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\chapter{14}{Research Applied to National Needs}
The National Science Foundation has established a program
called RANN (Research Applied to National Needs) the idea of which is
to orient science to getting results that meet national needs. In
the current climate of opinion, these needs are regarded as
eliminating pollution, eliminating poverty, improving education, etc.
A recent article in {\it Science} spells this out a bit and gives the
current political situation.
Ever since the AI Project made its statement in May 1970, I
have been thinking about how we might do some applied work with
civilian goals. This has been difficult for two reasons: first, our
work is, in the main, not ready to be applied, and secondly, it seemed
difficult to get financial support.
I have finally reached the conclusion that if we are to do
civilian applied work, we must be prepared to venture far from our
habitual activities and work with people with whom we are not yet
acquainted. I would like to start a discussion in the project aimed
at getting ideas about what we might undertake and to start it off, I
shall mention some possible projects:
\item{1.}Computer controlled or more generally remote controlled
tunneling.
\noindent The proposal is to control tunneling machinery from the
surface using television and other sensors underground. The object is
that there should be no people in the tunnel during normal
operations. While the main work of tunneling is done by machines
now, probably there are auxiliary activities now done manually, so
some new machines and ways of using them would have to be developed.
Tunneling is dangerous (17 people were just killed in
Southern California), a large part of the expense goes into keeping
the environment habitable by unprotected humans with minimal success,
tunneling is often done under pressure in which case much time is
lost coming in and out of pressure, tunnels are big enough jobs so
that some ponderousness in set up is tolerable, and money might be
saved and tunnels might be completed faster.
If we undertook this, we would have to work with construction
machinery makers the mechanical and civil engineers at Stanford, and
a construction firm. The idea would be to make experimental tunnels
at first rather than to introduce new methods into an existing job.
(An experimental tunnel would be unprecedented for the construction
industry which only does research in connection with paying projects.
Our contribution would be in the areas of programming,
interfacing, human engineering, making the machinery controllable,
and getting away from habits of the construction industry.
\section{14.1}{The system envisaged would include the following:}
\item{1.} A control room full of displays including direct TV and
also computer output. The computer might be remote. In the
experimental set up, it could be our PDP-10.
\item{2.}People would go into the tunnel rarely and perhaps only in
protective suits with breathing apparatus.
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