CHS: Lesson - Sensing

Sensing

One of the awesome advances in computer science is the ability to change an output in the digital or physical world as a response to an inputthat senses the physical world. Our modern world includes several situations in which computers are asked to interact directly with the physical world - it's so common now, that you may not even notice it in your daily life. Look at the image below: how many times have you interacted with a computer today in which it sensed your presence?

An image showing various ways that computers sense the physical world.

The Automatic Door

Let's think about a specific example: the automatic doors at the local grocery store. The door senses that there is a moving object coming towards it and responds by opening the door. When the object is no longer detected the door closes.

  • Input: physical object sensed within a certain area
  • Output: door opens
  • Input: physical object no longer sensed within the area
  • Output: door closes

To work properly, that door has to have a program to constantly monitor the physical world and provide a regular stream of inputs, which must then be processed (understood) by the opening and closing mechanism.

What is happening?

How does a computer process these inputs and outputs? It uses programs, which are coded to perform these actions. Remember the four basic actions a computer takes:

  • Input - gathering data from the physical world, in other words: sensing
  • Storage - the date from the physical world is sent to the computer's memory system
  • Processing - the computer uses a program to complete a process: What is this input? What do I do with it?
  • Output - the computer performs (or displays) the results of its processing as an action in the physical world

Think About It

What are other ways in which an action (input) determines a response/outcome (output)? Think about new innovative doorbells, smart thermostats, the braking system in smart cars, and face filters used on many social media sites. Being able to sense something and make a determination is a fundamental concept in many of our new innovative products and services and the foundation of machine learning in artificial intelligence.

Look at the image below: what is this image illustrating? What is happening with the cars that are highlighted in the image?

The image shows a road with several vehicles. Some of the vehicles have illustrations that show what they are sensing.

RESOURCES IN THIS MODULE ARE OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (OER) OR CREATED BY GAVS UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. SOME IMAGES USED UNDER SUBSCRIPTION.