From ACM TechNews:
Java Inventor James Gosling Building Smart Marine Robots
Network World
(11/27/12) Ellen Messmer
Java inventor James Gosling is using Java's security framework to design marine robots that can be sent across the ocean to gather weather data or carry out research projects. "I'm using all the crypto [application programming interfaces (APIs)] and the sandbox APIs and the Java DE [development environment] and NetBeans," Gosling says. He is helping design underwater robots that use satellite-based remote controls, as well as cellular signals when close to shore to cross the seas, sometimes for months at a time, to perform tasks such as the collection of weather data or the monitoring of pollution levels. One of the robots is being designed to be more aware about its environment so it can navigate more on its own without remote control or preprogramming. Gosling also notes that work is underway to optimize communications since satellite use can be costly and bandwidth-intensive. "It's all Java code, a new generation of robots that's all Java on the inside," he says. Although the original Java programming language has expanded its security structure over the years, it adheres to its basic principle of the security sandbox set of rules to battle hostile code and offer solutions to implement public-key infrastructure, authentication, and access control mechanisms.
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