Computers rule the world. Data floods from everything we do. Robots are building our products in factories. Our homes are computerised and we can talk to these digital home assistants, receiving detailed and coherent replies. Behind the scenes, artificial intelligence is making everything work and you cannot live in the modern world without it or being impacted by AI and robots. Every time you make a purchase, AIs are handling your money, checking for fraud, using your data to understand you better, recommending new products. Inside our homes we have smart TVs, computerised fridges, washing machines, central heating, air conditioning systems all AI robotic devices. Decisions about whether we should or should not be accepted for financial products are made by AIs. Our future anti-viral and antibacterial drugs are being designed by AI. Internet connections, utilities and mobile phones are all adjusted by smart AI algorithms that try to optimise supply while minimising waste. The book takes us on a short journey through the strange world of computers, robots and building brains and the surprisingly long life and ups and downs AI has already had. Leading expert Professor J. Bentley breaks down the fast-moving world of computers in the time of automata into 10 pivotal lessons, presenting the reader with the essential information, the origins and motivation behind AI and robotics, the smart algorithms that allow us to build good computers, how computers interpret sensory information and the challenges of emotional intelligence, unpredictable environments and imagination. 192pp, line art and short biographies of important figures such as Michael Maudlin or 'Fuzzy' and his creation, the Lycos web search engine and portal, launched in 1994.

A companion to code 94840 10 Short Lessons in Artificial Intelligence & Robotics, here a research scientist in mathematics and astrophysics provides a timely look at the essential lessons learned from our voyages into outer space. In an era of rapidly developing technology and renewed ambition, the 21st century has ushered in an exciting new age of space flight, but what has brought us to this point in our exploration of the universe? Soon space travel will open itself up to paying members of the public and this short and essential guide describes how we will leave the planet, stay alive in space, when to let machines take over, space is big business, the next giant leap which has already begun, the small solar system and coverage of unmanned satellites and the chances of reaching the stars. Glossary, 184pp, line art and other illus.

With a passion for engineering history, John Hannavy has written extensively on railways, steam-powered machines, the history of photography and the Industrial Revolution of Victorian and Edwardian Britain. Power without control is unusable power, and long after the invention of the steam engine, finding ways of applying that power to tasks where consistency was of paramount importance was the Holy Grail which many steam engineers sought to find. It was the centrifugal governor which brought precision to the application of steam power, and its story can be traced back to 17th century Holland and Christiaan Huygens' development of both the pendulum clock and system controls for windmills. Governors are still at the heart of sophisticated machinery today, albeit electronic rather than mechanical. As machine speed increased, the governor had to evolve to keep pace with the demands for greater precision. Over 100 British patents were applied for in the 19th century alone for 'improvements' in governor design, many of which could be fitted or retro-fitted to engines from every large manufacturer. This is the first book to deal with the subject, telling the story of the evolution of the original 'spinning-ball' governor from its first appearance to the point where it became a small device entirely enclosed in a housing to keep it clean, and thus hidden from view. Over 200 photographs, engravings, plans and diagrams, one of which is a series of colour photographs of one of the few large mill engines to survive, Wigan's 2500hp Trencher Field Mill Engine and some of the more than 60,000 spindles in operation, all belt-driven from the massive steam engine. Chapters include James Watt Harnessing Steam, Selected Patents 1698-1913, British Governor Makers and Suppliers and Places to See Governors at Work including Showman's Road Locomotive No.3555 the Busy Bee, pumping stations, Twyford Waterworks, the Robey Trust's New Perseverance Ironworks in Tavistock or the shiny red balls of the Armstrong Engines which provided hydraulic power at Ellesmere Port, now the National Waterways Museum. Packed with colour, 160 large pages, 21.6 x 28cm.
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"...a monumental survey... The Computer is a richly illustrated history of society's ever-evolving relationship with the silicon chip."-- "Wallpaper". "Almost pop art history of the technology". The story of the evolution of machines in computer history is full of the disruptive innovations that have led to today's world. From the early beginnings of computing to the bulky mainframe to the personal computer era, we now live in an almost entirely digital age. This visual tome explores steps from the first ideas of a calculating machine in the 19th century and early experiments with autonomous driving in the 1920s to oversized office computers in the 1950s to laptops and wearables of today. Tracing the stories of tech visionaries, pioneers, and entrepreneurs, the book combines compelling visuals, historical documents, and in-depth explanations to reveal significant events in computer history. Encompassing the invention of machines, coding, and software development, as well as technology's influence on today's political landscape, this incredible survey presents creations from Ada Lovelace, Charles Babbage, Alan Turing, Grace Hopper, Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs. Showcasing forgotten gadgets and prototypes connecting iconic products such as the Apple Macintosh and the Sony Play Station as well as remembering milestones in software development, videogaming, and the web. Infographics explain wireless communication and other fundamental technical concepts, while the history of corporations such as IBM, Apple, Microsoft, Atari, Amazon, and Google is retraced through rare photographs and advertising campaigns. A fascinating read, this book acknowledges the computer's stupendous power and social impact. For techies and everyone interested in culture, economics, politics, and science. 24.6 x 37.2 cm, a weighty 3.89 kg, 472 pages. Text in English, Italian and Spanish.

What is the secret that links the Great Pyramid of Giza to Chartres cathedral? How was ancient man, with use of sound, able to lift huge slabs of granite over 85 tonnes in weight? How and where is the body of Jesus to be seen in Egypt? Did you know that the term Nazarene relates to a mystical Order rather than the place Nazareth, and that long before Jesus, Pythagoras and Buddha were members of this Order? Why does it all lead back to the great pyramid at Giza and to strange patterns within the sand that respond to certain types of sound? The book reveals one of the greatest secrets to be told. It is the key to some of the most puzzling enigmas of world history, religion and mythology. Everything that exists does so because of vibration. But understand the science of vibration, learn how to use it and you will have the key to, well, everything. Knowledge like that would be worth a lot of money. The Templars became immensely wealthy after their search for knowledge in the Middle East. If we wish to know what knowledge they found, we only have to look at what happened next - cathedrals, scores of them, erected across Europe. The Ancients knew the science of vibration and also the power of names, holy names such as Jesus, Mary, Anna. Versions of these three names can be found world-wide, predating Christianity by several thousand years. Elkington's astonishing book will change the way we regard the world, its history - and its future. Rich with colour plates including the Eagle Nebula and other illus, 525 pages.

In their gloriously visual style of design, the publishers DK provide the simplest most visual guide to technology ever. Have you ever wondered how a smartphone knows which way is up or how a driverless car avoids crashes, or how virtual reality works? We live in an age of amazing discoveries and inventions that are transforming our lives, but we have also come to depend on technologies that many of us don't understand. Categorised under Power Technology, Transport, Materials and Construction, Technology in the Home, Sound and Vision, Computer Technology, Communications, Farming and Food and Medical, at a glance you are astonished by how much has changed in the past few decades. Power stations, electricity supply, nuclear and wind power, batteries and solar energy and bioenergy, speed cameras and radar, jet engines and rockets, space probes and drones; concrete, plastic, composites, nanotechnology, 3D printing, skyscrapers and cranes; microwave ovens, toilets and washing machines; digital sound, electric lighting, lasers and holograms; computers and how they work, artificial intelligence, how robots work and what they can do and virtual reality; satellite navigation, the Internet and World Wide Web, smartphones, electronic paper and email and Wi-Fi, all brilliantly explained. Plus precision agriculture, sorting and packing, food preservation and genetic modification and in medicine pacemakers, MRI scanning, keyhole surgery, brain implants and assisted fertility among the many topics. For each there are colourful fact boxes, superb diagrams, and sometimes you have to turn the book around to see the full page, brilliant cutaways. Photos, diagrams in colour, all specially commissioned for this book of knowledge. 256 large pages, colour graphics.
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