The Hour of Code is a global movement reaching tens of millions of students in 180+ countries.
This program aims to promote robotics education. Through this program, participants will be introduced to robotics and learn to build and program robots using RERO robotics kit and software.
Kelab TaHa is open to all student from primary and secondary school in Malaysia, Kelab TaHa also function to promote all their members to joined any activities and programs conducted by Tabung Haji.
Rero™ is especially designed to be an easy-to-learn and easy-to-use robotic platform for secondary school students to explore robotic technology and programming.
We will give you the full robotic experience, complete with building instructions, programming missions, and the awesome smart device commander app. New robot builders are recommended to start here.
MORE than 100 children of Accenture employees took part in the Malaysian officeās Bring Your Kid To Code Day.
The initiative is part of the companyās commitment to help children build science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and computer skills.
A coding tutorial was conducted for both children and adults with a special focus on artificial intelligence (AI).
āIt may seem premature to encourage coding in children below 10 years but we have seen how their agile minds grasp coding concepts, sometimes faster than their parents,ā said Accenture Malaysia technology lead Janet Yap.
āIt was also a great way to let the children explore their parentās or familyās workplace.ā
The activity was part of Accentureās global Hour of Code initiative in conjunction with Computer Science Education Week.
This follows Accentureās pledge of US$10mil (RM41mil) to support initiatives to expand STEM and computer science education through Internet Association, a group that represents global Internet companies on matters of public policy.
āTechnology is creating jobs that didnāt exist five years ago and learning to code can transform the trajectory of a studentās life and career,ā said Accenture chief technology and innovation officer and chief coder Paul Daugherty.
āWeāve seen the impact that Code.org is having on students and this year weāre doing more to support that.ā
For the third straight year, Accenture is teaming with Code.org, that launched Hour of Code in 2013 and other STEM-related educational initiatives.
This year, Accenture Technology harnessed its internal expertise to create a coding tutorial that gives students a better understanding of AI.
Students discover how various AI techniques can teach a robot to explore a new planet ā including recognising animals and plants, understanding a new language, and conversing with inhabitants.
Which robot do you find easier to like ā “Iron Man” Tony Stark’s efficient helper J.A.R.V.I.S., or the error-prone Dummy, which fumbled with kitchen equipment and sprayed an exasperated Stark with fire-extinguishing foam?
You might think a robot would be more likely to win people over if it were good at its job. But according to a recent study, people find imperfect robots more likable.
In previous studies, researchers noticed that human subjects reacted differently to robots that made unplanned errors in their tasks. For their new investigation, the study authors programmed a small,Ā humanoid robotĀ to deliberately make mistakes so the scientists could learn more about how that fallibility affected the way people responded to the bots. They also wanted to see how these social cues might provide opportunities for robots to learn from their experiences.Ā [Super-Intelligent Machines: 7 Robotic Futures]
The researchers found that people liked the error-prone robot more than the error-free one, and that they responded to the robot’s mistakes with social signals that robots could possibly be trained to recognize, in order to modify future behavior.
For the study, 45 human subjects ā 25 men and 20 women ā were paired with a robot that was programmed to perform two tasks: ask interview questions, and direct several simple Lego brick assemblies.
For 24 of the users, the robot behaved flawlessly. It posed questions and waited for their responses, and then instructed them to sort the Lego bricks and build towers, bridges and “something creative,” ending the exercise by having the person arrange Legos into a facial expression to show a current emotional state, according to the study.
But for 21 people in the study, theĀ robot’s performanceĀ was less than stellar. Some of the mistakes were technical glitches, such as failing to grasp Lego bricks or repeating a question six times. And some of the mistakes were so-called “social norm violations,” such as interrupting while their human partner was answering a question or telling them to throw the Lego bricks on the floor.
The scientists observed the interactions from a nearby station. They tracked how people reacted when theĀ robots made a mistake, gauging their head and body movements, their expressions, the angle of their gaze, and whether they laughed, smiled or said something in response to the error. After the tasks were done, they gave participants a questionnaire to rate how much they liked the robot, and how smart and human-like they thought it was, on a scale from 1 to 5.
How do you like me now? People rated robots as more likable if the ‘bots made mistakes.
Credit: Center for Human-Computer Interaction
The researchers found that the participants responded more positively to the bumbling robot in their behavior and body language, and they said they liked it “significantly more” than the people liked the robot that made no mistakes at all.
However, the subjects who found the error-prone robot more likable didn’t see it as more intelligent or more human-like than the robot that made fewer mistakes, the researchers found.
Their results suggest thatĀ robots in social settingsĀ would probably benefit from small imperfections; if that makes the bots more likable, the robots could possibly be more successful in tasks meant to serve people, the study authors wrote.
And by understanding how people respond when robots make mistakes, programmers canĀ develop ways for robots to read those social cuesĀ and learn from them, and thereby avoid making problematic mistakes in the future, the scientists added.
“Future research should be targeted at making a robot understand the signals and make sense of them,” the researchers wrote in the study.
“A robot that can understand its human interaction partner’s social signals will be a better interaction partner itself, and the overall user experience will improve,” they concluded.
Ransomware is a sophisticated piece of malware that blocks the victimās access to his/her files, and the only way to regain access to the files is to pay a ransom.
There are two types of ransomware in circulation:
Encryptors, which incorporates advancedĀ encryption algorithms.Ā Itās designed to block system files and demand payment to provide the victim with the key that can decrypt the Ā blocked content.Ā ExamplesĀ includeĀ CryptoLocker,Ā Locky,Ā CrytpoWallĀ and more.
Lockers, whichĀ locks the victim out of the operating system, making it impossible to access the desktop and any apps or files. The files are not encrypted in this case, but the attackers still ask for a ransom to unlock the infected computer.Ā ExamplesĀ include theĀ police-themed ransomwareĀ orĀ Winlocker.
Some locker versions infect theMaster Boot Record (MBR). The MBR is the section of a PCās hard drive which enables the operating system to boot up. When MBR ransomware strikes, the boot process canāt complete as usual and prompts a ransom note to be displayed on the screen. Examples includeĀ SatanaĀ andĀ Petya families.
Crypto-ransomware, as encryptors are usually known, are the most widespread ones, and also the subject of this article. The cyber security community agrees that this isĀ the most prominent and worrisome cyber threat of the moment.
Ransomware has someĀ key characteristicsĀ that set it apart from other malware:
It feature sunbreakable encryption, which means that you canāt decrypt the files on your own (there are various decryption tools released by cyber security researchers ā more on that later);
ItĀ has the ability to encrypt all kinds of files, from documents to pictures, videos, audio files and other things you may have on your PC;
It canĀ scramble your file names, so you canāt know which data was affected. This is one of the social engineering tricks used to confuse and coerce victims into paying the ransom;
It willĀ add a different extension to your files, to sometimes signal a specific type of ransomware strain;
It will displayĀ an image or a messageĀ that lets you know your data has been encrypted and that you have to pay a specific sum of money to get it back;
ItĀ requests payment in Bitcoins because this crypto-currency cannot be tracked by cyber security researchers or law enforcements agencies;
Usually,Ā the ransom payments have a time-limit, to add another level of psychological constraint to this extortion scheme. Going over the deadline typically means that the ransom will increase, but it can also mean that the data will be destroyed and lost forever.
ItĀ uses a complex set of evasion techniquesĀ to go undetected by traditional antivirus (more on this in the āWhy ransomware often goes undetected by antivirusā section);
ItĀ often recruits the infected PCs intoĀ botnets, so cyber criminals can expand their infrastructure and fuel future attacks;
ItĀ can spread to other PCs connected to a local network, creating further damage;
ItĀ frequently features data exfiltration capabilities, which means that it can also extract data from the affected computer (usernames, passwords, email addresses, etc.) and send it to a server controlled by cyber criminals; encrypting files isnāt always the endgame.
ItĀ sometimes includes geographical targeting, meaning the ransom note is translated into the victimās language, to increase the chances for the ransom to be paid.
Their feature list keeps growing every day, with each newĀ security alertĀ broadcasted by our team or other malware researchers.
Hereās a great source if youāre curious to learn more about the history of this malware threat.
As you can see for yourself, things escalated quickly and the trend continues to grow.
Cyber criminals are not just malicious hackers who want public recognition and are driven by their quest for cyber mischief.Ā Theyāre business-oriented and seek to cash out on their efforts.
Ransomware is here to stay. The current conditions are a perfect storm which makes it the easiest and viable source of money for any malicious hacker out there:
Ransomware-as-a-service, where malware creators sell its services in exchange for a cut in the profits.
Anonymous payment methods, such as Bitcoin, that allow cybercriminals to obtain ransom money knowing their identity canāt be easily revealed.
Itās impossible to make a completely secure software program. Each and every program has its weaknesses, and these can be exploited to deliver ransomware, as was the case with WannaCry.
The number of infections would drastically shrink if all users were vigilant. But most people arenāt, and they end up clicking infected links and other malicious sources.
Top targets for ransomware creators and distributors
Cybercriminals soon realized that companies and organizations were far more profitable than users, so they went after the bigger targets:Ā police departments,Ā city councilsĀ and evenĀ schoolsĀ and, worse,Ā hospitals!
To give you some perspective, nearly 70% of infected businesses opted to pay the ransom and recover their files. More than half of these businesses had to pay a ransom worth $10,000 to $40,000 dollars in order to recover their data.
But for now, letās find out how online criminals target various types of Internet users. This may help you better understand why things happen as they do right now.
Why ransomware creators and distributors target home users:
Because they fail to invest in need-to-have cyber security solutions;
Because they often rely on luck to keep them safe online (I canāt tell you how many times Iāve heard āit canāt happen to meā);
Because most home users still rely exclusively on antivirus to protect them from all threats, which is frequently ineffective in spotting and stopping ransomware;
Because of the sheer volume of Internet users that can become potential victims (more infected PCs = more money).
Why ransomware creators and distributors target businesses:
Because thatās where the money is;
Because attackers know that a successful infection can cause major business disruptions, which will increase their chances of getting paid;
Because computer systems in companies are often complex and prone to vulnerabilities that can be exploited through technical means;
Because the human factor is still a huge liability which can also be exploited, but through social engineering tactics;
Because ransomware can affect not only computers but also servers and cloud-based file-sharing systems, going deep into a businessās core;
Because cyber criminals know that business would rather not report an infection for fear or legal consequences and brand damage.
Because small businesses are often unprepared to deal with advanced cyber attacks and have a relaxed BYOD (bring your own device) policy.
18 students from Integrated Islamic School Shah Alam (IISSA) creatively embracing the 21st century learning by taking part in our Lego Mindstorm EV3 workshop at Little Botz Academy Atria Branch
Let’s bring technology and 21st century learning environment to the classroom together !
A team of MIT researchers have developed a printable origami robot that folds itself up from a flat sheet of plastic when heated and measures about a centimeter from front to back. (Learn more: http://mitne.ws/1HwBZro)
Introduced in 2008, TETRIXĀ® is the only metal building system endorsed by the LEGO Group for use with LEGOĀ® MINDSTORMSĀ®. Developed in close collaboration with LEGO Education, TETRIX is an excellent add-on for high school and higher education, and is also available for use in FIRST Tech Challenge and WRO.
The TETRIX platform includes a wide variety of aluminum structural and motion elements, many types and sizes of metal gears, durable and powerful DC and servo motors, and the patented Hard Point Connector that enables the connection of TETRIX elements to LEGO Technic. Visit TETRIXrobotics.com for more information or to find a local distributor in your area.
World Robot Olympiad organizes robotics competitions in three different competition categories
The Regular category was the first competition introduced by WRO. It is a challenge based competition in which teams will build robots that are designed to solve a given challenge set on a table.
Later, the Open Category competition was introduced. The Open category is a theme based competition in which teams use their creativity and problem solving skills in constructing smart robotic solutions that complement the theme of the competition. In 2011 the theme of the Open category was “Robots for Life Improvement”.
In 2010, WRO introduced WRO GEN II Football for the first time and it is now an official competition in WRO. Here teams of two robots play a game of football (soccer) on a playing field. WRO share the rules for WRO GEN II Football with Robocup Junior Australia.
Enjoy all these special promotions at our Learning Center this upcoming June!
