In Scientific Visualization, we will soon be using a tool called the TI SensorTag. Prior to using it, we have been assigned to do research on the tool, and on sensors in general, as well as how they can be used in school, and in the real world.
A sensor is any device that detects or monitors something. There is a wide variety of sensors from microphones to sensors that measure depth in water. This data can be taken from the device, and then analyzed. The TI SensorTag we are using contains ten different sensors, allowing the tag to measure light, sound, humidity, pressure, object temperature, ambient temperature, magnetic forces, movement, and speed. The data is then sent to a paired phone or similar device, where it can be recorded. An example of sensors being used in the real world is with cars. Automobiles have speedometers to let you know what speed you are traveling at in order to stay within safety limits, and newer vehicles have other safety sensors such as cameras or motion sensors to check whether or not there are other vehicles nearby. When making, or fixing cars, sensors can also be used. How noisy a car is may be considered while it is in the design stages, and things such as tire pressure may be measured on a regular basis. Sensors can also be useful in the health world. Certain germs and enzymes function better in certain environments. For instance, if the enzyme catalase, found in the liver, is cooked at a certain temperature, it will no longer break down hydrogen peroxide. While knowing this specifically may not be the most useful information, if professionals study which environments germs can and can't live in, we can have better knowledge of how to sterilize medical tools and surfaces. Another example is measuring environmental factors. Scientists can record the chemical makeup of bodies of water to make sure that the levels of dissolved oxygen are balanced, and that the pH isn’t too high or low. By tracking different chemicals, they can also assess what nutrients are more crucial to different organisms of that ecosystem. This is useful for us to learn about how to protect the environment by not putting too much of certain chemicals into the water. At school, we can use the TI SensorTag in order to collect data and learn how to analyze and organize it, as we will be doing in Sci Vis. However, it could also be a useful asset for biology, as everyone could create a miniature ecosystem (or a terrarium), put the sensor inside, and collect data from the model. Then, through comparing the data, a class could learn what factors make one ecosystem more successful than another. They could also collect data outside, and compare it to data in other climates that they could find through research. Though it may be too much work, it could be useful in math class as well, allowing for the collection of real life data. The sensor is a nice tool because students are more likely to be engaged with their work when they have collected the data themselves, rather than just seeing random numbers on a page. Most of the data that you would collect from the TI SensorTag would best be displayed on a line graph, as it would show the change of different factors overtime. Ambient temperature, humidity, pressure, and light would all be best measured on line graphs because you could easily compare the trends of each factor, even in multiple environments at once. Movement and speed would be best shown on line graphs as well, as you would want to track how speed changes overtime, as well as when movement was greater. However, object temperature, as well as magnetic force, would best be displayed on a bar graph, because you could compare the temperatures and forces of different objects or areas. While there may be some change in these factors, it is more likely that the trend of these variables won’t be very important, and it would be more useful to compare an initial reading from one area or object. This is not always the case though, since sometimes you do want to see the trend of this data, such as how the ground temperature changes throughout the day. Then the data would also be best displayed on a line graph. Measuring environmental data can provide students a more thorough understanding of how different factors affect us and other organisms. On a more basic level, we could see how the environment often changes throughout the day, and we could compare the climate of the local area to other climates. It will also teach us how to interpret raw data, how to organize it in a way that is more readable, and how to make conclusions based off of the information put in front of us. As mentioned above, being able to use a sensor to collect data ourselves will likely be more interesting that having the computer spit a jumble of random numbers out at us for us to interpret. So, overall, the scanner could make us more knowledgeable about the environment, more engaged in our work, and better at deciphering and organizing data.
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Copyright is crucial, determining how much money authors will make, as well as the way that different works can be distributed and used. With more people creating original works for their professions, copyright is becoming more important because of the way it protects authors. However, many people see copyright as an obstacle when they would love to play a game or use a software but don't have the funds in order to do so. So, is copyright fair?
Whether or not a copyright is being infringed upon is completely determined by the author. This allows an author to decide how much of their work is free for the public to use rather than the law completely deciding, while still having protection from the law. Authors can let people use their work, or at least pieces of their work. Being lenient on copyright has its benefits as well as drawbacks. Going back to ancient times, and long before copyright, patents, or any law of that sort was invented, the uncontrolled spread of ideas was important. Technology could spread between different people and even different civilizations very quickly. People could mimic new innovations that they saw, or even directly acquire the inventions rather than having to start from scratch and attempt to reach the levels of sophistication of those around them. This also allowed for a great deal of new ideas to form as people were constantly sharing and comparing technology and looking for ways to make things better. Today, laws are in place that prevent much of this exchange. This is mostly concerning patents. Some inventors are realizing this, such as the CEO of Tesla Motors, Elon Musk, and are working to do things to try to revive that innovative spirit. Musk is allowing for anyone to use Tesla technology if they think they can improve it, as long as they won't try to claim Tesla had been infringing on them. However, arrangements like these aren't always practical. It doesn't exactly make sense to give up your characters or artwork so that someone can "improve" it. In the case of technology though, it could greatly benefit society. Another positive effect about not being very strict on copyrights for your own work is that you won't suffer the negative repercussions of diligently enforcing copyrights. While it is always good to have your work protected, if you shoot down every piece of fan art, you probably won't have supporters for much longer, and no fans means no money. However, this doesn't mean that everyone should simply give up their copyrights. Authors should have the rights to decide what happens to their work. If people are turning their work into something that they don't approve of, by all means they should be able to ask the person to stop. Copyright is important because it keeps industries alive. In terms of the gaming industry, if all games were the same, it's likely only the well known companies would make any money while the smaller businesses or authors would flop. It's important to be unique so that you have an advantage over your competitors, and can actually make profit. While it may just seem like greed for an author to care so much about the value of their works, money is important in society in order to keep making new works for everyone to enjoy. Then there's abusing copyright. There is an interesting case between Jim Sterling and a company called Digital Homicide. Jim Sterling, a gamer reviewer on YouTube, complained about the game The Slaughtering Grounds. He deemed the game and "absolute failure" for it's premade textures, looping music, and bad controls. The game was getting a bad rap, and Digital Homicide, the company that created the game, blamed Sterling for their game failing. Unprofessionally, they made videos to mock Sterling, and unfortunately, he fired back. Digital Homicide tried to remove his video by claiming he had broken copyright, but in the end they couldn't prove it. Copyright doesn't just affect companies, it affects everyone. One significant example is that it forces consumers to pay for products and be original, unless they want to be charged for infringement/piracy. In terms of infringement, people have been charged just for hosting a Pokémon themed party without permission. Just simple offenses made without malice could land a person in jail. Even fan art in some cases has been called infringement, although as mentioned above, that tends to kill the fan base. Elaborating more on piracy with an example from the gaming industry: if everyone could make their own copy of Skyrim without having to pay Bethesda Studios anything, the company would lose almost all revenue, and we probably wouldn't see any more Elder Scrolls games. However, Bethesda might be saved if they continued to hold copyright for some of their other games like the Fallout series, whereas other authors may not have a safety net like this. Basically, piracy is theft. While it may seem like digital things should be easily transferable and free, someone put time, and probably a lot of money, into making digital works, be it software, music, games, or something else entirely. It's understandable that people who can't afford certain things are often the culprits of piracy, but that isn't an excuse. It's equivalent to a beggar stealing from a food truck, if the owner doesn't care, they may get away with it, but if they are caught, the law isn't going to say that their actions were justified. People can be charged anywhere from $750 to $150,000 for piracy, much more than whatever the value of the stolen work was. Piracy also hurts authors, and puts our chances of seeing future works in jeopardy. Even though people without much money might think it's fair to pirate the works, it only puts the authors in worse financial situations as well, creating a vicious cycle of money problems. While copyright affects me as a consumer, it also affects me as a creator. Going into game design, I have to be wary of ideas coming too close to other games. Today it seems like almost everything has already been done, and anything that has been done has been copyrighted by someone. When making games, originality is key, or at least knowing how to make games that aren't too heavily influenced by other works. Being charged with infringement would most definitely ruin a company's reputation, and therefore their chances of being very successful. This does go the other way too. As a creator, I could easily become a victim to piracy or infringement. Since I am not in fact the head of Nintendo or any other big game company, if someone were to steal artwork, story, characters, or any other elements of a game I design, I could end up in a lot of trouble. Unless I had a way to prove that I had created the work, it's likely that they could get away with it, and even charge me, saying that I had infringed upon them. Only having registered the copyright with the law would provide full protection. Even if they didn't go to such extremes, a bigger company could get more publicity for their games, and profit off of my work more than I would profit off of my work, which just isn't fair for anyone to do in any case. Piracy could affect me even more. Some digital works now have what basically act as tracking devices. They can detect when a work is being illegally copied/ distributed. I (mostly likely) would not have the skills to set up any sort of security system. It would be incredibly difficult for me to track whether or not my game was being pirated, and I could lose a lot of money from illegal copying. The best thing I could do is make sure I had proof of creating the work, monitoring the gaming industry to look for any rip-offs of my game, and even learning how to set up that security system. Other companies not being strict on copyright could greatly benefit me. If I was able to use another author's engine, modify it, and put my game into it, I would be able to accomplish more than if I had started programming from scratch. This could help, especially if I was inexperienced in building game engines, and wanted a starting point. I would however, have to thoroughly check the copyright rules for the work to make sure that I would not be committing infringement. All in all, copyright laws are incredibly important for any sort of creative industry, and digital work is too easily pirated or infringed upon. It's very important for people to be educated on what copyright laws entail, and how copyright or piracy affect authors, especially those who support themselves solely off of their works. Games are generally under appreciated as works despite containing components from music, visual art, programming, and writing. If people would just take the time to understand why it's important to pay money for games and all other works, a lot of infringement and piracy could be stopped, along with ignorance. |
AuthorHi, I'm Abi, a DSA student who likes games, drawing, writing, and acting. Archives
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