Q&A: E-Voting Issues Still There
IDG News Service (01/02/07) Gross, Grant
ACM U.S. Policy Committee Chairman Eugene Spafford, executive director of
the Purdue University Center for Education and Research in Information
Assurance and Security, says much work remains to ensure the accuracy and
reliability of e-voting systems. Spafford says that all e-voting equipment
should have independent audit capabilities such as paper printouts by the
next election. "The goal should be to design systems carefully with the
fault levels in mind and an appropriate way of using paper, if that's the
mechanism," he says. "If you look at it as a design issue, there are many
ways of using paper appropriately that don't have the disadvantages."
Spafford named optical scan machines as an appropriate use of paper
ballots. While some ideas involving a cryptographic algorithm that outputs
a cryptographic receipt have been put forth, he understands that most
voters would not understand such technology and would have to take another
person's word that their vote is both correct and confidential: "The
method of having a paper record is a technology people can immediately
grasp and understand. That's really important. We want not only to
protect the vote, but we want people to feel comfortable that their vote
matters." Spafford also says that many officials do not understand that
reliability is just as big of a problem as security. He notes the recent
Florida House of Representatives race, in which around 18,000 voters who
voted in other races did not vote, seems to be the result of poor design or
a machine failure, not a security issue. For more information about ACM's
e-voting activities, visit
http://www.acm.org/usacm
Click Here to View Full Article
to the top
Programmers to Blame for Hard-to-Use Software
Reuters (01/02/07) Von Ahn, Lisa
David Platt, author of "Why Software Sucks ... And What You Can Do About
It," blames the annoying elements of today's most popular programs on
programmers who value control at the expense of usability. Some of his
biggest pet-peeves are the message boxes that pop up to tell a user that
their attempt to perform a function has failed, and gives them no choice
but to click "OK." Platt says, "No, it is not OK with me that this
operation didn't work and the program can't explain why." Platt says that
even though developers prefer control over every aspect of an application,
users only want an application that is simple to use. Complexity leads to
problems, according to Platt, who notes that instructions for using more
complex features "increase the possibility of crashing errors and security
vulnerabilities in the same way as more moving parts on any mechanical
device render it less reliable." Platt urges users to contact software
companies with any concerns, and plans on forming a group called "It Just
Works" that will congratulate good programming and call out the bad. The
Software & Information Industry Association's David Thomas says that
problems in many applications are a result of customers, especially big
corporations or overly vocal people, requesting too many features. "You
don't want your customers to design your product," he says. "They're
really bad at it." He thinks Internet-based software will benefit
customers because vendors will monitor their use and tweak the product to
best fit their needs.
Click Here to View Full Article
to the top
Copyright Lawsuit Names Leading Technology Firms
New York Times (01/03/07) P. C3; Markoff, John; Helft, Miguel
Intertainer, a pioneering Internet video company that went out of business
five years ago, has filed a copyright lawsuit claiming infringement by
Apple, Google, and Napster of a 2005 patent concerning the sale of audio
and video from many sources over the Internet. Intertainer was formed in
1995 by Jonathan T. Taplin and two other Hollywood executives and created
technology that allowed the distribution of on-demand video over cable and
phone lines for use on TV sets and PCs, with investments from Intel
Microsoft, Sony, NBC, and Comcast among others. Taplin says his company
was a pioneer in on-demand Internet entertainment before Google was even
conceived. Intertainer was experiencing growing business in 2002, with
125,000 subscribers on the Internet and 35,000 through Comcast cable, but
the company closed shop and filed a suit against Movielink, which it
claimed was being used by movie studios to fix prices in order to drive
Intertainer out of business; but the antitrust investigation was dropped in
2004. Although the lawsuit will be tried in Texas, which is known for
favoring patent holders, many feel that the recent filing date (2001) of
the patent will not provide a strong enough case; Real Networks had already
introduced its digital streaming media service by then. Santa Clara
University School of Law's High-Tech Law Institute director Eric Goldman
says, "There are so many of these lawsuits nowadays. It is hard to figure
out which ones are a serious threat and which ones are not." He compares
the ambiguity of the patent in question to those of the dot-com days, and
calls the technology it outlines "pretty basic to the architecture of
digital content delivery nowadays."
Click Here to View Full Article
to the top
Q&A With Six IT Rock Stars
Computerworld (01/01/07) Anthes, Gary; Hoffman, Thomas
The major advances of 2006 and projected milestones for 2007 were
discussed by six leading IT pioneers: Google chief Internet evangelist
Vinton Cerf, Ethernet co-inventor Robert Metcalfe, UCLA computer science
professor Leonard Kleinrock, Electronic Data Systems executive Charles
Feld, University of Southern California professor Warren Bennis, and
"Silicon Dreams" author Robert Lucky. When asked what IT stories surprised
them last year, Kleinrock and Lucky cited the buyout of YouTube by Google,
which is indicative of how the Internet is empowering people on the fringes
and nurturing major innovation, mainly by young people who would never find
employment in traditional media. Bennis observed that the spread of wikis
is helping expand the possibility of people outside the business
organization supplying business intelligence, and that cell phones are
fueling tribalism at the global level and enabling a new way for people to
"huddle" in times of anxiety, especially in the workplace. Cerf mentioned
the popularity of YouTube, social networks, and multiplayer games, while
Metcalfe also cited the social networking boom and Feld said he was
surprised that the rate of business modernization increased so quickly.
Cerf expects the biggest IT story of 2007 to be an explosion in the number
of Internet users thanks to a vast rise in Internet-enabled mobile devices,
and the adaptation challenge this will present to Internet application
service providers. Metcalfe thinks video, not Microsoft's Vista, will be
the biggest IT story of the new year, and Bennis anticipates the increasing
diversification of leadership and students. Kleinrock foresees major
growth in phone-screen applications and the advent of location-aware
applications for itinerants and their mobile devices, while Feld predicts a
narrowing of the knowledge and proficiency gap between IT and business
owners. Lucky thinks Nicholas Negroponte's $100 laptop could make a big
difference in 2007.
Click Here to View Full Article
to the top
Vibrating Vest Could Send Alerts to Soldiers
New Scientist (01/03/07) Simonite, Tim
MIT researchers are developing a vest that uses a grid of vibrating motors
to transmit commands to soldiers in situations where radios can not be
used. The vest is made of spandex and contains 16 small vibrating motors
that rest against the wearer's back. These motors are connected to a
control unit that links to a controlling computer via a wireless
transceiver. Unique commands, a sort of Braille-for-the-back, are
expressed through different patterns of vibration in certain motors; for
example, the four motors at the corners vibrating steadily would signal the
wearer to stop. The army is "interested in a way to communicate simple
commands in situations when the hands are doing other things, or radios
can't be used," explains Lynette Jones, the MIT engineer leading the
research team. So far, 15 different signals have been developed that the
vest can convey to its wearer. In tests, only one out of five volunteers
misinterpreted any signals sent to him through the vest, and this volunteer
only misinterpreted one signal. Similar tactile displays have been
proposed for use in a pilot's seat or astronaut's suit. Glasgow University
tactile display researcher Steven Wall says that tactile displays "use a
different channel of communication, they don't take up the very valuable
channel of visual processing." However, the current model in development
must take into account the need for silence, as sounds travel a good deal
in the desert at night. Researchers suppose that this technology could
also help direct blind people around an urban area.
Click Here to View Full Article
to the top
Speaking Plastic Microchip May Be the Last Word in
Technology
Financial Times (01/03/07) P. 1; Marsh, Peter
The U.K.'s Plastic Logic plans to build the world's only plant for
fabricating semiconductors from plastic instead of silicon. A relatively
cheap and simple process, similar to ink-jet printing, will be used to make
the semiconductors. Plastic Logic director Hermann Hauser says the
products resulting from this project "could lead to an era of truly cheap
electronics in which intelligent circuitry was sewn into your clothing, for
instance, to give you instructions when you put the clothes on to tell you
what you are supposed to be doing during the day." Hauser claims that his
company is two years ahead of the competition. Analyst Tim Bajarin calls
the plant "good news" for the semiconductor industry as a whole, because it
will prove the viability of plastic microchips, giving the industry a "new
option" for its development over the next three decades. While not
expected to surpass silicon chips, plastic chips are expected to become an
important part of the market. The first products released by Plastic Logic
will be lightweight, resilient display screens as thick as a credit
card.
Click Here to View Full Article
- Web Link to Publication Homepage
to the top
Privacy, Patents on Agenda for New Congress
IDG News Service (01/01/07) Gross, Grant
The new Democratic Congress is eager to fulfill its campaign promises and
address the tech issues that the outgoing Republican Congress failed to
pass legislation on. Bush's surveillance program will come under scrutiny
and further legislation to protect individuals' privacy is expected.
However, the Supreme Court might have pre-empted any legislation concerning
patent "trolls" in its ruling that eBay could use its "buy it now"
function, after the feature had been ruled to be infringing on a copyright
by a lower court. The Supreme Court also instructed lower courts not to
issue automatic injunctions and to consider various factors before awarding
a patent injunction. Nevertheless, Congress is expected to focus on
creating a system for patent review. Although federal broadband reform may
receive less focus from telecoms after a December FCC ruling that made
franchising easier for broadband providers looking to provide IPTV, other
elements of broadband reform bills could get passed, such as allowing local
governments to provide wireless broadband and reforming the Universal
Service Fund. Raising the limit on H-1B visas could come as part of a push
for a wide-ranging "innovations agenda," aimed at boosting science and math
education, as well as funding IT training programs and broadband access for
all Americans.
Click Here to View Full Article
to the top
Inside Seagate's R&D Labs
Wired News (01/02/07) Beschizza, Rob
Seagate Research and its work on how tightly data can be stuffed onto a
disk's surface, or "areal density," is striving to solve problems similar
to those posed by Moore's law, as new technologies must be established to
fit more data onto the same amount of space. In eight years, the lab has
gone from viewing 100 GB per square inch as impossible, to placing 421 GB
per square inch on a test platter, but now they may be approaching what is
called the superparamagnetic limit. Seagate is doing everything it can to
fight this limit, most recently by recording data perpendicular to the
orientation of the media, but this approach will probably peak at 1 terabit
per square inch. Seagate's goal for the next decade is to market 50
terabit per square inch technology. A method known as heat-assisted
magnetic recording (HAMR) uses lasers to heat the disk surface so drive
heads can write information that will settle into a more stable state when
the disk cools down. This technique can produce sizes in the tens of
nanometers, with time constants of the order of 150 picoseconds. But in
order for HAMR to be effective, bit-pattern media must also be advanced:
"HAMR helps with the writing process," said Eric Riedel, head of interfaces
and architecture at Seagate Research. "Bit patterning allows us to create
the media." Soon, disk sectors will be left behind in favor of
self-organized magnetic arrays that are patterned lithographically along
the circumferential tracks of a platter. Seagate is also working on
non-volatile, magnetic-based media, which it hopes will upset sales of
flash memory.
Click Here to View Full Article
to the top
Hearing Machines
Technology Review (01/03/07) Smaragdis, Paris
With all of the attention given to understanding the way humans perceive
the world and building machines that can do the same, the sense of hearing
has received relatively little attention, writes Paris Smaragdis, a
research scientist at Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories. Machine
hearing is much more than simply understanding speech; the technology could
be used to listen for survivors in the wreckage of a building, tell a
soldier where gunshots are coming from, or observe breathing problems in
hospital patients. But there is still "a thrillingly large number of
problems awaiting exploration" into this technology because it has received
little attention, and fields that have received a good deal of attention,
such as "machine-learning, AI, and classical computer science algorithms
are deeply rooted in a visual way of thinking that does not extend
naturally to reasoning about sound," explains Smaragdis. Although we have
knowledge of the ear's functioning, we still know very little about the
neural signals that are responsible for audible cognition. These problems
will remain, he explains, until the idea of "a hearing machine captures the
public imagination." While the effort to create technology in this field
is a "a fight against the unknown," Smaragdis says that researchers have
been working in the field for the past few years and have made significant
advances, even having produced some "relevant products in the
mainstream."
Click Here to View Full Article
to the top
Low-Cost Laptop Could Transform Learning
Associated Press (12/31/06) Bergstein, Brian
The XO, the computer developed by the One Laptop Per Child project, is a
unique take on personal computing that its creators hope will prove the
merits of its minimalist design. The $150 computer is not based on
folders, as nearly all created since 1984 have been; instead, "journals"
let users look at a log of the work they have done rather than forcing them
to remember where an item is stored. Thanks to integrated wireless
networking abilities, the "neighborhood," as the XO desktop is called,
shows users what other XO users are nearby and let's them communicate and
collaborate. While the laptop is designed to be used an as educational
tool, it can run software such as a Web browser and an RSS reader, and is
equipped with a camera. Project founder Nicholas Negroponte says that
"children should be making things, communicating, exploring, sharing, not
running office automation tools." The programming code that makes up the
basis of XO is a patchwork of pre-existing open source code. The user
interface, called Sugar and available online, overcomes some of the
stumbling points of Microsoft or Apple operating systems but poses its own
set of intricacies to be understood. One specialist will be sent to each
school receiving XOs with the task of helping students get started with the
laptops, but Negroponte expects students to mostly teach themselves and
each other how to use the system. While final arrangements are being made
with various countries, the first shipments, expected in July, should be to
Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Nigeria, Libya, Pakistan, Thailand, and the
Palestinian territory.
Click Here to View Full Article
to the top
5 Disruptive Technologies to Watch in 2007
InformationWeek (01/01/07) Strom, David
Radio-frequency identification (RFID), server virtualization, advanced
graphics processing, Web services, and mobile security are poised to draw
major interest from CIOs and IT managers in 2007 because of the impact they
will have on application implementation and infrastructure management. The
growing pervasiveness of RFID tags will inevitably ramp up the data loads
IT centers must accommodate, and RFID's three central elements--scanners,
radios, and warehouses--will need to be studied by those who wish to
achieve proficiency. Scanning expertise comes first because of the
relatively simple switchover from bar codes to radio tags; potential radio
issues and the manner of enterprise-wide wireless network deployment are
also important; and warehousing and inventory experience are necessary to
the collection and integration of the scanned data into existing supply
chain applications. The new year will see the increased use of virtual
machines by IT shops for the purpose of server consolidation, lowering the
price of software development and easing configuration as IT shops
implement new servers. Greater use of 3D and the employment of graphics
processors for computation are expected to facilitate a sea change in
enterprise graphics, and this requires IT managers to understand the whole
of their graphics desktop collection and manage the shift to more
graphics-able PCs; careful management of graphics processing on a level
that is at least equal to the management of CPUs is needed. Improved and
more capable enterprise class applications that can be deployed much faster
than traditional applications are coming out of the Web services movement,
and IT managers are blending various Web-based applications together to
determine what course of action to take. Finally, the inadequacy of user
authentication calls for the implementation of a consolidated,
enterprise-wide mobile and endpoint security solution that encompasses
multiple desktop operating systems, non-desktop network devices, and
diverse switch and router vendors and OS versions. Several architectures
are available, and some shops are deploying them even though a single
standard has not yet emerged.
Click Here to View Full Article
to the top
Mars Rovers Are Taught New Tricks
BBC News (01/02/07)
The Spirit and Opportunity rovers are set to gain a number of new features
as NASA scientists test an update to flight software for the robots on
Mars. The upgrade is currently undergoing testing on a new capability that
will allow the robotic rovers to make "smart" decisions on which images of
Martian clouds and dust devils to send back to Earth, instead of having
scientists at the space agency sort through the numerous photographs that
they take. NASA scientists are also testing "visual target tracking,"
which will enable the rovers to remain locked on a landscape feature as
they move along the Martian surface. "The rover keeps updating its
template of what the feature looks like," explains Khaled Ali of NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena. "It may be a rock that looks
bigger as the rover approaches it, or maybe the shape looks different from
a different angle, but the rover still knows it's the same rock." A "go
and touch" feature will enable the rovers to determine when it is safe to
use their robotic arm to grab a rock or soil for further analysis. The
update also offers improvements for maps that are used to help the rovers
avoid hazards on the planet.
Click Here to View Full Article
to the top
Industry Braces for Net-Neutrality Fallout
Wall Street Journal (01/02/07) P. A3; Schatz, Amy
The industry is preparing for ramifications of AT&T's acceptance of
net-neutrality rules--which dictate equal treatment of all Internet
traffic--that could extend beyond the company. Net-neutrality advocates
say AT&T's capitulation could at least temporarily derail other cable and
telecom companies' plans to monetize their Internet lines by charging
Internet companies extra to prioritize their traffic; "Anybody who violates
this policy is going to run into a political buzz-saw," said Democratic FCC
commissioner Jonathan Adelstein. Exempted from the net-neutrality
condition, which expires in two years, was AT&T's Cingular wireless
business and the segment of its network committed to the delivery of its
Internet television service. On Dec. 29, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin
chastised the two Democratic commissioners who pressured AT&T to accept the
net neutrality conditions, arguing that the conditions are "unnecessary"
and "discriminatory." "While the Democrat commissioners may have extracted
concessions from AT&T, they in no way bind future Commission action,"
Martin insisted in a written statement. "[It] does not mean that the
Commission has adopted an additional net neutrality principle. We continue
to believe such a requirement is not necessary and may impede
infrastructure deployment." Phone and cable companies' impedance of
traffic or Internet services would be tough, at least for the time being,
because of the consumer backlash such action could spur, analysts say.
Click Here to View Full Article
to the top
Shaping Our Future Along With Robots
Japan Times (12/31/06) Otake, Tomoko
Tsukuba University professor of engineering Yoshiyuki Sankai, who is a
leader in the field of "cybernics," where robotics meets various academic
disciplines, was recently interviewed concerning his expectations for
robotics in the near future. He thinks that in 2007 robotics efforts will
benefit from the 2005 government decision to "move on from the exploration
of basic technologies and start making prototypes, and also standardize our
technologies, both hardware and software, to foster the development of
robots. In 2007, several organizations will start test-marketing robot
products." Pet robots, hobby robots, and serious robots will all be
developed, in large part to help Japan's aging population. By 2020, Sankai
predicts that "robots and robotic technologies will be fully integrated in
our lives." His company's current projects are focusing on medical
applications, but future projects will focus on construction and
fabrication work. Sankai says that "mankind has given up on evolution by
inventing and utilizing various technologies. The gap between technology
and people has been big until now. But computers have become much easier
to use, which means people and technology are getting closer." He stresses
that technology is everywhere and is cutting down on distances between
people, therefore becoming an "extended part of ourselves." At the same
time, he points out that we must be careful of "technology getting out of
control."
Click Here to View Full Article
to the top
What Will They Think of Next?
Los Angeles Times (12/18/06) Ballmer, Steve; Sherman, Ned; Werbach, Kevin
Six leading computing industry authorities were asked what they expected
from 2007, and their answers ranged from YouTube, to virtual worlds, to
virtualization. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer believes that the digital
revolution is only beginning, with robotics, Internet TV, mobile video, and
data analysis tools that are simple enough to be used by anyone set to
explode. Ballmer foresees the legacy of 2007 as the year that "unified
communications technology helped us regain control of our information and
our lives. Ironically, the proliferation of new technologies up until now
has made communications harder, not easier." Digital Media Wire CEO Ned
Sherman sees great potential in virtual worlds, with millions of dollars
currently being generated by user-to-user commerce on "Second Life."
Pennsylvania University's Wharton School assistant professor of legal
studies and business ethics Kevin Werbach thinks that P2P networks will be
utilized to increase the size of Internet video files beyond the current
limits of central hosting. Wired Magazine Editor in Chief Chris Anderson
expects this to be the year "when somebody figures out how to make video
advertising work in a YouTube world," which would do great damage to the TV
industry. He also sees the proliferation of video game consoles with
Internet connections as an important step for online video. Former Napster
CEO Hank Barry says the battle between Microsoft, who wants you to store
information on your laptops, and Google, who wants you to store it on the
Web, will be decided by virtualization, which will let you carry around a
copy of a "snapshot copy of your state at all times" on an iPod or cell
phone, meaning any computer will allow you access to your desktop and
files. Finally, Edge editor and publisher John Brockman names
microelectronic mechanical systems as a trend to emerge in 2007, which will
be mass produced like semiconductors, but "they move."
Click Here to View Full Article
to the top
Ada Enhances Embedded-Systems Development
EE Times (01/01/07) Brosgol, Ben; Ruiz, Jos
Ada has been updated, and the latest version of the programming language
should help make embedded systems less of a challenge for developers, write
AdaCore's Ben Brosgol and Jos Ruiz. They say the new Ada 2005 standard
could prove to be a better embedded systems tool for developers than the C,
C++, and Java programming languages. Ada offers reliability and
maintainability, with high-level features that stress readability and that
are able to find errors early in development. A tool for both procedural
and object-oriented programming, Ada 2005 also provides an enhanced
concurrency model for detecting errors during the testing process through
its treatment of new task-dispatching policies and in enabling the
coexistence of multiple policies. Ada offers the typical capabilities of
low-level processing, and also lets the reader of the program know that
system-specific features, which may not be safe, are in use. Ada's
Restrictions pragma will enable programmers to choose features that meet
the requirements of embedded systems, and its Ravenscar profile will offer
a helpful subset for addressing determinism, schedulability analysis, and
memory boundedness. Ada has a robust pointer mechanism, and its interface
facilitates the importing and exporting of subprogram or global data across
language environments.
Click Here to View Full Article
to the top
Portico Takes on '100-Year Archiving Dilemma'
SD Times (12/15/06)No. 164, P. 1; Feinman, Jeff
Portico, an organization consisting of librarians and archivists, aims to
preserve the large amount of scholarly journals either being produced in,
or transferred to, electronic form. The job requires intricate and
large-scale infrastructure, which prevents libraries from doing such
archiving themselves, but a third-party such as Portico is able to provide
inexpensive archiving that can be used by countless libraries. "Should the
day ever come when a publisher goes out of business or the materials are no
longer available from any other source, then those libraries that are
choosing to support the archive will have access to the material," said
Portico executive director Eileen Fenton. Fenton and her colleagues are
thinking of a future when the elements involved in storing and accessing
these journals, such as servers and publishers, are no longer around. This
consideration is referred to as the "100-year archive dilemma," as many
doubt the longevity of technique's such as preserving today's systems and
migrating data. Since no type of format could be expected to last a
considerably long time, some archivists have been translating data into
common plain-text formats such as Unicode and ASCII, which can handle any
form of text in any language. Several companies are making their file
formats self-contained, which many view as a valuable step in addressing
the dilemma; both PDF/A and XML are thought to be suitable for long-term
archiving. Portico allows publishers to submit journals in whatever format
they choose, since they have little to gain from transferring the material
themselves; the system then translates the files into a standard XML
archive format mandated by the National Library of Medicine.
Click Here to View Full Article
to the top
Liver Surgery Planning Using Virtual Reality
IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications (12/06) P. 36; Reitinger,
Bernhard; Bornik, Alexander; Beichel, Reinhard
Researchers at the Graz University of Technology believe virtual reality
can help facilitate better and faster liver surgery planning. To this end,
they have developed LiverPlanner, which combines VR and high-level image
analysis algorithms into a system whose advantages include effectiveness
and ease of use, according to preliminary user studies. The planning of
liver tumor resections is split into three main stages: Image analysis,
which involves mostly automatic tissue segmentation and vessel extraction;
segmentation refinement, where defects can be checked for, uncovered, and
corrected; and treatment planning, in which a surgical plan can be detailed
based on data inspection, spatial analysis, and resection simulation.
Small defects can be corrected in LiverPlanner through the use of direct
deformation tools, while template shape tools help users correct larger
defects. LiverPlanner employs a camera-equipped optical tracking system, a
Tablet PC, a custom-designed hybrid 2D-3D input device dubbed the Eye of
Ra, and a stereoscopic large-screen projection system. The Eye of Ra can
shift smoothly between the manipulation of the 2D and 3D views, and editing
functions are equally available when users run the same 3D visualization
and interaction code on both the 2D and 3D systems. Preliminary user
studies showed that half of the users only needed 10 minutes of training on
LiverPlanner to complete assigned segmentation refinement tasks within a
12-minute window.
Click Here to View Full Article
- Web Link to Publication Homepage
to the top
A Robot in Every Home
Scientific American (01/07) Vol. 296, No. 1, P. 58; Gates, Bill
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates predicts that intelligent mobile devices
will soon become ubiquitous as the robotics industry explodes on the heels
of breakthrough advances. He draws parallels between the challenges the
robotics industry currently faces and the challenges the computing industry
faced 30 years ago, such as the lack of standard operating software that
could enable the function of popular application programs across a
diversity of devices. Instilling in robots the capability to quickly sense
and respond to environmental factors is another challenge. Researchers are
tackling these problems thanks to recent reductions in the cost of
processing power and sensors, and Gates believes a new generation of
autonomous assistive devices is in the cards via technologies such as
distributed computing, voice and visual recognition, and wireless broadband
connectivity. Manufacturers of robots can also use new software tools that
ease the writing of programs that work with disparate kinds of hardware.
Gates recalls that the purpose of developing such tools was "to see if it
was possible to provide the same kind of common, low-level foundation for
integrating hardware and software into robot designs that Microsoft BASIC
provided for computer programmers." Among the technologies Gates has high
hopes for is decentralized software services (DSS), a tool for streamlining
the writing of distributed robotic applications that allows a fairly cheap
robot to delegate sophisticated processing chores to the high-performance
hardware of current home PCs. Gates thinks this milestone will eventually
lead to a new class of mobile, wireless peripheral devices that harness
desktop PC power to support navigation, visual recognition, and similar
tasks.
Click Here to View Full Article
to the top
