technology – Page 4

Science Students Visit D-Wave — Guide Colin Enderud speaks to Silvia, Anjali and Manpreet about quantum superposition at D-Wave systems in Burnaby

On Tuesday, September 24, Mr. Riendl and YHS students Silvia, Manpreet, and Anjali, boarded the YHS van and drove over to D-Wave Systems headquarters in Burnaby.

D-Wave is a pioneer in quantum computing and research, with clients that range from Google to Nasa! D-Wave is also ranked 4th worldwide (behind IBM, Hewlett Packard, and Fujitsu) in terms of its computer patent potential. This is an incredible feat considering D-Wave is a small company based out of Burnaby, BC.

The company was having an open house of the facility. Along with the awesome mexican food we were served, we also were able to tour the facility and take a look at the quantum computers from our tour guide Colin!

We got to hear speeches from Geordie Rose, Founder of D-wave, and Vern Brownell, CEO (bios here). They told us all about the capabilities of quantum computers and quantum physics (they even discussed the possibility of a parallel universe…hmm) and how these technologies are far superior than technology that’s commonly used today. This is because quantum computers are able to process complex algorithms and problems in less steps than regular computers. Quantum computers can do this because a quantum computer has qubits instead of just bits, which are found in regular computers. Bits can only be ‘1’ or ‘0’ at any given time, but a quantum qubit can be ‘1’ and ‘0’ at the same time! This is what give quantum computers their special properties. That’s a super-duper simplified explanation of how it works, but that’s about the extent that people without a degree in physics understand this strange phenomenon. Even the famous scientist and Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman said “if you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don’t understand quantum mechanics”.

We had an amazing experience at D-Wave and we’d like to thank Colin for answering all our questions and giving us a tour. We’d also like to especially thank Mr. Riendl for making the entire experience possible! For a series of photos from our tour, check out this link.

From: Silvia, Manpreet, and Anjali

Testing out the new technology at the Haptics Symposium

On Wednesday March 7 the Programming class attended the Haptics Symposium at the Sheraton Hotel. This was a conference for computer programmers, engineers and designers, focusing on interactive touch technology and practical applications. There was an array of demonstrations and products. From a walking stick for the blind that detects heights, touch sensitive video games, robot “pets’ to quell anxiety and drill training for dentists.

Here’s come comments from the girls who attended:

I had a lot of fun attending the Haptics conference. I learned a lot of things that I didn’t know before, such as the fact that technology can be used in everyday life (e.g. the walking stick with the sensor). There were also a lot of cool things, such as the demo with vibrations from marbles in a cup. It was a really amazing experience, so thank you very much!
Nicole

I have to say it was the best field trip yet. Before this field trip, I didn’t even know what haptic was. The third invention I saw blew me away. It was an invention called the Haptic Tool Set (I think). It was about how people can transfer what they are feeling through sound waves. The basic idea was that when something moves, it makes a sound. When the inventor lowered the frequency of the sound waves this way, we can feel the vibration but not hear it. This is amazing because we can do so much with it in the future. In the future, people will never have to say “you know that feeling when…” because we can just send them what we are feeling. There were also inventions related to health. The one about practice for dental student was just the right thing. In the future, patients will never have to suffer unnecessary pain. So many cool inventions! I never knew that programming can do so awesome things.
Jessica

Overall, I really enjoyed the fieldtrip! Some of my favorite demonstrations were the fluffy animal that had the potential to calm people down, as well as the cup and dentistry demonstrations. I felt like it would have been interesting to learn if these products were ever going to come out on the market, and what other applications of them could be. It was a great experience, and I was amazed at the ingenuity of the inventors! Thanks!
Leila