Embedded Systems Get Smarter, Tougher
A European research team has been able to make embedded systems both smarter and tougher, as shown by the team’s RobuCab. RobuCab is an autonomous vehicle about the size of a golf cart with multiple embedded systems to train a camera on the path edge, track the angle and direction of the curb and control the gearing and acceleration. Combined, the systems enable the RobuCab to drive along the road. The research team sought to improve the precision and performance of the autonomous vehicle while also reducing the programming control – an enormous task with multiple steps. Read more
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Wireless Pervasive Computing Symposium
The 2008 International Symposium on Wireless Pervasive Computing (ISWPC) is being held 7-9 May 2008 in Santori, Greece. Co-sponsored by several IEEE Technical Committees, the aim of this symposium is to provide a platform for researchers in the area of wireless pervasive computing to showcase their results, launch new ideas and interact with other researchers. The scope of the symposium covers enabling technologies of wireless pervasive computing with a series of panels and tutorials to inform and invoke interaction among researchers. Learn more
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Encrypted Information Still Vulnerable
New research has shown that encrypted information held on a laptop is more vulnerable than previously thought with scientists proving that it is possible to recover the key that unscrambles data from a PC's memory. It was previously thought that data held in so-called "volatile memory" was only retained for a few seconds after the machine was switched off. Researchers, however, have found that data, including encryption keys, could be held and retrieved for up to several minutes. Simply locking your screen or switching to 'suspend' or 'hibernate' mode will not provide adequate protection. Although the laptop may not be running, information is still stored in RAM. A person could take the computer, cut the power and then re-attach the power, gaining access to the contents of memory – including the critical encryption keys. The best way to protect a computer is to shut it down completely several minutes before going into any situation in which the machine's physical security could be compromised. Read more
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Computing Now Offers Free Webinar
Learn about several process improvement initiatives with a free webinar presented by Computing Now and sponsored by the IEEE Computer Society. "Standardizing Your Software Process Improvement Initiatives", taught by Susan K. (Kathy) Land, Principal Software and Systems Engineer, MITRE Corporation, will present several process methodologies—the CMMI, ISO 9001 and Lean Six Sigma. The webinar will discuss how international processes and IEEE Systems and Software Engineering Standards might be best applied in support of each of these models and how these standards might be used to ensure compliance and improve existing processes and practices. The one-hour webinar is being held Thursday, 27 March 2008 at 2:00 pm EDT. Register now
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Computer Controller Levitated by Magnets Improves Haptic Technology
Applications for haptic technology—what’s behind computer interfaces that simulate the user’s sense of touch—range from remote medical breast checks to recreating the feel of fabric. Relying on gloves or robotic arms, most haptic interfaces use complex mechanics that increase weight and friction, making it difficult to provide a natural feel. Developed by Ralph Hollis and colleagues at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, a new haptic device uses a bowl with electromagnets concealed below its base and a levitating bar that is grasped by a user and moved in any direction. This provides a new way to physically experience virtual objects. The magnets exert forces on the bar to simulate the resistance of a weight, or a surface's resistance or friction. LEDs on the bar's underside feed back its position to light sensors in the bowl. The "maglev" interface can exert enough force to make objects feel solid and track movements of the bar as small as two microns, a 50th the width of a human hair. It also can exert and respond to all six degrees of freedom of movement – moving or rotating along each of the three dimensions of space (forward/backwards, left/right, up/down). Read more
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The Future of the National Science Digital Library
David McArthur, Senior Researcher at GoH and consultant to the National Science Digital Library (NSDL), discusses the benefits for continued investment in the National Science Foundation’s maturing program in the cover story of the February issue of Computer. The article outlines the past, present and possible future for the NSDL. Since inception, the NSDL has provided access to more than 2.5 million digital educational resources, covering science, technology, engineering and mathematics from pre-K to postgraduate levels to support hundreds of research focused projects.
Presently, the program has four main tracks for its research projects: Core Integration, a single large project that coordinates and manages the core library, develops the library’s central portal and infrastructure and engages and supports the other NSDL projects and community; Services that develop tools to enhance NSDL’s efficiency and value to support users, collection providers and the Core Integration effort; Targeted Research to explore specific topics that have immediate applicability to collections, services and other aspects of NSDL’s development; and Pathways to provide stewardship for the collections and services that major communities require. McArthur sees NSDL “growing both as a platform for improving the productivity of educational resource development and transforming education research and also as a tool for creating and managing scientific knowledge about education and learning.” On a large scale, the program could become a key part of a new “cyber infrastructure for education and education research.” Read more
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Terminal Computing Saves Energy, Increases ROI
In an effort to address South Africa’s energy crisis, international terminal computer supplier, Revnetek has developed a computing solution that involves replacing personal computers with terminals linked to a server. Terminals are network devices that access all the data and applications from the server, basically having the same level of functionality as desktop PCs. Since terminal-based workstations do not generate heat or have moving parts, they consume 25 watts of energy vs. 350-500 watts required for a normal desktop computer. Revnetek estimates it can save an organization with 50 workstations close to 3,000 kilowatts of energy per month, reducing costs significantly. Most suitable for users doing repetitive tasks using common applications, terminals also give IT managers an easy-to-manage platform, higher return on investment through decreased IT support and licensing costs and faster application deployment than desktop PCs. Read more
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Exaflop Supercomputer Initiative Backed by U.S. Government
The world’s first exaflop computer—capable of sustained throughput of 1,000 petaflops (thousand trillion floating point operations per second)—is the current mission of The Institute for Advanced Architectures. The Institute has received US$7.4 million in funding from the National Nuclear Security Administration and the Energy Department's Office of Science for this effort. Sandia National Laboratory in New Mexico, USA and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, USA will collaborate on the design, enlisting help from U.S. companies, universities and other national laboratories. To date, IBM’s Blue Gene/L is the fastest supercomputer, processing almost 0.5 petaflops, but computer architects are preparing for problems requiring exaflop-caliber computing. National security applications include a program that maintains aging U.S. nuclear weapons and another that is involved in fusion reactor research. Researchers say a new multicore processor-memory architecture must be constructed and power consumption mitigated to make running exaflop supercomputers more economical. The National Science Foundation, National Security Agency and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency are also expected to work on the project. Read more
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Papers Sought for Special Issues of IEEE Intelligent Systems
IEEE Intelligent Systems is seeking submissions for two upcoming special issues.
Special Issue on Agents and Data Mining
This issue aspires to report pioneering action on this critical topic and aims to encourage the interaction between agents and data mining toward mutual enhancement and super-intelligent techniques and synergism. It will bring together researchers and industry practitioners from both areas to share R&D results and discuss existing and emerging theoretical and applied problems in the interaction and evolution of agents and data mining. Papers must be submitted to the online submission site by 15 September 2008. See the complete call for papers
Special Issue on Transforming E-Government and E-Participation
Interest is growing in the benefits that emerging technologies (the Semantic Web, Service-Oriented Architecture, Web 2.0 and social computing), tools and applications might provide to this challenging domain. This issue aims to bring together researchers from these technological fields and e-government and e-participation communities, covering areas of common interest. Papers must be submitted to the online submission site by 5 March 2009. See the complete call for papers
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Researchers Showcase Future Computing Projects at TechFest
Microsoft Corp.’s seventh annual TechFest gave reporters and research partners a glimpse into some of the projects being conducted by the company’s 800 Ph.D. scientists. One example is a 10TB World Wide Telescope project that combines images and information from major telescopes, scientists and astronomical organizations, including NASA. Other projects include a new programming language to study cell biology; work on new AIDS vaccines; development of software to monitor and predict global epidemics, and sensors to monitor the melting of glaciers in the Alps. "One thing Bill [Gates] has encouraged is to take some part of the company's assets and use them to work on projects that will make a difference," said Craig Mundie, Chief Research and Strategy Officer. Regarding the improvement of current products or creating new ones, keynote speaker Rich Rashid, Senior Vice President of Microsoft Research, said the company is working on quantum computing, spam-fighting technology and a new user interface. "We're about moving the state-of-the-art forward," said Rashid. Past research has produced technology for Xbox graphics, the company's videoconferencing device RoundTable, speech-recognition tools and cryptography libraries. Read more
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Call for Proposals: Real World Engineering Projects
The IEEE is continuing with a second year of funding for a program to develop projects in IEEE fields of interest for use with first-year students studying electrical engineering, computer engineering, computer science and electrical engineering technology. The program seeks high quality, hands-on, team-based projects that focus on real-world problems whose solutions benefit society. Projects are expected to make electrical engineering, computer engineering, computer science and electrical engineering technology more relevant to first-year students and illustrate how the work of engineers and computer scientists directly impacts society. Ideal projects will allow students to discover the importance of a contemporary problem, and excite their interest in creative solutions. It will demonstrate how and why technical methods work, rather than simply providing a recipe for a solution and allow the students to discover underlying complex engineering and science principles while providing motivation for further study and engagement.
Completed projects will be disseminated by IEEE for use by faculty in the development of first-year courses. Projects should be stand-alone modules requiring a combined 10 to 30 hours of lecture and laboratory instruction, and should be easily replicated at institutions worldwide with reasonable cost and effort. Authors of completed projects will receive an honorarium from IEEE. Submissions are open to all faculty members who teach Electrical Engineering (EE), Computer Engineering (CE), Computer Science (CS) and/or Electrical Engineering Technology (EET) at a university that grants degrees in accredited EE, CE, CS and/or EET programs. Deadline for abstracts is 15 April 2008. View complete details for the call for proposals or contact the Real World Engineering program at realworldengineering@ieee.org
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