With the War Against Terror not coming to an end in the foreseeable future, The Department of Defense (DOD) has decided to move towards autonomous vehicles to help save US lives. The DOD has decided that the men and women who have the daunting task of traveling in a vehicle in a combat zone is becoming too risky.
With the increased use of guerrilla-like tactics and roadside bombs becoming harder to defeat, the Pentagon and DOD decided to help this situation with the addition of automated vehicles.
Although some troops travel in tanks, it does not necessarily make them safe. Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) can be designed to take out foot troops and vehicles as large as tanks! The tactics used in war have been some that the US has never encountered, so it makes it hard to determine when, where, and who will be attacking US convoys.
Popular Science says that, “Vehicles would be in a leader-follower system. It involves two humans manning a lead vehicle, and then up to seven other following vehicles are driverless, with autonomous systems guiding them to follow their humans in the lead.” The autonomous vehicles will be armed and able to fire upon enemy contact remotely. They are extremely sophisticated and allow the safe passage of troops or supplies through enemy territory.
This would eliminate a minimum of 14 US troops on the road! The automated vehicles could be the vehicles most targeted such as the resupply trucks, the trucks carrying bulk fuel or even a recovery vehicle. Having the possibility of lowering casualties while maintaining superiority on the battlefield is key and is another asset the US will add to its arsenal.
Questions: 1. Do you think the money required to make autonomous military vehicles is worth the benefit? 2. How would implementing the autonomous vehicles shape military incursions? 3. Some people have said that making these vehicles autonomous makes war too much like playing a video game, do you agree? Why or why not?
There have been smart phones and
smart cars, but the most recent “smart” technological trend has been smart
buildings. Smart buildings are defined by a recent article from Gemalto as buildings that:
“leverage pervasive wireless
connectivity, sensors and IoT technologies to communicate and analyze data that
is used to control and optimize building management systems.”
The idea is that everything in the
building is monitored from security cameras and light sensors to even air and
water quality. Through IoT technology the data is captured and compiled into
one comprehensive system.
These buildings have gained
popularity due to their many benefits including but not limited to being
environmentally friendly, reduced energy costs, predictive maintenance, and the
improved productivity from the building occupants.
The video below gives a brief
overview of how IoT technology can be used to benefit the building owners,
occupants, and the environment.
Because this is a time when being
environmentally conscious is so important, smart buildings are optimizing on
this trend. On the roofs of many smart buildings are solar panels that provide
energy to supplement the daily operations of the building. In some cases, the
roof is even used to collect water that is then filtered and used in some
facilities.
Smart buildings are able to reduce
energy costs in a number of ways. One main smart building quality that saves
energy is the use of motion sensors to activate lights. By using this, lights
will shut off to conserve energy when occupants are not in the area.
Another
way that smart buildings reduce costs are through predictive maintenance.
Sensors can be attached to pipes and put into HVAC systems that will find
points of deterioration or malfunction and alert the system prior something
actually going wrong or breaking. Another quality of smart buildings is that
they use sensors to provide early leak detection. Through this, the system is
notified immediately when there is a leak so that it can be fixed right away.
Without this technology, leaks can go unnoticed for days or weeks.
As mentioned before, these buildings
also have sensors that monitor air and water quality that will alert the system
if any contaminants are found. These measures ensure that all occupants are
inhaling clean air and drinking clean water, promoting their overall health. It
has been shown that contaminated air can lead to slight fatigue and lower the
overall productivity of employees in a building, especially employees that
already have existing conditions such as asthma.
Historically creating a smart
building has been extremely costly, even taking into consideration the cost
savings these buildings provide. As technology becomes increasingly cheaper,
smart buildings become much more feasible. If a company can afford to make the
initial transition of changing a regular building into a smart building, they
will experience many benefits and cost savings that will surely make the change
worth it.
1. Are there any more benefits to smart buildings that I
have not discussed?
2. What could be some potential
downsides to smart buildings?
3. Before reading this article were you
aware of smart buildings? Have you had experience working with or working in a
smart building?
4. There have been smart phones,
homes, buildings, and many other smart things. Where do you see
"smart" IoT technology going in the future? There have been talk
about smart cities, do you think that is possible?
