So Many Schemes

SongTapper.com is a cool AI application/demo/toy — tell users what song they’re trying to remember by having them tap the spacebar to the song’s beat. Their system is based on research [PDF] that the authors performed at Simon Fraser University and presented at AAAI05. The online system also seems to be able to learn new songs, which is very cool and might let it bootstrap it’s way into becoming a useful (or at least fun) tool. I’m not sure if it learns new songs by having the authors add additional MIDI files, or if it learns from the actual tapped rhythms. The later would be cooler, and certainly would be possible with some machine learning.

Perhaps you’ve already seen this thoroughly addictive game, but if not, check out Falling Sand. There is also a module for the Google Personalized homepage, available through GoogleModules.com. Now you can get distracted every time you open your browser.

The basic idea is that particles of different materials are falling from the sky. You can direct them by creating platforms, mix them for different effects, burn them, and more. There is also a strange bouncy protoplasmic thing that doesn’t like salt. Remember, water puts out fire, fire burns oil and plant, salt kills slug, and sand sinks through water.