異構多核處理器提供了自主設備的完美平臺

　　自主設備的出現也許是這十年來最令人期待的發展之一。它在很大程度上正在探索的車輛的形式，可以表現出一定程度的自主駕駛；汽車，可以并行公園與有限的驅動程序援助已經在市場上，而谷歌的自駕車汽車項目已累積超過150萬自治英里橫跨美國。

　　然而，自治設備有許多形狀。希思羅機場的終端5停車場‘吊艙’是自主車輛運輸乘客從他們的汽車到候機室，雖然運行在一個明確的路徑，而不妨礙其他道路使用者。現在世界上有許多無人駕駛輕軌的例子。除了大眾運輸之外，無人機正變得越來越自主，需要從操作員那里直接輸入更少的懸停，改變高度或方向；這里的基本趨勢是無人駕駛飛機成為完全自主，運輸貨物從A點到B點沒有任何直接的人類控制。

　　許多技術，使這種程度的自主性仍在發展中，是立法，將允許其廣泛的大規模部署。

　　Nothing new？

　　In many ways， embedded devices have always operated autonomously; the difference is that they have also been largely stationary. Nevertheless， the practices used to develop embedded applications in general， and embedded software in particular， reflect the nature of embedded devices. They （typically） exist to perform a specific function and have predictable conditions under which they must operate， with clearly identifiable stimuli. The ‘art’ of developing high quality embedded applications is the way in which the device handles non-identifiable stimuli， or unpredictable conditions.

　　In most cases， the software would include a robust and logical way to effectively ignore all those conditions that do not directly impact its primary function（s）。 That’s fine if the device is a printer， it’s not so good if the device has the ability to move under its own volition. It is this key difference that defines the main challenge developers face when designing an autonomous device. It’s no longer acceptable to ignore conditions or stimuli that have no relation to the primary function， because the primary function would not be able to reliably and safely navigate in a world where unpredictability is the main input.