IBM's Precog Computer Predicts the Future

In the year 2000 there weren't many options for observing traffic. Either a system was intended to look at the flow of traffic by examining the progress in real time from a helicopter or high vantage point and report to radio and television stations and make mathematical projections, or systems were left that sensed the speed and frequency of moving traffic. But since that time, the systems have gotten more advanced. And not IBM is announcing a computer system that will not only track the progress of traffic, but even predict the future.

With busy schedules, places to be, and longer commutes to get into the city, many in the suburbs are effected intensely by the sudden crowding on the highways during rush hours. And to make matters worse, there are always accidents, breakdowns, and other road blocks that threaten to grind
the roadways down to a halt altogether. If there's one feeling of desperation many people feel they can relate to when it comes to traffic it's being in a complete gridlock and knowing they were supposed to be somewhere fifteen minutes ago. But now IBM is announcing a project they have undertaken with the New Jersey Turnpike Authority that will make roadways run smoother and more efficiently. The so called Smart Transportation initiative promises to use technology to solve this problem. The program actually predicts traffic patterns long before the cars are anywhere near the area, with incredible success at predicting road congestion up to an hour before it even takes place. This is long before many commuters are even on the road.

The system promises to make announcements to commuters, forecasting through traditional means such as radio and television, but can also be used in GPS navigation systems. Even when few cars are visible on the road, the system is said to predict the patterns of vehicles by taking a collection of information from GPS systems (which are present in many phones and vehicles), events taking place nearby, weather patterns, and other systems. This information is fed through a complex program and the results are eerily accurate. This "psychic" prediction is not part of a massive supercomputer either. Though it may seem only a computer capable of eventually becoming self aware and declaring war on the human race would be capable of such complex calculations, IBM announces that its system will be able to run on a standard computer system. Of course the closer it comes to "crunch time" the more accurate the system will be. Within 20 minutes a fair estimation becomes a prediction and within 10 minutes it is even more accurate.

The secret, according to programmers, is that the new system will be more elastic and nimble than traditional projection software. In time perhaps this will be translated over to other concepts that can make predictions about the weather or even the stock market with a fair amount of accuracy. The system is expected to start changing highway efficiency in some areas later this year, but if it works well it could possibly be used nationwide.

Japanese Probe Returning from Asteroid

The unmanned Hayabusa space probe built to fly off and intercept the asteroid Itokawa is now on its way back home after firing off the final rocket that will bring the craft back home. JAXA, the Japanese Space Agency has been very ambitious in both its exploration of space and its planning of future projects, such as the Lunar robot base it hopes to have built by 2020.

The probe first visited Otokawa in 2005, but ran into some difficulty after a technical error in its hardware resulted in it being unable to communicate with Earth for an extended period of time. After a long period of held breaths and waiting to see if the satellite would be able to recover it is now heading back
to Earth with a possible interesting cargo in tow. Scientists are suggesting that if the probe was a success, it will be able to bring back material from the asteroid and give us a clear view of a sampling of its composition. Of course without any way to confirm if it actually acquired the sample from the asteroid, scientists will have to depend on its safe arrival back on Earth in order to confirm whether or not it contains pieces of Itokawa.

After a leak in the rocket engines emptied out the tanks, the Hayabusa was prepared and used its ion engine thrusters to carry it the rest of the way home. There was some doubt that an ion based engine would work, but the solar sails turned light into electricity, which was then turned into a stream of ions which propelled the craft forward to its destination, albeit far slower.

The second Trajectory Correction Maneuver successfully guided the spacecraft on a course for Earth's "outer rim." The hope is it will be able to move from that position to the Earth's surface and give us insight into the resources of a slow moving nearby asteroid.

But the entire vessel will not be entering Earth's atmosphere. As Jaxa officials explained, the only part that is necessary will be the "sample return capsule" which will be jettisoned from the craft before it enters the atmosphere. The probe will at this point have shed most of its original body and return to Earth with its mission accomplished after five long years. The touchdown of the craft was never captured on film, but it did so amid the mathematical estimations and sensors from Jaxa's ground control in 2005. And prior to its return mission it spent another two years actually getting from Earth to the asteroid. On May 09, 2003 the "Falcon" was launched from Kagoshima Space Center after years of planning and research. Clearly, this is the final stage in a great number of scientific achievements. And soon we will know if it actually paid off with a sample from an asteroid.

But even if it doesn't, the craft still made great discoveries from far off as it scanned the surface and studied it electronically. Ultimately, whether the Hayabusa was a success, it has already proven it was worth the funding based on the data it sent back. Now we just have to see if it is worth more.