Driverless Car Ethics?

Google has been under development with their driverless car technology. The project is being led by Sebastian Thrun who is the director of Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and co-founder of Google StreetView. The car utilizes information from Google Street View and artificial intelligence gathered from a LIDAR sensor, video cameras, radar sensors, and a position sensor in order to stay on track. Their incredible driverless car has managed to safely navigate 1,000 miles without any human interaction and 140,000 miles with limited human interaction on public roads. Oddly enough the only accident that has occurred was while it was being driven in a manual mode by one of the engineers. So although this is a new technology, they have made great steps forward in the idea of driverless cars.


Google's Driverless Car



This exciting new technology seems great at first but it opens up a lot of questions of ethics and law. After much lobbying from Google, in June 2011 Nevada Legislature passed a law becoming the first state allowing autonomous vehicles on public roads. This immediately gave them the responsibility to set the bar for safety regulations and standards for driverless cars. The problem is that technology is surpassing the ability lawmakers to keep up. Our current driving/car laws are written under the assumption that a human is operating the vehicle.

So this opens up a lot of questions on responsibility and decision making. First of all, who would ultimately be responsible if/when an accident or traffic violation does occur? Do you blame the company who designed the artificial intelligence controlling the vehicle? This would surely turn any company away from wanting to pursue this technology since they would end up having their own personal chairs on the defendant's side of courts across the country. So does the blame fall on the human operating the vehicle in much the same way as cruise control is implemented now? This scenario would be unfair if any glitches or malfunctions occurred in a way that the human driver wouldn't have time to respond and correct.



Then there is the idea of an ethical car. Say you are sitting in your vehicle as it autonomously drives through a busy city street. A dog accidentally wanders right into the path of your vehicle with little time to react. At this point the artificial intelligence controlling the vehicle has to make an ethical decision. Should it brake as hard as possible to lessen the impact or swerve into oncoming traffic resulting in a head on collision with another vehicle? The artificial intelligence will be asked to make a split second ethical decision on wether the dog's safety is more important than the occupants of the vehicle itself. Does the outcome of this scenario change if it is a person wandering into the street instead?

Driverless Audi TT: For those who agree that the only thing worse than driving a Prius is being driven by one.

It will also be asked to make decisions of comfort. Most people might be a little angry about not being able to take advantage of the infamous "5 mph cushion" when cruising on the interstate. Also, when making a pass on a slow moving semi on the interstate, would the driverless car accelerate to get out of the zone right next to the semi which makes many drivers uncomfortable? How about various weather conditions? The artificial intelligence might end up traveling frustratingly slow through the rain or unervingly fast through a thick fog since the sensors can "see" further than your own eyes.

Ultimately the original programmer of the artificial intelligence might have a lot of control over these issues but is this disconnect from human reaction and decision a major downfall of driverless cars? I personally love driving and would have troubles putting my life in the hands of a machine who's decision making process might not be as transparent as it seems. There is a certain amount of the human aspect of driving that just can't be simulated through artificial intelligence. Then there are the difficulties in laws and restrictions on these vehicles. Who is responsible for setting guidelines and restrictions in a quickly evolving field? It's exciting to see the cars of tomorrow coming to life but there are certainly a lot of hurdles to leap in the meantime. Are you ready for a world where cars drive themselves?

A Look Into the Future

Corning Incorporated has turned some heads and sparked great interest in their "A Day Made of Glass" video series. If you are unfamiliar with the original video (also posted below), Corning Incorporated takes a look into the future and explores the foreseeable innovations just around the corner.

A Day Made of Glass 2

The second in the series titled "A Day Made of Glass 2" was just posted on February 3rd and showcases more examples of what life might be like in the near future. Some of the intriguing 

ideas include handheld display glass that seems to be the evolution of the current tablets. The 3-D projector included in the see-through tablet is used as an interactive alarm clock. The electrochromic glass from the child's window changes from opaque to translucent since it is synched with the tablet. The display glass incorporated into her mirror recaps the day's events, weather, and even an interactive way of choosing today's outfit. The technology doesn't end at the house either. As they transition to their car we get a peak at a customizable dashboard and the interactive tinted windows similar to the ones incorporated in the house. They arrive at a high tech school powered by efficient solar cells lining the roof and walk into a classroom filled with all sorts of interactive items. The whiteboard/chalkboard is replaced by what looks like the next version of the now popular smartboard and the teacher is able to interact directly with the students. The implementation at the hospital portrays an environment where the doctor/surgeon is able to view and modify medical charts with ease. Then we get a peak at the augmented-reality as the girl interacts with a dinosaur in the environment in front of her. A borderless 3-D tv is then shown.

These technologies are definitely exciting to see, but what is most intriguing is perhaps how reasonable everything seems. It truly does feel like a peak into the future. Many of the products showcased are things that are showing up at tech shows and showcases more and more each year. Flexible OLED and even see-through OLED screens were the highlight of some trade/tech shows this year. These are the displays of tomorrow and although they are extremely expensive prototypes at this point they certainly will find their way to the average consumer. The applications of these technologies open up a whole new level of interactive media and it will be incredibly interesting to see what this could lead to. The 3-D technologies also showcased are slowly finding their way into the average consumer's homes as well and the idea of augmented reality applications seem like only a matter of time. This would open up many doors when it comes to movies, video games, and entertainment as we would be able to tailor experiences to your own environment.

See-Through OLED Laptop

Corning Industries has really shown a light on the future of electronics and it is exciting to see what we might expect in just a few years. It has sparked many conversations and innovative ideas about not only what the new technologies will be but what benefits and implications they will also bring. As you look into the future through the Corning Industries video series, what has caught your attention the most?

A Day Made of Glass 1

iPad 2 Review

With all the rumors and buzz around the upcoming iPad 3 I've decided to take a look back on its soon to be overshadowed younger brother, the iPad 2. I purchased my iPad 2 almost a year ago (original launch in the US was March 11, 2011) and I hope I can provide a nice review of not only the technical specs but also the real life applications and use I have gotten from it over that time.

Technical Specs:
So lets start off with the basic technical specs for the iPad 2. I know these are readily available and boldly displayed all over the Apple crazed internet but I'll highlight some of the key specs that have made a difference to me. The iPad 2 I chose was the basic 16GB wifi only model. The CPU is a 1GHz dual-core Apple A5 running on Apple's own iOS 5 operating system (as of Oct. 12, 2011). It also has 512 MB DDR2 RAM. The display is 9.7" and has a resolution of 1024x768 and the graphics are handled by the PowerVR SGX543MP2. External peripherals include the capacitive touchscreen, volume controls, proximity/light sensors, gyroscope, accelerometer, magnetometer, microphone, and two cameras. The cameras take video at up to 1280x720 at 30 frames/s.

Real World:
The first impression I had after my purchase was of course the iOS interface. The iPad 2's operating system is simply a super-sized version of the ever so familiar iPod/iPhone OS. The familiarity makes it easy to navigate and interact with using multi-touch gestures but of course it is missing the widget style interfaces offered by the Android powered tablets. Then comes the size. At 9.5"x7.31"x0.346" the iPad 2 is slim but well for lack of better words... "tablet sized". With this being my first tablet, I originally found it a little clumsy to haul back and forth between classes especially since I had my laptop with my at all times. This definitely changed though since it seems like I've almost completely replaced my laptop with my iPad 2. It's great to have around the house/apartment since I can bring it anywhere. No more worrying about sticking close to outlets (my macbook's battery is useless at this point). The battery life of the iPad 2 has been incredibly impressive to me so far. Even with full screen apps running in between the usual facebook and youtube stops in between, I believe you'd develop a headache from staring at your iPad all day before you could run the battery dry. Just a quick charge overnight and you never have to worry if it will make it through the day.

Apps:
I can't talk iPad without talking apps! The iTunes store has been a powerhouse in the industry and the iPad apps store just continues with that tradition. Although for the most part apps are available across all of the operating systems including Android, where Apple iOS shines back to familiarity and usability. I find myself pulling up the app store quickly in between classes and have had pretty good success simply rifling through the recommended and top apps lists in no time. I seem to have an endless cycle of adding and deleting. The only issue I really have with the store itself is that it's difficult to search for specific types of apps without knowing the exact names. You tend to get "stuck" with the top app list if you are simply looking for something new. So it's difficult to find that random needle in the haystack. Then there is the app development area. I have a few friends who are active in Android app development and I looked into iOS app development in comparison. I felt like there were a lot less hoops to jump through and development is generally easier for Android.

Summary:
Overall I have been very happy with my iPad 2 after almost a year of ownership. It has almost completely replaced my laptop since I have portable access to internet, apps, and music. The highlights are its battery life, crystal clear display, and Apple's iOS 5. The shortcomings include just being a little clumsy to transport around (the Kindle Fire is great in this area), lack of widgets, and simply Apple's control over everything. I'm certainly looking forward to hearing about the iPad 3 and may consider an upgrade in the future!

Electrical Engineer... Not Your Average Electrician

"Oh cool you are going to school for Electrical Engineering! My fiance just got his Journeyman's license." Whoa! Hold on there hair stylist! When I said I'm at NDSU for Electrical Engineering I think I lost you for a sec. Although I normally just go with it and switch the focus of the always interesting haircut small-talk, I feel like its important to correct this little mixup. Being mistaken for an Electrician has happened more than a few times so I'd like to help outline the Electrical Engineering profession to clear things up.

I think the mix up between Electrical Engineering and electrician is more of a familiarity issue than a true misunderstanding. It seems that everyone knows at least one close family member or friend who makes a living as an electrician. I have a few good friends in that field and my grandpa worked all the way up until retirement as an electrician. So when Electrical Engineering is brought up their minds automatically go towards what's familiar and that tends to be electrical infrastructure work done by electricians. Things like wiring buildings and working on power lines.

So what exactly is in the job description of an Electrical Engineer? A 4-year bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering opens many doors in many different fields. Electrical Engineers are broadly grouped into sub-disciplines such as power, control, electronics, and communications.

Power:

Electrical Engineers in the power systems field deal with the generation and distribution of electricity. They are the ones who design entire power grids, which means designing transformers, electric motors, and generators. So this sub-discipline directly overlaps with electricians who deal with high voltage power lines. In this case think of the Electrical Engineer as an architect who lays out and specifies blueprints and the electricians as the builders who construct the house.

Electric Motor Rotor

 

Control:

This field is all about designing systems to control dynamic objects. This could involve programming devices such as microcontrollers to utilize feedback such as pressure/temperature/voltage/etc in order to control an output. Cruise control in your vehicle is a great example of a system designed by an Electrical Engineer. The system reads in the speed of the vehicle and adjusts the throttle in order to maintain that speed.

Electronics:

This is my favorite and most familiar area. Electronic design engineers deal in the world of circuit boards. They deal with the design, layout, and programming of the components that populate circuit boards. The circuit boards known as PCB's are often comprised of thousands of components that are connected through traces which are interweaved through the boards which are often 8 to 12 layers thick. A completed PCB will offer a variety of functions but of course the most common thing people picture is the circuit board inside of your computer.



Example of a PCB



Communications:

Electrical Engineers in the communications field are the minds behind wireless internet, cell phones, radios, tv's, and of course much more! They are all about data transmission with expertise in not only how the information is transmitted and deciphered but also the design of antennas and cabling used.

My personal focus has been the electronics area and I have designed a handful of boards through my recent Electrical Engineering co-op. I got to work on quite a few different board designs of my own and learned the entire process. I used programs such as Altium for schematics and board layout. Then after ordering boards I did some hands on soldering of the components and went through functionality testing.

 

Small touchscreen controller PCB I designed

 Of course this is just a taste of what goes on in the Electrical Engineering world but I hope it brings a little more clarity to the field. Hope you guys enjoyed this quick overview and don't hesistate to post any questions you might have below! I'm happy with my choice in majoring in Electrical Engineering and would be greatful to provide any help to those looking to enter the field as well!