I wrote this back in June 2004, on a prompt, after the fiasco of the first DARPA grand challenge. Good that its happening.
The purpose of DARPA grand challenge is "to leverage American ingenuity to accelerate the development of autonomous vehicle technologies that can be applied to military requirements."
The last two words make all the difference. It requires the entrants to disclose their technology to the military and public, and the criteria of the race is to cross a stretch of rough terrain (very much military requirement), The output of this challenge will aid some parts of transportation industry, but not the most important, road vehicles that everyone drives.
I guess, If some X-Prize kind of competition comes up for the purpose, then auto manufacturers will rush to beat each other in innovation. Today no competition exists for the innovation in vehicle technologies. Formula 1, Nascar etc. are tightly controlled with rules to make it competitive, knowingly restricting the use of new innovations.
Man, you didn't get the joke. no problem, it is not expected from a guy with.mil url, anyway.
Basically, for a computer to drive a vehicle, the Urban scenario is difficult to navigate (traffic lights, moving objects) but easy to drive (tarmac), whereas rough terrain is easy to navigate (long visibility, stationary features) but difficult to drive (all wheels, traction, transmission changes, climbs). Industry has all the solution to cross darpa track. take a look at Land Rover Discovery 3's Terrain Response system. at Landrover.
Unless industry takes part, the race will be a garage tech display, fun to watch, but no serious application.
Anyways, going back to the joke, a horse will be able to travel more than any bots did in 2004 race.
Read my article advocating an X-Prize style private competition for auto innovations at my blog here. You will also find links to the various technologies already developed by Auto makers and various EU Projects on the subject with videos.
The best option to cross the DARPA race track is to fit a GPS navigation system, linked with some sort of mechanical gear mounted on the back of a horse to pull the reins in right direction. The horse will need only directions, not precise maneuvers to clear obstacles. Yes, at the fuel stops, you will have to keep grass, and water.
Seriously, Auto industry is not interested in it, because the last two words of DARPA objectives are "Military Requirements". When you see the progress made by European Union's Smart Vehicles projects and manufacturers, you'll wonder why are the DARPA teams reinventing the wheel. Is it the classic "Not Invented here.." feeling at work?
Bingo, thats what it is coming out, an over-engineered solution that is trying to find a problem.
We Indians call it Resume-building-exercise. Its when people working on a funded project, try to stuff every possible cool technology into the project, just to enhance their own resume, for future jobs.
They have a new language, IMLY a new browser for that language. Smart cards readers, USB, and now motion control?
This handheld is going out of hand.
All that was required was a small device with local language or picture based UI. With dial-up facility. Most of the people in villages are not educated, even educated people read very little or very slowly. The situation is improving rapidly, but it will take a generation.
The initial kit of Simputer was quoted to me at 36000 INR (approx 800 USD) this is a price of high-end PDA or a entry level laptop.
From this January, LAPTOP imports to India are duty free. Any person traveling abroad can bring back a laptop with him, in every visit. The local prices of laptops are also down, as a result of this. Entry level laptops from Acer are available at 30000 INR. PCs are obviously cheaper.
I am afraid simputer is going to be another vaporware.
I recollect a Reader's letter to Wired about a few isuues ago. he was writing from a prison, he said, a lot of people serving time for life, would not mind a one-way ticket, if it helps in any way.
The reader was suggesting that if the job is given in a set of procedures, they can execute it better than a monkey.
If any of you collect the wired issues, go ahead and dig in the issue, just after the columbia disaster.
my post was actually misplaced.. it was in response to some posts which discussed about SMS payments in europe.
anyways, as per the article, developing new techno for payments will just lead to Japanese mess. you have a great product that works in a country and a closed user group, not for people in general.
imagine, these devices when deployed will need a receiver equipment for payments. i.e. the Point of sale terminals and other modes of payment receiving equipments will have to undergo a upgrade or new equipment will be deployed.
SMS payments are the simplest form, every mobile supports it, and the receiver equipment is simple (another mobile phone connected to a computer). now, with one payment receiving equipment any number of P.O.S. terminals or check-out counters can receive mobile payments...
Laws will make it difficult but not impossible, man. you missed the point here.
Lockpicking is illegal, I know. but when somebody breaks into your home, you can't stop him by reading him the law.
and if laws can stop burglers, then why people are going for advance burgler detaction system, and electronic locks, and video door phones at their homes? why not old chinese locks?
My point is, currently available mail clients can be improved to let the user know, which mail is coming from where? so you can save time, by not looking at mails from unexpected places on earth.
I think technology problems can be solved by technology only, and not by law.
on cell phones we know the name of the person calling from our address book, and if the number is not recognizable, we immediatly look at the area code or country code. same can be done with email clients.
today, almost every mail client has got facility to organize the mails coming from "known people" (those who are in your address book) and the rest. some new things can be added to it by tracing the location (country code)of the IP which sent the mail. by using the APNIC and other IP databases. yes I know one has to fetch the changes of IP lists a few times in a day. (and put it on the net as a service).
It would solve my problems if I have a column in my mail client which says the originating country of each mail received from "unknown people". I don't have to look at any mail coming from south korea, or china.
I recall developed countries used to stop the sale of Gyro or gyro fluid to developing countries, suspecting, they might use the gyros to make ICBMs. Satellite launch and ICBMs are not treated differently when it comes to embargo.
and look at it today, Segaway HT has a gyro, even some kiddy toys have gyros, may be not high quality, but still. Today Developed countries are controlling the Nuke technology, I hope it doesnot, go the same way.
Slashdot Mirror
I wrote this back in June 2004, on a prompt, after the fiasco of the first DARPA grand challenge. Good that its happening.
The purpose of DARPA grand challenge is "to leverage American ingenuity to accelerate the development of autonomous vehicle technologies that can be applied to military requirements."
The last two words make all the difference. It requires the entrants to disclose their technology to the military and public, and the criteria of the race is to cross a stretch of rough terrain (very much military requirement), The output of this challenge will aid some parts of transportation industry, but not the most important, road vehicles that everyone drives.
I guess, If some X-Prize kind of competition comes up for the purpose, then auto manufacturers will rush to beat each other in innovation. Today no competition exists for the innovation in vehicle technologies. Formula 1, Nascar etc. are tightly controlled with rules to make it competitive, knowingly restricting the use of new innovations.
X-Prize for innovations in vehicle technologies
Monday, June 07, 2004
Disclaimer: link going to my rarely updated blog.
Man, you didn't get the joke. no problem, it is not expected from a guy with .mil url, anyway.
Basically, for a computer to drive a vehicle, the Urban scenario is difficult to navigate (traffic lights, moving objects) but easy to drive (tarmac), whereas rough terrain is easy to navigate (long visibility, stationary features) but difficult to drive (all wheels, traction, transmission changes, climbs). Industry has all the solution to cross darpa track. take a look at Land Rover Discovery 3's Terrain Response system. at Landrover.
Unless industry takes part, the race will be a garage tech display, fun to watch, but no serious application.
Anyways, going back to the joke, a horse will be able to travel more than any bots did in 2004 race.
Read my article advocating an X-Prize style private competition for auto innovations at my blog here. You will also find links to the various technologies already developed by Auto makers and various EU Projects on the subject with videos.
The best option to cross the DARPA race track is to fit a GPS navigation system, linked with some sort of mechanical gear mounted on the back of a horse to pull the reins in right direction. The horse will need only directions, not precise maneuvers to clear obstacles. Yes, at the fuel stops, you will have to keep grass, and water.
Seriously, Auto industry is not interested in it, because the last two words of DARPA objectives are "Military Requirements". When you see the progress made by European Union's Smart Vehicles projects and manufacturers, you'll wonder why are the DARPA teams reinventing the wheel. Is it the classic "Not Invented here.." feeling at work?
Bingo, thats what it is coming out, an over-engineered solution that is trying to find a problem.
We Indians call it Resume-building-exercise. Its when people working on a funded project, try to stuff every possible cool technology into the project, just to enhance their own resume, for future jobs.
They have a new language, IMLY
a new browser for that language.
Smart cards readers, USB, and now motion control?
This handheld is going out of hand.
All that was required was a small device with local language or picture based UI. With dial-up facility. Most of the people in villages are not educated, even educated people read very little or very slowly. The situation is improving rapidly, but it will take a generation.
The initial kit of Simputer was quoted to me at 36000 INR (approx 800 USD) this is a price of high-end PDA or a entry level laptop.
From this January, LAPTOP imports to India are duty free. Any person traveling abroad can bring back a laptop with him, in every visit. The local prices of laptops are also down, as a result of this. Entry level laptops from Acer are available at 30000 INR. PCs are obviously cheaper.
I am afraid simputer is going to be another vaporware.
I recollect a Reader's letter to Wired about a few isuues ago. he was writing from a prison, he said, a lot of people serving time for life, would not mind a one-way ticket, if it helps in any way.
The reader was suggesting that if the job is given in a set of procedures, they can execute it better than a monkey.
If any of you collect the wired issues, go ahead and dig in the issue, just after the columbia disaster.
my post was actually misplaced.. it was in response to some posts which discussed about SMS payments in europe.
anyways, as per the article, developing new techno for payments will just lead to Japanese mess. you have a great product that works in a country and a closed user group, not for people in general.
imagine, these devices when deployed will need a receiver equipment for payments. i.e. the Point of sale terminals and other modes of payment receiving equipments will have to undergo a upgrade or new equipment will be deployed.
SMS payments are the simplest form, every mobile supports it, and the receiver equipment is simple (another mobile phone connected to a computer). now, with one payment receiving equipment any number of P.O.S. terminals or check-out counters can receive mobile payments...
only if SMS becomes fast enough.
SMS gateways are getting slower by the day... imagine waiting at a checkout queue and somebody in front of you waiting for a SMS to arrive....
SMS service center equipments and standards needs to be upgraded first.
It will be a great service when implemented correctly, several companies in europe has already tried it.. car wash, wending machines.
but its damn slow.. slower than waiting for a credit card slip to print out...
Laws will make it difficult but not impossible, man. you missed the point here.
Lockpicking is illegal, I know. but when somebody breaks into your home, you can't stop him by reading him the law.
and if laws can stop burglers, then why people are going for advance burgler detaction system, and electronic locks, and video door phones at their homes? why not old chinese locks?
My point is, currently available mail clients can be improved to let the user know, which mail is coming from where? so you can save time, by not looking at mails from unexpected places on earth.
I think technology problems can be solved by technology only, and not by law.
on cell phones we know the name of the person calling from our address book, and if the number is not recognizable, we immediatly look at the area code or country code. same can be done with email clients.
today, almost every mail client has got facility to organize the mails coming from "known people" (those who are in your address book) and the rest. some new things can be added to it by tracing the location (country code)of the IP which sent the mail. by using the APNIC and other IP databases. yes I know one has to fetch the changes of IP lists a few times in a day. (and put it on the net as a service).
It would solve my problems if I have a column in my mail client which says the originating country of each mail received from "unknown people". I don't have to look at any mail coming from south korea, or china.
I recall developed countries used to stop the sale of Gyro or gyro fluid to developing countries, suspecting, they might use the gyros to make ICBMs. Satellite launch and ICBMs are not treated differently when it comes to embargo. and look at it today, Segaway HT has a gyro, even some kiddy toys have gyros, may be not high quality, but still. Today Developed countries are controlling the Nuke technology, I hope it doesnot, go the same way.
1) Electronic machines are used earlier in elections in India.
2) It actually costs less to conduct voting on these machines.
3) It is safe.
And please, people, it's the largest democracy, if they are trying something new, give them a break.
The guy who posted the article need not have added the first sentence.