Did anyone see that documentary on BBC2 last night? - called 'Code..' something.
Anyhoo look out for a repeat if not, it was pretty cool. All about how programmers could be held accountable when their code causes accidents. It had a piece about how scientists have developed automated driving computers that are fitted to cars. One used magnets on the road and inter car communication systems, which meant the cars travelled in a convoy, exactly 4 metres apart - aimed at relieving congestion and road rage. The other used cameras and intelligent image scanning. Both work, but one of the reasons why development has sorta stopped is that if there's an accident - who could you blame!.
It had a part on Micromachines too - which I find fascinating. They're tiny tiny machines, that are build onto silicon in the same way as microchips, so your processor could have a mechanical locking mechanism, they have gears and cams and crank arms all moving on a minute scale. The implications are very exciting for these, like a tiny robot could be made that flows through your bloodstream dilodging clogs etc!. They're being developed as non-software dependant microprocessor shut down mechanisms and locks, so in the even of software failure, the processor could be shut down outside of the program. They showed the effects a dust mite has on these machines, the little git tried to break this diaphram thingy, then went for a spin on the biggest gear wheel!. I suppose it must be pretty intense for something that's used to dealing with particles of dust to suddenly have all this cool new stuff to play with
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Van-B
My cats breath smells of cat food.
