Entry 09 - Cloud; Online Storage

<Cloud>

When I was a little girl, I thought there was only one kind of cloud - the clouds in the sky. As I get older, I started to use an online drive which I can store my personal information. According to Machajewski, Cloud Storage is a technology that allows us to save files in storage, and then access those files via the Cloud(1). Online drives let users to upload their files such as documents, photos and videos and users are also able to share their information with other people. It gives a huge advantage since it saves a storage on computers' disk and users can sync their phones with computers. By syncing the devices, users can work more efficiently and conveniently since they can access the information from the other devices with their individual accounts. Moreover, the uploaded files would not go missing even if the device crushes. Google, Apple, Samsung, OneDrive, Mediafire, Dropbox and many other companies currently offer their users these online storage for our convenience.

<Relations to Computer Science>

Cloud is designed in a way that users are able to access the information that they uploaded over the internet. In order to do this, engineers connects the computers and the accounts. Designing a cloud is part of a networking technology and recently, the field called cloud computing is rising as a new groundbreaking informational technology. As I read article about clouds, I see a close relationship to an inheritance and social networking program that we learned in class. Object Oriented Programing would be used by computer programers to build the technology for clouds. In a near future I believe that computer scientists will come up with an innovative idea that will make our lives more convenient with the further researches.
<References>
1. http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-cloud-storage-definition-lesson-quiz.html

Entry 08 - Surgical Robots

<Surgical Robots>

Over the history, human has invented robots to help our lives to be more convenient. As science and technology develops, there are so many different kinds of robots that exists in our life in 21st century. Humanoids, which looks like human and are programmed to think like human, Robot vacuums, which brooms and mops our floor by sensing the obstacles and structure of the room, industrial robots, which are used to increase productivity and to cut down human labor force, are all robots that were invented over periods and are currently being used. For medical field, engineers have invented something that is called a surgical robot. Started with needle placement, brain biopsy and trans urethral resection, surgical robots can even assist with a cardiac surgeries. (1)

Using surgical robots is to improve diagnostic abilities, to do more precise and closer interventions with the patience, as well as it can also cut down on surgical time. However, there is a concern where surgeries with surgical robots can be very costly and we cannot completely rely on them. The surgical robots do not operate the surgery by themselves, but there has to be a physician who conducts and watches over the robot the whole time. These physicians are required to get a extensive training time in order to operate the surgical robots.

<Relations to Computer Science>

Since surgical robots are very new idea, it is very hard for human to trust on a robot especially when the surgery is something that can be directly related to patients' life and health. An article suggests that there issues with latency which means that there is a lagging moment in between when robot moves and physician operates it. (1) Additionally, there is a possibility with incorrectly programming the surgical robots. It is impossible that we manipulate the coded program in the middle of the surgery even if it is needed. Likewise, there are more aspects that are need to be complemented in order for surgical robots to be used widely; however, I believe that surgical robots can decline the chance of human errors especially during the course of tedious and tiring surgeries once the robots are checked and approved to say that they are good to go. I'm looking forward to an affordable medical services with a future medical development in a near future with the help of surgical robots.

<References>
1. http://allaboutroboticsurgery.com/surgicalrobots.html
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robot-assisted_surgery

Entry 07 - GPS; Global Positioning System

<GPS; Global Positioning System>

GPS, a Global Positioning System is a network of orbiting satellites that send precise details of their position in space back to earth. The signals are obtained by GPS receivers, such as navigation devices and are used to calculate the exact position, speed and time at the vehicles location. The first GPS system was developed in 1960s for US Navy to navigate ships more fast and accurately. Nowadays, global positioning system is built in most of the phones and navigators to give drivers their location to navigate roadways. The technology is now developed enough to tell drivers to avoid the traffic or tolls. The initial purpose of the invention of GPS was for the military to has accurate data, but it is interesting that today the system is widely used for people to catch their Pokemon with their phone.

<Relations to Computer Science>

GPS is used in guiding and mapping applications and used in location services. These days, GPS not only provides the position but is also used in various applications in computer science such as wireless video processing, monitoring using mobile and localization of automobiles. GPS receivers take information that is transmitted from the satellites and uses triangulation to calculate a user's location. In order for GPS to calculate data and communicate between devices, it needs an algorithm to manage the signal in between them. In order to execute this, certain rules need to be followed to analyze statistical data that were collected. Matlab and Python are widely used to program this system. 

<References>

1.http://www.gps.gov/

2.http://blog.naver.com/skyedu1st/220352029929

3.http://www.academia.edu/7304657/A_Review_on_GPS_and_its_Applications_in_Computer_Science

Entry 06 - Fingerprint Technology

<Fingerprint Technology>

"There is no way of knowing for sure - you would have to check the fingerprints of every living being to be absolutely certain. But at some point in our world history we decided fingerprints were unique and a perfect means for identifying individuals. A way to tell us apart."

Fingerprint verification technology is applied to many circumstances in our life: iPhone, airport, crime scene, door lock and more on. Finger scan is one of the bio-metric technology that can tell each individuals apart. Unless it is damaged, fingerprints stays the same for a life time and therefore it is a scientific and accurate way to recognize people. The fingerprint verification technology is not only cheaper than the other bio-metrics technologies, but it is also faster and more accurate. 

<Relations to Computer Science>

In order to use the fingerprint verification, the user needs to register their fingerprints on the system. The registered fingerprints are stored with their own personal information on data system. Afterwards, when user inputs their fingerprints into the system, the system compares the input data to the previously stored data to verify the user.
Since fingerprint matching is the process used to determine whether two set of fingerprint ridge detail come from the same finger, the algorithms that is called "minutiae matching" is widely used. Minutiae matching is a type of algorithm which multiple points in one image have similar distances between them then multiple points in another image then the points are said to match up. There are more types of algorithms that are used in fingerprint verification technology and the technology is going to be more accurate and intelligent as computer programmers do further researches.

<References>
1. http://www.dw.com/en/fingerprint-forensics-has-a-future-despite-new-technology-and-the-folly-of-humans/a-19515791
2. http://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=932299&cid=43667&categoryId=43667

Entry 05 - Hello Siri; Voice Recognition technology

<Voice Recognition Technology>

Computers have already beaten us at chess, Jeopardy and Go, the ancient board game from Asia. And now, in the raging war with machines, human beings have lost yet another battle - over typing. Turns out voice recognition software has improved to the point where it is significantly faster and more accurate at producing text on a mobile device than we are at typing on its keyboard. Apple applied this technology onto their devices and named it 'Siri'. Without touching one's phone, users can call, send a text message, turn on a music, search for information, open emails, navigate and even make reservations.

<Relation to Computer Science>

Voice recognition is the process of taking the spoken word as an input to a computer program. Voice recognition implies only that the computer can take dictation, not that it understands what is being said. The most common approaches to voice recognition can be divided into two classes: "template matching" and "feature analysis". Template matching is the simplest technique and has the highest accuracy when used properly, but it also suffers from the most limitations. Likewise, devices with  voice recognizing technology those are in market often misunderstands users' input; however once this problem is fixed, voice recognition technology would take a big part in our life.

<References>

1. http://www.hitl.washington.edu/research/knowledge_base/virtual-worlds/EVE/I.D.2.d.VoiceRecognition.html

2. http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/V/voice_recognition.html

3. http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2014/04/the_end_of_typing_speech_recognition_technology_is_getting_better_and_better.html

Entry 03 - Autopilot; Cars those Drive Themselves

<Tesla's Autopilot Cars>

In October 2014, Elon Musk's electric-car company began rolling out sedans with a dozen ultrasonic sensors discreetly placed around both bumpers and sides. The sensors are there to help avoid collisions and Tesla nicknamed it Autopilot. Autopilot is a self-driving car that can drive itself without a manpower controlling it. In these autopilot cars, the devices such as GPS and camera that can recognize traffic signs. Attaching a laser scanner on the top of the car, autopilot cars are also able to shun the passing cars and to operate within the speed limit. Not only this, but also the technology that can adjust the distance between the cars is also being studied. Unfortunately, there was one casualty caused from the use of Tesla's autopilot car as the system is premature yet. Tesla claimed that users are always should be in a position where they can take over the system by placing both of their hands on a handle for unforeseen occurrences.

<Relation to Computer Science>

Tesla's autopilot cars are getting smarter everyday as one Tesla car experiences a situation that is new to it, it updates the information about the incidence in its system. Then, the information is sent to the all Teslas around the world as all of their system is linked in one. Once the car is systematically programmed, it never forgets the information and is able to manage itself if the same situation happens next time. These are programmed by engineers and programmers but computers never makes mistake once the information is inputted. Therefore, autopilot cars would be able to save so many lives as more than 90 percent of auto accidents are caused by human error.

<References>

1. https://www.technologyreview.com/s/600772/10-breakthrough-technologies-2016-tesla-autopilot/

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5Boj11jEZw
3. http://www.cs.utexas.edu/news/2012/driving-autopilot

Entry 02 - Human vs. computer

<AlphaGo's Artificial Intelligence>

AlphaGo, the computer program developed by Google DeepMind in London to play the board game Go, has been beating the world's best players after beating top player Lee Sedol at the ancient Chinese game in 2016. AlphaGo uses an Artificial Intelligence (AI) to calculate the best moves and number of cases that could possibly happen during the game. Through machine-learning, AlphaGo notices constant patterns and upgrades its performance by practicing multiple data.

<Relation to Computer Science>
The software of AlphaGo combines neural network algorithms and machine-learning techniques with software engineering. Computations are neural networks and layers of neurons, arranged in overlapping layers, process the input. It derives more abstract parts of the game using convolutional networks. This type of technology has made breakout in automatic image recognition.

<References>
1. http://arthurjung.tistory.com/553
2. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-the-computer-beat-the-go-master/
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AlphaGo
4. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2117067-deepminds-alphago-is-secretly-beating-human-players-online/