Transcript Slide 3 Computers Are Your Future Spotlight 8

Computers Are
Your Future
© 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Computers Are Your Future Spotlight 8
Computers Are Your Future
Spotlight 8
Emerging Technologies
© 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Slide 2
Computers Are Your Future Spotlight 8
Tomorrow’s Hardware:
Smaller, Faster, Cheaper, Connected
Nanotechnology:
 The art of manipulating
materials on an atomic or
molecular scale especially
to build microscopic
devices
Biochip:
 Like a computer chip that
processes biological
instructions
© 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Slide 3
Computers Are Your Future Spotlight 8
Moore’s Law & Metcalfe’s Law
Moore’s Law:
 Microprocessors and miniature circuitry will double
in circuit density and, therefore, processing power
every 18 to 24 months.
Metcalfe’s Law:
 The value of a computer network grows in
proportion to the square of the number of people
connected to it.
© 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Slide 4
Computers Are Your Future Spotlight 8
The Short Term
The Typical Personal Computer: 1999 and 2008
Short Term Prediction
Component
RAM
Processor Speed (instructions per
second)
Circuit Density (number of transistors)
Hard Disk Capacity
Average Internet Connection Speed
© 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
1999
2008
64 MB
4 GB
400 million
9.6 billion
7.5 million
250 million
8 GB
600 GB
56,000 bps
6 million bps
Slide 5
Computers Are Your Future Spotlight 8
Computers Everywhere
Automated Highway Systems (AHS):
 Information is passed between vehicles and highways
to prevent collision.
Digital Forensics:
 Computers are used to fight cybercrime and computer
crime.
© 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Slide 6
Computers Are Your Future Spotlight 8
Computers Everywhere
Biological Feedback Devices:
 Translate eye movements, body movements, and brain
waves into computer input
 Virtual Reality:
 Immersive 3D environments that are computer-generated
© 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Slide 7
Computers Are Your Future Spotlight 8
Virtual Reality
Users can use helmets and sensor-equipped gloves to
experience VR.
© 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Slide 8
Computers Are Your Future Spotlight 8
Virtual Reality
Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE):
 Projects stereoscopic images onto walls to create a virtual
environment
Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML):
 Language used to creates virtual environments online
© 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Slide 9
Computers Are Your Future Spotlight 8
Computers Everywhere
Chemical Detectors:
 Computers are used to detect traces of explosives in
airports.
Tactile Displays:
 Haptics – sense of touch
 Researchers are developing tactile displays that stimulate skin to
generate a sensation of contact.
© 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Slide 10
Computers Are Your Future Spotlight 8
Artificial Intelligence:
Toward the Smart Machine?
 Artificial intelligence is the ability to endow
computers with intelligence.
 It has only been partially successful due to the
obstacles encountered.
 Programs cannot function intelligently outside the
context for which they are designed.
© 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Slide 11
Computers Are Your Future Spotlight 8
Defining Intelligence
There is no clear consensus on what intelligence really is.
Intelligence involves some or all of the following abilities:






Learn and retain the learned knowledge
Reason on the basis of this knowledge
Adapt to new circumstances
Plan (develop strategies)
Communicate
Recognize patterns
© 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Slide 12
Computers Are Your Future Spotlight 8
Defining Intelligence
Compared to the human brain, computers accept smaller
amounts of input and have poorer pattern recognition skills,
but they calculate and output faster than humans.
© 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Slide 13
Computers Are Your Future Spotlight 8
The Turing Test
 British computer scientist Alan Turing suggested that
a computer is intelligent if a group of unbiased judges
cannot tell the difference between computergenerated and human output.
 Many believe the test is too simplistic.
 Programmers have created programs to trick the
judges.
© 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Slide 14
Computers Are Your Future Spotlight 8
Neural Networks
Neural networks are computers that mimic the structure
of the human brain.
 Computers composed of hundreds of thousands of tiny,
interconnected processors
© 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Slide 15
Computers Are Your Future Spotlight 8
Pattern Recognition
 Computers using a digital camera
and pattern recognition software
can process what is being seen
and then draws connections
between the patterns perceived
and the patterns stored in a
database.
 This technology is used to
recognize suspicious movement
in buildings.
© 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Slide 16
Computers Are Your Future Spotlight 8
Intelligent Agents
 Agents are automatic programs that help the user.
 The programs communicate with the user, understand their
needs, and offer assistance.
 Microsoft’s Office Assistant is an example.
© 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Slide 17
Computers Are Your Future Spotlight 8
Machine Translation
 Machine translation is using
computers to translate foreign
text automatically.
 Resolving ambiguities is
problematic.
 One program can translate
300,000 words per hour, but
results contain many errors.
© 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Slide 18
Computers Are Your Future Spotlight 8
Genetic Algorithms
 Based on evolutionary theory, genetic algorithms
involve creating artificial intelligence by developing
laboratory conditions in which the most intelligent
programs survive.
 Algorithms are placed in a computer environment and
allowed to mutate; one algorithm emerges as the best
at tackling the problem.
© 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Slide 19
Computers Are Your Future Spotlight 8
Strong Artificial Intelligence
 Area of research based on the conviction that
computers will achieve artificial intelligence equal
to that of humans
 CYC–to create a computer that knows as much
as a 12 year old
 COG–insect-like humanoid robot
 Kismet–sociable humanoid robot that can learn
and interact with humans
© 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Slide 20
Computers Are Your Future Spotlight 8
Robots
A robot is a computer-based device programmed to
perform motions that can accomplish useful tasks.
Japanese-made Partner-type Personal Robot
(PaPeRo) – responds to human interactions.
© 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Slide 21
Computers Are Your Future Spotlight 8
Robots
Industrial robots are performing tasks such as
assembly, welding, material handling, and material
transport.
© 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Slide 22