SemaCode

Introduction
Semacode is a private company and also this company s trade name for machine-readable ISO/IEC 16022 Data Matrix symbols which encode internet Uniform Resource Locators (URLs). It is primarily aimed at being used with cellular phones which have built-in cameras. The Data Matrix specification is given by the ISO/IEC 16022 standard.

Using Semacode SDK software, a URL can be converted into a type of barcode resembling a crossword puzzle, which is called a tag . Tags can be quickly captured with a mobile phone s camera and decoded to obtain a Web site address. This address can then be accessed via the phone s web browser.
Epistemology
Epistemology

Introduction
Epistemology or theory of knowledge is the branch of philosophy that studies the nature and scope of knowledge. The term epistemology is based on the Greek words episteme (meaning knowledge) and logos (meaning account/explanation); it is thought to have been coined by the Scottish philosopher James Frederick Ferrier.

Much of the debate in this field has focused on analyzing the nature of knowledge and how it relates to similar notions such as truth, belief, and justification. It also deals with the means of production of knowledge, and skepticism about different knowledge claims. In other words, epistemology addresses the questions, What is knowledge? How is knowledge acquired? and, What do people know? Although approaches to answering any one of these questions frequently involve theories connected to others (i.e. some theories of what knowledge is being influenced by broad views as to what people know, with restrictive definitions of knowledge thereby dismissed), there is enough particularized to each that they may be treated of separately.

There are many different topics, stances, and arguments in the field of epistemology. Recent studies have dramatically challenged centuries-old assumptions, and it therefore continues to be vibrant and dynamic.
Boids
Boids

Introduction
Boids, developed by Craig Reynolds in 1986, is an artificial life program, simulating the flocking behaviour of birds. As with most artificial life simulations, Boids is an example of emergent behaviour; that is, the complexity of Boids arises from the interaction of individual agents (the boids, in this case) adhering to a set of simple rules. The rules applied in the simplest Boids world are as follows:

¢ separation: steer to avoid crowding local flockmates

¢ alignment: steer towards the average heading of local flockmates

¢ cohesion: steer to move toward the average position of local flockmates

More complex rules can be added, such as obstacle avoidance and goal seeking.

The movement of Boids can either be characterized as chaotic (splitting groups and wild behaviour) or orderly. Unexpected behaviours, such as splitting flocks and reuniting after avoiding obstacles, can be considered emergent. The boids framework is often used in computer graphics, providing realistic-looking representations of flocks of birds and other creatures, such as schools of fish or herds of animals.

Boids work in a manner similar to cellular automata, since each boid acts autonomously and references a neighbourhood, as do cellular automata.
WarDriving
WarDriving

Introduction
Wardriving is searching for Wi-Fi wireless networks by moving vehicle. It involves using a car or truck and a Wi-Fi-equipped computer, such as a laptop or a PDA, to detect the networks. It was also known (as of 2002) as WiLDing (Wireless Lan Driving, although this term never gained any popularity and is no longer used), originating in the San Francisco Bay Area with the Bay Area Wireless Users Group (BAWUG). It is similar to using a scanner for radio.

Many wardrivers use GPS devices to measure the location of the network find and log it on a website
Honey pot
Honey pot

Introduction
A honeypot is an information system resource whose value lies in unauthorized or illicit use of that resource. A honeypot is a closely monitored network decoy serving several purposes: it can distract adversaries from more valuable machines on a network, can provide early warning about new attack and exploitation trends, or allow in-depth examination of adversaries during and after exploitation of a honeypot. Deploying a physical honeypot is often time intensive and expensive as different operating systems require specialized hardware and every honeypot requires its own physical system.

Honeypots are a powerful, new technology with incredible potential. They can do everything from detecting new attacks never seen in the wild before, to tracking automated credit card fraud and identity theft. In the past several years the technology is rapidly developing, with new concepts such as honeypot farms, commercial and open source solutions, and documented findings released.

A great deal of research has been focused on identifying, capturing, and researching external threats. While malicious and dangerous, these attacks are often random with attackers more interested in how many systems they can break into then which systems they break into. To date, limited research has been done on how honeypots can apply to a far more dangerous and devastating threat, the advanced insider. This trusted individual knows networks and organization. Often, these individuals are not after computers, but specific information. This is a risk that has proven far more dangerous, and far more difficult to mitigate.
Swarm Intelligence
Swarm Intelligence

Introduction
(SI) is an artificial intelligence technique based around the study of collective behavior in decentralized, self-organized systems. The expression swarm intelligence was introduced by Beni & Wang in 1989, in the context of cellular robotic systems.

SI systems are typically made up of a population of simple agents interacting locally with one another and with their environment. Although there is normally no centralized control structure dictating how individual agents should behave, local interactions between such agents often lead to the emergence of global behavior. Examples of systems like this can be found in nature, including ant colonies, bird flocking, animal herding, bacteria molding and fish schooling.

Application of swarm principles to large numbers of robots is called as swarm robotics.
QR Code
QR Code

Introduction
A QR Code is a matrix code (or two-dimensional bar code) created by Japanese corporation Denso-Wave in 1994. The QR is derived from Quick Response , as the creator intended the code to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed. QR Codes are most common in Japan, and are currently the most popular type of two dimensional code in Japan.

Although initially used for tracking parts in vehicle manufacturing, QR Codes are now used for inventory management in a wide variety of industries. More recently, the inclusion of QR Code reading software on camera phones in Japan has led to a wide variety of new, consumer-oriented applications, aimed at relieving the user of the tedious task of entering data into their mobile phone. QR Codes storing addresses and URLs are becoming increasingly common in magazines and advertisements in Japan. The addition of QR Codes on business cards is also becoming common, greatly simplifying the task of entering the personal details of a new acquaintance into the address book of one s mobile phone.
Quantum computer
Quantum computer

Introduction
A Quantum Computer is a computer that harnesses the power of atoms and molecules to perform memory and processing tasks. It has the potential to perform certain calculations billions of times faster than any silicon-based computer In both the search for ever smaller and faster computational devices, and the search for a computational understanding of biological systems such as the brain, one is naturally led to consider the possibility of computational devices the size of cells, molecules, atoms, or on even smaller scales.

Indeed, it has been pointed out that if trends over the last forty years continue, we may reach atomic-scale computation by the year 2010. This move down in scale takes us from systems that can be understood (to a good enough approximation) using classical mechanics alone, to those which require a quantum mechanical understanding. Thus, it should not be surprising to find that the idea of quantum computation is not new. However, most if not all work so far has been understandably speculative.
Sun Spot
Sun Spot

Introduction
Sun Spot (Sun Small Programmable Object Technology) is a wireless sensor network (WSN) mote developed by Sun Microsystems. The device is built upon the IEEE 802.15.4 standard. Unlike other available mote systems, the Sun SPOT is built on the Java 2 Micro Edition Virtual Machine (JVM).

The Sun SPOT project explores wireless transducer technologies that enable the emerging network of things. We are building a hardware and software research platform to overcome the challenges that currently inhibit development of tiny sensing devices.

These changes may dramatically affect the nature and type of wireless sensor network applications.

The Sun SPOT hardware platform is a small, battery operated, wireless device running the Squawk Java Virtual Machine (VM) without an underlying OS. This VM acts as both operating system and software application platform. We have created everything from device drivers and development tools to demos and tutorials so users can quickly create their own embedded wireles appliations.

Hardware

The completely assembled device should be able to fit in the palm of your hand.

Processing
180 MHz 32 bit ARM920T core - 512K RAM - 4M Flash
2.4 GHz IEEE 802.15.4 radio with integrated antenna
USB interface
Sensor Board
2G/6G 3-axis accelerometer
Temperature sensor
Light sensor
8 tri-color LEDs
6 analog inputs
2 momentary switches
5 general purpose I/O pins and 4 high current output pins

Networking
The motes communicate using the IEEE 802.15.4 standard including the base-station approach to sensor networking. This implementation of 802.15.4 is not ZigBee-compliant.

Software
The device s use of Java device drivers is particularly remarkable as Java is known for its ability to be hardware-independent. Sun SPOT uses a small J2ME which runs directly on the processor without an OS.
RAID
RAID

Introduction
In computing, the acronym RAID (originally redundant array of inexpensive disks, now also known as redundant array of independent disks) refers to a data storage scheme using multiple hard drives to share or replicate data among the drives. Depending on the version chosen, the benefit of RAID is one or more of increased data integrity, fault-tolerance, throughput or capacity compared to single drives. In its original implementations, its key advantage was the ability to combine multiple low-cost devices using older technology into an array that offered greater capacity, reliability, speed, or a combination of these things, than was affordably available in a single device using the newest technology.

At the very simplest level, RAID combines multiple hard drives into a single logical unit. Thus, instead of seeing several different hard drives, the operating system sees only one. RAID is typically used on server computers, and is usually (but not necessarily) implemented with identically sized disk drives. With decreases in hard drive prices and wider availability of RAID options built into motherboard chipsets, RAID is also being found and offered as an option in more advanced personal computers. This is especially true in computers dedicated to storage-intensive tasks, such as video and audio editing.

The original RAID specification suggested a number of prototype RAID levels , or combinations of disks. Each had theoretical advantages and disadvantages. Over the years, different implementations of the RAID concept have appeared.

Most differ substantially from the original idealized RAID levels, but the numbered names have remained. This can be confusing, since one implementation of RAID 5, for example, can differ substantially from another. RAID 3 and RAID 4 are often confused and even used interchangeably.
Night vision technology
Night vision technology

Introduction
Night vision technology was developed by the US defense department mainly for defense purposes ,but with the development of technology night vision devices are being used in day to day lives. In this seminar of mine I wish to bring out the various principles of working of these devices that have changed the outlook both on the warfront and in our common lives. Night Vision can work in two different ways depending on the technology used.

1.Image enhancement- This works by collecting the tiny amounts of light including the lower portion of the infrared light spectrum, those are present but may be imperceptible to our eyes, and amplifying it to the point that we can easily observe the image. 2:Thermal imaging- This technology operates by capturing the upper portion of the infrared light spectrum, which is emitted as heat by objects instead of simply reflected as light. Hotter objects, such as warm bodies, emit more of this light than cooler objects like trees or buildings
Serial ATA (SATA)
Serial ATA (SATA)

Introduction
In computer hardware, Serial ATA is a computer bus technology primarily designed for transfer of data to and from a hard disk. It is the successor to the legacy AT Attachmentretroactively renamedParallel ATA (PATA) to distinguish it from Serial ATA. Both SATA and PATA drives are IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) drives, although IDE is often misused to indicate PATA drives.

standard (ATA). This older technology was Serial ATA innovations

SATA drops the master/slave shared bus of PATA, giving each device a dedicated cable and dedicated bandwidth. While this requires twice the number of host controllers to support the same number of SATA devices, at the time of SATA's introduction this was no longer a significant drawback. Another controller could be added into a controller ASIC at little cost beyond the addition of the extra seven signal lines and printed circuit board (PCB) space for the cable header.

Features allowed for by SATA but not by PATA include hot-swappingnative command queueing. and To ease their transition to SATA, many manufacturers have produced drives which use controllers largely identical to those on their PATA drives and include a bridge chip on the logic board. Bridged drives have a SATA connector, may include either or both kinds of power connectors, and generally perform identically to native drives. They may, however, lack support for some SATA-specific features. As of 2004, all major hard drive manufacturers produce either bridged or native SATA drives.

SATA drives may be plugged into Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) controllers and communicate on the same physical cable as native SAS disks. SAS disks, however, may not be plugged into a SATA controller.

Physically, the SATA power and data cables are the most noticeable change from Parallel ATA. The SATA standard defines a data cable using seven conductors and 8 mm wide wafer connectors on each end. SATA cables can be up to 1 m (39 in) long. PATA ribbon cables, in comparison, carry either 40- or 80-conductor wires and are limited to 46 cm (18 in) in length. The reduction in conductors makes SATA connectors and cables much narrower than those of PATA, thus making them more convenient to route within tight spaces and reducing obstructions to air cooling. Unlike early PATA connectors, SATA connectors are keyed ” it is not possible to install cable connectors upside down without considerable force.

The SATA standard also specifies a power connector sharply differing from the four-pin Molex connector used by PATA drives and many other computer components. Like the data cable, it is wafer-based, but its wider 15-pin shape should prevent confusion between the two. The seemingly large number of pins are used to supply three different voltages if necessary ” 3.3 V, 5 V, and 12 V. Each voltage is supplied by three pins ganged together (and 6 pins for ground). This is because the small pins cannot supply sufficient current for some devices, so they are combined. One pin from each of the three voltages is also used for hotplugging. The same physical connections are used on 3.5-in (90mm) and 2.5-in (70mm) (notebook) hard disks. Some SATA drives include a PATA-style 4-pin Molex connector for use with power supplies that lack the SATA power connector. Also, adaptors are available to convert a 4-pin Molex connector to SATA power connector.

External SATA

eSATA was standardized in mid-2004, with specifically defined cables, connectors, and signal requirements for external SATA drives. eSATA is characterized by:

¢ Full SATA speed for external disks (115MB/s have been measured with external RAID enclosures)
¢ No protocol conversion from PATA/SATA to USB/Firewire, all disk features are available to the host
¢ Cable length is restricted to 2m, USB and Firewire span longer distances.
¢ Minimum and maximum transmit voltage decreased to 400mV - 500mV
¢ Minimum and maximum receive voltage decreased to 240mV - 500mV

USB and Firewire require conversion of all communication with the external disk, so external USB/Firewire enclosures include a PATA or SATA bridge chip that translates from the ATA protocol to USB or Firewire. Drive features like S.M.A.R.T. cannot be exploited that way and the achievable transfer speed with USB/Firewire is only about half of the entire bus data rate of about 50MB/s. This limited effective data transfer rate becomes very visible when using an external RAID array and also with fast single disks which may yield well over 70MB/s during real use.

Currently, most PC motherboards do not have an eSATA connector. eSATA may be enabled through the addition of an eSATA host bus adapter (HBA) or bracket connector for desktop systems or with a Cardbus or ExpressCard for notebooks.

Note: Prior to the final eSATA specification, there were a number of products designed for external connections of SATA drives. Some of these use the internal SATA connector or even connectors designed for other interface specifications, such as FireWire. These products are not eSATA compliant.

eSATA does not provide power, which means that external 2.5' disks which would otherwise be powered over the USB or Firewire cable need a separate power cable when connected over eSATA.
ShotCode
ShotCode

Introduction
ShotCode is a circular barcode created by OP3. It uses a dartboard-like circle, with a bulls eye in the centre and datacircles surrounding it. The technology reads databits from these datacircles by measuring the angle and distance from the bulls eye for each.

ShotCodes are designed to be read with a regular camera (including those found on mobile phones and webcams) without the need to purchase other specialised hardware. Because of the circular design, it is also possible for software to detect the angle from which the barcode is read. ShotCodes differ from matrix barcodes in that they do not store regular data - rather, they store an encoded URL which the reading device can connect to in order to download said data.
Artificial passenger
Artificial passenger

Introduction
An artificial passenger (AP) is a device that would be used in a motor vehicle to make sure that the driver stays awake. IBM has developed a prototype that holds a conversation with a driver, telling jokes and asking questions intended to determine whether the driver can respond alertly enough. Assuming the IBM approach, an artificial passenger would use a microphone for the driver and a speech generator and the vehicle s audio speakers to converse with the driver.

The conversation would be based on a personalized profile of the driver. A camera could be used to evaluate the driver s facial state and a voice analyzer to evaluate whether the driver was becoming drowsy. If a driver seemed to display too much fatigue, the artificial passenger might be programmed to open all the windows, sound a buzzer, increase background music volume, or even spray the driver with ice water.