Automation services

First, family robots may be permanently connected to wireless family intranets, sharing information with those who you want to know where you are.

• Can machines be built to be self-aware?
• Are we even capable of modeling machines with such intelligence?
• If so, how would we control it?
• Who would really have the power?
• What makes us think that we could even consider building such a machine?
• What are the major technological hurdles?

Automation in the aresam:-

• Caterpillar plans to develop remote controlled machines and expects to develop fully autonomous heavy robots by 2021 . Some cranes already are remote controlled.
• It was demonstrated that a robot can perform a task.
• Robots are increasingly used in manufacturing (since 1960s). In auto industry they can amount for more than half of the "labor". There are even "lights off" factories such as an IBM keyboard manufacturing factory in Texas that are 100% automated.
• Robots such as HOSPI are used as couriers in hospitals, etc. Other hospital tasks performed by robots are receptionists, guides and porters (not to mention surgical robots such as Da Vinci)
• Robots can serve as waiters and cooks . Some fast-food restaurants do not have humans take orders; instead customers use touchscreens to order food.

· As of 2006 there is a large robot development program in the US military. Ground robots and UAVs are already used in Iraq. Robotic border defenses are being developed in Korea, US and the EU.

It is likely that 20 or 30 years from now that the UN will make guns illegal in war because of newly developed non lethal weapons that cans be used by robots instead. (what's the point of having non lethal weapons in war??! that's not gonna do anything people, get a life!!!) Most of war in the future will take place in urban environments. The manufacturing of military robots that kill people will be considered a war crime. Unfortunatly, the UN's decreasing power and credibility, and their complete inability to outlaw WMDs so far will make this entirely meaningless. Countries that are non-compliant, such as China, North Korea, and several others scattered across the globe will continue undercover advanced weaponry programs. Of course, in the name of its own defense, the United States and the European Union will do the same, leading to a second arms race. It is also likely that robots with non lethal weapons will be rented or purchased by a country to keep the peace as law enforcers. Growing anarchist forces, particularly based in Greece and Eastern Europe will oppose these new robots and vandalism and citizen non-compliance will be a major issue.

Robots will be commonplace: in home, factories, agriculture, building & construction, undersea, space, mining, hospitals and streets for repair, construction, maintenance, security, entertainment, companionship, care.

Purposes of these Robots:

• Robotized space vehicles and facilities
• Anthropomorphic general-purpose robots with hands like humans used for factory jobs - Intelligent robots for unmanned plants – totally automated services will be commonplace.
• Robots for guiding blind people
• Robots for almost any job in home or hospital, including Robo-surgery.
• Housework robots for cleaning, washing etc - Domestic robots will be small, specialized and attractive, e.g. cuddly

Properties of these robots:

• Autonomous, with environmental awareness sensors
• Self diagnostic self repairing
  

http://future.wikia.com/wiki/Robotics

http://www.androidworld.com/index.htm

• You stock portfolio automatically modifies your market position and executes "smart" trades for you.
• Your car does your driving for you.
• Robots handle your housecleaning, yard work and cooking.
• Your groceries are automatically ordered based on preferences and patterns in purchasing.
• Your bills are automatically managed.
• AI tools that enable 3rd Generation "smart" search engines that allow you to get your information with more precision to help manage the ever-growing web.
• Competitive intelligence is managed by smart AI agents the peruse the web to look for relevant information (new releases, prices, marketing strategies, etc.)
• Drug researchers can utilize the intelligence for intensive bio-computational modeling in relation to the enormous amount of data from the human genome project to help find cures in ways never thought of.

some more important information:-

Physics has determined that it is also possible to bend space time in such a way that it can be used as propulsion, and infinite speed- while simultaneously allowing time to pass in equal amounts within the moving ship and the rest of the universe.

The physics of the spheres would be off topic, because the mechanisms are smaller than the nanometer scale. But their applications to ongoing nanotechnology research is on topic for general discussion. As they are produced in the lab, the sub nanometer mechanisms are controlled and monitored at the nanometer scale and above.

Sibesh Kar

A solution for fresh air.......

I found this in a Popular Science magazine.........


In a design that looks like a cross between a planter and filter helmet, the Bel-Air bathes the plants in a humid, self contained chamber. Dirty air is pumped through it and the plant itself scrubs the air clean of carbon dioxide (from Mars) and danger chemicals like benzene and formaldehyde. The result is plain old fresh air thanks to Photosynthesis (it’s not just a good idea, it’s the law).

So basically,the Bel-Air indoor air filtration systems sucks in dirty air and runs it through a plant's leaves, roots, and a "humid bath" before releasing it back , purified.

The Bel-Air


I've got an article that I'll bring in the next meeting....on Monday.
Here's a futuristic idea of a space city:-




Sibesh Kar
8-K

Stuff from the Mars Wiki

WATER(MARS)
The most recent mission to Mars was the NASA Phoenix Mars lander, which launched August 4, 2007 and arrived on the north polar region of Mars on May 25, 2008.[103] The lander has a robotic arm with a 2.5 m reach and capable of digging a metre into the Martian soil. The lander has a microscopic camera capable of resolving to one-thousandth the width of a human hair, and discovered a substance at its landing site on June 15, 2008, which was confirmed to be water ice on June 20.[104][105] The mission was declared concluded on November 10, 2008, after engineers were unable to contact the craft.
NUTRIENTS(MARS)
In June, 2008, the Phoenix Lander returned data showing Martian soil to be slightly alkaline and containing vital nutrients such as magnesium, sodium, potassium and chloride, all of which are necessary for living organisms to grow. Scientists compared the soil near Mars's north pole to that of backyard gardens on Earth, and concluded that it could be suitable for growth of plants such as asparagus.[23] However, in August, 2008, the Phoenix Lander conducted simple chemistry experiments, mixing water from Earth with Martian soil in an attempt to test its pH, and discovered traces of the salt perchlorate, while also confirming many scientists' theories that the Martian surface is considerably basic, measuring at 8.3. The presence of the perchlorate, if confirmed, would make Martian soil more exotic than previously believed.[24] Further testing is necessary to eliminate the possibility of the perchlorate readings being caused by terrestrial sources, which may have migrated from the spacecraft either into samples or the instrumentation.
PHOBOS(ONE OF THE MOONS)
Phobos has also been proposed as an early target for a manned mission to Mars,[48] since a landing on Phobos would be considerably less difficult (and hence, much less expensive) than a landing on the surface of Mars itself. A lander bound for Mars would need to be capable of atmospheric entry and subsequent in-situ return to orbit without any support facilities (a capacity which has never been attempted in a manned spacecraft), or would require the creation of support facilities in-situ (a "colony or bust" mission), while a lander intended for Phobos could be based on equipment designed for lunar and asteroid landings.



Just thought this might help
Kush Agrawal
PS(Just for fun): Be sure to check out http://beamartian.jpl.nasa.gov/ ,Microsofts collaboration with NASA. Sahil showed this to me in the newspaper today.

Some good links for basic information

I found a few good links at the NASA and arssdc wesbsites you guys should have a look at.
These links will give you background information you need to design your own space colony

Needs of the the people in space settlements.
http://settlement.arc.nasa.gov/designer/needs.html

Formulas, facts
http://settlement.arc.nasa.gov/designer/tables.html

For Mathematical Calculations.

Computer assisted design (CAD)
http://settlement.arc.nasa.gov/designer/sphere.html

Life Support Systems. (CELSS)
http://www.nas.nasa.gov/Services/Education/SpaceSettlement/designer/regen.html

Some good pictures at
http://members.nova.org/~sol/station/settle-p.htm
 
Some of these links may not be of immediate use, but will definitely help out later.
Kush Agrawal

Mars

Assertion that solar irradiance is causing global warming on Mars

Despite the absence of a time series for Martian global temperatures, K.I. Abdusamatov has proposed that "parallel global warmings — observed simultaneously on Mars and on Earth some global warming skeptics think this is proof that human are not casing global warming— can only be a straightline consequence of the effect of the one same factor: a long-time change in solar irradiance." Abdusamatov's hypothesis has not been published in the peer-reviewed literature. His assertions have been dismissed by other scientists, who have stated that "the idea just isn't supported by the theory or by the observations" and that it "doesn't make physical sense." Other scientists have proposed that the observed variations are caused by irregularities in the orbit of Mars or a possible combination of solar and orbital effects.

sahil nakul mathur

Mars

Evidence of Frozen Water

Ice Patches

On July 28, 2005, the European Space Agency announced the existence of a crater partially filled with frozen water; some then interpreted the discovery as an "ice lake". Images of the crater, taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera on board the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft, clearly show a broad sheet of ice in the bottom of an unnamed crater located on Vastitas Borealis, a broad plain that covers much of Mars' far northern latitudes, at approximately 70.5° North and 103° East. The crater is 35 km wide and about 2 km deep.

The height difference between the crater floor and the surface of the water ice is about 200 metres. ESA scientists have attributed most of this height difference to sand dunes beneath the water ice, which are partially visible. While scientists do not refer to the patch as a "lake", the water ice patch is remarkable for its size and for being present throughout the year. Deposits of water ice and layers of frost have been found in many different locations on the planet.

Equatorial Frozen Sea

Surface features consistent with pack ice have been discovered in the southern Elysium Planitia. What appear to be plates of broken ice, ranging in size from 30 m to 30 km, are found in channels leading to a flooded area of approximately the same depth and width as the North Sea. The plates show signs of break up and rotation that clearly distinguish them from lava plates elsewhere on the surface of Mars. The source for the flood is thought to be the nearby geological fault Cerberus Fossae which spewed water as well as lava aged some 2 to 10 million years.[85] Not all scientists agree with these conclusions.

Glaciers

Glaciers formed much of the observable surface in large area of Mars. Much of the area in high latitudes, especially the Ismenius Lacus quadrangle, is believed to still contain enormous amounts of water ice. Recent evidence has led many planetary scientists to believe that water ice still exists as glaciers with a thin covering of insulating rock.Fretted terrain, many volcanoes, even some craters are believed to have many glaciers. Ridges of debris on the surface of the glaciers show the direction of ice movement. The surface of some glaciers has a rough texture due to sublimation of buried ice. The ice goes directly into a gas (this process is called sublimation) and leaves behind an empty space. Overlying material then collapses into the void.Glaciers are not pure ice; they contain dirt and rocks. At times, they will dump their load of materials into ridges. Such ridges are called moraines. Some places on Mars have groups of ridges that are twisted around; this may have been due to more movement after the ridges were put into place. Sometimes chunks of ice fall from the glacier and get buried in the land surface. When they melt and more or less round hole remains. On Earth we call these features kettles or kettle holes. Mendon Ponds Park in upstate NY has preserved several of these kettles. The picture from HiRISE below shows possible kettles in Moreux Crater.

Other pictures below show various features that appear to be connected with the existance of glaciers.

Moreux Crater moraines and kettle holes, as seen by HIRISE. Location is Ismenius Lacus quadrangle.

Clanis and Hypsas Valles, as seen by HiRISE. Ridges are probably due to glacial flow. So water ice is under a thin layer of rocks. Location is Ismenius Lacus quadrangle.

Gullies and possible remains of old glaciers in a crater in Eridania quadrangle, north of the large crater Kepler. One suspected glacier, to the right, has the shape of a tongue. Image taken with Mars Global Surveyor.

Tributary Glacier, as seen by HiRISE. Location is Ismenius Lacus quadrangle.

Coloe Fossae Lineated Valley Fill, as seen by HiRISE. Scale bar is 500 meters long. Location is Ismenius Lacus quadrangle.

Tongue-Shaped Glacier, as seen by Mars Global Surveyor. Location is Hellas quadrangle.

Polar Ice Caps

The Mars Global Surveyor acquired this image of the Martian north polar ice cap in early northern summer.

Both the the northern polar cap (Planum Boreum) and the southern polar cap (Planum Australe) are believed to grow in thickness during the winter and partially sublime during the summer. Data obtained by the Mars Express satellite, made it possible in 2004 to confirm that the southern polar cap has an average of 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) thick slab of CO2 ice[89] with varying contents of frozen water, depending on its latitude; the polar cap is a mixture of 85% CO2 ice and 15% water ice.[90] The second part comprises steep slopes known as 'scarps', made almost entirely of water ice, that fall away from the polar cap to the surrounding plains.[90] The third part encompasses the vast permafrost fields that stretch for tens of kilometres away from the scarps. NASA scientists calculate that the volume of water ice in the south polar ice cap, if melted, would be sufficient to cover the entire planetary surface to a depth of 11 metres.

Results, published in 2009, of radar measurements of the North Polar ice cap determined that the volume of water ice in the cap is 821,000 cubic kilometers (197,000 cubic miles). That's equal to 30% of the Earth's Greenland ice sheet or enough to cover the surface of Mars to a depth of 5.6 meters (dividing this volume by the surface area of Mars is how this number is found). The radar instrument is onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Ground Ice

For many years, various scientists have suggested that some Martian surfaces look like Periglacial regions on Earth. Sometimes it is said that these are regions of Permafrost. These observations suggest that frozen water lies right beneath the surface. A common feature in the higher latitudes, Patterned ground, can occur in a number of shapes, including stripes and polygons. On the Earth, these shapes are caused by the freezing and thawing of soil. There are other types of evidence for large amounts of frozen water under the surface of Mars, such as terrain softening which rounds sharp topographical features.

sahil nakul mathur