Well, I'm having a hard time thinking of something to rant about. Could be writer's block, or perhaps something more sinister. I guess it's true that not every day includes a noteworthy event, not even for an über exciting guy like myself.
One thing I'm working on after work is a control system for motorized vehicles. Think of it as a practical application of math and physics. For example, suppose you have a boat with a heading of 30° at a constant velocity of 25 km/hour. If you want to change the heading, to, say, 120°, you've got to take into account the following:
- The maximum thrust (acceleration) of the engine
- The range of directions in which that force can be applied
- The inertia of the boat in its current course
- The water resistance and direction of flow
Just something I'm working on to pass the evenings. Do any of you have past experience in this type of control system?
Sounds interesting. My job is dealing with controls systems, though usually things aren't as fluid (pardon the pun) as this particular problem is.
ReplyDeleteAnother way to look at it is; and probably more real life, rather than predict what the heading would be as you are changing course, you would have some sort of electronic compass that tells you your current heading, and you would use some sort of PID loop to take you from the current heading to the desired heading.
That's a great idea. I'm actually planning to write a version for the iPhone, which comes equipped with a digital compass, accelerometer, GPS, and all sorts of goodies that would make your idea feasible. Thanks!
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