Tech Trends

There are many different theories on how the world will end: global warming, nuclear war, overpopulation, the NaziRobotZombieUnicorn Apocalypse! The last theory is getting more popular every day, while in my opinion I don’t think it will lead to our downfall. There may be one element of truth to it: the robots.
Before I tell you if I think that robots will takeover, let’s first find out if such a thing is even possible. Robots are about as emotional as Ben Stein. In other words they have no feelings and therefore would lack the desire to dominate over humans. Also robots have three basic needs: a means of reproductions, a bountiful energy supply, and a maintenance system. All of this would have to be provided with no assistance from humans.
But let’s say, for the sake of conversation, robots do achieve singularity. People develop a way for machines to have emotions and humans are forced to provide all the needs of robots. What happens then? Well, let’s ask science fiction! If the future is similar to The Terminator’s, we’ll have to time travel in order to save the eventual leader of a human revolution. Or perhaps it will be similar to Isaac Asimov’s short story collection iRobot. In order for robots to protect humans, they must control them. While I say the latter is more likely, in truth, there are a million different ways a robot take-over could begin.
Lastly, how could we stop or even prevent robot domination. One way is to make it illegal for robots to have the ability to expand on their intelligence. However people could easily disobey this. Experts also suggest that machines could perform “sanity checks”. Robots would constantly have to make sure they follow their basic programming, if they failed to do so, they would disable themselves. However I also have ideas on how to shut down robots. Such as the aggressive “hit with the baseball bat”, or the oh so subtle “pulling the plug”. A future surrounded by robotic tyranny is very uncertain, indeed. In the mean time I would keep an eye on that toaster of yours…

No one doubts the fact the Earth is overpopulated. So much so that we drastically need to find new places to live, perhaps even the moon. While the moon may not initially seem like the ideal place to build a home, with its lack of oxygen and 500 degree Fahrenheit temperature differences; it can be quite homey. Fortunately with the help from recent technological advances, the same does not apply to robots.
Without proper shelter it would be impossible for humans to thrive on the moon. This is why there are plans to send robots to the celestial body to start construction for a moon base by 2020. Therefore NASA engineers have crafted the LRO aka the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. If I were to describe them they would look like a… 330 pound lawnmower-bulldozer combo. The goal is to send 2 of these robots to create a map of the moon with complete detail of the terrain. As well as create a small shelter using soil for the first human astronauts and construction workers to reside in.
Though the real challenge is keeping the robots alive. When we launch them from Earth they will be in for a hard landing, because of the moon’s limited atmosphere. So they are made sturdy with titanium and tungsten metals. As mentioned before the moon’s temperatures are brutal! Although the mix of light and heavy metals should provide enough protection from the scorching hot temperatures, the same cannot be said for the blistering cold. Which is why those geniuses at NASA developed “thermal wadis”.
This technique, if you will, is a process of sticking moon dusts to the robots’ outer layer. The robots will get so hot that the moon particulates will literally melt on it! It will create a gray pasty substance that will act like sunscreen for the robots. However scientists are still trying to figure out how to make the paste stay. Also these robots ain’t cheap; the pair of them will cost $500 million bucks. It’s interesting, for humans to be able to find new housing, that we need robots to get to it first.

Wouldn’t it be nice if something could do all the lousy jobs that no one wanted to do? Ya’ know the jobs where you have to break your back in factories, jobs with heavy lifting that leave you drenched in sweat, or perhaps jobs that seem interminable when all you’re doing is repeating the same action over and over again. Well have no fear, the robots are here!
These days a large portion of factory workers are mechanical. The most common type of robot used in the manufacturing industry is the robotic arm. The robotic arm consists of various sized metal pieces attached to create “joints” for the robot. With these it will be able to pivot in 6 different motions and lift objects. Robotic arms are commonly used in the creation of cars. The arm is unsurprisingly much stronger and more accurate than humans. So it can easily weld together the body of the car or make precise cuts in glass for the windshield. Some other common uses of robots in industry are packaging, creating engines, fast-food preparation, and children’s toys.
Alas, while robots may be able to increase accuracy and efficiency there are a few problems. First, most operate on an assembly line. So if for whatever reason, one malfunctions, all the others will be out of line and will not know how to correct themselves. Also bots in manufacturing are typically made up with simple AI and so their uses may be limited. Lastly the manufacturing industry supplies millions of jobs to people around the world. So where will they work if robots replace them?

“When a robot dies you don’t have to write a letter home to its mother”, says one US marshal. And that is just one benefit of having robot soldiers. In the future could we really send robots in to war instead of humans? Well, the scientists at DARPA (Defense and Research Project Agency) seem to think so. The battlefield of the future may be filled with nuts and bolts, not blood and sweat.

Military robots operate by using the Autonomous Navigation System that can detect a variety of items using GPS, inertia, collision, and perception sensors. All of these combined allow them to navigate various terrains and can detect between enemies and allies.  The weapons they are equipped with vary from machine guns for standard use to rocket launchers and battering rams for infiltration missions. The armor they wear is similar to what is on human-operated tanks.

Robots also support many functions that humans cannot. Some machines specialize in clearing minefields. Also in places like South Korea they have robots patrol the boarder for weeks against the North. Or in the United States which utilizes toy helicopter-esque machinery, but with a hidden camera used for spying on the opposition. Then we have the big guns like the Predator which is a titanic self-controlling plane that launches Hellfire missiles. Then on top of that the Hellfire missiles have built in cameras so they are able to be controlled by humans, or even lock on to chase down a target all by itself!

For the complete list of military robots in use by the United States check out: http://science.howstuffworks.com/military-robot2.htm

Lastly the main advantage of having robot soldiers is that they’re cheap. Well…they’re somewhat expensive to manufacture, especially the aviation. But when it comes to maintaining, they generally last a while. Nor do they have to be paid or receive government benefits, whereas a human would. As wonderful as these may be I still have one fear. How will the wars end? Without soldiers to kill, will robots then attack civilians?

          In the future the office will change. Preferably the technology used in the office to have your work flow going strong and keep you at the pace you would like to work at. The office will be completely different. I like the new way the office will be publicized in order to sell this kind of technology.

 

             This new technology of the future will be using computer vision techniques that can visually put you in a room without you being their. It is like you are video chatting but projected onto the wall in your office. Also the team at the University of Pennsylvania is working on a project called Tele-Immersion. This is the way you visual represent a real place or an imagined place and then it will be projected on the wall. Also there is another project called Being There that puts you into a room that is surrounding you by all digital features but makes you feel like you are in your own world.

 

I think that this will be great!! It will provide a nice serene working place for the human that needs to get some work done with out distractions. Also it will help the world relax when they don’t have to worry about using a projector to show things not on your computer. I think this will turn out great.

All this info can be found at www.google.com

Electric cars and Hybrid cars are both very good for the environment because they both reduce the amount of carbon and sulfur emissions that are released into the air that cause smog and damages the quality of our air. Hybrids release about 50% less greenhouse gases and 97% less toxic emissions then a regular gas powered car would release. Also there are more benefits then just helping the environment the government reduces taxes to many hybrid owners and they also get purchase incentives. Hybrids have an advantage over all electric vehicles because they don’t have to be charged they electric battery in them gets charged whenever the car is cruising, braking, or using the gas powered fuel source. Also HOV lanes are available in certain states, this will help the owners of hybrid vehicles to still get to work on time and it will also help to avoid traffic. The benefits of having a hybrid are inevitable, and why get a gas-powered vehicle with all of these benefits of having a hybrid are available?

People in the film industry are trying to brighten the future of film by creating new features that will blow people’s minds. They are working on ways to increase portability by being able to easily send movies from one appliance to another. For example, if you download a movie on you iphone you would be able to stream it to the TV. In the future, they are looking for easy ways to store digital movies online for fast access anytime. Along with this, studios are looking to make super eye-popping images to go with the digital movies. “We’re going to figure out every way, every possible place, every possible time of day you might want a movie, and we’re going to give it to you,” said Danny Kaye, senior vice president for new business development at Fox Home Entertainment.

There is also a new advancement in interactive technology called cinegames. These are a mix of movies and games. If a movie has 20 characters, each would be controlled by a participant. If there was less than 20 users, a bot would replace the unused characters. Also, machinima is shooting a film in virtual reality, which mixes movies and animation. The future of film will be very low budget if we use machinema.

Andy Zito. “Future of Film.” ET 4 Film Group Movieminds. Movieminds. N.d. Web. Feb 9. 2011. www.andyzito.com/film_group/future.html

Sarah McBride. “The way we’ll watch.” The Wall Street Journal Tech. The Wall Street Journal. March 1 2009. Web. Feb17 2011. www.onlide.wsj.com/article/SB122833913230576869.html

Audi announced a new car that is coming out in 2012 called the Audi e-tron. It looks great and appeals to the public unlike many other Hybrids that are being produced. This car can be powered by a diesel fuel source or an electric source. But Audi is trying to perfect the regenerative-braking feature, regenerative braking is while this car is braking it uses the energy that is released while coasting or braking to help charge the battery as well as when the diesel power source is in use it charges the electric power source. Also it has some great statistics involved with it, it has all-wheel drive and 4 motors will be placed, each having 78 horsepower so that adds up to 313 horsepower. The engines also have 3,319 pounds of torque total. It has fairly large wheels that are 19 inches. It seats 2 people so it isn’t for families and will be highly priced. The car has a range of about 155 miles per charge. Also it can go 0-60 in just under 6 seconds. It also has a top speed of 124 mph unlike many vehicles that are barely able to handle the speed of the highway. Overall the Audi e-tron looks good and performs well as well as helping the environment by reducing its CO2 emissions by a large margin.

Another unbelievable phone is to come our way. The Samsung Galaxy S2, and from the looks of it this phone will not disappoint. Beginning with its hi-tech camera, it has an 8 mega pixel camera with full HD capture! It’s like your expensive camera right on your phone! The phone is also has the ability to video chat because it has an additional camera in the front. In the original Samsung Galaxy, the Super Amole feature creates the amazing graphics. This phone is the first to introduce “Super Amole Plus” which is an even better upgrade of the Super Amole Plus creating powerful graphics and enhance gaming and media experience. The ability to view videos, playing games, and online web browsing appears even more detailed. It is expected to be even better than the Samsung Galaxy with even more upgrades and features that keeps on blowing us away.

Another great thing about this phone, besides the amazing graphics, is the super fast connection. No waiting for hours, in seconds your phone loads whatever page you need to create a smooth experience. According to http://www.techykid.com/2308/samsung-galaxy-s2-list-of-expectations/, this phone is said to be a competition to the iphone 4, which was a great sell out. I am curious to see if this phone will be even more popular as the iphone because it certainly sounds amazing!

Photo credited to http://www.techykid.com/2308/samsung-galaxy-s2-list-of-expectations/

Could you imagine being able to download a movie on your ipod and be able to watch it on your TV? That is what instant streaming at home is all about. The goal in the future of instant streaming is to buy a digital video and be able to play it on any device. Consumers could buy blu ray discs and have the ability to create digital copies. These copies could be accessible on all of their devices; even their cell phone! Other amazing things could be possible, is that people might find that their hotel room TV could tap into their own personal movie collection. Also, a PC maker could customize a new laptop by loading it with all of the buyer’s movies and shows, eventually maybe video games and e-books!

There are always problems though, that come with progress. As the speed of the internet access grows, piracy seems to be a rising problem with digital downloads. It is increasingly becoming easier for downloads to be hacked or lost in the files. Another problem is that digital video downloads are very hard to transfer. A movie file from Blockbuster won’t work on a Sony HDTV for example, and videos from itunes will only work on devices with Apple Software. Also, this transferability in videos may conflict with the big movie chains, which is one more thing to work out.

The Consumer Electronics show (or CES) in January, was a group of people trying to solve those problems and lay out steps that they took to simplify this digital future. They are among those that are trying to refine the future of portability and transferability in our digital world