Government Technology - October 2007 - (Page 14)

pectrum reports from the IT horizon Sky’s the Limit Google is attempting to interest millions of Internet users in stargazing with the launch of Sky, a new feature of Google Earth. Sky lets people view the night sky through a virtual telescope. Users can zoom in to see images of 100 million stars and 200 million galaxies, which Google compiled based on data from the Hubble space telescope, NASA and other scientiﬁc institutions. Google Earth users can select a location on the planet and then click “Switch to Sky” to see a view of the night sky as seen from that spot. They can then navigate this like a road map, moving across the sky or zooming in for close-up images. Users can search for approximately 20,000 celestial objects. — THE FINANCIAL TIMES LIMITED to managing editor Karen Stewartson spectrum ideas Send j 14 Fast Tracker Techno Lifeline A recent study conducted by Knowledge Networks looked at various media and technologies that U.S. consumers ages 13 to 24 couldn’t live without — and the Internet tops the list. Internet Computer Cell phone TV Microwave MP3 player Newspaper None of the above 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Show Me the Money The worldwide market for peer-to-peer and ﬁle sharing services is expected to generate $28 billion in revenue for carriers and Internet service providers over the next four years, according to Insight Research Corp. At least 20,000 police surveillance cameras installed along streets in southern China will soon be guided by sophisticated computer software to automatically recognize the faces of police suspects and detect unusual activity. Most citizens will be issued a residency card fitted with a powerful computer chip, which will include their name, address, work history, educational background, religion, ethnicity, police record, medical insurance status and landlord’s phone number. Personal reproductive history will be included, for enforcement of China’s controversial “one child” policy. Plans are being studied to add credit histories, subway travel payments and small purchases charged to the card. Security experts describe China’s plans as the world’s largest effort to meld cutting-edge computer technology with police work to track the activities of a population and fight crime. But they warn that the technology can be used to violate civil rights. — The New York Times also survived the global dust storm, and on Sept. 5, climbed onto its long-term destination called Home Plate, a plateau of layered bedrock bearing clues to an explosive mixture of lava and water. — NASA In Good Hands Survival of the Fittest Two months after sky-darkening dust from severe storms nearly killed NASA’s Mars exploration rovers — Opportunity and Spirit — the solar-powered robots are awake and ready to continue their mission. Opportunity’s planned descent into the giant Victoria Crater was delayed, but now the rover is preparing to drive into the half-milediameter crater. Spirit More than 130 Iraq War veterans now face the daunting challenge of living with a missing arm. To make this transition easier, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency launched a $55 million project that pools prosthetics experts nationwide to create a thought-controlled bionic arm that duplicates the functions of a natural limb. The Proto 2, a thought-controlled mechanical arm — complete with hand and articulated fingers — performs 25 joint motions. This dexterity approaches that of an organic arm, which can make 30 motions, and trumps the previously most agile bionic arm, the Proto 1, which could bend at the elbow, rotate its wrist and shoulder, and open and close its fingers. The next steps are to shrink the battery, develop more efficient motors, and refine the bulky electrodes used to read electrical signals in muscles. — NASA

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - October 2007

Contents Point of View Big Picture The Last Mile GT Spectrum Letters How It Works Cerf on the Net Way Back Machine Separation Anxiety Let's Roll Rising to the Challenge Wednesday Afternoon Fever Parking Possibilities Products Signal: Noise

Government Technology - October 2007

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