How robots bring the mob life to you
Las Vegas’s Mob Museum is one of few museums to offer telepresence robot tours.
Pamela Forth was determined to bring a little culture into her fiancé’s life.
That was no easy feat. Two decades earlier, a car accident left Roger Sprong a quadriplegic with limited mobility. That made any trip too far beyond his Valparaiso, Indiana, home a challenge.
But Forth, a 61-year-old teacher from Palm Harbor, Florida, was determined, and learned about telepresence robots — roughly 5-foot tall machines with a large display and cameras, all on wheels — that let people with physical disabilities remotely tour different venues. As it turned out, the Mob Museum in Las Vegas had just invested in such a robot, the Beam Pro from Suitable Technologies, and was looking for guinea pigs.
So in March, Forth and Sprong sat together on his bed, turned on his computer, downloaded the software and piloted the robot through the first floor of the museum, which features a long hallway adorned with pictures of all the known mob „Made Men“ and their associates.
Sprong used his keyboard to maneuver the robot, which the museum affectionately calls „Moe-Bot. “
„It was neat to go on a virtual date together,“ Forth said.
They had a blast, and made plans to see the final two floors. But Sprong died in August before he was able to complete the tour. Even so, his feedback helped shape the experience for future guests — many of whom deal with physical ailments.
The five-year-old Mob Museum is just one of 10 museums who’ve adopted the Beam Pro robot to give people a chance to view an exhibit virtually. Other museums include the San Diego Museum of Art and the de Young Museum in San Francisco. As Forth and Sprong found, that’s a massive boon to people with physical disabilities, opening a pipeline into an array of cultural experiences.
This is what happens when a CNET editor tries to get away from CES 2017 for a little bit.
„We certainly see Beam use growing in the museum and cultural arts markets,“ said Christa Cliver, director of education business development at Suitable Technologies, which at CES 2017 announced a faster, longer-lasting version of its robot .
While these kinds of robots seem like a novelty for now, you may soon see one at your local school, hospital or factory. President Obama greeted the organizer of a disability organization via a Beam Pro in July 2015.
The market for telepresence robot devices and systems is expected to reach $7 billion by 2022, according to Wintergreen Research. That’s a massive jump from its market size of $825 million in 2015.
Just four miles north of the hustle and bustle of the CES 2017 trade show at the Las Vegas Convention Center, I stood in the middle of the third floor of the Mob Museum. On one side, there was an actual wall from the St. Valentine’s Day massacre in Chicago — replete with bullet holes. On the other side, there’s a row of wooden barrels, their bases burned in with images of notable figures from the Prohibition era.
It was at that moment I got a strange sense of déjà vu.
My virtual experience in the museum was comparable to my real-life visit.
That’s because two weeks ago, I took the same tour with the Moe-Bot and a real-life guide who walked me through the various exhibits. They ranged from a look at well-known gangsters like Al Capone and Charles „Lucky“ Luciano to a review of the early days of Las Vegas and how mob influence nurtured the city’s growth.
The virtual tour, which costs $80 and is only done in the morning before other visitors arrive, gave me a near-complete experience of the museum. One of the wide-angle cameras broadcast what was in front of the robot, while a second camera was angled down so I could see what was in front of its „feet. “
A look at what it’s like to pilot the Beam robot.
Virtual lines would occasionally appear on the feed to show me where the robot was headed.
I used a keyboard to navigate, kind of how I’d do that in a PC shooter game. Every once in a while, my wife would peek over out of curiosity.
My guide, Cordia Gay, spoke directly to the camera, so it felt like she was talking to me. She even waved to my wife at one point. She was friendly and knowledgeable, and I got the sense I was getting more information than I would have with the usual self-guided tour, which cost $23.95.
There were some limitations. Video quality suffered when I zoomed in too much to read some of the history on the walls. Watching video screens was a little tough.
There were also a lot of interactive exhibits I couldn’t access. It wasn’t until I showed up in person that I was able to fire the replica „Tommy Gun. “
But overall, the 90-minute tour was one of my most fulfilling museum experiences.
There’s just some exhibits you can’t experience with a robot.
Pamela Forth and Roger Sprong were one of the first visitors to try the Moe-Bot.
The service was made available early last year, and has done about 10 tours.
The museum was originally conceived by former mob attorney and mayor Oscar Goodman in 2002. It has since drawn interest around the world thanks hit movies like “ Goodfellas “ and “ The Godfather “ and TV shows like “ The Sopranos “ and “ Boardwalk Empire. “ The Beam robot offers a cheaper option that booking a ticket to Vegas.
„For people who can’t see it, we’re always looking for things to do that are outside the box,“ said Brenda Hengel, marketing manager for the Mob Museum.
Most of the people who have expressed interest have a disability, Gay said. They’re pretty savvy about the software required to run the robot.
Indeed, Forth applauded the experience as a way to engage the mind of a person with physical disabilities.
„So many people treat quadriplegics like, since they’re body is broken, their mind should be too,“ Forth said. „It doesn’t occur to them that it’s the same person. „
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„Alexa, why are you winning the smart home market? “ 
HAMBANTOTA, Sri Lanka: Sri Lankan police used tear gas and water cannons on Saturday to disperse hundreds of stone-throwing demonstrators protesting against a planned investment zone supported by China.
Rarely does a layover draw intense international scrutiny. 
China’s foreign exchange reserves continued its downslide in December as it declined for straight six months to hit a five year low. However, the Chinese government can take respite in the fact that the decline was less than what most analysts had expected. 
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has arrived in Houston for a brief transit stop during her trip to Central America. Her congratulatory phone call to President-elect Donald Trump after his election victory caused controversy in U. S.-China relations. (Jan. 7)
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has vowed to bolster the self-ruled island’s international presence as she heads on a four-nation trip to Central America. The diplomatic mission, with stopovers in the United States, will be closely scrutinised by Beijing for signs of future US policies regarding Taiwan. An irritated Beijing, which warned Washington against admitting Tsai, is certain to react with stronger pressure against Taipei if Tsai meets with US president-elect Donald Trump or his team, observers on both sides of the Taiwan Strait said. Tsai began her nine-day visit on Saturday – her second since taking office in May. She was due to arrive in Houston the same day, where she would stop overnight, before heading to Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador. She is scheduled to return to Taipei on January 14 following a second US stopover, this time in San Francisco. “I have two important missions on this visit,” Tsai said at a brief conference at Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei, prior to her departure. “One is to cement ties with our allies and increase Taiwan’s global presence. “The other is to deepen bilateral cooperation programmes with our allies,” she said, adding she would seize the opportunity to have closer interaction not just with the leaders of Taiwan’s allies, but also with leaders of other countries. The trip is crucial for Taiwan as it struggles to retain its remaining 21 allies despite pressure from Beijing, especially amid rising concern that Nicaragua might soon move its allegiance to the mainland. Tsai’s trip follows a phone conversation between her and Trump last month, which broke decades-old diplomatic protocol. In a move that further infuriated Beijing, Trump later questioned the validity of the one-China policy if Beijing did not make concessions on trade and other issues. Beijing, which sees Taiwan as a renegade province, warned that Sino-US cooperation would be jeopardised if the one-China policy was not adhered to. Although a meeting between Trump and Tsai is not expected during her trip, Beijing is closely following every move Tsai makes. It is particularly watching for any interaction between her and the Trump team, to determine whether the future US administration might change its Taiwan policy, observers said. Wang Min, from the Institute of Taiwan Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said whether Tsai would make any “provocative remarks” during her stay in the United States would present the “bottom line” of both Tsai and Trump. “Beijing will be able to predict the level of future interaction between Taiwan and the US judging from who Tsai meets – the level of seniority of the aides,” Wang said. “The second sign to watch is what the two sides talk about and what agreements are made between them. “This is difficult to determine but we will be able to tell from Tsai’s words and actions after her return to Taiwan.” In the run up to Trump’s inauguration on January 20, both Beijing and officials from the current Barack Obama administration are seeking to ensure the one-China policy will endure. Outgoing US Secretary of State John Kerry told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in a phone conversation on Thursday that Washington would uphold the policy, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. Bonnie Glaser, director of the China Power Project at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said Beijing was worried the Trump administration could abandon the one-China policy and that would embolden Tsai to push for independence. “They likely fear that private discussions during this transit [of Tsai] could pave the way for such an outcome,” she said. Glaser also said it would be “unwise” for Tsai to interact with the Trump team during her trip. “Her administration has many ways to communicate with the incoming US administration,” she said. “The phone call with Trump and his subsequent suggestion that Taiwan could be used as a bargaining chip to extract trade concessions from China has been very damaging to Tsai and she is likely to be very cautious.” Beijing cut off official communications with Taipei after Tsai was inaugurated in May. It also boosted efforts to curb Taiwan’s participation in international forums and has established diplomatic relations with former Taipei allies. Such attempts have intensified, with small West African nation Sao Tome and Principe breaking ties with Taipei, and also extended to the military front. The PLA’s Liaoning aircraft carrier sailed 90 nautical miles south of Taiwan last month in an exercise described by Beijing as routine. Tang Shao-cheng, a professor from Taiwan’s National Chengchi University, said Beijing would react strongly if Tsai met with the Trump team. “Within the year, tensions across the straits might escalate into an all-out confrontation – from verbal warnings to concrete measures taken by Beijing,” Tang said. “If Tsai is to make any move that upsets Beijing, Beijing might take measures against Taiwan to prove that Trump is wrong,” he said, citing possible efforts by Beijing to resume ties with more of Taiwan’s allies. Jonathan Sullivan, director of the China Policy Institute at the University of Nottingham, said a meeting between Tsai and the Trump team was unlikely, and that Tsai had other serious matters to attend to with regard to shoring up Taiwan’s shrinking diplomatic alliances.
Clashes between protesters and government supporters have erupted in southern Sri Lanka during a rally against a port deal with China. 
Hundreds of thousands of protestors returned to the streets of Seoul on Saturday, demanding impeached President Park Geun-hye’s immediate removal and which left more than 300 dead. by parliament last month over an influence-peddling scandal and the Constitutional Court now has to decide whether to confirm the impeachment. The corruption scandal has brought huge numbers of protesters onto the streets every week demanding Park’s removal and she is also under fire over her response to the Sewol ferry accident in 2014. “Park step down, salvage the Sewol,” the protestors, estimated to number half a million by organisers, chanted as they marched toward the presidential Blue House, the prime minister’s office and the constitutional court. At 7pm hundreds of yellow balloons were released and the protestors blew out the candles they were carrying as a symbolic gesture asking that Park clarify the mystery surrounding her seven-hour absence at the time of the ferry sinking. Unconfirmed media reports have suggested a wide range of theories regarding Park’s whereabouts, including a romantic liaison, participation in a shamanistic ritual, cosmetic surgery or a 90-minute haircut. The protesters also urged the government to speed up its efforts to salvage the ship to determine the exact cause of the disaster. Regarding the corruption case, Park has repeatedly denied accusations she colluded with a long-time friend, Choi Soon-il, to strong-arm donations worth tens of millions of dollars from top firms which were then funnelled to dubious foundations. The president still has her supporters however, with an estimated 30,000 demonstrators staging a counter-protest Saturday outside the office of a special prosecutor investigating the scandal. Waving national flags and chanting military songs, the protesters dismissed the impeachment move as a conspiracy spawned by “pro-North Korean” leftists seeking to topple the conservative government.
