Technology Research

Bloomsburg University
James Tomlinson

On this page, you will find some interesting recent research about the uses of technology. I will also include updates of research I am involved with.

In your reading/research for classes, if you find some interesting technology research, E-mail me with appropriate references, and I will add it here.

"I have learned to use the word 'impossible' with the greatest caution"
Wherner von Braun

Click on the CD to e-mail me

US DEFENSE DEPT. ASKS MIT to develop new camouflage and body armor for US soldiers. The request includes funding for a system similar to what the alien creature in the "Predator" movies used to hide in the jungle.
The Defense Department also wants nanotechnology incorporated throughout the suit, to provide extra strength and protection for individuals wearing it. Click here to see an article from MSNBC about this research.

Plagiarism - CNN reported on May 9,2001 - a Professor at the University of Virginia had used a 'plagiarism' tracking program and found 122 students who had turned in papers which were not their own work !!!! He is now using the program to review papers for students who have already graduated! At Bloomsburg University, during the Fall 2001 semester, a Professor reading a term paper discovered that a student had copied a paper from the Internet. The problem for the student, is that he copied a paper that had been authored by the Professor to whom he turned in the paper !!!!!!

ANIMAL FARM - Medical Researchers are now 'raising' pigs ,in a secret North American location, for developing cells and organs which can be used in treating humans. Cases of individuals who have been helped through this research can be found in Newsweek - April 2, 2001 pp. 44-45, and "Frontline" broadcast on PBS April 3,2001.

Miniature Cameras - Open Wide!! The FDA has approved (CNN Aug 1, 2001) use of a camera the size of a pill, which can be swallowed by a patient, and then captures images of the esophagus, stomach, and the rest of the digestive system as it passes through.

CYBORGS ARRIVE - The Washington Post (May 14,2001) reported that researchers at Northwestern University have implanted the brain of an eel, into a mechanical robot. The brain is interactively connected to a microprocessor. This is an extension of research previously conducted, where brain cells from rats had been grafted onto silicon computer chips to demonstrate that 'information' can be transmitted from one to the other.

TRACKING WORKERS - ABC News reported - Feb. 11, 2001, that a hospital in San Francisco has distributed ID badges to all employees which allows the hospital to identify exactly where the person is at any time.

WIRED REPORTERS - The LA Times, while covering the Republican and Democratic Conventions, had reporters on the floor using digital cameras - so they could simply download their photographs onto their laptops and then transmit them directly to the newspaper. No film, no processing. (CNN August 15, 2004)

WE QUIT.COM - ZDTV had a story about this site (March 4, 2000) - Hypnotism on the web !!! They claim to help you: stop smoking or drinking, lose weight, etc. They claim they will be adding a program for Public Speaking Anxiety !!!! Interesting.
See: http://wequit.com

BEAM ME UP SCOTTY: Microvision.com is testing a cellphone which will transmit, by low energy laser, a virtual retinal display to your eye - so that you can see text and graphics transmitted through the cell phone without a display screen. Click here to see the article

VISUAL THESAURUS: This is a useful site, and incorporates a 3-D technology for
display of the thesaurus. Some suggest that the Web will soon be organized in a similar
manner (see: http://www.plumbdesign.com/thesaurus)

TEXT to VOICE SYNTHESIS FOR YOUR PC !!!!! At this website you can select the voice you want, and what language you would like your text played (Chimpanzees who can use keyboards, at Emory University's Primate Study lab, are using this technology to communicate with human researchers) Click here to visit the Bell Labs Site (http://www.bell-labs/project/tts)

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND THE ECONOMY

During last year (2000) Bell Laboratories has averaged 4 patents per day - all dealing with innovations in telecommunications and the Internet.
(CNN May 14, 2000)

ABC News reported - June 22, 1999 - that a US Commerce Department study concluded the following:

Information Technology is responsible for over 35% of US economic growth since
1995. The average US worker is earning $30,000 per year - the average InfoTech worker is making $53,000 per year.

Electronic Commerce in the US is doubling every 9 months. Is growing 16 times faster than the rest of the economy.

The number of "pages" on the World Wide Web, is DOUBLING every year.

See the report and related information at: http://www.ecommerce.gov

What it costs a bank to conduct a single transaction:
by teller -       $1.07
by ATM -       $ .27
by internet -   $ .01

It is estimated that over 8% of all electricity produced in the US is now used to power computers.

U.S. Internet Population (Jupiter Communications Oct. 1, 1999)

                                                   1995    1999   2002
            Households w/PC         31%    58%    70%
            Households w/Internet     9%    45%    66%

Jupiter predicts Internet penetration into households will surpass cable TV and newspapers by 2002.

                             Internet     Magazines    Newspaper   Radio    TV
Hours per week      7.1            3.4                  4.0            12.6      15.6

                                                           Never    Sometimes   Often
Concurrent viewing of TV/Internet     47%         35%          18%

Of those individuals with annual incomes under $50,000, only 25% are "online."

Households with children under 18 - 43% are online.

How likely to vote?    All            Online
                                    49%          68%

                                                1998              1999                2000               2003
Advertising Online:            2.1 Billion        3.2 Billion       4.7 Billion     11.5 Billion

CNN - October 22, 1999, reported that in 1997 there were 7,000 domain names on the Internet.

Yahoo Founder Seth Grodin - in a speech in Washington D.C. on October 1, 1999 -
pointed out that there are over 37 million commercial websites, 1 billion webpages, and over 100 million people are now "on" the web. UPDATE: MSNBC reported May 5,2001 the current web will be 'full' soon - only about 4 billion domain names are available, and they will all be assigned by 2002

Cisco Systems research claims "Internet-enabled companies generate 65% more revenue per employee."
Forbes Magazine - Convergence Issue, October 4, 1999. page 27

COMPUTER VIRUS STUDY:
ZDNET reports (July 1999) a study which shows the number of computer viruses are doubling each year since 1997, the main problem is with email attachments!!! DON'T open attachments from people you do not know !!!! ( Click here to see the story)

The "Love Bug" worm has cost organizations and individuals more than $5 BILLION !!! ZDTV reported (May 14, 2000) that the bug infected 1 in 33 home PCs in the United States.

RETAILING ONLINE:
Duke University study says 24% of all retailers were "online" in 1998. Estimates over 56% will be online by 2000.
(CNET May 2, 1999)

Jupiter Communications (online article Aug 24, 2000) released research that showed that "holiday shopping" online tripled from 1998 to 1999. From $3 billion in 1998 to over $7 billion during 1999.

The GAP Online, now features a virtual dressing room. You select the clothes you wish to "try on" and a 3-D mannequin, with your body shape appears in the clothes of your choice. You can then experiment with colors as well as styles. (CNET May 2, 1999)

Landsend.com not only enables you to create a 3-D mannequin, but allows you to join an online chat with other customers - so you can virtually meet your friends/family to have them share your shopping experience and help you purchase decisions. (CNN November 6, 1999)

INFO-APPLIANCES:

How would you like to not only put your pop-tarts in the toaster in the morning, but check your e-mail at the same time? An internet connected toaster (Sony Corp) is already being test marketed. There is also a Microwave PC - so you can use e-mail (voice activated) and your bank balance, while you heat your left-overs (made by NCR corp). Or, how about a refrigerator which scans everything you put in it, and keeps an updated "grocery" list for you to let you know what you are running out of. There is one which will even automatically order groceries, by internet, for you. Simply program the fridge for the types of items and the amounts you normally wish to keep on hand!!!!

Gas stations in San Francisco are testing an automatic gas pump. You simply pull into the gas station, the "smart" pump detects the type of car you are driving, extends a robotic arm which opens your gas tank door, removes the gas cap, and then the pump itself (also a robot) will place the nozzle into your car and fills you with gas. Oh, yes, the system also automatically checks you tires to see if they are properly inflated. If not, it will tell you !!! ALSO - ABC News reported - August 24, 1999, that BP Inc. is testing gas pumps which are connected to the Internet - you can request local traffic and weather reports, and make dinner or hotel reservations while you are pumping gas !!!!!

For more on the age of "smart" and interconnected appliances, go to CNET.COM. or ZDNET.COM

EMPLOYEE E-SURVEILLANCE:
New software enables an employer to monitor the keystrokes on your PC ! Called "Investigator" this capability will allow managers to determine if employees are playing games or doing other forms of what is now called "cyberslacking." This software also can be programmed to detect use of words which might indicate illegal activity on the part of employees. (ZDTV Jan 8, 2000)

American Management Association study found that in 1997 35% of US employers were tracking their employee's use of e-mail and Internet traffic. For 1999, they estimate that rate is up to 45% and will continue to grow. (CNET May 2, 1999) NOTE: you should know that court rulings make it clear - when you are at work, the email you send and your Internet usage can be monitored by your employer AND that you can be fired for violation of company policies regarding the use of these communication technologies.

Edward Jones Inc., of St. Louis has fired 19 employees, and disciplined 41 others after one employee had filed a complaint about an "offensive" e-mail message. (Cyberlaw Journal, May 14, 1999).

A Phoenix AZ couple have been fired from their jobs as critical care nurses, at Scottsdale Healthcare, after their employer found that the couple have an "adult" website which they manage on their own time. The couple's website does not mention their work for Scottsdale Healthcare, but they were fired anyway.
(MSNBC July 16, 1999)

A survey conducted for the Washington Post (Dec. 15, 1999) last week found that half of the 900 US companies who responded now monitored employees' Internet use. A further 12 per cent said they intended to start monitoring it.

US AND OTHER GOVERNMENTS ARE MONITORING E-MAIL
Click here - to read an article about "Echelon" - the program which allows electronic surveillance of your e-mail !!!!

ACADEMIC USE OF WEB TECHNOLOGY
For the Fall 1998 semester, UCLA mandated that all courses offered in the College of Letters and Science have a "homepage" which is then linked to all students who have enrolled in each class. Faculty are to provide syllabi as well as course assignments over the system. (Microsoft Daily News Online Oct 6, 1998)

Jones International University has become the first "online" institution to receive accreditation. All courses are conducted over the Internet. You can visit them at
http://www.jonesinternational.edu (CNN Newsday, May 11, 1999)

BOOKS WITHOUT PAGES ????? SoftBook (see it at www.softbook.com) and Rocket eBook (www.rocketebook.com) are now on the market. These are hand-held
devices (about the size of a tablet of writing paper) which can download about 3 - 4 books at a time, which you can have access to scrolling through the pages. While the cost is high now ($500 to $600) and the titles available are limited, there is little doubt this technology will improve and become cheaper soon.

UPDATE: use of "virtual paper" is about to happen !!! This means, you purchase a single book, and by programing that book, one time you can be reading "Lord of the Flies" and then simply reprogram it to become "Star Trek Memories by William Shatner." The new technology allows you to actually turn paper pages, which are encoded with layers of mini display screens.
(ZDTV Jan. 8, 2000)

IMPLANTED MICROCHIPS DELIVER MEDICATION
Researchers at MIT have developed a chip which can be implanted inside a human body, and can be triggered to release medication. Similar research involves placing these chips in jewelry (to release mood enhancing fragrances) OR to place them inside your television or PC to allow for the release of fragrances which accent the visual experience. Can you imagine "Dunkin Donuts" commercials, enhanced with "smell-a-vision??????" Check out the research for yourself at the website linked below.

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/rd/1999/feb.html#1

dimechip.bmp (115854 bytes) this is a photo of the chip developed at MIT

NEW !!! Visit "digiscents.com" to see the latest in efforts to bring smell to your PC !!! Imagine visiting sites like the "virtualflorist" and sending someone virtual flowers - they already allow you to select music to go along with your message the picture of the flowers - just think of the impact if you could also "send" the scent of the flowers.

MICROSURGERY USING ROBOTICS !! just approved by the FDA
click here to see an ABC news article about this

MIT RESEARCH FOR ALLOWING COMPUTERS TO RECOGNIZE THE EMOTIONAL STATE OF THEIR HUMAN USERS !!!!
( "Commander Data, activate your emotion chip" ) Click here to read an interview with chief researcher - Rosalind Picard.

THOUGHT TRANSLATION DEVICES- using brain waves to communicate with computers. Click on the "new" link to view an article about this incredible research.

FREQUENCY OF THE KEYWORD "POLITICS" IN SELECTED
INTERNET SEARCH ENGINES
In their book, "Cyberpolitics," (Rowman and Littlefield Publishers Inc-1998) Kevin A. Hill and John E. Hughes researched (on July 1, 1997) five internet search engines to find the frequency of responses for some "keywords." They selected: computers, sex, movies, television, politics, religion, recipes, investing, and NASCAR. The focus of their effort was to find how frequently the keyword "politics" occurred when using five Internet search engines: Infoseek, Excite, Yahoo, Altavista, and Dejanews. They found that "politics" accounted for about 1.2 million citations. This was about 6% out of the total of 18 million citations for the keywords selected for their study.

James Tomlinson, Asso. Prof. of Communication Studies at Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania, has replicated their study to compare the 1997 results with a May 3, 1999 study. Tomlinson found that in just two years, using the same search engines as Hill and Hughes, that there are now over 13,231,000 citations for the keyword "politics." This demonstrates that there has been more than a 10 fold increase in the number of citations from the July 1, 1997 study. While all the keywords used by Hill and Hughes show an increase in citations, "investment" led the way with a 15 fold increase, followed by "NASCAR" with a 13 fold increase, and "politics" and "religion" each showing a 10 fold increase. The 1999 study reveals that when "politics" is entered as a keyword, it appears in about 8.5% of the total of 154 million citations which result in a websearch for the keywords used by Hill and Hughes.

The 1997 study did not investigate the frequency of the keyword "government" but Tomlinson did include this search as a separate part of his study. Tomlinson found that on these five search engines, there were over 46.5 million citations listed for "government." These studies suggest that the Internet is expanding at an incredible rate, and that websites, usenet comments, and other web traffic devoted to politics and government are not lagging behind.

POLITICAL USES OF DIGITAL INFORMATION:
"Campaigns and Elections" (an online political journal) found that over 63% of all political candidates in 1998 had websites.
(Campaigns and Elections April 16, 1999)

Congressmen Rich White and Rick Boucher , along with Senators Larry Pressler and Patrick Leahy formed the Internet Caucus to help educate and organize members of Congress in the use of the internet for communication with each other and their constituents. (Center for Democracy and Technology March 29, 1996)

A Phony Website was established during the 1999 Mayoral campaign in Philadelphia. "Volunteers" from the campaign of one Democratic contender , set up a phony site purporting to represent the campaign of one of their opponents. Two campaign aides were fired over the incident. (March 1,1999 Press Enterprise)

NASA HELPS FARMERS
Using technologies developed for deep space exploration, NASA now takes high definition photographs of vineyards in California, to help farmers locate blight to the grapevines before it is visible to the naked eye !!!! This same technique has been used by Archaeologists to identify what may be structures hidden for centuries under the sands of Egypt.
(CNET Nov. 15, 1998)

WEARABLE COMPUTERS
At MIT, since 1998, all Ph.D. students in Engineering have been equipped with portable/wearable computers. Display screens are attached to eye glass frames (so you can actually see the data from your PC as you also see what is in front of you as you walk). The units are powered by battery, or by kinetic energy - you produce the power as you walk - each step you take - using specially designed inserts fitted to your shoes. Phillips Electronics is also involved in this research. The Cyborgs are coming !!! (CNET Nov 5, 1998 also see the MIT Wearable Computer Website)

ALSO: Georgia Tech University has developed the "wearable motherboard" - you can read about this research at: http://vishwa.tfe.gatech.edu/gtwm/gtwm.html
GaTech is also home to the research for the US military into fabrics which can remotely monitor a person's physical condition.

FLEXFOOT - TECHNOLOGY TO HELP AMPUTEES WALK AND RUN !!
Click here to visit Flexfoot.com. It is amazing that this new technology allows even double amputees to walk and run. On their Homepage, click on the FLEXZONE icon to see the product.

NANO ROBOTICS
A Prof of Engineering at the University of Southern California plans to create in an "assembly line" to mass produce nano robots for industrial and medical use. (Cybertimes - NYTimes online Dec 1999)

TRANSLATING TEXT AND WEBSITES
It is now possible to translate text from files or from websites, either by obtaining and installing software on your PC/MAC, or go to AltaVista Translation Service on the Web. I have used this to translate an Italian Website into English. While it is not perfect, it did a great job of converting text so that I could get a very good idea of the content once it was in English. Online, you can look at a number of recent innovations in this technology, including software for purchase at: http://www.transparent.com.

The US Congress now has sites which can be translated into several different languages, just by clicking on a button for the language you select. For an example see the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In addition, you can now purchase hand-held translation devices (which look remarably like the "universal translators" used in Star-Trek !!!!). You simply plug a chip for the language you are going to be using.

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