Animoto video on Dissertation subject

Here is my animoto presentation

Remote driving

I have been interested in the ability of a vehicle to take a passenger from one destination to another without interaction from the passenger. I call this remote driving. However, after scanning the topic a bit from recent researchers in this area, the implementation appears to be further out than what I had hoped for. Basically, in my summary it is an issue that no single processor group can make all the decisions that must be made in order to drive, such as avoidance, braking, navigating, acceleration, etc. These tasks at the current level of affordable technology must be made by separate processor groups or robotics, and this becomes a large issue as to how to have these separate robotic functionality parts making the system wide decisions necessary for safe and secure transportation. It appears that due to this issue that this technology area is pursuing remote driving, such as using a remote control device, such as PDA, or others, to remotely power the vehicle. Similar to the remote control of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) that the military is currently investing in.

So it appears that the current direction in this area, is not what I had hoped for, travel with no user interaction, but travel with remote interaction. Just to see how far this has come feel free to view this video of Full Size RC Car. It is interesting once you wait out the advertisment delay.

Active Engineering Podcast

Gabcast! Active Engineering Podcast #1

New WEB 20 tool

I have found another web 20 tool that I like. I am part of a large close family and I have been searching for a means to keep us all closer togther other than the very public facebooks, or other social media. I ran across MyFamily.com and I found it very easy to set up our own family website, free of course (with some advertising, but $2.50/month for more stuff and no adds). It can be a public or private family site. I choose the private site and I can invite the folks I desire to have access to it. You can have family pictures, calendars, etc... All family memebers can add their comments or photos or whatever to the site. I like this one.

SDP implementation comments

This week I was asked to analyze and comment on a Structured Design Process (SDP) process example. I choose the XY234 drug development example. The author really spends much time discussing the front end work and its benefits regarding the SDP process. I believe I can agree with the claim that the front end process was of benefit to the participants and stockholders. The conclusions seem to indicate successful implementation of the SDP process, however, it appears that either the process has not been concluded yet. Early claim was that the drug process may take 12 to 15 years to get to market, so this process may not be completed yet. But this example remains an example of the front end process but not to the whole process, because there is no over all completion to say that the SDP process is better than the conventional process, at least in this example. I might also make a minor observation in that the author has chosen the Structured Design Process as the name of his democratic process. The adoption of this name implies that other or previous design processes, such as the discovery of the laws governing planets, such as gravity, or the design process of sending men to the moon, were not structured. I am sure that the author did not mean this, but it strikes me in this manner.