Showing posts with label Miniaturization. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Miniaturization. Show all posts

February 2, 2020

The Real Threat Is Surprise Attacks

Please see my new article in Israel Defense called, "The Real Threat is Surprise Attacks."
The element of surprise can overcome most defenses. This can happen whether through an insider threat or through new and stealthy technologies. Already in August 2018, two explosive-laden drones were used to attack the president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro. Similarly, last year, in the movie, Angel Has Fallen, we saw the president of the United States attacked by a swarm of drones. While this is a great threat in and of itself, I believe that the greater threat lies in the miniaturization of the drones, in some cases, drones with the size, shape, and function of insects.

Unfortunately, Yigal Amir used the element of surprise to assassinate the prime minister of Israel. Now there are other high-tech threats like miniaturized, weaponized drones. There is no excuse for us not to be on the lookout for and to be prepared to defend against these, so that our leadership and our democracies are duly protected. Surprise is a big advantage in warfare, but we must be one step ahead, so that we are prepared to defend against these as well as to turn the tables and effectively employ the continued element of surprise against our relentless adversaries.

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

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February 22, 2018

Not Every Problem Requires A High-Tech Solution

So I thought this was pretty smart.

Yes, it's a "Smart" car.

But more important is this guy parked his car in a very smart way. 

The spot was too small even for this micro urban car.

So he just parked it sideways--and poof it fits.

Also, look how easy it is for him to drive out of the spot when he's ready. 

Now, I'm not one to say whether this is legal or not (his rear wheels are on the sidewalk, of course).

Still there is something refreshing about this solution. 

Nothing high-tech about it -- he didn't need to move the cars further apart or shrink his own vehicle, rather just think out of the box. 

Frankly, it works, and I think this guy deserves the parking spot--so right on dude!  ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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April 13, 2016

2016 Technology Advances - Doing Well Sir

In just the last few days and weeks, I have been astonished at the progress already being made towards the important technology advancements mentioned in Technology Forecast 2016

On the front for medical technology to fight cancer, just today it was announced that the foundation from Sean Parker (of Napster and Facebook) is providing a $250 million grant for a new cancer institute to advance the field of immunotherapy to boost the body's natural defenses (i.e. immune system) to fight the cancer.

In terms of space technology, famed astrophysicist, Stephen Hawking and venture capitalist, Yuri Milner are teaming up with a $100 million for research to develop "Starchips" (a nanocraft robot on a chip) for a voyage to another solar system 25 trillion miles away. 

Finally, there are advances for counter-terrorism technology on display with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection announcing in February a pilot of new biometric technology kiosks to capture and compare facial and iris biometrics for travelers exiting the U.S. to compare with their entry data and ensure an end-to-end visitor entry/exit solution.  

I am pleased at the commitment and progress we are making in these critical technology areas, and sincerely hope that these efforts will flourish for us all in the not too distant future. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

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December 30, 2015

Simplify Me

So here's the monitor in the "modern" and beautiful Fort Lauderdale International airport. 

Can you see the number of electrical plugs, wires, connections, input/output ports, etc. on this device?

Obviously, it is comical and a farce as we near the end of 2015. 

Think about the complexity in building this monitor...in connecting it...in keeping it operational.

Yes, we are moving more and more to cellular and wireless communications, to miniaturization, to simple and intuitive user interfaces, to paperless processing, to voice recognition, to natural language processing, and to artificial intelligence.

But we are not there yet.

And we need to continue to make major strides to simplify the complexity of today's technology. 

- Every technology device should be fully useful and usable by every user on first contact. 

- Every device should learn upon interacting with us and get better and better with time. 

- Every device should have basic diagnostic and self-healing capability. 

Any instructions that are necessary should be provided by the device itself--such as the device telling you step by step what to do to accomplish the task at hand--no manual, no Google instructions, no Siri questions...just you and the device interacting as one. 

User friendly isn't enough anymore...it should be completely user-centric, period. 

Someday...in 2016 or beyond, we will get there, please G-d. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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