Tag Archive: computer science

  1. Students Develop Campus-Specific Smartphone App

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    UC Davis Mobile image from www.bizjournals.comWhile taking an iPhone application course last fall, two computer engineering students, Sunny Dhillon and Fei Li, created UC Davis Mobile, a smartphone app designed for University of California Davis students and staff.

    Among other things, using the app, students and staff can access the school’s email portal, find out when their team is playing, read the school paper and check when the next Unitrans bus will arrive.

    According to Ken Joy, one of two professors who teach the iPhone application course on campus, the app has already been downloaded 2,000 times and plans to add more features are in the works this semester.

    Read the complete article here

    Learn more about computer engineering at www.GraduatingEngineer.com

  2. Ford in Sync with Milennial Engineers

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    Mark Fields, Ford executive VP and president of the Americas, demonstrates Sync at the Detroit auto show in 2007.

    In what’s being called “a developmental shift for Ford,” the motor company has given their Millennial audience a challenge. More specifically, Ford’s challenging computer and electrical engineering students from the University of Michigan to grow it’s in-car connectivity and communications-and-entertainment system, Sync.

    Ford hopes that the same twenty-something audience they are reaching out to via social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, will bring cloud computing and social networking “to the dashboard.”

    Read more about the American Journey 2.0 project and Sync development: http://www.wired.com/autopia/2009/10/ford-michigan/

    Photo: Mark Fields, Ford executive VP and president of the Americas, demonstrates Sync at the Detroit auto show in 2007. Courtesy Ford

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  3. Soccer Robots

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    Photo: Relaxing Robots, MoonSoleilIt’s the ultimate man versus machine. Soccer-playing robots are being designed to beat their human counterparts. But don’t worry, this technology is far from perfected.

    Robot soccer competitions have been occurring since the mid-1990s, and organizations such as the Federation of International Robot-soccer Association (FIRA) and the RoboCup Federation are promoting advances in artificial intelligence and robot design through these competitions. The hope is to achieve a robot team that can defeat the FIFA World Cup champions by the year 2050.

    The RoboCup competition and the FIRA RoboWorld Cup are both international competitions held every year between teams from different countries, many hailing from colleges and universities. Each team designs a robot to compete in a league, like the simulation league, small-sized robot league, and the humanoid league. So far, the robots have advanced from wheeled participants to bipedal players that fight for the ball and score goals. The next step, researchers say, is to get the robots running like humans, though the rough terrain of grass fields proves to be a difficult challenge.

    The U.S. RoboCup 2009 was held in May at Harvard University, with the University of Texas at Austin taking top honors and the University of Pennsylvania coming in second. The 2009 international competition took place in Graz, Austria, in July, where 3,000 participants from 40 different countries competed.

    Soccer is the perfect testing ground for robots because it involves a variety of functions, such as movement, vision, and strategy. Although the robots are designed for the soccer field, the research put into the competitions can have a larger impact. Robot technologies could be used for simple tasks around the house (think the Roomba, but more advanced) or in scenarios, like rescues, where robots can be used instead of risking human injury or death.

    Looking for more robotics-themed articles? Visit www.GraduatingEngineer.com.
    Photo: Relaxing Robots, MoonSoleil

  4. Valparaiso students’ iPhone product is a monster hit

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    Battery Go! creators Lange, Banga and PhelpsCapitalizing on worldwide iPhone mania, Jeff Lange, Cameron Banga and Michael Phelps developed an ingeniously simple app called Battery Go!.

    The application lets users know what percentage of their iPhone battery has been depleted and estimates how much time is left for Internet, phone, music or video use.

    Read about the Valparaiso students and how they’ve spent their summer: http://www.suntimes.com/technology/1664809,CST-NWS-iphone14.article

    Read more about noteworthy, young engineers at www.GraduatingEngineer.com.

  5. Tech Firm to Add 600 Colorado Springs Jobs

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    Colorado Springs: Photo by cpt.spockDallas-based Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. announced that it will be expanding its operation to Colorado Springs, adding 600 employees. The move will more than double its Colorado staff and is projected to make an estimated $100 million impact over five years.

    To learn more about the expansion or job opportunities with ACS: http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_12717774

    Image of Colorado Springs by cpt.spock.

    Search for engineering jobs at www.GraduatingEngineer.com.