Researchers at MIT have developed a way of making surveys of large, complicated structures faster and cheaper. Cyrax, the system that makes this possible, is a laser-based device that acquires 3D data points of the structure being surveyed, then turns those points into 3D computer models -- all in the field. The model can then be exported to 2D and 3D CAD programs. According to one researcher, Cyrax cuts the modeling process time by a third, and field-survey time from several months to a few weeks. The device works by scanning large objects (such as ships) with a laser. The laser beam hits the object and is bounced back to the transceiver. By measuring the time it takes for the beam to make this trip, Cyrax determines the distance to the object. That, plus the angle to the object, is used to construct the cloud of 3D data points that ultimately results in a 3D model. Cyra Technologies developed the software that converts the laser data to 3D models and the computer interface to the transceiver. Los Alamos National Labs built the chip that measures the time for the laser beam to leave and return to the transceiver.
-- Jonathan Erickson
Project Gutenberg, a volunteer effort to digitalize public domain books -- from Aesop to Shakespeare -- and make them freely available over the Internet, is looking for donations of time and money to support the project. With over 1600 books in its collection, this 27-year old project is near its goal of 2000 books by January 1, 2000. Donations can be made to Project Gutenberg/CMU, P.O. Box 2782, Champaign, IL 61825-2782. More information about the project is available at http://www.promo.net/pg/.
-- Eugene Eric Kim
Larry Wall, creator of Perl and recipient of DDJ's 1996 "Excellence in Programming Award," has received the first "Free Software Foundation Award for the Advancement of Free Software." Wall was honored by the foundation for his freely redistributable Perl interpreter, and for his development of "patch," which simplifies the creation and distribution of source-code patches. The award was granted on October 9 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Wall is also credited with creating rn (a widely used news reader), metaconfig (which writes Configure scripts), and the Warp space-war game. The Free Software Foundation awards committee members include Peter Salus, Scott Christley, Rich Morin, Adam Richter, Richard Stallman, and Vernor Vinge.
-- Tim Kientzle
SmartQuill, a prototype ink pen from British Telecom, has the capability to store the hand movement needed to create up to 10 pages of handwritten notes, then upload that motion data to a PC equipped that has handwriting recognition software installed. British Telecom spokesmen claim that, unlike most handwriting recognition software, SmartQuill analyzes movements, rather than shapes. In addition, the SmartQuill pen includes built-in applications such as a daily planner, address book, and calculator.
-- Jonathan Erickson
U.S. consumers spend more than $3.5 billion a year paying for electricity that's wasted by electronic devices featuring instant-on and standby modes, according to a team of researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. And among the top 10 power-hungriest devices are personal computers. The source of the problem, say researchers, is that energy conservation isn't a priority for manufacturers. Part of the solution, they add, is for those same manufacturers to adopt the "1-Watt Action Plan," whereby standby mode in electronic products use not more than 1 watt of power. For more information, see http://www.lbl.gov/.
-- Jonathan Erickson
The Computer Museum wants you to know that it's a fish-eat-fish world out there, and it has the exhibit to prove it. The Boston-based Computer Museum has unveiled its Virtual Fishtank, a $1.2 million collaborative effort between the museum, the MIT Media Lab, and Nearlife, a Media Lab-spinoff that specializes in interactive entertainment. The 400 square foot "tank" comprises of 12 high-resolution projection screens, and is powered by 22 networked Sony computers and software written in Java. Museum visitors can create their own fish, define their look and behavior, and let them swim and interact with the other fish in the tank. More information is available at http://www.tcm.org/.
-- Eugene Eric Kim
The Testing Object-Oriented Programs working group, a subcommittee of the Special Interest Group on Testing, Analysis and Verification of the German Computer Society, has developed a set of requirements governing testing tools for object-oriented software. This set of requirements helps practitioners select a set of candidate testing tools for further evaluation and challenges tool vendors to describe their tools in a more concrete way. The OO-specific requirements for testing tools are available online in the form of a questionnaire. Tool developers are asked to fill out this questionnaire and the results will be published both online and in technical print media. For more information, see http://www .fernuni-hagen.de/inf/pi3/GI/CAST/
-- Jonathan Erickson
According to software-patent expert Gregory Aharonian, the U.S. Patent Office issued approximately 17,500 software patents between January and August of 1998. Based on his analysis of 3336 sample patents, Aharonian estimates that the PTO will issue 40,000 software patents in 1998 and 1999 -- 10 times the number during the same period six years ago. The numbers show large companies continuing to gobble up patents: IBM (1200), Microsoft (210), Lucent/BellCore (300), Sun (260), and so on. Software topics being patented include networking/communication (3800), operating systems (2200), image processing (2000), numerical analysis (810), word processing (410), Y2K solutions (6), and so on. Interestingly, 40,000 patents translate to $50,000,000 in application-issue fees, and $40,000,000 in maintenance fees later on. If nothing else, the PTO is well on its way to becoming a profit center. More interesting, according to Aharonian, is that more than 50 percent of the software patents cite no nonpatent prior art.
-- Jonathan Erickson