01 August 08

Features

The Linz Effect

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Robot engineer Guido Bugmann was over in Linz earlier this year with his squad of University of Plymouth robot footballers,for Euroby 2008, an Ars Electronicasponsored robot soccer championship. He laments the lack of funding available for applied research.

“There’s a great research gap in what we’re doing,” he says, as one of his robots slowly dribbles a ball around obstacles to the delight of local schoolchildren. His design philosophy? Teach a robot to play football, teach it one day to do all the jobs around a house.

“Researchers publish papers full of formulae, but no one wants to solve how robots can manipulate wet socks. That’s where the market is, that’s what users want – technology that can do something useful,” he says.

Like Bugmann’s robots, Ars Electronica’s events sometimes take off on a tangent before closing in on their goal. Yes, the festival blows your socks off, but it slips in a promise, too – to give them a good scrub in the near future.

Guide vs smartphone
Touring Linz

THE GUIDE
Christine Nowotny, a Linz tour guide for 16 years, can handle language questions naturally. She smiles. As long as her clients stop for a drink every now and then, she’s certain her batteries won’t give out. Linz guides will also be able to give multimedia presentations via new pavement computer screens from late 2009.
COST: max three hours, max 40 guests, €85.
VERDICT: humans are difficult to beat.
CONTACT:
www.linz-tours.at

THE SMARTPHONE
Janne Haverinen is a professor at the Computer Engineering Laboratory of Finland’s University of Oulu. He visited a Linz robotics conference and found his Nokia smartphone “indispensable”. It’s not GPS-enabled, but by downloading Google Maps, he could pinpoint his location, as well as bars and restaurants. Maps can be slow sometimes, but then there’s always the brand new, GPS-enabled iPhone 3G.
COST: price varies, depending on contract.
VERDICT: smartphones are getting better all the time.

CONTACT:
www.apple.com

OVERALL VERDICT:
human wins this time, but it’s no knockout!

Where to eat, drink and sleep

LENTOS ART MUSEUM RESTAURANTCAFÉ-BAR

Enjoy the café’s great location on the side of the Danube, while refueling on upmarket pizza, pasta and Wiener schnitzel. Also check out the award-winning art gallery, which glows neon at night.
1 ERNST-KOREFPROMENADE TEL: +43 (0)73 278 4242

REMEMBAR BAR-CAFÉ
Pretty people partying to DJs’ top house tunes. There’s also Wi-fion tap for those who can’t shake their inner geek.
17–25 LANDSTRASSE

ARCOTEL NIKE
Stay at this stylish, modern hotel, right by the Danube. Rooms have a great view of the Linz skyline, the countryside beyond and whatever’s in your web browser.
9 UNTERE DONAULÄNDE TEL: +43 (0)73 276 260

FOR MORE DETAILS ON ARS ELECTRONICA, VISIT WWW.AEC.AT