the logistics of freight being brought in can be handled more effectively. For example, cargo headed for Denpasar can be transported directly to Denpasar, while cargo headed fo Singaraja can pass through Jembrana without having to pass through Denpasar. Such a system would also help alleiviate the burden of excessive tonnage – even for trucks that are delivering goods to Bali, he explained. (kmb32)
DENPASAR - The beauty of Sanur Beach and surrounding areas is famous the world over and, as Bali’s first tourism village, is one of the island’s main attractions. Unfortunately, the governemnt has not given much attention to maintaining the beauty of these importatnt beaches and so their appearance has become chaotic.
REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov/File Photo
Zoo staff Sholpan Abdibekova and Tomiris, a five-year-old chimpanzee, react as they watch a BBC environmental programme in a primate winter enclosure in Almaty March 6, 2015.
Sanur community leader, A.A. Gede Putra Ariewangsa, when met on Sunday (Oct. 9) said that the government should undertake a comprehensive restructuring to the attractions in Denpasar because their contribution to the regionally generated revenue (PAD) is significant. On that account, the mutual benefit that would come from this reform should be undertaken well. “The current condition of theese beaches should not be allowed to persist with vendors selling their wares haphazardly and disrumpting the comfrot of travellers. The lack of organization has given way dirty and choatic conditions” said
Ariewangsa who is also a Denpasar legislator. He pointed out that many merchants on Segara Beach and Sindhu Beach annex parts of the coastal border to sell their wares. Not only does this make things dirty and choatic but also sets a bad precedence leading others to break the law and tarnish the image of Sanur. What will happen if tourists stop coming here?”, he added. As a resident of Sanur himself Ariewangsa expressed his hope that the Munisicpality of Denpasar, and other authorized agencies, will immediately undertake to coordinate with Sanur Villlage and relevant parties so that viola-
tors can be disciplined. Aarrangements to Sanur Beach have in fact been ongoing since 2001 when the foorpath along the coast was first created. The Bali-Penida River Agency, along with the Directorate General of Water Resources, Ministry of Public Works are working together to make the beach even more beautiful. The plan is to make the footpath the border for merchants so that they do not block the view of the beach. Only movable merchandise will be allowed to be placed along the beach and no permanent buildings will be allowed to block the sea view. (kmb12)
IBP/file
Not only do trucks with escessive tonnage accelerate the rate of deterioration of Bali’s roads, but they also ose a threat to other infrastructure, such as briges that threaten to collapse.