Report and Abstract for Plan9 Operating System

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An operating system is a collection of programs and procedures that help the user to work with the computer efficiently. To enable an efficient and productive use with the system of any sort, the prorating system used must be so designed such that it gives all the necessary facilities to work for the users. Many operating systems have been designed over the years for different classes of users. But most of them were designed for single user workstations. By the mid 1980's, the trend in computing was away from large centralized time-shared computers towards networks of smaller, personal machines, typically UNIX `workstations’. People had grown weary of overloaded, bureaucratic timesharing machines and were eager to move to small, self-maintained systems, even if that meant a net loss in computing power. As microcomputers became faster, even that loss was recovered, and this style of computing remains popular today.

In the rush to personal workstations, though, some of their weaknesses were overlooked. First, the operating system they run, UNIX, is itself an old timesharing system and has had trouble adapting to ideas born after it. Graphics and networking were  added to UNIX well into its lifetime and remain poorly integrated and difficult to administer. Plan 9 began in the late 1980's as an attempt to have it both ways: to build a system that was centrally administered and cost-effective using cheap modern microcomputers as its computing elements. The idea was to build a time-sharing system out of workstations, but in a novel way. Different computers would handle different tasks: small, cheap machines in people’s offices would serve as terminals providing access to large, central, shared resources such as computing servers and file servers. For the central machines, the coming wave of shared-memory multiprocessors seemed obvious candidates.

The problems with UNIX were too deep to fix, but some of its ideas could be brought along. The best was its use of the file system to coordinate naming of and access to resources, even those, such as devices, not traditionally treated as files. Plan 9 is  designed around this basic principle that all resources appear as files in a hierarchial file system, which is unique to each process. As for the design of any operating system various things such as the design of the file and directory system implementation and the various interfaces are important. Plan 9 has all these well-designed features. All these help to provide a strong base for the operating system that could be well suited in a  distributed and networked environment.

The different features of Plan 9 operating system are:
?    The dump file system makes a daily snapshot of the file store available to the
users.
?    Unicode character set supported throughout the system.
?    Advanced kernel synchronization facilities for parallel processing.
?    Security- there is no super-user or root user and the passwords are never sent over
the network.

Hardware Requirements

A large Plan 9 installation has a number of computers networked together, each providing a particular class of service. Shared multiprocessor servers provide computing cycles; other large machines offer file storage. Lower bandwidth networks such as Ethernet or ISDN connect these servers to office and home resident workstations or PC’s, called terminals in Plan 9 terminology. Figure below shows the CPU servers and file servers share fast local area networks, while terminals use slower wider –area networks such as Ethernet, Data kit, or telephone lines to connect to them. Gateway machines, which are just CPU servers connected to multiple networks, allow machines on one network to see another. The modern style of computing offers a dedicated PC or workstation. It runs on multiple hardware platforms and is highly suited to building large distributed systems. A typical Plan9 installation would comprise a file server, some CPU servers and a large number of terminals. Plan9 is suitable for small
research groups to large organizations. The low system management overhead makes it particularly suitable for classroom teaching applications.

CPU servers and file servers share fast local area networks, while terminals use slower wider –area networks such as Ethernet, Data kit, or telephone lines to connect to them. Gateway machines, which are just CPU servers connected to multiple networks, allow machines on one network to see another. The modern style of computing offers a dedicated PC or workstation. It runs on multiple hardware platforms and is highly suited to building large distributed systems. A typical Plan9 installation would comprise a file server, some CPU servers and a large number of terminals. Plan9 is suitable for small research groups to large organizations. The low system management overhead makes it particularly suitable for classroom teaching applications.

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Report and Abstract for Braingate System

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The mind-to-movement system that allows a quadriplegic man to control a computer using only his thoughts is a scientific milestone. It was reached, in large part, through the brain gate system. This system has become a boon to the paralyzed. The Brain Gate System is based on Cyber kinetics platform technology to sense,transmit,analyze and apply the language of neurons. The principle of operation behind the Brain Gate System is that with intact brain function, brain signals are generated even though they are not sent to the arms, hands and legs.The signals are interpreted and translated into cursor movements, offering the user an alternate Brain Gate pathway to control a computer with thought,just as individuals who have the ability to move their hands use a mouse.

The ‘Brain Gate’ contains tiny spikes that will extend down about one millimetre into the brain after being implanted beneath the skull,monitoring the activity from a small group of neurons.It will now be possible for a patient with spinal cord injury to produce brain signals that relay the intention of moving the paralyzed limbs,as signals to an implanted sensor,which is then output as electronic impulses. These impulses enable the user to operate mechanical devices with the help of a computer cursor. Matthew Nagle,a 25-year-old Massachusetts man with a severe spinal cord injury,has been paralyzed from the neck down since 2001.After taking part in a clinical trial of this system,he has opened e-mail,switched TV channels,turned on lights.He even moved a robotic hand from his wheelchair. This marks the first time that neural movement signals have been recorded and decoded in a human with spinal cord injury.The system is also the first to allow a human to control his surrounding environment using his mind.

How does the brain control motor function?

The brain is “hardwired” with connections, which are made by billions of neurons that make electricity whenever they are stimulated. The electrical patterns are called brain waves. Neurons act like the wires and gates in a computer, gathering and transmitting electrochemical signals over distances as far as several feet. The brain encodes information not by relying on single neurons, but by spreading it across large populations of neurons, and by rapidly adapting to new circumstances.

Motor neurons carry signals from the central nervous system to the muscles, skin and glands of the body, while sensory neurons carry signals from those outer parts of the body to the central nervous system. Receptors sense things like chemicals, light, and sound and encode this information into electrochemical signals transmitted by the sensory neurons. And interneurons tie everything together by connecting the various neurons within the brain and spinal cord. The part of the brain that controls motor skills is located at the ear of the frontal lobe.

How does this communication happen? Muscles in the body’s limbs contain embedded sensors called muscle spindles that measure the length and speed of the muscles as they stretch and contract as you move. Other sensors in the skin respond to stretching and pressure. Even if paralysis or disease damages the part of the brain that processes movement, the brain still makes neural signals. They’re just not being sent to the arms, hands and legs.

à A technique called neurofeedback uses connecting sensors on the scalp to translate brain waves into information a person can learn from. The sensors register different frequencies of the signals produced in the brain. These changes in brain wave patterns indicate whether someone is concentrating or suppressing his impulses, or whether he is relaxed or tense.

NEUROPROSTHETIC DEVICE:

             A neuroprosthetic device known as Braingate converts brain activity into computer  commands. A sensor is implanted on the brain, and electrodes are hooked up to wires that travel to a pedestal on the scalp. From there, a fiber optic cable carries the brain activity data to a nearby computer.

PRINCIPLE:

“The principle of operation of the BrainGate Neural Interface System is that with intact brain function, neural signals are generated even though they are not sent to the arms, hands and legs. These signals are interpreted by the System and a cursor is shown to the user on a computer screen that provides an alternate “BrainGate pathway”. The user can use that cursor to control the computer, just as a mouse is used.”

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