ROBOT NOMINATED TO CARRY OLYMPIC TORCH IN HONOR OF TURING'S 100th BIRTHDAY

In addition to the Olympic rings, the Olympic Torch is one of the most well-known symbols of the Olympic Games. The torch commemorates the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus by Prometheus, and each of the Games holds its own Torch Relay to transport the flame from Greece to the host country. Eight thousand “inspirational torchbearers” will carry the flame during the Olympic Torch Relay. However, one man is gunning to make it 7,999 torch-bearing people and one torch-bearing robot.

James Law, Computer Scientist at Aberystwyth University, is nominating the iCub robot to be one of the many torchbearers for London 2012.. The iCub was built to learn from real-world activities just like a toddler does.

The 100th anniversary of the birth of the founder of computer science, Alan Turing, happens to coincide with the Olympics, and having the iCub as one of the torchbearers would be a “fitting tribute to Alan Turing, and an inspiration to future generations of scientists and engineers,” Law said. According to Law, Turing was not only considered the father of modern computer science, he was also the ”figurehead for the code-breaking efforts of WWII.” He also created one of the first designs for a stored-program computer and helped lay the foundations for the field of artificial intelligence.

The flame will be lit in Greece and will arrive in the UK on May 18, 2012 to begin the 70-day journey that will culminate at the Opening Ceremonies on July 27. Eight thousand people (7,999 people and one robot if Law gets his way) will be chosen to carry the Olympic Flame during the Torch Relay with the goal that their inspirational stories will “have the power to inspire millions of people watching around the world.”

SAMSUNG AND VISA PARTNER TO BRING NFC MOBILE PAYMENTS TO 2012 LONDON OLYMPICS

On Thursday Samsung and Visa announced a new partnership under which the two firms will provide an NFC mobile payment solution before, during, and after the London 2012 Olympics. The two companies will release an Olympics and Paralympics Games mobile handset in London that’s equipped with mobile NFC technology, Visa’s payment application, and a special SIM card. Here’s how it will work: When you’re ready to make a purchase, you’ll just have to open the Visa application on your phone and then hold it in front of a special contactless reader. There are over 60,000 contactless readers already in London, and Visa says it’s continuing to work with banks and retailers to increase its NFC foundation.

The NFC-enabled phone, with its Visa SIM card, will first be available to Samsung and Visa sponsored athletes, and it will also be available to consumers through mobile operators. It’s unclear what the phone model is, or how much it will cost. “This mobile payment device will be available in the UK initially, and we plan to expand the service to other countries in Europe and around the world where contactless payment facilities are available in the near future,” said Seokpil Kim, President & CEO of Samsung Electronics Europe. Visa is currently rolling out its NFC mobile payment program in Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Brazil, France, Hong Kong, Italy, Malaysia, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Slovakia, Switzerland, Turkey, the UK and the United States

LONDON UNDERGROUND TO GET 120 WIFI HOTSPOTS IN ADVANCE OF 2012 OLYMPICS

A big announcement arrived today if you live in or around London: to prepare to the onslaught of data-hungry visitors for the 2012 Olympic games that the city is hosting, 120 WiFi hotspots are being added to various locations along the Underground subway system's stations and platforms, in addition to other measures being taken to beef up tech. No WiFi will be in the actual tunnels, mind you, but it should definitely come in handy for all those tourists trying to find their way around the city. British Telecom has already tolled out a trial run at the Charing Cross station, with further installations expected in the lead up to the games.

HUAWEI OFFERS TO BUILD OUT CELLULAR COVERAGE IN LONDON'S UNDERGROUND FOR FREE

China's Huawei has generously offered to pick up the roughly £50 million ($81 million) tab for equipment to line London's sprawling subway system with mobile phone reception, a package it says it's extending as a gift from Olympic host nation to another (London will host the 2012 Summer Olympics, and it has said in the past that it'd like the Tube wired in time). The official line is that Huawei would make its money back over time through maintenance contracts, but some politicians are raising red flags over the Chinese firm's potential control over a critical piece of London's wireless infrastructure -- a sentiment that seemed to help kill a potential Huawei deal with Sprint in the States.