March 2002 - Vol. 45 No. 3

March 2002 issue cover image

Features

Opinion Editorial pointers Mar 1 2002

Editorial Pointers

The state of robotic technology has surpassed sci-fi imagination in many respects, moving beyond technoserf status to more human-like agents. Today’s robots can operate in autonomous and intelligent ways. We find them collecting samples on the surface of Mars or the floor of the deepest ocean. We find them on the battlefields of war or […]

Architecture and Hardware

News News track Mar 1 2002

A proposal to increase high-tech spending in the next U.S. defense budget is the first step in a long-term plan to incorporate more technology into all branches of the military, reports the San Jose Mercury News. The goal is to increase science and technology spending from 2.5% to 3% of a defense budget that may […]

Robert Fox

Computing Applications

Opinion Forum Mar 1 2002

I enjoyed the special section on Aspect-Oriented Programming (Oct. 2001), but I disagree with the editors’ claim that "Object technology has difficulty localizing concerns involving global constraints and pandemic behaviors, appropriately segregating concerns, and applying domain-specific knowledge." The difficulty is not with object technology as a whole, but with the specific tools and methods that […]

Diane Crawford

Computing Applications

Opinion The profession of IT Mar 1 2002

Internet Time out

Technology won't solve information overload. New commitment management practices will.

Peter Denning

Computing Applications

Opinion Staying connected Mar 1 2002

Call It Techonomics

New product cycles powered by R&D are just what the economy ordered.

Meg McGinity

Computing Applications

News On site Mar 1 2002

A Study of Student Privacy Issues at Stanford University

An ambitious study by students for students points out privacy policy weaknesses and concerns at Stanford.

The Stanford Student Computer and Network Privacy Project

Computing Applications

Opinion Viewpoint Mar 1 2002

Trust, Authenticity, and Discursive Power in Cyberspace

Immersed in a time warp, space is constantly being redefined.

Ananda Mitra

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Robots: intelligence, versatility, adaptivity Mar 1 2002

Expect robots to function on their own with people and each other under whichever environmental conditions they happen to find themselves.

Gaurav S. Sukhatme and Maja J. Matarik

Architecture and Hardware

Research and Advances Robots: intelligence, versatility, adaptivity Mar 1 2002

Humanoid Robots

The future promises lots of robots in our everyday lives; some, perhaps many, of them could look and behave like people but only if being humanoid represents a technological advantage over their relatively utilitarian counterparts.

Rodney Brooks

Architecture and Hardware

Research and Advances Robots: intelligence, versatility, adaptivity Mar 1 2002

Self-Reconfiguring Robots

Mimicking the adaptability of living biological cells, robot modules will reconfigure themselves toward a common purpose within the limits imposed by the local environment.

Daniela Rus, Zack Butler, Keith Kotay, and Marsette Vona

Architecture and Hardware

Research and Advances Robots: intelligence, versatility, adaptivity Mar 1 2002

Robotics and Interactive Simulation

As applications of robots extend into everyday human life, new approaches to simulating interactions between them and their environments are emerging at the intersection of the physical and virtual worlds.

Architecture and Hardware

Research and Advances Robots: intelligence, versatility, adaptivity Mar 1 2002

Probabilistic Robotics

Planning and navigation algorithms exploit statistics gleaned from uncertain, imperfect real-world environments to guide robots toward their goals and around obstacles.

Sebastian Thrun

Architecture and Hardware

Research and Advances Robots: intelligence, versatility, adaptivity Mar 1 2002

Entertainment Robotics

Competing teams of autonomous robot soccer players illustrate the challenges, pleasures, and promise of developing collaborative multi-robot applications.

Manuela M. Veloso

Architecture and Hardware

Research and Advances Mar 1 2002

Solutions-Driven Marketing

Navigating the maze of options and providing a link between product customization and e-commerce.

Richard T. Grenci and Peter A. Todd

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Mar 1 2002

Configurable Development Processes

Keeping the focus on what is being produced.

John Cameron

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Mar 1 2002

Mobile Telephony in a Connected Life

Mobile phones help manage and grant instant access to users' dispersed social networks but risk violating the age-old social conventions of face-to-face relationships.

Leysia Palen

Architecture and Hardware

Research and Advances Mar 1 2002

Intelligent Agents and Financial Risk Monitoring Systems

A society of intelligent agents can work together to monitor financial transactions and yield important information regarding potential financial calamities.

Huaiqing Wang, John Mylopoulos, and Stephen Liao

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Research and Advances Mar 1 2002

Managing International Data Communications

International data communication (IDC) activities are vital to multinational corporations (MNCs) in managing the complexity of information exchanges required for the control and implementation of worldwide business strategies. IDC activities are also critical because they allow MNCs to extract information and move it globally without incurring major time delays, or transportation, reproduction, or inventory costs. […]

Vincent S. Lai and Wingyan Chung

Architecture and Hardware

Opinion Technical opinion Mar 1 2002

Computer Science: the Science of and About Information and Computation

New computing paradigms present serious challenges for system architecture.

Ruzena Bajcsy and Craig Reynolds

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Opinion Inside risks Mar 1 2002

Risks of Linear Thinking

For over half a century we have classified research on a scale from basic to applied. Basic research seeks fundamental understanding without regard to potential utility. Applied research is technology development that solves near-term problems. These two models have different diffusion times from research result to practice—often 2050 years for basic research and 23 years […]

Peter J. Denning and James J. Horning

Computing Applications

Recent Issues

Explore the Issue Archive