Event Features Panel Discussion on Technologies That Will Change the Way Humans Interact with Machines, the World and Each Other
(PISCATAWAY, N.J., U.S.A. – 10 March 2009) – IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional society, today spotlighted seven technologies it believes will have world changing implications on the way humans interact with machines, the world and each other, in honor of its 125thanniversary.
On 10 March 2009 at the New Yorker Hotel in New York City, a panel of technology experts, moderated by The New York Times senior editor and technology reporter Steve Lohr, discussed emerging technologies in fields ranging from biometrics, computing, wireless power, and others, that they believe have the potential to change the world.
“For 125 years, IEEE and its members have influenced the creation of nearly all the technologies we now cannot imagine life without,” said 2008 IEEE President Lewis M. Terman. “Today we take a glimpse into the future with some of those who are driving the development of some of the emerging innovations and technological advancements for the betterment of humanity.”
Featured panelists and the technologies discussed include:
Dr. Katie Hall, IEEE Senior Member, Chief Technology Officer, WiTricity – Dr. Hall is implementing a new technology that can wirelessly transmit power to common consumer electronic devices within several meters of its power source. It is designed to bring the benefits of wireless power to consumer, industrial, medical, military, and transportation markets, and in the process help to save lives, energy and the environment.
Dr. Rangachar Kasturi, IEEE Fellow, Professor, University of South Florida – Dr. Kasturi’s team has established a framework that can detect and track text, face, and vehicles in images and video. The end goal will allow computers to detect and recognize vehicles, humans and objects from great distances and in undesirable conditions leading to quicker, more accurate detection of possible environmental, health or security threats.
Dr. K.J. Ray Liu, IEEE Fellow, Professor, University of Maryland, College Park – Dr. Liu and his team have developed a model that, by testing the interaction between an individual’s genomic and proteomic signaling through a simple blood test, can determine if he/she is in the transition stage to developing cancer, and identify the type. This information will offer the earliest possible prediction of whether an individual is in danger for developing cancer and allow for preventative treatment.
Dr. Dharmendra Modha, IEEE Senior Member, Manager, Cognitive Computing, IBM Almaden Research Center – In a project funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) called SyNAPSE, Dr. Modha and his team are engineering computing systems that simulate the brain’s abilities for sensation, perception, action, interaction and cognition. This has the potential to greatly improve the functionality and response-rate of everyday computers and provide limitless practical applications, such as assisting financiers making split-second decisions bases on constantly changing data.
Dr. Miguel Nicolelis, IEEE Member, Professor and Co-director, Center for Neuroengineering, Duke University Medical Center – Dr. Nicolelis and his team have developed a microchip that allows human brains to communicate with robots and enables the robot to send a return message directly back to the brain, without use of sight/touch. Looking ahead, he believes his work will allow communication from human brain to human brain. The goal, by 2012, through his work and that of scientists around the world, is to enable a completely quadriplegic patient to walk again in a project entitled the Walk Again Project.
Mr. Krishna Palem, IEEE Fellow, Professor, George Brown School of Engineering, Rice University – Dr. Palem developed probabilistic chip technology, a technology which trades off precision in calculations for significant reductions in energy use allowing devices such as cell phones to be recharged every few weeks rather than every few days. Using this technology, Dr. Palem has created an LED roll-up “slate” allowing access to educational materials to students in impoverished/remote areas at a very low cost and utilizing very little energy, providing an opportunity to assist with access of educational materials globally.
Dr. Roy Want, IEEE Fellow, Senior Principal Engineer, Intel Corporation – Dr. Want is building a mobile solution called Dynamic Composable Computing that will vastly improve the performance of mobile devices and provide the capability of sharing multiple resources between computers, including displays, networks, processing, storage and peripherals. For example, if a mobile phone user does not have a camera phone; one would have the ability to wirelessly access the camera of another nearby device, assuming permission had been granted.
For more information on these technologies, IEEE’s 125th anniversary or to view a live Webcast of the event, please visit www.ieee125.org.
About IEEE 125thAnniversary
In 2009, IEEE is commemorating 125 years of ingenuity and innovation in engineering and technology with events and activities supporting the anniversary theme “Celebrating 125 Years of Engineering the Future.” The year-long IEEE celebration includes local and global member and customer events; the first IEEE Presidents’ Change the World Competition for students; a global media roundtable and webcast featuring emerging, world-changing technologies; IEEE Engineering the Future Day on 13 May 2009; and much more. For more information on the IEEE 125th Anniversary, visit www.ieee125.org.
About IEEE
IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.) is the world’s largest technical professional society. Through its more than 375,000 members in 160 countries, the organization is a leading authority on a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics. Dedicated to the advancement of technology, IEEE publishes 30 percent of the world’s literature in the electrical and electronics engineering and computer science fields, and has developed nearly 900 active industry standards. The organization annually sponsors more than 900 conferences worldwide. Additional information about IEEE can be found at www.ieee.org.