http://www.informationweek.comInformationWeeken-usCopyright 2012, UBM LLC.2012-11-28T10:51:00ZPolicy sets minimum standards to deter, detect and respond to insider threats in federal government.http://www.informationweek.com/government/security/white-house-issues-insider-threat-policy/240142698?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_Authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/government/security/spy-tech-10-cia-backed-investments/240142519"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/912/01_extra_tn.jpg" alt="Spy Tech: 10 CIA-Backed Investments" title="Spy Tech: 10 CIA-Backed Investments" class="img175" /></a><br /><div class="storyImageTitle">Spy Tech: 10 CIA-Backed Investments</div><span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> The White House has issued a national insider threat policy and standards to guide federal agencies in the prevention of unauthorized information disclosure. The policy itself, however, hasn't been publicly released. <P> President Barack Obama notified the heads of federal agencies and departments of the <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/11/21/presidential-memorandum-national-insider-threat-policy-and-minimum-stand ">new guidelines in a Nov. 21 memo</a>. The policy and related "minimum standards" provide direction to federal programs aimed at deterring, detecting and responding to actions by employees who may pose a threat to national security, according to the memo. In addition to stifling information leaks, the policy seeks to prevent espionage and violent acts against the federal government. <P> The standards set baseline requirements for insider threat programs, such as an ability to analyze and respond to threat-related information and monitor employee use of classified networks. As they clamp down, agencies are directed to provide awareness training and protect the civil liberties and privacy of government personnel. <P> The national policy comes several years Bradley Manning, a soldier in the U.S. Army, was accused of leaking hundreds of thousands of classified government documents to the WikiLeaks website. Manning was arrested two years ago and awaits trial. <P> <strong>[ Learn <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/attacks/how-south-carolina-failed-to-spot-hack-a/240142543?itc=edit_in_body_cross">How South Carolina Failed To Spot Hack Attack</a>. Hint: Lack of breach detection services was a big part of the problem. ]</strong> <P> In October 2011, President Obama signed an <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/10/07/executive-order-structural-reforms-improve-security-classified-networks-">executive order</a> outlining "structural reforms" to promote the security of classified networks and protect classified information. The order led to the formation of an insider threat task force charged with drafting a national policy. Agencies were also directed to implement insider threat detection programs and monitor their progress in meeting policy objectives. <P> Government agencies have taken a variety of steps to protect themselves. The <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/government/security/state-department-cio-whats-changed-since/232800365">State Department has deployed</a> new auditing and monitoring tools on its classified networks. And the Department of Defense awarded Xerox's PARC a $3.5 contract to <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/government/security/dod-taps-parc-to-help-detect-insider-thr/232600923">develop technology</a> that can automatically identify insider threats. <P> The Secret Service, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the FBI have all offered insider threat guidance to businesses and government agencies. Among the tips for prevention presented earlier this year by Carnegie Mellon University's CERT Insider Threat Center, based on its <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/attacks/10-best-ways-to-stop-insider-attacks/232602440">work with the Secret Service</a>, are to watch for human-behavior warning signs, be alert when employees resign or are terminated and make use of technologies such as centralized logging tools.2012-11-05T14:08:00ZCuriosity's rover can cover a larger area over a longer period of time than previous Mars rovers.http://www.informationweek.com/news/240044427?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_Authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/government/mobile/11-cool-tools-nasa-curiosity-brought-to/240008978"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/883/01_APXS2_tn.jpg" alt="11 Cool Tools NASA Curiosity Brought To Mars" title="11 Cool Tools NASA Curiosity Brought To Mars" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">11 Cool Tools NASA Curiosity Brought To Mars</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> NASA's Curiosity rover has "sniffed" the atmosphere on its journey across Mars' Gale Crater, an important step in getting a better understanding of the Martian atmosphere. <P> The rover's Sample Analysis at Mars instruments analyzed atmospheric samples taken at a site dubbed Rocknest, where the rover stopped briefly for research, according to NASA. In its initial tests, the rover didn't detect measurable methane gas, a precursor to life. The instruments will analyze soil and rock samples for organic compounds in the weeks ahead. <P> As it goes about its scientific mission, Curiosity is able to cover a larger area over a longer period of time than previous Mars rovers. Edward Tunstel, a senior roboticist at Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory who contributed to Curiosity's development, said improved technology makes it possible to navigate within fields 25 times larger than the Mars Exploration rovers, which landed on Mars in 2004 and are still at work. <P> "The main difference is the Mars Exploration rovers were nominally able to do what we might call local navigation -- be able to navigate or plan paths through a natural environment one or two steps ahead," said Tunstel, who did robotics work with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for 18 years. <P> <strong>[ Go inside military research labs for a look at some of the coolest military technologies in development. See <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/government/security/14-amazing-darpa-technologies-on-tap/240008013?itc=edit_in_body_cross">14 Amazing DARPA Technologies On Tap</a>. ]</strong> <P> Using data they collect, the Exploration rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, can create three-dimensional maps of an area 10 meters by 10 meters, allowing them to plan a path around obstacles and keep track of their positions. By comparison, Curiosity can map an area that's 50 meters by 50 meters, enabling it to plan longer paths and travel greater distances autonomously, Tunstel said. <P> Curiosity employs visual target tracking to lock onto an object and navigate to it automatically. With Spirit and Opportunity, that's been a three-step process: get the rover in close proximity, take an image, then send the images to Earth to allow engineers to analyze them and send commands to use the robotic arm. "Curiosity can do all that in one fell swoop," Tunstel said. <P> Curiosity's navigational capabilities are based largely on those of the Exploration rovers, which means the technology being used on Curiosity is close to a decade old. "The technology is really well-tested, and we have very high confidence in it," Tunstel said. "It's less risky." <P> If NASA's Mars Science Laboratory team is able to complete its research in less than two years -- the official duration of the mission -- the Curiosity team may test additional navigation and autonomy advancements for future missions. <P> "Some of it is more of the same, but improvements to what we currently do," Tunstel said. "For example, there's always the push to have not only faster computers, but also more efficient algorithms to process camera data and other data to allow us to make decisions onboard the vehicle. What it allows us to do is navigate safely in a rough terrain environment but at a high speed." <P> Following Curiosity's Aug. 5 (Pacific time) landing on Mars, NASA engineers upgraded the rover's <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/government/mobile/curiosity-rolls-ahead-on-mars-following/240006596">onboard flight software</a> with a new version, release 10, that's optimized for traveling long distances and making use of Curiosity's robotic arm.2012-09-21T12:40:00ZSoftware's see-and-react code, which lets rover snap pictures of rocks without stopping, could be adapted for other uses, such as "calling home" when the rover sees something unusual.http://www.informationweek.com/news/240007783?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_Authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --><div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/government/mobile/mars-revealed-through-curiositys-cameras/240005315"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/849/14_hires-panorama_tn.jpg" alt="NASA Curiosity Visual Tour: Mars, Revealed" title="NASA Curiosity Visual Tour: Mars, Revealed" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">NASA Curiosity Visual Tour: Mars, Revealed</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div><!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE -->As NASA's Curiosity rover crawls along the surface of Mars, at distances of up to 40 yards per day, its mast-mounted camera scans the surface for rocks of interest. As a next step, the space agency plans to deploy software that makes it easier to target and capture images without stopping along the way. <P> The software, called Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Increased Science (AEGIS), will let the rover look for rocks of a certain size, shape, or brightness. "The idea is, when it's doing a long drive, a scientist can say, 'Oh, if you see this type of rock in the middle of this drive or at the end of the drive, go ahead and take some high-quality, high-resolution images of it before the rover moves past," said Tara Estlin, a senior member of NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Artificial Intelligence Group and AEGIS project leader. Earlier this week, Curiosity parked in front of a football-size rock, which <a href=" http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/multimedia/pia16155.html">it photographed.</a> NASA scientists plan to use the rover's spectrometer to determine the rock's composition. <P> AEGIS, which has been used on the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity since 2009, will be installed on Curiosity in the next nine to 12 months, Estlin said in an interview with InformationWeek. The AEGIS software, developed by JPL, was named NASA's "software of the year" in 2011. <P> <strong>[ Related: <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/government/information-management/nasa-makes-most-of-curiosity-rover-data/240007311?itc=edit_in_body_cross">NASA Makes Most Of Curiosity Rover Data</a>. ]</strong> <P> AEGIS will let the rover automatically key in on geological features of interest to the Curiosity project team as the rover moves along on its <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/slideshows/government/information-management/240004711/curiositys-mars-mission-view-the-amazing-technology">research mission</a>. An automated image-capture process is important because "we can't stop at every point and wait a day or two for ground to be in the loop," Estlin said. <P> JPL developed AEGIS on Linux-based systems, then tested the software on research rovers. Opportunity uses the software to take a wide-angle image with a low-resolution camera, then picks out rocks in the image to see if there's something of interest. If so, it takes a high-resolution image using an on-board science camera that's capable of zooming in on the subject. The software has potential beyond picture taking. Its see-and-react code could be adapted to other instruments. "We have versions of the software that could stop the rover and call home if it sees something really interesting," Estlin said. "You could [then] drive closer to the object of interest." <P> In fact, the software could be used in future space missions, including fly-bys of asteroids or visits to other planets."There are all sorts of surface missions that often don't have a lot of time to determine a response," Estlin said. The AEGIS capability was developed as part of a framework called the Onboard Autonomous Science Investigation System (OASIS), which was designed to let a rover to identify and react to "serendipitous science opportunities," according to NASA.2012-09-19T12:55:00ZNational Robotics Initiative strives to develop machines that can work alongside humans in Mars exploration and other areas.http://www.informationweek.com/news/240007615?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_Authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/galleries/government/security/232900886"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/785/01_charli2_tn.jpg" alt="Defense Robots: Fast, Flexible, And Tough" title="Defense Robots: Fast, Flexible, And Tough" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">Defense Robots: Fast, Flexible, And Tough</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE -->NASA is investing $2.7 million to kick off eight advanced robotics projects aimed at improving robot technology as part of its long-term goal of putting a human on Mars. <P> The projects, part of the White House's National Robotics Initiative, are tied to NASA's plans for an asteroid mission in 2025 and human exploration of Mars around 2035. The National Science Foundation managed the solicitation for the project proposals, each of which will receive between $150,000 and $1 million in funding. <P> NASA selected eight proposals from U.S. universities. The proposals include development of human avatar robots capable of exploring hazardous environments; active skins for tactile feedback; "tele-manipulation" of humanoid robots on rough terrain; and long, thin continuum robots. <P> <strong>[ NASA has a new system to process raw data generated by the Mars Rover. Read about it at <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/government/information-management/nasa-makes-most-of-curiosity-rover-data/240007311?itc=edit_in_body_cross">NASA Makes Most Of Curiosity Rover Data</a>. ]</strong> <P> The research will tackle challenges in "co-robotics," where robots assist and perform functions alongside humans. "Where robots were once kept in cages and separated from people, we are now seeing robots built to co-exist with humans, helping people at work and throughout society," NASA said on its National Robotics Initiative (NRI) website. "The NRI is targeting these new machines that will work with humans as co-workers, co-explorers, co-inhabitants, co-drivers, creating and capturing the new discipline of co-robotics." <P> NASA has placed a robot, Robonaut 2, on the International Space Station, with a goal of performing tasks that are mundane or too dangerous for astronauts. Its first job was to monitor air velocity. The agency points to Robonaut as an example of the practical ways robots can assist its missions. <P> The purpose of NASA's latest robotics initiative is to encourage research that combines computer and systems science with mechanical, electrical, and materials engineering and social, behavioral, and economic sciences, NASA said in a statement on the project awards. In addition to helping with space exploration, the robotics advances may have applications in manufacturing and business. <P> <i>InformationWeek Government's <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/government/govcloud2012/home">GovCloud 2012</a> is a day-long event where IT professionals in federal, state, and local government will develop a deeper understanding of the options available today. IT leaders in government and other experts will share best practices and their advice on how to make the right choices. Join us for this insightful gathering of government IT executives to hear firsthand about the challenges and opportunities of cloud computing. It happens in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 17.</i>2012-09-13T14:15:00ZNew Mission Data Processing and Control System (MPCS) uses techniques including graphical views to make raw data from Mars rover useful to more team members inside NASA.http://www.informationweek.com/news/240007311?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_Authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/government/mobile/mars-revealed-through-curiositys-cameras/240005315"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/849/14_hires-panorama_tn.jpg" alt="NASA Curiosity Visual Tour: Mars, Revealed" title="NASA Curiosity Visual Tour: Mars, Revealed" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">NASA Curiosity Visual Tour: Mars, Revealed</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE -->NASA has begun using a new system to process the raw data generated by its Curiosity rover on Mars. The Mission Data Processing and Control System (MPCS) presents data visually so that it's useful to a wider range of project team members, including mission managers, software developers, and scientists. <P> For the past week, Curiosity has been parked in the same spot on Mars as NASA tests the rover's robotic arm in preparation for using its instruments to "touch" rocks for the first time. The space agency plans to resume driving the rover within the next few days, generating new kinds of data, such as the composition of rocks, to be transmitted back to mission headquarters at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. <P> MPCS interfaces with NASA's deep-space network, which uses the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter as a network node for relaying data to and from Curiosity. Developed in the Java programming language, MPCS puts data into "terms" that other computer systems used on the project can adapt and apply, according to Navid Dehghani, ground systems manager at Jet Propulsion Lab. <P> <strong>[ For more on the Curiosity mission, see <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/government/mobile/curiosity-rolls-ahead-on-mars-following/240006596?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Curiosity Rolls Ahead On Mars Following Software Upgrade</a>. ]</strong> <P> The system also produces tailored, graphical views of data for use by Curiosity's various flight operations teams. For example, data relating to the rover's mobility can be presented in a format that is geared to engineers. <P> "The flight software has parameters that are generated by the rover that tells the team on the ground what is the state of the rover," said Dehghani. "This system provides the capability to view those in graphical terms that are understandable and actionable." <P> MPCS takes the data received through antennas from the deep-space network and processes the raw data in real time by putting it into a type of "round-robin" buffer. "It receives multiple types of data from the spacecraft. This could be health and engineering data from the rover; it could be voltage or power or thermal numbers," Dehghani said. "They are analyzed, then sent to monitoring stations that are set up to be able to display the data in a meaningful way to the end user." <P> First used for Curiosity, MPCS will likely have a role in future missions. "We're trying to adapt it to an earth-orbiting mission," Dehghani said, adding that NASA partner Lockheed Martin is also evaluating MPCS for potential use space missions it's supporting. <P> <i>InformationWeek Government's <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/government/govcloud2012/home">GovCloud 2012</a> is a day-long event where IT professionals in federal, state, and local government will develop a deeper understanding of the options available today. IT leaders in government and other experts will share best practices and their advice on how to make the right choices. Join us for this insightful gathering of government IT executives to hear firsthand about the challenges and opportunities of cloud computing. It happens in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 17.</i>2012-09-01T08:36:00ZNASA engineers upgrade software on Curiosity to let six-wheeled vehicle cruise longer distances on surface of Mars and make use of robotic arm.http://www.informationweek.com/news/240006596?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_Authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/government/mobile/mars-revealed-through-curiositys-cameras/240005315"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/849/14_hires-panorama_tn.jpg" alt="NASA Curiosity Visual Tour: Mars, Revealed" title="NASA Curiosity Visual Tour: Mars, Revealed" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">NASA Curiosity Visual Tour: Mars, Revealed</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> NASA's Curiosity rover made its fourth trek on Aug. 30, a short 70-foot drive on its way to a destination on Mars where it will conduct science experiments using its drill and other instruments. <P> Curiosity landed on Mars on Aug. 5 (Pacific time), and the six-wheeled vehicle was made ready to roll after NASA engineers upgraded its on-board flight software with a new version, release 10, that's optimized for traveling long distances and making use of <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/government/information-management/curiositys-robotic-arm-strong-but-not-se/240006344">Curiosity's robotic arm</a>. Curiosity's R9 software, the ninth full upgrade since the program's inception, was oriented to flight and landing control. <P> "While on cruise to Mars, we updated the software in June, and we updated the surface software right when it landed," said Benjamin Cichy, chief software engineer for the Curiosity rover at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. <P> Written on Linux-based workstations, Curiosity' software runs on Wind River's VxWorks real-time operating system. The primary development environment is the Wind River Workbench. Software upgrades are beamed up to the rover through a series of signals sent from giant antennas in California, Spain, and Australia to orbiters circling Mars and then to the vehicle itself. <P> <strong>[ Learn more about the mission. Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/government/mobile/curiosity-lands-on-mars-10-amazing-facts/240005059?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Curiosity Lands On Mars: 10 Amazing Facts</a>. ]</strong> <P> R9 optimized the vehicle for landing, including the so-called "seven minutes of terror" when it plummeted through Mars' atmosphere. During that phase, the software executed some 300 autonomous actions, including firing 76 pyrotechnic devices that caused the vehicle to transition through 6 different configurations (cruise, entry, parachute, powered descent, sky crane, and rover). In addition to the pyrotechnic devices, the software managed eight descent thrusters and eight landing engines. <P> Curiosity's software allows NASA engineers to adapt the vehicle to the situation at hand, a requirement when exploring Mars' unknown terrain. "We're constantly looking at how the rover is performing," Cichy said. "When we landed on Mars, we didn't know what the surface was going to be like." <P> The R10 software "really unlocks the remaining potential" of the vehicle, Cichy said. The upgrade's capabilities help control the Rover's robotic arm, drill, and the rest of the system the enables the rover to collect and analyze rock samples in its on-board laboratories. While R9 included the basic capability to move the rover, R10 allows it to drive long distances. <P> The MSL team is working on R11, which should be complete in the next three months. That version will bring improvements to how the rover maneuvers and uses its tools. "With R11, it will really be able to upgrade to some advanced driving," Cichy said. <P> Navid Dehghani, ground systems manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said data management is an ongoing challenge. The MSL team has been transmitting a lot of data via a message bus (similar to the message bus in an enterprise IT environment) and "we have to really worry about how much data we were sending through the bus and tailor our messages so we don't overwhelm the whole system," he said. <P> The project utilizes a new MySQL-based system to process the large amount of raw and complex data that comes in from Curiosity. Called the Mission Data Processing and Control System (MPCS), it interfaces to NASA's Deep Space Network and processes data from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and other in-orbit systems. MPCS produces a tailored view of the data that is used by other flight operations teams, such as information on the power system. <P> The mission is slated to last one Mars year, the equivalent to two Earth years. "We're always going to keep learning," Cichy said. "It's an amazing piece of software."2012-08-28T11:16:00ZNASA's Curiosity rover is using its seven-foot robotic arm and tools to gather more information about Mars. Next step: Make the arm 'feel' what it's doing.http://www.informationweek.com/news/240006344?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_Authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/government/mobile/mars-revealed-through-curiositys-cameras/240005315"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/849/14_hires-panorama_tn.jpg" alt="NASA Curiosity Visual Tour: Mars, Revealed" title="NASA Curiosity Visual Tour: Mars, Revealed" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">NASA Curiosity Visual Tour: Mars, Revealed</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE -->NASA's Curiosity rover has begun demonstrating a wider range of capabilities on Mars, with the playback of a recorded voice message transmitted to the vehicle from Earth and new telephoto views taken by its mast camera. <P> Curiosity's powerful robotic arm is being put to use, too. The seven-foot robotic arm is larger and more sophisticated than those used in earlier Mars missions. In 2003, NASA sent two Exploration rovers to Mars, but they were considerably smaller than Curiosity. At more than 150 pounds, Curiosity's robot arm is about half the weight of an Exploration rover and strong enough to pick one up. <P> Curiosity extended its robotic arm for the first time on Aug. 20, two weeks after the rover landed on Mars. The arm carries a number of tools, including a robotic hand, drill, scoop, brush, and a Swiss Army knife-like implement. It will be used to move rock samples into the rover's on-board lab instruments and dig, dust, and otherwise probe the planet's surface. <P> <strong>[ For more on the Curiosity rover mission, see <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/government/mobile/curiosity-lands-on-mars-10-amazing-facts/240005059?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Curiosity Lands On Mars: 10 Amazing Facts</a>. ]</strong> <P> Curiosity's robotic arm was designed to be tough enough to protect its electronic toolset, said Brett Kennedy, the cognizant engineer for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), in an interview with <i>InformationWeek</i>. <P> NASA engineers are already working on future advances for robotic arms, including an ability to "feel" the surrounding area. "We've already learned so much. We're incorporating it into the next rover," said Kennedy, who is also group supervisor for robotic vehicles and manipulators at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. Although the purpose of the next mission, scheduled for 2016, is primarily to drop off equipment on Mars, there will be another rover mission after that. By then, Kennedy hopes the rover will have an arm that can feel the surrounding environment, allowing it to avoid situations that could cause damage to the rover or throw it off course. <P> With Curiosity's arm, Kennedy explained, "If you push hard on something, if it came up to a rock that was really weak, it will fracture, but the arm will continue pushing." <P> NASA is testing a sensor on Curiosity that could evolve into the arm's having greater sensitivity. "The next time we fly an MSL-like rover, using [the sensor] as part of the control system will be accepted technique," Kennedy said. The end result, he said, will be arms that "can actually feel what they're doing" and react automatically to the harsh environment. <P> The technology shows promise, but still has a ways to go. "The sensor will notice something weird has happened," Kennedy said. At that point, it will probably stop and ask for help. "But at least we've gotten that far." <P> <i>InformationWeek and InformationWeek Government are conducting a survey on cloud computing trends within federal government agencies. Take our <a href="http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/997665/2013govcloudcomputing">InformationWeek 2013 Federal Government Cloud Computing Survey</a> now. Survey ends Aug. 31. </i>