Interface

Engineering is not merely knowing and being knowledgeable, like a walking encyclopedia; engineering is not merely analysis; engineering is not merely the possession of the capacity to get elegant solutions to non-existent engineering problems; engineering is practicing the art of the organized forcing of technological change... Engineers operate at the interface between science and society...
--Dean Gordon Brown

I cheated. I had to. I planned to spend the day at the World Potato Congress Farm Show today, held here in Idaho for the first time and first time ever in the U.S. This morning I got my random word. I kid you not....Potato. It was too easy. So I got a second word...Interface. I thought that might be more challenging and it was.

This is a monster tractor and a GPS unit that allows for automatic steering (autopilot), accurate to 1 inch over repeated tracings. Farmers can use this technology to remove one element of the planting, fertilizing, harvesting process so they can concentrate on other aspect such as fertilizer or insecticide/fungicide applications. And it's repeatable the next season, accurate to that one inch. The system reverts instantly back to manual control when the steering wheel is moved if the operator needs to avoid an obstacle or something. The farmer sets the boundary of the field using the GPS receiver and the software calculates the pathways, then off you go. The unit on the table at left actually installs in the cab of the tractor and shows a graphic representation of the route. The operation can also be stopped and started by touching a Stop sign or green light on the screen. There are a bunch of other features, but this is enough information.