micromouse

Micromouse

Micromouse is an event where small robot mice solve a 16x16 maze. It began in late 1970s, although there is some indication of events in 1950. Events are held worldwide, and are most popular in the UK, U.S., Japan, Singapore, India and South Korea.

The maze is made up of a 16 by 16 grid of cells, each 180 mm square with walls 50 mm high. The mice are completely autonomous robots that must find their way from a predetermined starting position to the central area of the maze unaided. The mouse will need to keep track of where it is, discover walls as it explores, map out the maze and detect when it has reached the goal. Having reached the goal, the mouse will typically perform additional searches of the maze until it has found an optimal route from the start to the center. Once the optimal route has been found, the mouse will run that route in the shortest possible time.

Mice can run at up to three meters per second, with current world records around 6~7 seconds, depending on the maze design.

Mice can use various searching algorithms. Two of the more popular^{[citation needed]} ones are A* and Bellman-based flood-fill searches.

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climatic change:Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Address to the United Nations on Global Climate Change

delivered 24 September 2007, United Nations General Assembly

Thank you, Secretary General, Mr. President, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen:

I have come to feel great affection for the peoples of the world because they've always been so welcoming to me -- if it is as a bodybuilding champion, or as a movie star, private citizen, or as the governor of the great state of California. And you, their delegates, have also made me feel very welcome here this morning. So I want to thank you for this great honor for having me here.

I also want to thank my wife and my partner and the First Lady of California, Maria Shriver, for being here today with me. Give her a big hand -- right over there she is.

Now, I've been asked -- I've been asked to talk to you today about what is happening in California. What are we doing about climate change? Well ladies and gentlemen, something remarkable is beginning to stir -- something revolutionary, something historic and transformative. Let me give you some background.

California already leads the nation in information technology. We lead the nation in nanotechnology, in biotechnology, and in medical technology. We generate one of every four U.S. patents, and we attract almost half of all U.S. venture capital. And according to The Economist magazine, California is also home to three of the top six universities in the world. And in addition to all of this, California is the seventh largest economy in the world.

Now I do not mention these things to just simply boast or brag. I'm mentioning it because California is a very powerful state, a very powerful place. And when do something, it has consequences. And here is what we are doing.

California is mobilizing -- technologically, financially, and politically -- to fight global climate change. Now we're not doing this alone. While California is leading in the U.S., we are building on the work of the European countries who have led the way up until now and have done extraordinary work. England has already met its Kyoto goals. Germany has pioneered solar. The EU has led with its trading system. And the list goes on and on.

But California, because of its unique position, is on the cutting edge of what is to come. And what is coming will benefit the countries and peoples represented in this chamber. Last year in California, we enacted greenhouse gas emission standards that were beyond anyone else's dreams. We enacted the world’s first low carbon fuel standards.

Now do I believe that California’s standards will solve global warming? Of course not. What we’re doing is is changing the dynamic, preparing the way and encouraging the future. The aerospace industry built the modern economy of Southern California. The computer industry and the internet built the economy of the Silicon Valley. And now green, clean technology -- along with biotech -- will take California to the next level.

Right now, in California, the brightest scientists from around the world and the smartest venture capitalists are racing to find new energy technologies and the solution to global warming. It is a race that is fueled by billions and billions of dollars. Last year alone, California received more than 1.1 billion dollars in clean tech investment. And this amount is expected to grow by 20 to 30% annually for the next ten years. More venture capital is being invested in clean tech than in telecommunications. Now I have been to those labs and research parks. I have talked with the scientists and to the venture capitalists. I have seen their ambition. And let me tell you, I would not bet against it.

So what does all this mean for the nations in this chamber? Well the cell phone, which started as a tool for the rich, is now widespread in the developing world. The price has dropped dramatically, and therefore it can be afforded by almost everyone. And the same thing will happen with environmental technologies. And it is in the developed world's best interests to help the poor nations finance these advancements.

When it comes to the environment, the technologies are changing; the economics are changing; and the urgency's changing. So the question today is this: Are the nations of the world ready are [sic] to change? I believe that California will do great things, amazing things, but we need the world to do great things, too.

The time has come to stop looking back at the Kyoto protocol. The time has come to stop looking back in blame or suspicion. The consequences of global climate change are so pressing - that it doesn’t matter who was responsible for the past. What matters is who is answerable for the future. And that means all of us.

The rich nations and the poor nations have different responsibilities, but one responsibility we all have -- and that is action. Action, action, action. The current stalemate between the developed and the developing worlds must be broken. It is time to came together in a new international agreement that can be embraced by rich and poor nations alike. California is moving the United States beyond debate and doubt to action. So I urge this body to push its members to action also.

Ladies and gentlemen, in closing, let me just say this: Do not lose hope. I do not believe that doom and gloom and disaster are the only outcomes. Humanity is smart, and nature is amazingly regenerative. I believe that we can renew the climate of this planet. I believe this 100 percent. So I pledge to you, the members of the United Nations, that we in California will work with all our heart to this end for which we all long.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

JAAGO:climate change

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United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

Accra Climate Change Talks 2008 The latest round of United Nations climate change negotiations took place in Accra, Ghana, between 21-27 August. The Accra Climate Change Talks took forward work on a strengthened and effective international climate change deal under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, as well as work on emission reduction rules and tools under the Kyoto Protocol. This is part of a negotiating process that will be concluded in Copenhagen at the end of 2009. Over 1600 participants attended the Accra meeting, which was the third major UNFCCC gathering this year. more View On-demand webcast The road to Copenhagen 2009 At the Climate Change Conference in Bali, Parties to the UNFCCC decided to launch formal negotiations on a strengthened international deal on climate change. These negotiations are set to be concluded by the end of 2009 at the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. To conduct the process, a subsidiary body under the Convention was set up, called the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention (AWG-LCA). AWG-LCA reports and submissions To discuss future commitments for industrialized countries under the Kyoto Protocol, the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol established a working group in December 2005 called the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG-KP). The AWG-KP is also set to complete its work by the end of 2009. AWG-KP reports and submissions

News

UNFCCC Executive Secretary: Public Understanding of Climate Change Crucial to Securing Copenhagen Deal Geneva, Switzerland 31 August 2008 In a speech in Geneva to mark the 20th anniversary of the IPCC, Roberto Acosta, on behalf of UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer, praised the achievement of the IPCC in opening the world’s eyes to climate change. He stressed that public understanding of climate change played a crucial role in securing the political commitment necessary to reach a strong agreed outcome in Copenhagen in 2009. Statement (101 kB) UN Climate Change Negotiations Speed up in Accra Accra, Ghana 27 August 2008 The latest round of UN-sponsored global Climate Change Talks in Accra, Ghana concluded Wednesday with clear signals that the pace of negotiations to get to a deal on long-term strengthened international action on climate change is picking up. Important progress was made in Accra on a number of key issues for the deal, to be clinched at the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009. Furthermore, Parties under the Kyoto Protocol advanced their work on the tools and rules available to developed countries to set ambitious reduction targets beyond 2012. Press release (128 kB) esp (196 kB) fra (215 kB) rus (274 kB) Accra UN Climate Change Talks Kick off With Warning That “Clock Is Ticking Down” to New International Climate Change Deal in Copenhagen Accra, Ghana 21 August 2008 The latest round of UN-sponsored global climate change negotiations got underway Thursday in Accra, Ghana. More than 1600 participants, including government delegates from 160 countries and representatives from business and industry, environmental organizations and research institutions are attending the one-week meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Press release (130 kB) Statement by the Executive Secretary at the opening of the Accra Climate Change Talks 2008 Accra, Ghana 21 August 2008 Addressing delegates at the opening of the Accra Climate Change Talks, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer said there was “little time left to get a solid negotiating text on the table” before the crucial meeting in Copenhagen in 2009. He stressed that "concrete proposals for solutions from all Governments” were necessary to drive the process forward. Statement (124 kB) New-look UNFCCC newsletter The UNFCCC newsletter has been relaunched with a new design and more substantive content, with a view to keeping readers better informed of the international climate change process at this important juncture. Newsletter Previous News and Events

Meetings

Africa Carbon Forum Dakar, Senegal 3 - 5 September 2008 The carbon market and project-based initiatives like the Kyoto Protocol’s clean development mechanism (CDM) are seen by many as critical to the success of the international response to climate change. As part of an effort to ensure that African countries can take full advantage of carbon finance, the first all-Africa Carbon Forum will take place in Dakar, Senegal, 3–5 September. For information on the Nairobi Framework to stimulate CDM in lesser developed countries, please visit: cdm.unfccc.int. For more details on the forum, please visit the website. The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poznań, Poland - COP 14 The 14th session of the Conference of the Parties to the Climate Change Convention (COP 14) will be held in conjunction with the 4th Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 4) in Poznań, Poland, from 1 to 12 December 2008. The conference will also include the 29th sessions of the Convention’s two subsidiary bodies - SBSTA and SBI – as well as the 4th session of the AWG-LCA and the 2nd part of the 6th session of the AWG-KP. Provisional agendas and further information Joint Implementation (JI) Technical Workshop Bonn, Germany 9 -10 September 2008 The fifth JI workshop is intended to allow the Joint Implementation Supervisory Committee (JISC) to consider its experiences in supervising the verification procedure under the JISC (JI Track 2 procedure), including the experiences of the applicant independent entities. Further information on the workshop will be available at a later date.

In Focus

International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) launches new aviation carbon calculator The ICAO has launched a new carbon calculator for the aviation industry. It calculates carbon dioxide only, and does not include other greenhouse gases, since the scientific community has not yet agreed on how to calculate multipliers. The calculator has been approved by the Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection, and was developed with input from aviation experts, manufacturers and airlines. ICAO carbon calculator