Data systems transform raw data into valuable information for numerous industries and applications. They encompass all of the technologies involved in collecting, processing sending and storing data. Hardware switches, software storage devices, as well as interconnection mechanisms comprise all of data systems. Data systems also contain middleware software that allows disparate operating and administrative systems to communicate with each other.
The Pandemic-Ready Data Modernization Initiative of the CDC for instance, aims to improve data system in local and state departments of health to be able to respond to public-health emergencies like COVID-19. This initiative is an essential part of President Biden’s plan to prepare for another outbreak. Colleges are essential to this effort, since they play a crucial role in the process of developing and testing fundamental components of the data system.
In essence, any organized collection of symbols and their manipulating operations can be described as a data system. One example is the study of human speech at the phoneme level or an Incan artifact called the khipu. Another example is a stored image in pixels.
A satellite in orbit produces constant streams of data that must be processed, stored and transmitted back to Earth. This onboard data handling is a computer but not the kind we have on our desktops. Spacecraft onboard data systems are designed and built to meet the unique challenges of space. Space radiation can be extremely damaging to unprotected microprocessors. The onboard data systems have to also handle telecommands that are sent to the spacecraft to control it and collect the necessary housekeeping telemetry to allow downlinking from Earth.
