The Pentagon Has Come Clean With The Existence Of UFOs

The Pentagon Has Come Clean With The Existence Of UFOs

Investigator Ben Hansen researches the phenomenon of the “Tic-Tac” UFOs caught on camera and seen by multiple witnesses.
Shackleton's lost ship is FOUND: Endurance is discovered at the bottom of Antarctica's Weddell Sea, 107 years after it sank – and it's still in remarkable condition - PART II

Shackleton's lost ship is FOUND: Endurance is discovered at the bottom of Antarctica's Weddell Sea, 107 years after it sank – and it's still in remarkable condition - PART II
- Endurance has been found 107 years after it became trapped in sea ice and sank off the coast of Antarctica
- Sir Ernest Shackleton's wooden ship had not been seen since it sank in Weddell Sea, Southern Ocean in 1915
- The Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust said Endurance was discovered at a depth of 9,868 feet (3,008 metres)
- Shackleton planned the first land crossing of Antarctica from Weddell Sea via the South Pole to the Ross Sea
- Remarkable footage of the wreck shows it has been astonishingly preserved, with the ship's wheel still intact
- The Antarctic circumpolar current has acted as barrier to the larvae that could have degraded the ship's wood
Dr Glover told MailOnline: 'The preservation of Endurance is quite remarkable, but not totally unexpected.
'Tiny "shipworms" — small bivalve molluscs — that normally eat wood in well oxygenated oceans are absent from Antarctica, just as they are absent from the Baltic and Black Seas, other remarkable wooden shipwreck "vaults".
'So the findings from the new discovery are important not just from a historical perspective but also in terms of understanding the ecology and evolution of life in Antarctica. It’s a great day for Antarctic archaeology and science.'
The expedition team has also been filming for a long-form observational documentary chronicling the expedition which has been commissioned by National Geographic to air later this year on Disney+.
Endurance was one of two ships used by the Imperial Trans-Antarctic expedition of 1914-1917, which hoped to make the first land crossing of the Antarctic.
Just as the First World War was breaking out in August 1914, the Endurance's crew set out from London with the lofty ambition of becoming the first to cross the Antarctic continent.
Carrying an expedition crew of 28 men, 69 dogs and one cat, the 144-foot-long Endurance was a three-masted schooner barque sturdily built for operations in polar waters.
Aiming to land at Antarctica's Vahsel Bay, the vessel instead became stuck in pack ice on the Weddell Sea on January 18, 1915 — where she and her crew would remain for many months.
In late October, however, a drop in temperature from 42°F to -14°F saw the ice pack begin to steadily crush the Endurance.
Sadly, Shackleton decided that the mission sled dogs and the tomcat, called Mrs Chippy, that were also on board would not survive the rest of their journey, and had them shot on October 29.
Endurance never reached land and became trapped in the dense pack ice and the 28 men on board eventually had no choice but to abandon ship.
Endurance finally sank on November 21, 1915.
After months spent in makeshift camps on the ice floes drifting northwards, the party took to the lifeboats to reach the inhospitable, uninhabited, Elephant Island. The men had allegedly had to resort to eating bodies of some of the youngest dogs that had been on board.
Most of the men remained at Elephant Island while Shackleton and five others then made an extraordinary 800-mile (1,300 km) open-boat journey in the lifeboat, James Caird, to reach South Georgia, an island in the southern Atlantic Ocean.
Shackleton and two others then crossed the mountainous island to the whaling station at Stromness.
On board the steam tug Yelcho — on loan to him from the Chilean Navy — Shackleton was able to return to rescue the rest of his crew on August 30, 1916.
MRS CHIPPY, ENDURANCE'S CAT

View from the side of South African polar research and logistics vessel, S.A. Agulhas II, on the expedition to find the wreck of Endurance

100 after Shackleton’s death, Endurance was found at a depth of 3008 metres in the Weddell Sea, within the search area defined by the expedition team before its departure from Cape Town, and approximately four miles south of the position originally recorded by Captain Worsley

It was Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ambition to achieve the first land crossing of Antarctica from the Weddell Sea via the South Pole to the Ross Sea. Pictured, expedition team on board S.A. Agulhas II gallery

Pictured is historian Dan Snow on board the South African polar research and logistics vessel, S.A. Agulhas II. Objectives for Endurance22 were to locate, survey and film the wreck

S.A. Agulhas II (pictured) is a South African icebreaking polar supply and research ship owned by the Department of Environmental Affairs

Menson Bound, director of exploration of Endurance22 expedition (left) and John Shears, expedition leader, on the sea ice of Weddell Sea, in the Antarctic with S.A. Agulhas II
Shortly following the Endurance22 expedition setting off in February, SA Agulhas II became stuck in ice at the same spot where Endurance sank over a century ago.
The SA Agulhas II became stuck after the mercury dipped to -18°F (-10°C).
Dan Snow told The Times: 'Clever people did say to me on the way, "How do you know you're not going to get iced in like Shackleton?"
'I said, "Don't worry about that. We've got all the technology." But we are now iced in.'
Fortunately, thanks to technological advances such as mechanical cranes, engine power and a case of aviation fuel, crew members managed to free the vessel.

Left to right: John Shears, expedition leader; Mensun Bound, director of exploration; and Nico Vincent, expedition sub-sea manager, looking at images of Endurance in the control room

Menson Bound, director of exploration of Endurance22 expedition (left) and John Shears, expedition leader, on the sea ice

Following the Endurance22 expedition setting off in February, SA Agulhas II became stuck in ice at same spot where Endurance sank over a century ago. Fortunately, thanks to technological advances such as mechanical cranes, engine power and a case of aviation fuel, crew members managed to free the vessel
Shackleton's lost ship is FOUND: Endurance is discovered at the bottom of Antarctica's Weddell Sea, 107 years after it sank – and it's still in remarkable condition

Shackleton's lost ship is FOUND: Endurance is discovered at the bottom of Antarctica's Weddell Sea, 107 years after it sank – and it's still in remarkable condition
- Endurance has been found 107 years after it became trapped in sea ice and sank off the coast of Antarctica
- Sir Ernest Shackleton's wooden ship had not been seen since it sank in Weddell Sea, Southern Ocean in 1915
- The Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust said Endurance was discovered at a depth of 9,868 feet (3,008 metres)
- Shackleton planned the first land crossing of Antarctica from Weddell Sea via the South Pole to the Ross Sea
- Remarkable footage of the wreck shows it has been astonishingly preserved, with the ship's wheel still intact
- The Antarctic circumpolar current has acted as barrier to the larvae that could have degraded the ship's wood
The Endurance22 Expedition had set off from Cape Town, South Africa in February this year, a month after the 100th anniversary of Sir Ernest's death on a mission to locate it.
Endurance was found approximately four miles south of the position originally recorded by the ship's captain Frank Worsley, but within the search area defined by the expedition team before its departure from Cape Town.
Back in 1915, Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew set out to achieve the first land crossing of Antarctica, but Endurance did not reach land and became trapped in dense pack ice, forcing the 28 men on board to eventually abandon ship.

Photo issued by Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust of the stern of the wreck of Endurance, Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship which has not been seen since it was crushed by the ice and sank in the Weddell Sea in 1915

The taffrail, ship's wheel and aft well deck on the wreck of Endurance, Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship, which has been found 100 years after Shackleton's death

The standard bow on the wreck of Endurance, which was found at a depth of 9,868 feet (3,008 metres) in the Weddell Sea, within the search area defined by the expedition team before its departure from Cape Town

Photo issued by Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust of photos, video and laser pictures of Endurance displayed in the control room on board of S.A.Agulhas II during the expedition
Endurance was one of two ships used by the Imperial Trans-Antarctic expedition of 1914-1917, whose goal was to make the first land crossing of the Antarctica. Aiming to land at Vahsel Bay, the vessel became stuck in pack ice in the Weddell Sea on January 18, 1915 — where she and her crew would remain until the ship was crushed and ultimately sank on November 21, 1915

File photo of Sir Ernest Shackleton on board the 'Quest'. 100 years after Shackleton's death, Endurance was found in the Weddell Sea approximately four miles south of the position originally recorded by Captain Worsley

Endurance was one of two ships used by the Imperial Trans-Antarctic expedition of 1914–1917, which hoped to make the first land crossing of the Antarctic. Pictured: a photograph of the vessel stuck in pack ice taken in the October of 1915, a few weeks before she sank

Carrying an expedition crew of 28 men, the 144-foot-long Endurance was a three-masted schooner barque sturdily built for operations in polar waters. Pictured: the Endurance, stuck in pack ice, listing heavily to port
Endurance in full sail in the ice side view Imperial Trans Antarctic Expedition. It's been announced that the wreck of Endurance has been found and is now designated as a protected historic site and monument under the Antarctic Treaty
For the mission, the expedition team worked from the South African polar research and logistics vessel, S.A. Agulhas II, assisted by non-intrusive underwater search robots.
The wreck is protected as a Historic Site and Monument under the Antarctic Treaty, ensuring that whilst the wreck is being surveyed and filmed it will not be touched or disturbed in any way, according to the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust.
The expedition's director of exploration said footage of Endurance showed it to be intact and 'by far the finest wooden shipwreck' he has seen.
'We are overwhelmed by our good fortune in having located and captured images of Endurance,' said Mensun Bound, maritime archaeologist and director of the exploration.
'It is upright, well proud of the seabed, intact, and in a brilliant state of preservation. You can even see Endurance arced across the stern, directly below the taffrail.
'This is a milestone in polar history.'
Bound also paid tribute to the navigational skills of Captain Frank Worsley, the Captain of the Endurance, whose detailed records were 'invaluable' in the quest to locate the wreck.
Dr John Shears, the expedition leader, said his team, which was accompanied by historian Dan Snow, had made 'polar history' by completing what he called 'the world's most challenging shipwreck search'.
'In addition, we have undertaken important scientific research in a part of the world that directly affects the global climate and environment,' Dr Shears said.
Dr Adrian Glover, a deep-sea biologist at the Natural History Museum, not involved with the expedition, led a 2013 research paper predicting very good wood preservation for Endurance, based on experimental work.
Back in 1915, Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew set out to achieve the first land crossing of Antarctica, but Endurance did not reach land and became trapped in dense pack ice, forcing the 28 men on board to eventually abandon ship

The ship was found approximately four miles south of the position originally recorded by Captain Worsley. Pictured is the the South African polar research and logistics vessel, S.A. Agulhas II

Photo issued by Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust of the South African polar research and logistics vessel, S.A. Agulhas II, on an expedition to find the wreck of Endurance

Bird's eye view shot, taken by drone, of the South African polar research and logistics vessel, S.A. Agulhas II, on the expedition surrounded by ice

Photo issued by Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust of (left to right) John Shears, expedition leader; Mensun Bound, director of exploration; Nico Vincent, expedition sub-sea manager; J.C. Caillens, off-shore manager, holding the first scan of the Endurance wreckage alongside photos from Frank Hurley, the Australian adventurer and official photographer on Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition
Pictured: one of the SAAB Sabertooth autonomous submersibles used by the Endurance22 expedition to search for the wreck of Shackleton's ship
Aiming to land at Vahsel Bay, the vessel became stuck in pack ice on the Weddell Sea on January 18, 1915 — where she and her crew would remain for many months. In late October, however, a drop in temperature from 42°F to -14°F saw the ice pack begin to steadily crush the Endurance — which finally sank on November 21, 1915. Pictured: Anglo-Irish sailor and explorer Frank Wild assessed the wreckage of the Endurance, crushed by tightening pack ice
Endurance was one of two ships used by the Imperial Trans-Antarctic expedition of 1914–1917, whose goal was to make the first land crossing of the Antarctica. Pictured: 20 members of the blighted expedition, seen here during mid-1916, after the loss of the Endurance
SCHEEPSWRAK ENDURANCE NA RUIM HONDERD JAAR IN UITSTEKENDE STAAT GEVONDEN

SCHEEPSWRAK ENDURANCE NA RUIM HONDERD JAAR IN UITSTEKENDE STAAT GEVONDEN
Tim Kraaijvanger

Bronmateriaal:
- "Endurance is found" - Endurance22
- Afbeelding bovenaan dit artikel: Endurance22
Lichtshow in het Melkwegcentrum

Lichtshow in het Melkwegcentrum
Wie in de grote stad woont, kan erover meepraten: voor een beetje vertier moet je in het centrum zijn. In het Melkwegstelsel is het net zo.
Onze zon bevindt zich in een rustige buitenwijk, maar in het centrum, op zo’n 27.000 lichtjaar afstand, vindt de meeste activiteit plaats.
Deze spectaculaire opname toont de kosmische lichtshow die zich daar afspeelt. Met gewone telescopen is er niet zoveel van te zien: stofwolken blokkeren het zicht op het Melkwegcentrum. In plaats daarvan zien we hier energierijke röntgenstraling (weergegeven in groene, oranje en paarse tinten) en radiostraling (in grijstinten). De foto combineert metingen van NASA’s röntgensatelliet Chandra met waarnemingen van de MeerKAT-radiosterrenwacht in Zuid-Afrika.

De meeste röntgenstraling is afkomstig van hete gasbellen, lang geleden uitgeblazen door ontploffende sterren, en van kleine, compacte neutronensterren. Maar ook het exacte centrum van de Melkweg produceert röntgenstraling. Die is afkomstig van heet gas dat zich heeft opgehoopt net buiten de rand van een kolossaal zwart gat. Dat zwarte gat is 4,3 miljoen keer zo zwaar als de zon; er zwieren reuzensterren en gasslierten omheen, en regelmatig slokt het materiaal uit zijn omgeving op.
Dat die röntgenstraling in de loop van een dag snelle flikkeringen vertoont, was al bekend. Maar ook op de langere termijn is er sprake van een sterke variabiliteit. Een team van astronomen onder leiding van de El Salvadoriaanse astronoom Alexis Andrés en Nathalie Degenaar van de Universiteit van Amsterdam heeft nu metingen bestudeerd die in de afgelopen vijftien jaar zijn verricht door de Swift-satelliet. Uit hun onderzoek blijkt dat de röntgenlichtshow in het Melkwegcentrum tussen 2008 en 2012 veel minder variabel was dan daarvoor en daarna. Niemand weet nog hoe dat komt.
Een ander onderzoeksteam, onder leiding van Shuo Zhang van het Bard College in de Amerikaanse staat New York, keek naar de reflectie van röntgenlicht door gaswolken op grotere afstand van het zwarte gat. Uit die ‘röntgenecho’s’ leiden Zhang en haar collega’s af dat er aan het begin van de 20ste eeuw, zo’n 110 jaar geleden, een enorm krachtige uitbarsting plaatsgevonden moet hebben.
Het wachten is nu op een nieuwe explosie. Het röntgenbeeld van het Melkwegcentrum zal er dan compleet anders uitzien. Elk moment kan het gebeuren.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is redrawing the geopolitics of space

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is redrawing the geopolitics of space
5 Mile UFO Found At Bottom Of Ocean, Google Earth Map, UFO Sighting News.
5 Mile UFO Found At Bottom Of Ocean, Google Earth Map, UFO Sighting News.
Map location:
Fast{ UFO filmed on live stream from Sodankyla, Finland 13-Mar-2022

Fast UFO filmed on live stream from Sodankyla, Finland 13-Mar-2022

Check out this amazing UFO video caught on tape on Aurora live from Sodankylä, Lapland in Finland. This happened on 13th March 2022.
What do you think about this sighting? Leave a comment below!
Fast UFO filmed on live stream from Sodankyla, Finland 13-Mar-2022
Fast UFO filmed on live stream from Sodankyla, Finland 13-Mar-2022
A Ship From The Bermuda Triangle Reappears in the Desert 90 Years Later
A Ship From The Bermuda Triangle Reappears in the Desert 90 Years Later
The infamous Bermuda Triangle encompasses the western parts of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is quite notorious for mysterious disappearances of several aircrafts and ships. Some people have gone far enough to label it the Devil’s Triangle. Its mysterious character initially came to light in September 1950. Some reputable experts deny the existence of any supernatural powers in this area which lead to suspicious incidents but alot of people worldwide are not convinced especially because of all The mysterious stuff that keeps happening in this one part of our planet. Today, we will talk about the unprecedented disappearances which took place in the Bermuda Triangle.
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The UFO Phenomenon: Contactees, Abductees and Significant Paranoia


The UFO Phenomenon: Contactees, Abductees and Significant Paranoia
We live in a world in which secret surveillance is becoming ever-more dominating. Just about every bit of data on our iPhones can be secretly accessed. Our every online activity can be scrutinized behind closed doors. Even our Smart TVs are wide open to hackers. And, who is responsible? The government, of course. As one example: regardless of what you or me think of the Edward Snowden affair and its attendant revelations, the fact is that Snowden demonstrated – to an extraordinary and disturbing degree – just how much of a 1984-like society we have become. And in an incredibly short period of time, too. The National Security Agency and other agencies of government have the ability to penetrate just about every aspect of our private lives: our medical records, where we take our vacations, what books we might buy on Amazon, and more are all issues that can be easily accessed with the right technology. But, it’s not just government that has taken us down a path to an Orwellian nightmare. The surveillance state is now a part of our culture, too: take, for example, the outrageous trend of companies now regularly demanding access to the passwords of the Facebook accounts of their employees.
Of course, the primary reason for such widespread spying – and lying about the spying – is due to the current state of the planet: the war on terror, in other words. When it comes to shutting down terrorist cells, finding and wiping out crazed bombers, and tracking down those who would do us harm, surveillance technology has achieved a great deal. The problem is, though, that it has gone too far. The lunatics are now running the asylum. Common-sense has gone out of the window. Does an eighty-year-old lady – living with just her cat for company – really need to be a victim of data-collection? No. In other words, the surveillance has reached unwarranted, outrageous proportions. All of which sets the scene for a study of another kind of surveillance, one which involves not terrorists – of the foreign or domestic kind – but none other than those people who claim to have been taken away by extraterrestrials. We’re talking about the alien abduction phenomenon. The government secretly spends vast amounts of money on monitoring those who claim to have been kidnapped by strange, unearthly beings with even stranger agendas? Most people would laugh at such a scenario. They shouldn’t though: that is exactly what is going on. And, it has been going on not just for years, but for decades. For some, the dangerous and sinister Men in Black are the cause of all the paranoia. Now, onto UFO paranoia.
(Nick Redfern)
Watching 24/7
All around the world, people have reported close encounters with extraterrestrial entities. Witnesses describe being kidnapped in the dead of night by large-headed, black-eyed creatures from other worlds. Those same creatures have become popularly known as the Greys. People subjected to alien abduction typically report intrusive experiments that revolve around genetics, human reproduction, and even the creation of alien-human hybrids. There is, however, another aspect to the alien abduction controversy. It is, perhaps, the most sinister aspect of all. Abductees very often report being followed and spied upon by military and government personnel. It is typical for abductees to see black helicopters hovering directly over their homes, in intimidating style. Mail is very often intercepted. Letters are opened. Phone-calls are monitored. Emails and social media are hacked into. Strange men dressed in black suits photograph the homes of the abductees. All of which brings us to the matter of what have become known in the domain of alien abduction research as “MILABS,” or “Military Abductions.” According to numerous abductees, after being kidnapped by alien entities, they are shortly afterwards kidnapped again…by the government.
These follow-up MILABS are the work of a powerful group hidden deep within the military and the intelligence community. It is the secret agenda of these highly classified organizations to figure out what the goal of the so-called Greys really is. And, the best way for the government to get the answers is to interrogate and monitor those who have come face-to-face with the UFO phenomenon: the abductees, themselves. The idea that agencies of the U.S. government, the military and the intelligence community are actively and secretly monitoring Americans who have been subjected to the alien abduction experience may sound outlandish to many – perhaps even paranoid. The startling reality, however, is that such a situation is not at all outlandish. And nor is it paranoia-driven. In fact, quite the opposite is the case. It’s very important to note that there is an amazing precedent to the alien abduction controversy and its connections to government spying. It all revolves around what is known as the “Contactee” phenomenon, which had its origins in the early 1950s.
(Nick Redfern)
George Van Tassel’s Integratron, a historic part of the Contactee phenomenon
It was in the summer of 1947 – specifically June 24 – when the UFO phenomenon began. That was the date on which the first report of an encounter with what quickly became known as a Flying Saucer occurred. The witness was a pilot named Kenneth Arnold. He encountered a squadron of such craft near Mt. Rainier, Washington State. In the days and months which followed, more and more sightings of such craft occurred: a phenomenon was born that is still very much with us to this day. But, in those early days, the UFOs hardly ever landed. Even when they did, their crews never exited their craft. That all changed, though, in the early 1950s when – after a few years of deliberately staying behind a curtain of secrecy – they slowly but surely showed themselves. Long before the first alien abduction incident was
reported, elements of the U.S. Government were already secretly monitoring certain figures in the United States who claimed close encounters with extraterrestrials. Agencies were carefully collating files, listening in on phone calls, and intercepting the mail of dozens of people. Those same figures became known as the Contactees. It’s important to have an understanding of the Contactee phenomenon, as it serves to demonstrate how and why it led government, military and intelligence personnel to focus on the claims of E.T. interaction – and then to do precisely the same when the abduction issue took off.
(Nick Redfern)
“Giant Rock,” California where George Van Tassel hung out. So did the FBI, now and again.
Most of the secret work in the Contactee field was carried out in the 1950s. It was undertaken to learn what was allegedly being done to American citizens by our mysterious visitors. At the time, the bulk of the work fell under the auspices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and at the express order of none other than almost-legendary FBI Director, J. Edgar Hoover. How do we know this? Simple: thanks to legislation brought about under the Freedom of Information Act, numerous files on the Contactees have now been released into the public domain. Real X-Files? You bet. Those files make it abundantly clear that the U.S. Government went to extraordinary steps to ensure that the Contactees were placed under careful, secret watch – and particularly so those Contactees who were clearly influencing public opinion on matters relative to not just alien visitations, but also in relation to politics, the economy, and religion. In light of all the above, it’s no wonder that both Contactees and Abductees have become paranoid about how they are/were watched by both the “others” and by government agencies.
UFO Shoots Over Mauna Kea Volcano, Hawaii March 7, 2022, UFO Sighting News.
UFO Shoots Over Mauna Kea Volcano, Hawaii March 7, 2022, UFO Sighting News.
Alien Entity Walks Out Bushes On Live Cam! Mexico, Feb 22, 2022, Video, UFO Sighting News.
Alien Entity Walks Out Bushes On Live Cam! Mexico, Feb 22, 2022, Video, UFO Sighting News.
Triangle UFO over Detroid, Michigan 11-Mar-2022

Triangle UFO over Detroid, Michigan 11-Mar-2022

This video of a possible triangle UFO sighting was just submitted to me through my Facebook page. This happened over Detroid, Michigan on Friday, 11th March 2022.
Witness report:
Hi, I’m from Detroit and last night I saw a UFO. I am still in shock but I have videos I am sending. It was a giant triangular craft, no wings or tail. Hovered in the sky for awhile, darted around and then flew over head. I’ve never seen anything like it. Pardon my language in the video I was in shock.The first video was me catching the craft hovering, the second is it going overhead
Introducing Nikola, the emotional android kid

Introducing Nikola, the emotional android kid
Researchers from the RIKEN Guardian Robot Project in Japan have made an android child named Nikola that successfully conveys six basic emotions. The new study, published in Frontiers in Psychology, tested how well people could identify six facial expressions—happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise, and disgust—which were generated by moving "muscles" in Nikola's face. This is the first time that the quality of android-expressed emotion has been tested and verified for these six emotions.
Rosie the robot maid was considered science fiction when she debuted on the Jetson's cartoon over 50 years ago. Although the reality of the helpful robot is currently more science and less fiction, there are still many challenges that need to be met, including being able to detect and express emotions. The recent study led by Wataru Sato from the RIKEN Guardian Robot Project focused on building a humanoid robot, or android, that can use its face to express a variety of emotions. The result is Nikola, an android head that looks like a hairless boy.
Inside Nikola's face are 29 pneumatic actuators that control the movements of artificial muscles. Another six actuators control head and eyeball movements. Pneumatic actuators are controlled by air pressure, which makes the movements silent and smooth. The team placed the actuators based on the Facial Action Coding System (FACS), which has been used extensively to study facial expressions. Past research has identified numerous facial action units—such as 'cheek raiser' and 'lip pucker'—that comprise typical emotions such as happiness or disgust, and the researchers incorporated these action units in Nikola's design.
Nikola the android expressing the six emotions. Pneumatic actuators move the 'muscles' in his face.
Credit: RIKEN
Typically, studies of emotions, particularly how people react to emotions, have a problem. It is difficult to do a properly controlled experiment with live people interacting, but at the same time, looking at photos or videos of people is less natural, and reactions aren't the same. "The hope is that with androids like Nikola, we can have our cake and eat it too," says Sato. "We can control every aspect of Nikola's behavior, and at the same time study live interactions." The first step was to see if Nikola's facial expressions were understandable.
A person certified in FACS scoring was able to identify each facial action unit, indicating that Nikola's facial movements accurately resemble those of a real human. A second test showed that everyday people could recognize the six prototypical emotions—happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise, and disgust—in Nikola's face, albeit to varying accuracies. This is because Nikola's silicone skin is less elastic than real human skin and cannot form wrinkles very well. Thus, emotions like disgust were harder to identify because the action unit for nose wrinkling could not be included.
"In the short term, androids like Nikola can be important research tools for social psychology or even social neuroscience," says Sato. "Compared with human confederates, androids are good at controlling behaviors and can facilitate rigorous empirical investigation of human social interactions." As an example, the researchers asked people to rate the naturalness of Nikola's emotions as the speed of his facial movements was systematically controlled. They researchers found that the most natural speed was slower for some emotions like sadness than it was for others like surprise.
While Nikola still lacks a body, the ultimate goal of the Guardian Robot Project is to build an android that can assist people, particularly those which physical needs who might live alone. "Androids that can emotionally communicate with us will be useful in a wide range of real-life situations, such as caring for older people, and can promote human wellbeing," says Sato.
Explore further
More information:
- Wataru Sato et al, An Android for Emotional Interaction: Spatiotemporal Validation of Its Facial Expressions, Frontiers in Psychology (2022). DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.800657
Simple Handheld Robot Helps Humans Control Anger While Texting


Simple Handheld Robot Helps Humans Control Anger While Texting
Have you ever gotten emotional while texting? Was the emotion anger? Did that emotion cause you to do something you regretted later? To paraphrase an old meme, there’s a ‘bot for that. Specifically, engineers have developed a “handheld social robot” which they describe as a “mediator in text messaging between humans.” Does it work before the angry owner throws it against the wall?
“I’m sorry, I am late. The appointment slipped my mind. Can you wait another hour?”
How does that make you feel? That’s one of the questions researchers at Japan’s University of Tsukuba used to test OMOY — a handheld social robot developed to act as a buffer between an incoming text and the emotional response of the recipient. As he explains in the journal Frontiers in Robotics and AI, co-author and engineering professor Fumihide Tanaka says a text message has only written words to convey meaning – no facial expressions, vocal intonations, personal explanations or other means of controlling the emotional response of the receiver. Thus, what appears to be an upsetting message generates and upsetting or angry response that may be uncalled for.

Researchers at the University of Tsukuba create a handheld social robot that can appear to convey emotions by shifting an internal weight while reading out text messages, which may help improve digital interpersonal interactions.
Credit: University of Tsukuba
“(OMOY is) equipped with a movable weight actuated by mechanical components inside its body. By shifting the internal weight, the robot could express simulated emotions.”
Enter OMOY, the text message mediator. Instead of the recipient reading the text, OMOY reads it aloud and the recipient listens to the message. OMOY’s software then interprets the text message and gives a verbal opinion, a recommendation to stay calm, an expression of sympathy or some other response to control the recipient’s emotions. At the same time, the handheld robot makes physical movements which are designed to reinforce the calming response.
“The weight shift pattern used in this study makes the user feel strong intention of the robot.”
Ninety-four participants (51 males; 43 female) were recruited at the University of Tsukuba. Their level of anger caused by a text message was measured using ten questions with and without the OMOY mediator. The study found that with just the response and the movement of the weight shifts, most users perceived the ‘intention’ of the robot was to help them calm down and they did. This was done with a very simple robot – OMOY has no arms or legs or moveable face to make body gestures or facial expressions. Based on that, the study suggests the robot could be replaced in future tests with other handheld gadgets such as stuffed animals and cushions equipped with the movement mechanism.

Robot platform, named OMOY, used in this study. A 250 g tungsten weight is attached to the weight carrier unit, which allows the weight to move along a 2D planar space. We modified the weight carrier unit from the original version reported in Noguchi and Tanaka (2020): a linear guide rail and a Dynamixel motor were installed.
Credit: Frontiers in Robotics and AI (2022).
DOI: 10.3389/frobt.2022.790209
Can a simple handheld robot facilitate anger management during texting? Take a deep breath before responding.
What is it? Bizarre Light in Sky Caught on Camera in Chebarkul, Russia.
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What is it? Bizarre Light in Sky Caught on Camera in Chebarkul, Russia.
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In Chebarkul, Russia, residents have been thrown into a fright after a bizarre story emerged regarding peoples being scared at a forest location by what has been described as a “bizarre light”.
That and more strange events caught on camera. Real or fake?
Video here:
UFO Near Explosions In Ukraine As Russian Army attacks town, 3-1-2022, UFO Sighting News.
UFO Near Explosions In Ukraine As Russian Army attacks town, 3-1-2022, UFO Sighting News.
Oval Glowing UFO Shoots Over Dallas, Texas March 7, 2022, Video, UFO Sighting News.
Oval Glowing UFO Shoots Over Dallas, Texas March 7, 2022, Video, UFO Sighting News.
Date of sighting: March 7, 2022



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