Today I would like to show you what are technical aspects of introducing driverless cars on mass scale
First let's look at video which describes in short how it works
Sensors
Driverless car must know its environment just like human driver have to see the road.
This problem is not yet entirely solved but following technologies are being utilized in prototypes:
Video cameras
Infra-red
Radars
Lasers
Navigation
Idea of driverless car requires that it is able to move between two points without any human intervention, so it requires a system to plan a road.
This problem is already solved as driverless car can utilize existing auto-navigation systems based on GPS technology.
Motion Planning
This describes how car should move in the environment (which is previously detected by sensors), how it should react to changes like pedestrians suddenly walking on the street etc.
So far it is the biggest problem which is not yet fully developed, research is currently made on this subject and it was the main problem of DARPA Urban Challenge.
Vehicle Control
This problem concerns physical control over the vehicle and it is already solved. Computers can already control vehicle motion.
Questions
Which problem was hardest in your opinion before reading this presentation?
How do you find current progress on this issue?
Do you think auto-navigation is reliable enough at the moment?
When driverless car would come to market should it have backup manual control?
This semester my presentation will be about a topic which I have heard of quite recently – Driverless cars.
What is a driverless car?
According to Wikipedia it's an "autonomous vehicle that can drive itself from one point to another without assistance from a driver". In other words its car which is driven by computer not a human, you can also encounter the term Robocar which is perhaps more accurate since you can consider such car a robot.
What is so important about it?
According to Wolfram Alpha™ every year 1.189 million people die in car accidents.
One of the major causes of these accidents are drivers themselves, however problem is not only with irresponsible people like drunk drivers but it's about human nature as everyone can for example fall asleep, don't notice something etc. Truth is that humans are not perfect when it comes to such important things as driving cars and they may fail.
So if we eliminate a driver we can eliminate a lot of accidents, but there are also other benefits. What is now the safe distance between cars? Imagine it could be decreased a lot if cars would be driven by computers which can communicate between themselves in a matter of milliseconds. In conclusion by eliminating driver we can not only safe millions of lives but also a lot of money so I think it might be most important invention since Internet.
Is it real or science-fiction? At the time being there are working prototypes which are being optimized and tested, results are very optimistic. Many organizations are supporting the idea by creating contests such as DARPA Grand Challenge.
Questions What do you think about this idea? Would you trust the computer and use such car? When do you think it could be implemented on mass scale?
Friday, 7 May 2010
An Intelligent House
The lights are on, blinds are uplifted, coffee isfreshly brewed and a pleasant melody from the radio wakes you up. You get up, drink coffee or tea and you start a new day. When you are out, the lights trip, forgotten machines switch off and the temperature drops. The alarm is activated and blinds are partially hidden. Wherever you are, you can check whether everything is fine at home and what is going on there. When you come back the self-adapted cooker is turning on with your dinner and the temperature is changing to the most comfortable. While getting in, you hear your favourite songs and TV is already playing. When you go to bed all unnecessary devices switch off and the house is keeping an eye on everything in order not to disturb your dreams.
Impossible? Until recently, it was impossible because we have seen such houses only on movies or read about them in books. However, today such houses appear in our real lives. Advanced technology, which is available today, let us make this dream come true. Intelligent houses are also appearing in our country. This technology is becoming more and more available and an integral part of our lives. The same situation was with mobiles phones or Tvs, at first these things were only available for army or governments but after some time also for ordinary people.
A short note about intelligent houses:
What is it? This question raised a vivid discussion because everyone answers differently on that question. To be precise, it is a link between a whole infrastructure, installations and devices at home. They are connected in such a way that they create a coherent system. Its purpose is to make your life easier and more comfortable. It also builds up the sense of safety and decreases exploitation costs.
Eventual possibilities of the system at an intelligent house:
controlling the alarm system
controlling appliances (washing machine, fridge)
controlling the lights
controlling audio equipment
controlling the central heating and air conditioning
detector of light, wind or rain
detector of opening and closing doors
domestic videophone set
intelligent doors
The possibility of controlling most of the devices is not only a convenience for lazy people but also a chance to arrange your activities to, for example, water the grass. The system is also supervising whether the cooker is not working or if the doors are not opened. It reminds you about closing the doors in order not to invite the thief. When it will be properly programmed it can stimulate the presence of householders at home, when actually they are 2000miles away from home, sunbathing on the beach. The system possesses the fire and movement detector, moreover it can inform alerting information services about a dangerous situation. In this way it protects our house while we are out. The system make our lives easier in many ordinary activities, even in those about which we sometimes forget or we do not pay attention to them such as decreasing temperature or turning off the lights.
Modern voice stimulation:
Intelligent houses are our future, in a few years they will become inseparable part of people's lives. We will depend on them and they will depend on us but for sure they will help us in our daily tasks more than we think. They will also give us more possibilities for development in such way that we will have more time to do other things probably more important for us.
Increase of selling intelligent systems through last few years:
Everyone, who considers a purchase of the intelligent installation is usually thinking about cost-effectiveness of such investment. Not to mention, the fact that such systems let us considerably decrease the usage of electric and thermal energy, as well as water. Think for a while, how much the comfort of your life, your family and your property, is worth. Do you have any more doubts?
E-cigarette is an electrical device used to pass small amounts of nicotine by inhalation. The device usually has a shape and dimensions of an ordinary cigarette, pipe or cigar.
There are three main parts of device:
Mouthpiece (cartridge) contains a special fluid-filled (E-liquid), containing nicotine, propylene glycol, glycerol, and optionally aromatic or flavor.
Atomizer heat the liquid to a temperature of 150-180C and by that - it create a steam, which is inhaled by the user. Propylene glycol causes the fluid creates a fog-like smoke.
The battery with LED. Battery life varies depending on the battery type and size, frequency of use, and operating environment. Many different battery charger types are available, such as wall outlet, car, and USB chargers.
Adventages of e-cigarettes:
They are advertised as less harmful alternative to ordinary health tabacco cigarettes, because they are devoid of harmful carcinogenic chemicals, there is only pure nicotine and substance to make a smoke.
No bad smell so we can "smoke" (the better word is, I think: "use") in places, where smoking is forbidden.
It looks elegant and "real" and it doesn't pollute enviroment.
Cartridges are available in many different aromas like fruits, chocolate, shampain, coffe, or imitation of the classic taste of popular brands of cigarettes.
And here are some questions for you:
Do you think that e-cigarettes are the future of "healthy" smoking?
If you are the smoker: do you consider buying e-cigarette?
So, you want to quit the addiction of smoking? There are many working or non-working methods that I would like to present.
You must understand that there are two types of addiction:
Physical (nicotinehunger)
Psychological
First of all you must find a motivation to break the habit. It may not be the health. It could be a pressure of environment, prohibition at work or not accepting it life partner. Then choose a method related to your dimension of addiction.
Gums with nicotine (nicorette), Sucking pastilles, Sticking plasters - It relieves symptoms of nicotine hunger: irritability, poor concentration, depression.
Swallowing tablets - they doesn't contain nicotine, there are substances with a similar effect. They are available by doctor prescribes, because not everyone can use them. Nice example is "Chantix" (not available in Poland yet), it containg substance which blocks nicotine access to brain, so this means the end of the pleasure of smoking. It also mitigates the effects of nicotine hunger.
Homeopathic medicines - removes the effects of quitting smoking: headache and other disorders associated with nicotine poisoning.
Acupuncture - is not a cure for addiction, but may contribute to the therapy, such as smoothing symptoms after stopping cigarettes. About 75% people using acupuncture throws or smoke less.
Hypnosis - the effectiveness of this method depends on your susceptibility to enter into a hypnotic state and the determination. The therapist helps you free yourself from mental dependence on cigarettes, rather than physical
Electronical cigarettes - I will take that topic in the next presentation
Others methods, like Allen Carr method. I would recommend a great book about stop smoking, not only for smokers, but also not-smoking people, to understand how complicated smoking is, and how hard is to stop smoking.
And here are some questions for you: 1. Do you know any other methods of stop smoking? 2. Which addiction is more important to stop: physical or psychological?
Scarification Scarification was typical in the primary ethnic groups, now has become popular in the civilized world too. It is based on burning, defrosting, cutting and removing the skin.
Piercing:labrets, Barbells, Circular barbells, captive bead rings, and flesh tunnels
Nowadays it is very popular. It’s based on piercings of the body in specific places (for example nose, tongue, intimate space) and implementing there earrings. Earring after healing can be converted into another one - more fitting. The most common body parts are: ears, nose, lips, tongue, eyebrows, nipples, navel, and genitals (including women - around the labia and clitoris, men - penis, scrotum). tunnels are becoming most popular from some time and the latest trend – something like corset. See examples below:
Of course we must add tattoos here (but I have already written about them).
Also transplantation and amputations of body parts, implants and stitching the mouth and eyes become increasingly popular now.
Some of them are very hard to describe, just look at some examples:
Below list of the 10 most modified human bodies in the world: go
And here is an interview with a Stalking Cat – the no. 1:
First brass rings girl get when she completes five years. After completing 10 years her rings count is going up. Adult women wear about nine kilograms of rings all the time without a break.
Nobody knows about the roots of this practice. According to some people it comes from a time where the tigers were around the villages which were attacked their victims mostly in the neck. Thick metal rims have to guard against the teeth of a tigers. According to other people rings were intended to ensure wife fidelity. In the case of treason they was taken off from the neck which underwent fracture under the weight of the head. To this day when the researchers must remove the rims from one of the Padaung women then she is in mortal danger of twisting the neck. Hence, during such operations the head at least two persons. Recently performed X-rays showed that the result of long neck is a lowered clavicle under the weight of the rings.
Feet binding
Feet binding (or bandaging) is a Chinese habit which was practiced from about X to the beginning of the XX century. Its goal was to achieve the aesthetic effects by shortening and deformity of women’s feet.
Feet binding initially was used in girls from higher social classes, which are not required to perform heavy physical work - it was a determination of social status. Over time it was adopted among the lower social classes. In China short foot was a symbol of refinement and they provide a good marriage for the owner.
At the beginning of the twentieth century people began to strongly criticizing it due to the fact that this habit was mutilated women and was carrying a lot of suffering. Now it is completely prohibited. The last generation of women who have been subjected to feet binding almost completely gone in China.
The reasons for performing cranial deformation are varied. A prominent hypothesis is that deformation was performed to signify group affiliation. Or it may have been done to demonstrate elite status.
Head flattening, also called head binding, head shaping or head moulding, is the application of pressure or bindings to cranial bones (the human skull) to alter their shapes. Flat shapes, elongated ones (produced by binding between two pieces of wood), rounded ones (binding in cloth) and conical ones are among those chosen. It is typically carried out on an infant, as the skull is most pliable at this time. In a typical case, headbinding begins approximately a month after birth and continues for about six months.
It is a flattening a young girl's breast process by piece of wood or stone heated in the fire when they starts shaping. For what? – “To protect young girls from men's eyes and save them to early sexual intercourse” - the hangman’s words.
This practice is widespread in Cameroon where it affects at least 26% of girls at the time of its coming into puberty.
Man circumcision is a practice which is generally accepted in the world and I think everyone of us has heard something about it. However, female circumcision is a ritual that is both very strange and frightening. However female circumcision is a ritual that is both very strange and frightening. In the world is alive 130 million of circumcised women and 2 million of women are circumcised per year.
World Health Organization (WHO) categorization: 1. Excision of the foreskin clitoris and partial or total excision of the clitoris. 2. Excision of the clitoris along with the foreskin and the inner labia. 3. Excision of the entire genital and stitching the vagina. 4. Includes a diverse range of practices, such as pricking the clitoris with needles, burning or scarring the genitals as well as ripping or tearing of the vagina.
In contrast to male circumcision, female circumcision is considered by many groups and organizations as a violation of human rights – it is more drastic and in some cultures it is even a specific act which cause pain which is to give an additional effect of "cleansing". But even more civilized acts of female circumcision gives rise to many protests around the world as an act of unjustifiable women mutilation of substantial part of her body.
