Bob McGinley::J2Evolution

Importance of Programming Language Popularity

I wrote my first programs while I was in high school during the early 1980's.  I copied a BASIC program out of a book and typed it into the school computers text editor.  Of course I had no idea that I would need to compile the program, I just thought you wrote them and expected them to run.

In college I learned PASCAL, the bind and compile processes, and it all came together.  But I wasnt enamored with PASCAL at the time, in fact I was hardly enamored with computers at the time.  This was the age of MS-DOS, and other than an occasional flight simulation, computers at the time were nothing more than typewriters and spreadsheet calculators.

On Intelligence

Just checking in.  I havent had my nose in the news much lately, but I have been indulging in a great book, On Intelligence by Jeff Hawkins.  Hawkins invented the PalmPilot and other hand held devices, he also wrote some of the first successful handwriting recognition software.

On Intelligence is an easy read, not too technical, but not dumbed down either.  There are some great ideas discussed in the book regarding the mechanics of how we think, and actual steps that occur in our brains.  Hawkins describes his struggle getting support to research neuroscience, and his frustration with the arrogance of AI researchers who think that the brain is primitive, and computer brains should be evolved without considering our brains design.

I've considered the same debate, and after reading this book I'm firmly in the camp of Hawkins.  We still know too little about how our brain works.

The other aspect of the book I was immediately intrigued by was the concept of feedback, and how much of it our brains are designed to provide.  The flow of information in our neocortex is actually greater in the direction opposite of the input.  Our brains are instruments of prediction.  It is always predicting.  As the movie of our life rolls by, our brain tries to predict every frame.  When a prediction is wrong, we react.

Hawkins has a great view of this landscape if you ask me.  Its already gotten me thinking about some new neural net ideas.

Self-driven robotic cars hit the streets

I have strange obsessions, I know.  My obsession with vehicle traffic and intelligent traffic systems is only outdone by my obsession with intelligent vehicles.  I'm one of those people who thinks driving is an enormous waste of time, especially time stuck in traffic.  I would rather be able to program my vehicle with a destination, and then let it take me there, quickly and safely.  Will it happen in my life time?  It will if I have anything to say about it.

11 finalists to hit the streets in DARPA's $2M Urban Challenge

"The teams that competed in the [National Qualification Event] were subjected to a series of rigorous tests to determine whether they were equipped to compete in the Urban Challenge final event," said DARPA Director Tony Tether in a written statement. "The NQE tested the vehicles capability to merge into traffic, navigate four-way intersections, respond to blocked roads, pass on-coming cars on narrow roads and keeping up with traffic on two- and four-lane roads. In fact, the only major difference between the NQE and the final event is that other robotic vehicles will be part of the traffic in the final event."

The vehicles must accurately navigate a complicated course without human assistance. No one is in the car to turn the wheel, apply the brakes or figure out which way to go. The automobile must work its own way through the course, navigate around about 50 human-driven vehicles and do it within six hours.

Hows that for advancing the technology?  It was only a few years ago that the DARPA contest was simply navigating pylons and other small obstacles.  The vehicles in this years DARPA challenge can literally "see" the traffic around it.  Check out some video.

Now if we could tie all these vehicle locations into a grid, we could get them to act in synch with one another, and the traffic system.  Cars on the grid would know the traffic system, and would be able to navigate congested areas, and even predict road signal changes. 

What this boils down to of course is a safer highway system, and cars that allow the drivers to do something else with their time, rather than stare at traffic.