Until
next week, 
The Intelligent Machine Post:
Sniffers and Snuffers
Issue 00000010
Dateline: February 1, 1998
USUALLY, I am pretty upbeat about AI, as you all know. But a couple of items reported below caused a few of my remaining hairs to twitch a little, and judging from the email I've received in response to one of last week's tidbits, I'm not alone. (As of this coming Wednesday, February 4, you'll be able to share your comments and concerns on the AIBB--the AI Bulletin Board being prepared for this site by the good people at The Mining Company even as we speak.)
Nosey
Parkers
A bionic nose designed at Warwick
University to sniff out beer gone bad through bacterial growth can also
be used to detect bacteria that cause infections in the human body. According
to the journal Measurement Science and Technology, in studies the
nose correctly identified the common bacteria staphylococcus aureus
100 percent of the time and E-coli, rod-shaped bacteria found in
the bowel, with 92 percent accuracy. This is good, but . . .
Last week I provided a link to a PR Newswire report of a sort of invisible-beam flashlight being developed which, shone on some unsuspecting sot, can tell how much alcohol is in said sot's system. It is "non-intrusive, does not require overt activity or cooperation on the part of the subject, yet is more accurate and fool-proof than the Breathalyzer," says the blurb. And just who might the unsuspecting suspect be? "[Drivers of] personal vehicles, crews on airline flight decks, air traffic controller stations, drivers of school buses, public transport and commercial vehicles, or wherever lack of judgment induced by alcohol or drugs is critical to the safety of thousands," said the CEO of the company, ChemTech, that is making the device. Any of those suspects sound familiar to you?
But wait, there's more! The basic technology can be applied to detect other substances, said the CEO with, I imagine, gusto and glee. To be honest, I'd be over the moon too, in his shoes; but I hope I would pause to consider appropriate and ethical applications, and to be fair, it seems he has. Among the applications ChemTech is working on, in cooperation with System Specialists, Inc., are explosives sniffers for use in airports and at public gatherings and "a remote sensing device that could solve the world's landmine problems."
Here's how the light-detecting and ranging (LIDAR) system works: An invisible beam of coherent light is aimed in the direction of a subject. The light gets the subject's molecules all excited, and they emit a stream of photons back to a detector. AI software examines the input in real time, identifies the substance, "evaluates the level of the substance in concentrations as small as 100 parts per billion, sounds an alarm on the spot or in a remote location, and then documents everything on a record."
Gotcha!
Your Country Doesn't Need You Any
More
In a solicitation dated January
29, 1998, the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command Acquisition
Center sought comments from industry for a "Mobile Detection Assessment
Response System -- Interior" (MDARS-I) system. MDARS-I is evidently designed
to replace expensive and imperfect human guards in protecting expensive
and important stuff stored in military warehouses, like nuclear missiles
and toilet seats, one supposes.
Now get this: "Ultimately, MDARS-I will be capable of autonomous detection, assessment, communications, and less-than-lethal response" (italics added). Freeze, a**hole, or you're almost dead. "MDARS-I will introduce mobile platforms [read: robots] employing a suite of sensors . . . controlled by a station that houses monitoring and annunciation equipment [?a loudspeaker?] programmed with artificial intelligence. The patrolling platforms: (1) detect anomalous conditions such as flooding or fires; (2) detect intruders; and (3) determine the status of inventoried items through the use of specialized Radio Frequency (RF) transponder tags." The robots will also be connected to other "sensors, response devices, Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV), RF/Microwave, and Hardwire/Fiber Optic Communication networks." Might as well give them a LIDAR torch, while you're at it.
The boring details are posted on
the CECOM Acquisition Center (CAC) Business
Opportunities Page. If you decide to comment to CECOM, I hope you get
a less than lethal response.
Until
next week,
NEXT WEEK: IMP #00000011.