Reflection Blog 3

I’m partial to Week 11’s content so I’ll talk mostly about it in this reflection blog.
The sixth sense concept is really interesting. I feel like this particular manifestation of the idea (thing hanging around your neck, etc.) is a bit premature and clunky, but someday I can picture us living this way and using this technology in 10 years or so.
In the mid-1990’s I got a device for free (from a magazine, I think) called a CueCat. CueCat was a glorified barcode scanner that plugged into the PS/2 (keyboard) port of your computer. A few publications started putting CueCat barcodes into their magazines, newspapers, etc. You scan the barcode with your device and it brings up a web page or whatever. Sound familiar? We’re seeing those 2D QR barcodes everywhere nowadays, and they do basically the same thing. CueCat went under. The masses were not ready at that time – which is part of it. I think that there’s a little more to it, though – the technology wasn’t there like it is today for instant availability. More people have smartphones than don’t, so seeing the barcodes and scanning them in is a very easy process. CueCat was a bit more clunky because you needed to be AT your computer to do it.
Anyhow – I think Sixth Sense is probably in the same boat. We’re not ready for it. The technology isn’t quite there for it. It will crash and burn. In 10 years, though, we’ll see it in another reincarnation and we’ll be ready for it at that point.
With regard to the other part of week 11 – the war-fighting robots. I think it’s a scary concept, for sure. I spent 4 years in the Marine Corps Infantry with 3 combat tours to Iraq. I’ve spent countless hours training and preparing for battle. How to move properly as a team/squad/convoy – how to cover all the bases and ensure we’re safe. It’s a totally new dimension to have to consider the flying robot that you can’t see that can drop bombs on you. All I can say is that I’m glad the enemy didn’t have it when I was in, and I feel sorry for the guys that have to deal with it when it happens. Maintaining 360 degree security is hard enough – adding the above-ground 180 is a whole different task.