TagEngineering
The Raspberry Pi Phenomenon
A Raspberry Pi is a full computer that is not much larger than a credit card, but still packs enough power to be usable as a desktop computerFor the uninitiated, the Raspberry Pi is a single-board computer that runs the Linux operating system. It can be either operated as a desktop computer or as an embedded system (i.e., a custom electronic device), or both. Historically, computer systems were either general-purpose computers or embedded systems. General-purpose computers required too much hardware, too many chips, and too much power to work inside an electronic device. However, as manufacturers packed more and more functionality into less and less space using less and less power, eventually it became possible to have a computer that was small, cheap, powerful, and not especially power-hungry. The Raspberry Pi came about right as this was happening. A Raspberry Pi is a full computer that is not much Read More ›
An Unlikely Collaboration to Elucidate Life’s Blueprints
Joining together the forces of biology and engineering to improve both fieldsWhat happens when you get sixty biologists and engineers together in a conference for three days? That’s the question asked by Steve Laufman, head of the Engineering Research Group at Discovery. In the recent “Conference on Engineering in Living Systems,” biologists and engineers of every stripe got together to see how the two disciplines could benefit each other. For biologists, learning how engineers examine, design, and plan projects was eye-opening. Traditionally, biologists focus on individual interactions, not whole-systems approaches. For engineers, discovering the details of cellular architecture and control mechanisms was especially enlightening. The conference had a diverse set of presentations, covering numerous areas of overlap between the two fields. One presentation discussed biologically-inspired robots, as well as how they can Read More ›
Why Engineering Can’t Be Reduced to the Laws of Physics
When we reduce the engineer’s mind to a computer, the source of innovation disappearsThe fundamental problem of modern science is the problem of innovation. Where does novelty come from? This problem shows up in physics, biology, artificial intelligence, and economics. Within physics, the problem is how to account for the fundamental constants of reality. They are all precisely tuned to make sentient and intelligent life—life that can learn about itself and the universe—possible through science. Within biology, the problem is accounting for the source of highly complex genetic sequences that express finely tuned biological functions. In artificial intelligence, the challenge is identifying solutions that are relevant to a given scenario. In economics the problem is identifying the right products for the market. What do all these situations have in common? In each case, Read More ›
Hal Philipp: Inventor of the Modern Touch Screen
Boxing Robots and Automatic Door Openers Too“Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door.” Today, this is far from true. Small entrepreneurs fall in the shadows of large corporate giants like Google, Microsoft and Amazon. So what does it take to bring a clever idea to market? We talk to Hal Philipp, the inventor and entrepreneur who made touch screens Read More ›
