Embedded Networks
By Park Kyu-tae
The U.S. has a large expanse of land in the order of 10 million square kilometers, just about one hundred times that of South Korea. The U.S also has a population of a little over three hundred million, about six times that of Korea, making it one of the most sparsely populated countries.
I am now on the outskirts of Philadelphia, half way between New York and Washington, D.C., that lies at the latitude of 38 degrees 53 minutes north, while Seoul sits at 37 degrees 35 minutes north. In fact, Seoul and Washington D.C. are located on about the same latitude line.
However, I realize that I am in the middle of the American oak belt. It stretches from New England to California. The trees produce a lot of acorns. Acorns are a popular food in Korea but in America they are the food of choice for wild animals.
The houses here are surrounded by thick trees and cardinals and woodpeckers sing ceaselessly. Cardinals are not seen in Korea and the beautiful birds with a reddish crest, wings and tail make the oak trees their home. Surely it looks like they are ruling the woods. They are singing “Bee, bee, bee, come, come, come, come.” But look it up in the U.S. Geological Survey and it says ``Cheer, cheer, cheer, what, what, what, what.’’ But whatever the case they start singing from about three in the morning ``silly, silly, silly, up, up, up, up.’’ They have a likeness to Korean roosters who cry out to let people know that a new good morning is starting.
The American countryside is as tranquil as a rural farm except for some children's romping around and the lack of people strolling about. They drive cars even within shouting distance. America appears like a land of cars, golf courses and outlet markets. And the world is trying hard to get into its markets _ a black hole for consumer goods from all over the world. Women’s clothes and food are so in abundance that it made me wonder if all the men are working for women to feed and dress them in style.
I recall when I was in the UK back in the 60's, when so many British men were growing nicely trimmed beards. They even encouraged me to grow one. Sarcastic British students were saying men had one thing to show off that women don’t _ a beard. I gather growing a beard is hygienic so as to protect germs from going in to the mouth and skin. There are many Americans with striking mustaches, beards and marvelous whiskers. It is attractive and somehow reminds me of my younger years in London.
It was a warm opportunity to rethink of my time in England and while I was in the U.S., her Royal Highness Queen Elisabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh made a state visit to America. It was a great delight to watch on TV. While I was in Britain I saw her Highness mounted on the back of a horse reviewing the Guards of Honor at the White Hall near St. James's Park. When her Royal Highness visited Korea in April 1999 it was the first time I shook hands with her at a reception.
After a short pastoral retreat, I am back in the information age, visiting the University of Pennsylvania on the occasion of its 60th year of computing 1946-2006. The first digital computer was made by Dr. John Mauchly (1907-1980) and Dr. J. Presper Eckert (1919-1995) at the Moor School of Electrical Engineering. It made front-page news on Feb. 14, 1946 and named ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) consisting of vacuum tubes that applied electronic speed for the first time to mathematical tasks. In fact it led to the modern computer and made the information age possible. The ENIAC covered the entire 1,500 square feet of the basement and now one-tenth of the original ENIAC is on display in the school’s museum.
Since then the impact of electronic computers on society has gone beyond our imagination. Research made with the help of computers and networks has been enormous. Microcomputers are getting smaller and cheaper but increasingly more powerful. Microchips can perform specific tasks and they are so small that they can fit into the minutest places. These embedded systems and networking are creating a new research field realizing microcomputers’ ubiquitous potential.
When I met him at his office, Dr. Insup Lee, Cecilla Fitler Moore Professor at the School of Engineering, was conducting research on embedded and real-time systems with a group of Professors from the University of Virginia, the University of Texas at Austin and Carnegie Mellon. He was quoted as saying, ``The recent confluence of embedded and real-time systems with wireless, sensors, and networking technologies is creating a nascent infrastructure for a technical, economic, and social revolution.’’
He also added, and we agree, that we should envision the future of a computing and knowledge based society to improve living standards, enable greater security and grant unparalleled convenience and efficiency by intensifying the embedded networks.
Paying my respects to the co-inventors of ENIAC, I am now leaving for New York.
The writer is professor emeritus at Yonsei University and a Korea Times columnist.