The Future of Transportation: Segway's Creation

Released at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, the EN-V concept vehicles were met with much excitement. As you can see from the picture, the concept models come in a couple varied designs, for purposes of consumer appeal. Each design, though, has the same amazing features, a result of the collaboration between Segway, General Motors, and SAIC. These vehicles are powered by the Segway-developed chassis (framework combining electronics, sensors, motors, and wheels) and electric drivetrain, giving them similar workings as the Segway PT covered in my last post. The EN-V, in comparison to the Segway PT, has "more power, more range, more speed, more payload, more autonomous capabilities, and interconnectivity." Allow me to explain how this is possible.

The EN-V is a multi-passenger transport system, conforming to the dynamics and controls that fit the driver's preferences, that makes a technological leap by linking the chassis to the battery house that contains the equivalent of 8 PT batteries; this vehicle is about 5 times more energy efficient than the average car. This chassis-drivetrain linkage allows for the vehicle to autonomously power itself from its its parked state by simply shifting its center of mass; once powered on, it can move autonomously, be driven manually, or move via a combination of the two due to its many sensors. The EN-V, like the Segway PT, is able to turn on a dime, allowing for tight operations and easy-as-it-gets parking.

But wait, there's more! The EN-V will have so many features, you may not be able to contain your excitement! No more losing your car in a crowded parking building! Because the EN-V can power itself on just from sensing a signal, has a built in GPS, and comes packed with sensors, with a click of a button, one's EN-V could navigate through a crowd/obstacles on its own and find you. Who else hates god awful traffic? Did you know that on top of making people extremely irritable, traffic exponentially increases the amount of pollution created due to longer car usage? Well, the EN-V will stop all that because traffic will be a thing of the past; EN-Vs will be able to "talk" to one another, meaning slow human reaction time will no longer cause crashes, traffic, or any problems really. The EN-Vs will be able to link up and travel closely in designated lanes to similar destinations. On top of that, thanks to the many sensors, crashes will never occur again; the EN-V can sense when obstacles, be a human, wall, or other EN-V, are too close and will make adjustments to avoid collision. Better yet, the EN-V can sense if there's more road ahead of you, so no more falling off those precarious cliffs because of lack of attention. The sensors at the EN-Vs disposal include ultrasonic, visual, and Doppler sensors. And to make everything a nice package, the EN-Vs will have unlimited customization capabilities because it will lack the traditional steering wheel and dashboard; with this, the driver

The Future of Personal Transportation: The Current Now and Wow!

In just one day, I have found a couple amazing transport innovations that have been in the works for years. And with these new technologies, I can say with much zeal, boy is our future bright!

First off, I'm sure everyone has heard of the Segway company at one point or another; the "Segway Personal Transporter (PT)" this company built first came out in 2001, being the first transport system to utilize self-balancing and lean-steer technology. Since then, the second generation of Segway PT came out in 2006, boasting a new turning system, but beyond that, I have heard nothing of the company's future prospects. My uncle had, and still has, the original Segway since it came out in 2001 and, believe me, it was not only super fun, but super easy as well. Once you got the hang of the balancing system (it's as easy as riding a bike), it was a joy to ride and you could take it just about anywhere, on or off road. But, despite the extreme coolness and creativity of this transport, it hasn't really caught on to the public. Nowadays, if you ever see one, it's being ridden by a cop in the mall or tour group in a vacation area. Why? Well, there are many reasons. It was very expensive, heavy, and, in comparison to other forms of transport, slow. On the highest speed, it can travel about 12 mph, which is a really fast run. Furthermore, its carrying space was limited to a small pouch you could attach to the handle bars. A college student like myself would much sooner buy a bike or, if needed, a moped or motorbike. Since then, the Segway company has made many new models, each one having different features for different riders. For example, one model is capable of holding golf clubs for the avid golfer, another has large cargo compartments for carrying medium-sized objects, and another "adventure" model is capable of traveling though rough terrain. None of these current models, though, have much appeal to the normal teen/adult. They are still expensive, large, heavy, and slower than the average bike or moped. Although cool and unique, the Segway Pts will most likely never see much popularity in the general public.

Being the awesome person she is, my mom sent me a link today to a site flaunting the newest cool transport system, the YikeBike. This bicycle-like personal transporter looks like a small, inverted bike; it's hard to describe, so I suggest watching the video on the home page for a better understanding. Although the Segway PT can utilize minute turns, this electric transport system moves and turns like a bike, allowing for quick, veering movement. This vehicle still has problems that the Segway PT has, like no cargo room, expensiveness, and slow speed, but it improves on and adds a lot of unique traits other electric personal transporters don't have. The YikeBike travels at roughly 15 mph (faster than a Segway PT), is more suited for urban life due to its smallness and much lighter weight, and, most importantly, is extremely portable. In a way, its like combining a bike with an electric scooter; the YikeBike has the traits of a bike, but the electric power, lightness, and portability of a scooter (it is folded up and carried in a shoulder bag). Unlike the Segway PT, I can see this style of transport more popular to the public once discovered. It's sleeker, easier to use, and closer to the standard style of transport; it will be less of a change. Of course, the price will have to come down by a couple thousand dollars for it to become truly popular, but I can see people saving up for this unique and compatible style of transport. Weighing in at 10 kg, producing zero carbon emissions, flaunting a battery fully charged in half an hour, and incorporating bright lights, indicators, and anti-skid brakes, the YikeBike is worth every penny of its 4500 dollar price.

Educational Gaming: What will it take to keep kids interested?

In class we have been put in charge of thinking up unique video game designs that are both fun and, wait for it...educational! Now, the last time I played an educational game was back in the days of Humongous Entertainment, with such game series as Freddi the Fish, Sly Fox, and Putt-Putt. Although these games didn't have math or science, they did help develop critical thinking and strategy-using skills. I also used to play games that promoted math and and other academic skills, like Oregon Trail, which involved saving and spending money for different resources as one's caravan traveled down the long Oregon Trail; that was one of the few games that combined math learning with actual fun. Back then, there were many fun educational games at our disposal, most often on the computer. Nowadays, as kids start playing more adolescent games, like Call of Duty and Halo, at younger and younger ages, these "edutaining"games are becoming less and less interesting. Why waste time spelling a word to unlock a door when you can just slaughter the enemy guarding the door in other games? Why bother solving a puzzle in Freddi the Fish when you could wreak havoc on hell-spawned harpies in God of War 3? Kids are just losing interest in education-driven games nowadays?

Now, what can we do for the new generation that will make kids want to play educational video games, ultimately leading in smarter, more prepared children? My game idea somewhat revolves around the basics of Bully, a game I have never played, but was interested in because of its originality. In this game, a bully essentially goes through school, a collection of mini-games, to learn valuable trades that he can use for the benefit of his misconduct. For example, chemistry class is really just a button-mashing mini-game that, if you do well enough in, allows you to make stink bombs and other such chemical tools that the bully would use in the actual game to torture others. The game was apparently very popular upon release; the idea of being a virtual bully probably intrigued a lot of kids.

For my game, I would like to follow Bully's design, with simple modifications. The player would be given options in how he wants to play, he would be given a large amount of control over situations; essentially it would be like combining Bully and Mass Effect, a game that has excellent multidirectional gameplay. Through one's actions, responses to others, success in school (which would be made up of real work), one would slowly develop into a stereotype category; for example, if you normally hurt others, you'd develop into a bully, whereas if you played most of the sports games, you'd develop into a jock. The game would have to b comprehensive and long, but if it had all these options, players would be and stay interested. Most importantly, all players would learn because, despite the fact that normal slackers or bullies do poorly in school, those striving to be those stereotypes in this virtual reality would still have to do well in classes to unlock higher special abilities (following the idea behind Bully). With such a comprehensive, multidirectional game, as long as it had good graphics and playability, this game could be quite popular and useful if ever created.

iTunes: As Prosperous as the Car Industry

Recently, my father came up to me and asked me how to work iTunes. As a music lover, he has thousands of CDs piled high in storage units and cases. I was honesty quite surprised at his approach because, all his life, I've always seen him happiest when he could say, "Hey boys, I found this old CD, let's pop it in" or "this is what good music sounded like." I never thought he'd give up the CD age, but, lo and behold, I spent about 2 hours explaining to him the workings of iTunes and iPods. He was fascinated by the complexity of iTunes; it doesn't leave anything out of its arsenal. You can add any pictures you want to any song when it comes up, order it however you want, and store thousands of songs all in one easily accessible place. I guess it goes to show how our generation takes such things for granted. Yesterday, he told me he's uploaded about a tenth of his collection, 860 songs roughly. He's having a great time figuring all the stuff out and is about ready to get a 64GB iPod Touch.

iTunes has grown so much in the past couple years, it's impossible to measure. The application is drawing in every audience, even across age borders. Heck, if my dad has finally started using it, sooner or later, seniors will be using it to for the oldies. I just wonder how it'll be in 60 years, when iTunes is used by everyone of our age; what will be the new thing? Will music be immediately transported into one's head for easy listening? It'll be a sight to see for our generation, just as iTunes is for the past generation.

For a long time, I believed iTunes was used by all artists, as it is an easy way to get one's music known and out there in the public. But apparently, several bands, like Tool, will not "sell out to the man," by putting their music on the application. Apparently, to some popular bands, iTunes is seen as selling out. Some just prefer the CDs I guess, because I don't know how iTunes could be considered selling out. It's still all about the music; I guess some bands just believe their music should be listened to by people that truly appreciate the music rather than listen to it spontaneously. The band Tool seeks privacy, only really spreading music on the radio, rather than using iTunes.

I, for one, avidly use iTunes and all its benefits, such as Genius, which gives you song selections based on your likes. I truly love getting iTunes gift cards for gifts because that means I'll have no problem getting some new songs off the internet, hassle free. I can't wait to see what iTunes comes out with in the future.

Gaming: A Car's Perspective

Cars are no stranger to video games. As you can see in the picture above, racing games have been popular in arcades since 1971, when Gran Trak 10, the first racing game ever, came out in public arcades. Racing games have since been released on every video game console, each one with special features, different cars, different tracks, and different objectives. Some of my personal favorites include the Burnout series, which involved causing as much destruction as possible while racing at the same time, and, of course, Mario Kart, which involved racing with your favorite Nintendo characters while using unique items to delay your opponents. Hundreds of other racing games have made their way onto the game shelves in gaming stores and many hundreds more have found themselves in arcades, movie theaters, restaurants, and even homes.

Now, we play games involving cars; but what about games in cars? Since automobile corporations came out with backseat televisions, kids have been able to take their video games into the family car and play their favorite games on the 8" screen while the parents went on an errand; it truly was a gaming revolution in its own sense. Nowadays, this small screen is no longer placed on the roof interior of the back; one can either purchase a car with a conveniently placed tv or go to many different websites, such as http://www.mobilevideozone.com/, and purchase a television add-on that can be placed just about anywhere in the car. Now you can have one in the headrest, on the dashboard, or anywhere really with a handy stand! When they first came out, I was around the age of 8 or 9, so televisions in cars was exciting, especially for a long road trip. I would hook up the ol' Gamecube to the tv and play for hours, allowing my dad to have distraction-free driving. No fights between my brother and I, just silent enjoyment of whatever games we want. Now that more freedom of tv placement has been given to buyers, I'm sure many will take advantage and begin to exploit it. Even though we'd like to think no one would be dumb enough to put a tv where the driver could be distracted by it, I'm sure we all have at least one friend who would. And if everyone has a friend like that, then accident stats will begin to pile up.You may have noticed a pattern in my posts: anything that gives the driver too much freedom, I hypothesize, will only lead to his/her downfall. And, unfortunately, its true. Can you take an exam while someone yells in your ear? Can you skateboard with your face in a good book? Well, I bet some people can, but the average man can't. And those people who can't, but think they can will end up with some minor problems. Now, in a car, these people/"daredevils" can either 1) leave without a scratch due to a miracle or 2) most likely end up in the hospital or dead. And, for some, death may even be a preference if you hurt someone else, hence getting sued, or caused so much damage that it'll take your entire life to work it off.

My advice: crash in the game and play it safe in the real world.

My Very First Picasa Slideshow

After many trial and errors, I've finally figured out the slideshow feature of Picasa.  These three pictures each capture a different scene from College Park, Maryland. The first is taken from the my floor in Denton Hall, the second is from Baltimore Avenue, and the third is at a parking lot on my way to class. I believe the first one is my best photo so far, capturing excellent resolution, color contrast, and white balance. I believe I did a good job following the rule of thirds, with each car in a separate third. It also displays repetition and uses shadows effectively, with the bordering shadows almost acting as a frame.

The second photo, although not the best, does do a good job capturing an action scene, in which a car is merging onto the highway. It provides good use of foreground and background, with high resolution of the front car, but lower resolution of the distant cars. The white balance isn't excellent, but I do like the color balance and the angle of perspective.

The third photo is the first of mine to display disorder within order, referencing the center car which is backed into its space, unlike the other vehicles which simply pulled in front first. The color contrast, white balance, and resolution are definitely top notch, and the rule of thirds is followed as well. I can definitely notice my improvement as I take more and more photographs.

Attempt at Car Photo Number 2

For my second attempt, I took a picture of a yield sign. Why, you may ask, did I choose to take a picture of a yield sign? Well, I chose to take a picture of a yield sign because I just missed the fireworks and elephants parade that had marched down the road, and this yield sign was the next best thing. This photo, again, has poor resoution and does not show anything truly exciting or different, but I believe it does have better qualities than my first attempt. The photo follows the rule of thirds very well, with all horizontal and vertical thirds holding distinct features of the photo. The photo also utilizes good foreground, a midground, and a prominent background, Elkton Hall and Denton Hall. This picture shows a wider variety of color, while keeping the good color balance, exposure, and contrast. It also provides a unique angle of approach, much like the last photo, from behind the car turning into the UMD campus. I know this picture may seem somewhat boring, but I prefer taking these pictures over ones of exciting car crashes; after all, boring is normally better than awful.

Attempt At Car Photo Number 1

This is my first attempt at producing a quality photograph relating to cars. And what better relates to cars...than cars being driven? Well, I couldn;t think of anything, so I took a trip down to Univeristy Boulevard, the road that passes right by my building, to take some pics of automobiles in action. Now, when rating this photo based on good photo-taking criteria, I can say that this picture does NOT have very good resolution, exciting colors, or much excitement. It does, though, follow the rule of thirds fairly well, with the two cars side-by-side in the bottom left corner and the side-by-side trafiic lights in the top center. The road is the bottom third, the trees are the middle third, and the sky is the top third. This photo also has a slight linear perspective, though it is interrupted by the light pole, and has a definite foreground and background. This photo, and the ones that follow this one, was edited by the new Google application called Picasa, a very easy utility that can do wonders on making subpar photographs (like mine) acceptable. This photo also demonstrates good color balance and good contrast, with the correct exposure of light. Overall, I think this photo is fairly okay for the first one.