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Archive for the ‘Models & simulations’ Category

Control a real 4×4 over the internet

08 Oct

This is quite a gimmick – Mitsubushi are rigging up an Outlander Sport with remote control kit then letting people loose on it over the Internet.

So from October 15th you will be able to log in to their microsite and take part in the first remote control 4×4 experience.

This shows the lengths companies are now willing to go to attract the Internet generation and also just how advanced our communication technologies have become.

Book soon though as this is no doubt going to be fairly short campaign.

This story is an excellent example of how companies make use of simulations.  Students could consider the benefits and disadvantages of getting people to ‘test drive’ using this method.  It would also fit in well with discussions about marketing and how companies are increasingly trying to use innovative technology to hook us into buying their products.

 
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Posted in Marketing, Models & simulations

 

Simulation targets early cosmos

14 Feb

galaxy

One of the most far-reaching computer models must be the work being produced by scientists at Durham University.  They are trying to simulate what the Universe looked like a few hundred million years after the Big Bang,  right as the first galaxies were beginning to form.

At the moment it is impossible for astronomers to accurately pin-point the time when the first stars existed and when the first galaxies began to form.  But the Durham simulation is being developed to look from the present day, right back through many billions of years to see exactly might have happened out there in Space.

The current problem with trying to date things is that the light reaching Earth is very faint and the telescopes we currently use are unable to detect the most distant objects.  This new simulation should provide a “photofit” that astronomers can use as a basis to predict where galaxies should appear and how they probably grew.

Read the full news story here

Questions for students (subscription only)

 
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Posted in Models & simulations

 

Alarm sounded over wi-fi networks

09 Feb

viruses

Concerns have been raised about the possibility of wireless access points being used by hi-tech criminals to spread viruses and worms.

Researchers have made use of simulation software, which has previously been used to model the spread of diseases, to observe how quickly a worm, once released, would travel throughout wi-fi access points.

Their findings were worrying; they found that within 24 hours of an ‘outbreak’ the majority of vulnerable access points would be hit and within two weeks, 55% of all wi-fi access points would be compromised – meaning tens of thousands of people would be at risk.

Read the full news story here

Suggestions for use in class and questions for students (subscription only)

 
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Posted in Crime, Models & simulations, Networks, Protecting systems, Viruses