tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9186457242428335144.post4132933182941367141..comments2024-03-28T00:36:13.790-07:00Comments on Volatile and Decentralized: Highlights from SenSys 2011Matt Welshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04255792550910131960noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9186457242428335144.post-78203223435321252372011-11-12T12:58:15.248-08:002011-11-12T12:58:15.248-08:00I have to say, this year's SenSys may be bette...I have to say, this year's SenSys may be better named as MobiSenSys... I submitted a paper about the "traditional sensor networks" and it was rejected. I was disappointed at that time and I somehow understand why it was rejected after studying the reviews and checking the program of this year's SenSys.<br />I do find good papers, but I'm curious, will the trend shown in this year's SenSys continue in future, namely, replacing sensor motes with smart phones? (make it more like MobiSys)<br />This year's SenSys does remind me about your talk in EWSN several years ago, the talk is about whether sensor network will be attractive anymore (if I remembered correctly).<br /><br />I like doing research in sensor networks, though many researchers shifted their focus to mobile phones, I do still see lots of problems left there. I thought SenSys would be the first option to submit my papers to, but I somehow don't know whether I should submit my papers to SenSys next year, as my ongoing work has nothing to do with smart phones.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9186457242428335144.post-12660759540552817062011-11-08T07:06:37.660-08:002011-11-08T07:06:37.660-08:00Anon re: EasyTracker: The idea is to have a cheap ...Anon re: EasyTracker: The idea is to have a cheap and easy-to-install solution for transit agencies that does not require the drivers to do *anything*. You just mount the cell phone in the bus and you're done.Matt Welshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07077674014671176946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9186457242428335144.post-20956036855513158382011-11-08T01:48:36.042-08:002011-11-08T01:48:36.042-08:00Regarding the Easytracker: I have not seen the tal...Regarding the Easytracker: I have not seen the talk but from your description, I feel that this is akin to figuring out a nice way to swim when your hands and feet are tied. It is so easy to use a little more technology to make the work much easier. Why bother? I must be missing something here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9186457242428335144.post-49950063143154979142011-11-05T11:07:34.688-07:002011-11-05T11:07:34.688-07:00Mich's work is also featured in 2010 December ...Mich's work is also featured in 2010 December issue of Scientific American<br />http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=cyborg-beetles. I read this article at SA first and it's fascinating to see what our WSN community does can be cool enough to be featured in SA.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12720249604074835718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9186457242428335144.post-66878341652388165442011-11-05T07:47:56.026-07:002011-11-05T07:47:56.026-07:00Ben - First of all, Mich's group of course has...Ben - First of all, Mich's group of course has all of the required animal research approvals to do what they are doing. As you well know a wide range of research projects use animals in some form, including primates and other mammals, doing things that are perhaps more disturbing than what Mich's group does. What you are really asking is a broader question of what should be the role of animals in scientific research, and where do we draw the line between what is acceptable and what is not.<br /><br />Mich addressed this question directly in his talk, and asked the audience to think about their own values and whether this kind of work makes them comfortable or not. There is not an obvious answer. Mich's assertion is that these beetles operate much more like machines than what we normally think of as animals with feelings and emotions. And - perhaps jokingly - he reminded us that after a day of experiments on a given beetle, they are "placed in a terrarium with plenty of food and members of the opposite sex" for the rest of their lives. This is not to excuse what he does, but I think it's important to wrestle with this question directly.<br /><br />I think the deeper question is how far do we, as a society, let this kind of work go. Say we could do this to birds, to gerbils, to cats, to small monkeys, to humans. Where do we draw the line? Some would say that we should not be doing this kind of research at all, which is a fine answer. Personally I think there are tremendous things to be gained through this line of work. Imagine being able to cure Parkinson's, or epilepsy, or paralysis with an implant that could stimulate muscles based on "artificial" signals. To get there we are going to have to tackle some difficult ethical questions.Matt Welshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07077674014671176946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9186457242428335144.post-69438641627087824772011-11-05T01:34:17.257-07:002011-11-05T01:34:17.257-07:00The beetle stuff is super cool. I'm sure other...The beetle stuff is super cool. I'm sure others will think of this as well, but isn't attaching a bunch of wires to forcibly control a beetle a bit far in the animal cruelty dept? I guess ethics don't apply to beetles, but it's just a wee bit creepy.Ben Zhaohttp://www.cs.ucsb.edu/~ravenbennoreply@blogger.com