I was really looking forward to seeing the Segway in action at the LA Auto Show this past weekend but only a poster board and a small LCD display with poor quality video were present Saturday evening when I was there. I expect that there will be some demos given the number of ramps and such around the display. Could somebody fill me in with some more details if they go and see anything?
Like most people, I agree that electronic versions of documents are a great idea for quick text searches. However, most resources are not available electronically and many people still do not rely on electronic copies or devices.
Furthermore, most people are used to working with paper and cannot be expected to shift their habits entirely to a "paperless" environment. As a result, I would expect many to be in constant search of a printer to print online texts for later reference. And if printers weren't available in this "paperless" environment, where would I get my free scrap paper supply on campus?
Granted, GPS would be an integral component of mapping and directional navigation. However, a competiting robot would have to dynamically respond to its surroundings (other robots, terrain, unforeseen obstacles) as well as be capable of tasks such as refueling (as the article suggests).
The challenge presented by this competition is enormous. The combination of speed, AI, ruggedness, and endurance is exciting as it hasn't really been seen outside military applications.
It's also great to see that some real money is likely to be fronted and should therefore attract some high-profile organizations as well as some interesting ideas. Competitions are one of the best ways to promote development by outlining clear goals, bringing like-minded people together to exchange ideas, and gain public media support for often obscure topics.
Personally, I prefer the Photo Radar to traditional radar because you can see it coming and slow down before you pass the camera. Also, common locations and dectecting vehicles are well known. Though this may reduce its effectiveness, it beats conventional methods that cost demerits on your licence (photo radar tickets carry no demerits since legally, the fine is attributed to the offending vehicle and not the driver since the system cannot prove who was driving the vehicle).
My greatest concern with photo radar is calibration of equipment. I find it hard to believe that the operators go through the necessary procedure for aligning and adjusting the equipment and instead rely on a ~13km/h uncertainty in measurement for compensation.
As for the red light cameras, they really aren't an issue for most alert drivers. Their locations are well known and visible. Some are even brightly painted by school kids and are totally obvious. They also seem to be set to catch only the real red light offenders (as opposed to those chancing the ambers). That is of course when they are functioning properly.
Sure the experiment's neat but it's easy to go insane trying to concentrate on a single point (oil droplet) as it drifts around in the electric field. 6 hours of that convinced me that it is most likely Millikan's grad students we have to thanks for the thousands of data points needed for the accurate measurement of elementary charge.
Gravitational force (classically speaking) follows, of all things, Newton's Law of Gravitation:
F= -(G*M1*M2)/r^2
which states that force between masses M1 and M2 is proportional to the masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. The constant G ('Big G') is currently the subject of debate but lies somewhere around 6.672E-11 m^3/(kg*s^2).
The negative sign indicates an attractive force between the masses. In short, the gravitational force is attractive, not "bi-directional".
Finally to clarify, the weight of a body is equal to the magnitude of the gravitational force on the body.
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I for one didn't realise that it's "A New Era of Desgin". Good thing the i-Tee cleared that up.
I was really looking forward to seeing the Segway in action at the LA Auto Show this past weekend but only a poster board and a small LCD display with poor quality video were present Saturday evening when I was there. I expect that there will be some demos given the number of ramps and such around the display. Could somebody fill me in with some more details if they go and see anything?
Like most people, I agree that electronic versions of documents are a great idea for quick text searches. However, most resources are not available electronically and many people still do not rely on electronic copies or devices.
Furthermore, most people are used to working with paper and cannot be expected to shift their habits entirely to a "paperless" environment. As a result, I would expect many to be in constant search of a printer to print online texts for later reference. And if printers weren't available in this "paperless" environment, where would I get my free scrap paper supply on campus?Granted, GPS would be an integral component of mapping and directional navigation. However, a competiting robot would have to dynamically respond to its surroundings (other robots, terrain, unforeseen obstacles) as well as be capable of tasks such as refueling (as the article suggests).
The challenge presented by this competition is enormous. The combination of speed, AI, ruggedness, and endurance is exciting as it hasn't really been seen outside military applications.
It's also great to see that some real money is likely to be fronted and should therefore attract some high-profile organizations as well as some interesting ideas. Competitions are one of the best ways to promote development by outlining clear goals, bringing like-minded people together to exchange ideas, and gain public media support for often obscure topics.
Personally, I prefer the Photo Radar to traditional radar because you can see it coming and slow down before you pass the camera. Also, common locations and dectecting vehicles are well known. Though this may reduce its effectiveness, it beats conventional methods that cost demerits on your licence (photo radar tickets carry no demerits since legally, the fine is attributed to the offending vehicle and not the driver since the system cannot prove who was driving the vehicle). My greatest concern with photo radar is calibration of equipment. I find it hard to believe that the operators go through the necessary procedure for aligning and adjusting the equipment and instead rely on a ~13km/h uncertainty in measurement for compensation.
As for the red light cameras, they really aren't an issue for most alert drivers. Their locations are well known and visible. Some are even brightly painted by school kids and are totally obvious. They also seem to be set to catch only the real red light offenders (as opposed to those chancing the ambers). That is of course when they are functioning properly.
Sure the experiment's neat but it's easy to go insane trying to concentrate on a single point (oil droplet) as it drifts around in the electric field. 6 hours of that convinced me that it is most likely Millikan's grad students we have to thanks for the thousands of data points needed for the accurate measurement of elementary charge.
F= -(G*M1*M2)/r^2
which states that force between masses M1 and M2 is proportional to the masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. The constant G ('Big G') is currently the subject of debate but lies somewhere around 6.672E-11 m^3/(kg*s^2).
The negative sign indicates an attractive force between the masses. In short, the gravitational force is attractive, not "bi-directional".
Finally to clarify, the weight of a body is equal to the magnitude of the gravitational force on the body.
ie. W = m*g (scalar)