New Study Links Texas Quakes to Fracking Wells

1. One comment in the article that supports that idea that fracking caused the earthquake is "Looking at wells close to the earthquake's epicenter determined that wastewater injection from shallow wells resulted in detectable ground uplift at distances up to 5 miles." this quote supports this idea because it says that the fracking made the ground raise up the ground. Another quote that supports the idea that fracking can cause earthquakes is "By creating an impasse in the rock, the injection well forced the pore pressure downwards until it hit an ancient fault line." This quote is useful because it shows how the water can cause an earthquake.
2. In addition a quote that supports the idea that fracking can lead to earthquakes is "scientists told CNN they suspected nearby injection wells were responsible." This quote supports the idea, because it shows that many scientists think that fracking can cause earthquakes.
3.  Two details that support the author's conclusion that people are putting waste water back into the Earth is, "Setting InSAR's eye on four high-volume wells used for wastewater disposal, the researchers began to track the changes in the Earth." This shows that the waste water is contributing to changes in the Earth. Another quote is "Looking at wells close to the earthquake's epicenter determined that wastewater injection from shallow wells resulted in detectable ground uplift at distances up to 5 miles." this quote shows that wastewater can move the ground up to 5 miles, which proves that wast water can move the ground.

Smart Factory Technologies Step Up at IMTS

1. A phrase that says that automated equipment will have benefits is "the number of new systems and know-how showcased by factory automation and software developers attested to the manufacturing industry’s level of commitment to building the vital infrastructure for making digital manufacturing and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) happen."  This shows that the manufacturing industry really want so put out automated equipment which denotes that these systems are in high demand and therefore useful. Also the quote "To reach the full potential of the IIoT, manufacturers have to fully connect their machine tools to the Web and enterprise systems, collecting Big Data off the factory floor for crunching in analytics software systems." shows that there is a lot of potential as to what theses systems can do but they must fully connect the machines to the web.

2. The quote “It accesses the power of the cloud to collaborate worldwide. Talking to all of these machines, you will not get there quickly—it will take decades, but we have to take the first steps. You always get early adopters.” shows that the companies believe that the cloud is the future and although it will take a long time it's going to be worth it.

3. A quote that supports the conclusion that the company is leading in the cloud and with analytics is that "Forcam Americas (Cincinnati) demonstrated the company’s Smart Factory Starter Kit, which is aimed at starting shops on their smart factory journey at a cost-effective price." this shows the company is advancing in analytics by monitoring shoppers.

4. The benefits of linking analytics into automation is that way the machines can get feedback from people. A quote that supports this statement is "Automation suppliers increasingly are linking robotic workcells’ operational data via the cloud, as with FANUC’s Zero Downtime (ZDT) system that gives manufacturing managers key metrics from factory robots."

5. Based on the article the author feels that smart factories are good and should be used by shops this is shown by the quote " Smart Factory Starter Kit, which is aimed at starting shops on their smart factory journey at a cost-effective price."    

   

The Army’s Self-Driving Trucks Hit the Highway to Prepare for Battle

1. One idea from the article that supports the idea that autonomous vehicles can benefit the military is that they don't want soldiers in the vehicles. The reasoning for this is because if the soldiers are in the vehicles the chances of them being injured in an IED accident is more likely. The other idea is that the trucks could be used to transport supplies with out endangering human lives.
2. One quotation that supports the notion that more vehicles will become autonomous is "Despite ethical questions around robotic warfare, the military is pushing ahead on autonomous technology, with everything from self-flying helicopters to robo-snipers, not to mention Predator drones."
3. The author says that the military has a strong motivation to produce autonomous vehicles this is to keep soldiers safe. This is why these vehicles will be available in 10 to 15 years.
4. Some of the benefits for using autonomous vehicles for warfare is that they can keep soldiers safe. This is due to keeping soldiers in a safe house instead of sending them in a non-armored vehicle to die. This is said in the article when the author says “We do want to get soldiers out of the convoy vehicles, in case they could be on roads with IEDs,".
5. Based on the article the author feels that robots cannot aid in ethical warfare. The reasoning for this is because a robot would not be able to distinguish between whats right and whats wrong in every case. An example of this is in autonomous vehicles, if an autonomous vehicle is driving on a highway and a dog darts across the road what will the vehicle do. Swerve to the right of left and risk hitting other cars, brake hard and have the car in behind smash into it, or hit the dog? The truth is that robots might not know whats right in every situation.  

Christian Rosario-6

Christian Rosario P. 6

Here’s What It Feels Like to Spend a Year on ‘Mars’

1."It’s been a long year being constantly enclosed, and reentering the world means not only grappling with an onslaught of reporters, but also dealing with a slew of normally mundane sensations that are somehow much more meaningful." and "At least two crew members experienced deaths in their families while they were in the simulation. Others missed out on weddings and births. Holidays came and went, celebrated through text message, email, or recorded video messages." These are two phrases that support that living in a dome is very difficult.

2.“What we’ve found is that there’s no magic bullet to prevent conflict, it’s how you deal with it and how you respond to it. Not just as individuals, but as a group.” This is a quote that shows how hard it is living in a bubble.

3. "Though she’s just beginning to sift through the full year’s worth of data, reports from the first half of the simulation look promising." and "This crew, though, had the advantage of testing a new virtual reality component." These are two quotes that suggest that the research was worth it.

4. Participants feel that although the experiment was difficult it was worth doing the research. The authors quotes says this by quoting "We represent the people of Earth,” Gifford says. “You all couldn't come here, so we came for you."

5. I think that the author also agrees that life (even simulated life) on Mars is difficult. The author says lifes difficult in the aspects of physical and physcological. This is supported by the quote "There’s no question that the physical demands of spaceflight are immense. Living on Mars, with its unbreathable atmosphere, lack of liquid surface water, and toxic soil, will challenge the hardiest of astronauts. But the psychological demands of deep space travel are also immense. Days off are rare, and there’s the constant, undeniable pressure of being humanity’s ambassadors to the cosmos."