No abstract

The monument is our first computer: a complex, physical entity that stores and brings to consciousness facts, ideas and aspirations -information. In this paper, we introduce transdisciplinary research aiming to overcome, in the Information World, the static, petrified character of monuments which has longpresented collective memories about human events in immutable spatial forms. Our concept is, instead, the monument-as-robot. Embedded with sensing and actuating technologies, our concept affords multiconfigurations representing the multivalent character of "collective" memory more so than the single conventional monuments. We reflect on the crisis of the monument today, describe our three novel prototypes responding to this crisis, and discuss the import for HCI.

Recent scientific studies of the brain have led to new models of information processing. Some of these models are based on Hierarchical Bayesian Networks and have several benefits over traditional neural networks. Large scale implementations of brain models have the potential for strong inference capabilities, and hierarchical Bayesian models lend themselves well to large scales. Multi-core processors are currently the standard architectural approach utilized for high performance computing platforms. In this paper we examine the parallelization and optimization of Dean's hierarchical Bayesian model onto two multi-core architectures: the nine-core IBM Cell and the quad-core Intel Xeon processors. This is the first study of the parallelization of this class of models onto multi-core processors. We evaluate two parallelization strategies and examine the performance of the model as it is scaled. Our results indicate that the Cell processor can provide speedups of up to 108 times over a serial implementation of the model for the network sizes examined. The quad-core Intel Xeon processor provided a speedup of 36 times for the same model configuration.

No abstract

The extensive use of robots in flexible manufacturing systems and other engineered systems has created the need for developing a design tool for workcells in which robots are used. In current practice, the location of a robot within a workcell is determined by evaluating reachability and mobility criteria. Using reachability and mobility criteria, the robot can be located in a wide area within a workcell. In this paper, a computer aided design procedure that addresses the issues of minimum cycle time of the robot, optimum location of the robot within the cell and location of the workstations for time optimal motion, is provided. Significant results for three, four and six workstation cases are presented along with a design procedure for using these results.