Number of results 12
for robots
22/06/2010 - Military robots taking action in the Middle East
The US military has long been looking at different ways of improving its operations in the ongoing war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and one avenue that was explored was creating a balancing 2-wheel robot that could maneuver through inner city buildings.
Such a robot was needed, since tanks and armored cars were too large to squeeze through the tight streets, while the dangers soldiers can face are well documented. The military funded research at the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) to design Tbot, the solution to these problems.
Since current technology is still incapable to creating a bipedal robot soldier, and a 4-wheeled robot would face difficulties carrying a gun at eye-level, a 2-wheeled robot like Tbot made the most sense. The idea was that it could balance itself up on 2 wheels and perform specific operations, but at the same time it would be mobile enough the obstacles it would encounter in the streets of Baghdad or the treacherous terrain of Afghanistan. It’s ability to quickly reassemble itself into a low-lying 4-wheeled vehicle and operate as a tiny car was also crucial. The Tbot was basically built like a tiny Transformer, and Michael Bay showed us what these things can do.
Some problems that researchers faced was getting the robot to keep its balance and minimize damage when it falls. Climbing stairs, an important part of any operation, was also a challenge, and a better control system with bigger tires was needed. An R/C radio controller was used to remotely operate Tbot, but its motors often caused electrical noise interference, which also had to be addressed.
The Tbot is yet to be used in an on-field mission, but the video shows some of the basic movements this future soldier can do.
Such a robot was needed, since tanks and armored cars were too large to squeeze through the tight streets, while the dangers soldiers can face are well documented. The military funded research at the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) to design Tbot, the solution to these problems.
Since current technology is still incapable to creating a bipedal robot soldier, and a 4-wheeled robot would face difficulties carrying a gun at eye-level, a 2-wheeled robot like Tbot made the most sense. The idea was that it could balance itself up on 2 wheels and perform specific operations, but at the same time it would be mobile enough the obstacles it would encounter in the streets of Baghdad or the treacherous terrain of Afghanistan. It’s ability to quickly reassemble itself into a low-lying 4-wheeled vehicle and operate as a tiny car was also crucial. The Tbot was basically built like a tiny Transformer, and Michael Bay showed us what these things can do.
Some problems that researchers faced was getting the robot to keep its balance and minimize damage when it falls. Climbing stairs, an important part of any operation, was also a challenge, and a better control system with bigger tires was needed. An R/C radio controller was used to remotely operate Tbot, but its motors often caused electrical noise interference, which also had to be addressed.
The Tbot is yet to be used in an on-field mission, but the video shows some of the basic movements this future soldier can do.
21/10/2009 - Indoor Autonomous Helicopter
TechTV @ MIT
16/08/2009 - Our fear of robots
Last week, I wrote about Toyota's humanoid robot and its new running skill. The post received a large number of visitors as it was posted on Slashdot and referenced by a number of other technology blogs. The video on YouTube received more than 600,000 views and over 800 comments. That's great and thank you all for watching. However, I was astonished by the comments posted both on this blog and on YouTube. Most of the comments were expressing fear about the robots taking over the world and killing all humans in the process. References to popular movies such as Terminator and Transformers were plenty.
Why are we afraid of robotic technology so much?
Most people have little understanding of what it takes to develop working robots whether humanoid, 4-legged, tracked or wheeled. It is incredible that in the span of just a few decades we have been able to construct machines that walk on two legs, manipulate objects using dexterous hands, can perceive their surrounding environment, and interact with people. Compare that to nature that took millions of years to evolve humans.
That said, these marvels of technology are designed to perform very specific tasks. The robots are not self-aware even though we might think they are because of their human traits. Robots work tirelessly in factory assembly lines performing jobs that require precision and speed. The Japanese are investing much money in the development of partner robots because they are predicting a huge shortfall in qualified workers due to a quickly aging population; who will take care of the elderly if there are not enough men and women to do the job? Some robots are designed for use by the military including delivering ordnance but these are always under supervision and remote control. Military robots do not make decisions on who to attack and when but instead follow a well laid out plan given to them by humans.
Will one day robots become self-aware and decide to eliminate humans?
If we are to believe movies, TV, and science fiction novels, then chances are that yes sooner than later advanced, intelligent robots will enslave humanity. I am not so sure why but apparently they will. To me it seems the doomsayers take the stance that robots will be very much like humans leading to a disastrous outcome (for us, of course.) In the course of history humans have not given a second thought to enslaving other humans whom they thought inferior to them. If robots are smarter and more capable than us then surely they will inevitably decide to enslave us.
Not necessarily say I.
There is no reason why self-aware robots will develop to be evil and hate humanity. There is a good chance that the robots may decide to help humans. Along with becoming self-aware, they may also become sympathetic to us. Robots do not feel tired and can easily be repaired if necessary. Not to mention that if the robots develop an adventurous spirit inherent to humans, then chances are that they will move away from the Earth exploring the vastness of space something that humans will not be able to do for a very long time.
Anyways, to conclude a longer than usual post, I don't think that robots will necessarily turn bad and try to enslave humanity regardless of what you watch in the movies. We are designing our robots to co-exist with us and we are making efforts to make sure that in the future robots will be treated ethically just like we treat other humans. There is nothing to fear. We should be proud of our achievements in robotics and artificial intelligence. Maybe one day if humanity perishes and robots inherit the Earth, they will write their own version of Genesis with a human being the creator who made them in his image.
Why are we afraid of robotic technology so much?
Most people have little understanding of what it takes to develop working robots whether humanoid, 4-legged, tracked or wheeled. It is incredible that in the span of just a few decades we have been able to construct machines that walk on two legs, manipulate objects using dexterous hands, can perceive their surrounding environment, and interact with people. Compare that to nature that took millions of years to evolve humans.
That said, these marvels of technology are designed to perform very specific tasks. The robots are not self-aware even though we might think they are because of their human traits. Robots work tirelessly in factory assembly lines performing jobs that require precision and speed. The Japanese are investing much money in the development of partner robots because they are predicting a huge shortfall in qualified workers due to a quickly aging population; who will take care of the elderly if there are not enough men and women to do the job? Some robots are designed for use by the military including delivering ordnance but these are always under supervision and remote control. Military robots do not make decisions on who to attack and when but instead follow a well laid out plan given to them by humans.
Will one day robots become self-aware and decide to eliminate humans?
If we are to believe movies, TV, and science fiction novels, then chances are that yes sooner than later advanced, intelligent robots will enslave humanity. I am not so sure why but apparently they will. To me it seems the doomsayers take the stance that robots will be very much like humans leading to a disastrous outcome (for us, of course.) In the course of history humans have not given a second thought to enslaving other humans whom they thought inferior to them. If robots are smarter and more capable than us then surely they will inevitably decide to enslave us.
Not necessarily say I.
There is no reason why self-aware robots will develop to be evil and hate humanity. There is a good chance that the robots may decide to help humans. Along with becoming self-aware, they may also become sympathetic to us. Robots do not feel tired and can easily be repaired if necessary. Not to mention that if the robots develop an adventurous spirit inherent to humans, then chances are that they will move away from the Earth exploring the vastness of space something that humans will not be able to do for a very long time.
Anyways, to conclude a longer than usual post, I don't think that robots will necessarily turn bad and try to enslave humanity regardless of what you watch in the movies. We are designing our robots to co-exist with us and we are making efforts to make sure that in the future robots will be treated ethically just like we treat other humans. There is nothing to fear. We should be proud of our achievements in robotics and artificial intelligence. Maybe one day if humanity perishes and robots inherit the Earth, they will write their own version of Genesis with a human being the creator who made them in his image.
21/01/2009 - Steve Grand's New Company Website
I heard from Steve Grand this morning that his new company, Grandroids, has a website. Enjoy!
01/05/2008 - Self organizing robots
There's a neat video posted on YouTube of a self organizing robot from the Mod Lab at UPenn that repairs itself after getting kicked apart.
30/12/2007 - Nano robots and human sperm cells
Researchers at Cornell University are trying to figure out how to use the same mechanism that powers human sperm cells in medical nano robots. According to a CBC article (my source for this post),
Medical nano robots are a very promising research direction for creating efficient mechanisms for medication delivery and for directly fighting disease, i.e., nano robots working along with natural white cells to fight viruses inside the human body. Medical nano robots can help us eliminate the problem of antibiotic resistant viruses once and for all and it is certainly one application of robotics that I am mostly looking forward to.
The CBC article, "Sperm power could drive nano-scale robots," has a nice overview of what the researchers have achieved so far and what they hope to do in the future given sufficient funding to continue their work.
By deconstructing the stages in the biological pathway sperm cells use to generate their relentless energy, researchers at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in the United States hope to recreate that process in an artificial device.
Medical nano robots are a very promising research direction for creating efficient mechanisms for medication delivery and for directly fighting disease, i.e., nano robots working along with natural white cells to fight viruses inside the human body. Medical nano robots can help us eliminate the problem of antibiotic resistant viruses once and for all and it is certainly one application of robotics that I am mostly looking forward to.
The CBC article, "Sperm power could drive nano-scale robots," has a nice overview of what the researchers have achieved so far and what they hope to do in the future given sufficient funding to continue their work.
22/12/2007 - Japan's 2007 robot of the year
In the 2nd year of the government sponsored Japan's robot of the year award, function over form was the deciding factor. Fanuc's industrial robotic arms were the clear winners over more awe aspiring robots such as Komatsu's fire-fighting remote-controlled robot and Fujitsu's humanoid robot. Fanuc's robots are being used in the food and pharmaceutical industries. If I remember correctly, the winning robot last year was Paro, the therapeutic robot seal. I guess the Japanese judges are making sure that the cutest robot won't always be the winner. After all, the point of this competition is to reward those who design robots to help the country cope with a shortage of labor workers and Fanuc's robots are certainly doing their part.
BBC's article on Japan's robot of the year award: Robotic arms take home top award.
The photo is copyright Katsumi Kasahara/Associated Press.
BBC's article on Japan's robot of the year award: Robotic arms take home top award.
The photo is copyright Katsumi Kasahara/Associated Press.
07/12/2007 - Microsoft's Artificial Life
I found a fascinating interview with Microsoft's Tandy Trower on Microsoft's Robotics Group. It seems like a perfectly feasible platform to create artificial life too. There are a number of juicy factoids through this discussion - particularly on Open Source - that should promote artificial life developers to put in the extra hours on a shared alternative.
25/11/2007 - Japanese swimming snake robot. Bow to our aquatic robotic overlords!
Japanese swimming snake robot - Now, just imagine if we could add in a machine learning chip and let it loose in the world's ocean to explore!
17/11/2007 - Messing with Cockroaches
Researcher José Halloy and his team at the Free University of Brussels created little robotic cockroaches that can influence group cockroach behavior. Though the little robots look nothing like cockroaches, they were doused in cockroach hormones, which was enough to make real cockroaches ignore the differences. It will be neat to see how far these experiments can be pushed! The researchers are planning to next build a robot chicken (not to be confused with Robot Chicken), but I'd personally like to see them continue with the cockroach experiments.
Links to Science paper and Times article.
Links to Science paper and Times article.
14/11/2007 - Toddlers warm up to humanoid robot
Scientific American reports on recent work at the University of California, San Diego, designed to study the social bonding possible between toddlers and robots. The researchers deployed a humanoid robot (the now defunct Sony QRIO) in a class of toddlers during a 5-month period. The robot operated both autonomously and also under remote control. According to the article,
The researchers used a teddy bear toy and a less interactive robot as controls; interestingly, the humanoid's appearance was not the only factor in gaining the children's attention.
It is very interesting how a machine that exhibits social behavior is accepted by children which in my opinion necessitates further study of Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). In fact, HRI is a newly established branch of robotics with its own conference; HRI was first established as a field of study 3 years ago during the 2004 RAS/IFRR summer school on Human-Robot Interaction.
Read Could Robots Become Your Toddler's New Best Friend?
The tots began to increasingly interact with the robot and treat it more like a peer than an object during the first 11 sessions. The level of social activity increased dramatically when researchers added a new behavior to QRIO's repertoire: If a child touched the humanoid on its head, it would make a giggling noise.
The researchers used a teddy bear toy and a less interactive robot as controls; interestingly, the humanoid's appearance was not the only factor in gaining the children's attention.
For 15 sessions midway through the experiment, QRIO was programmed to repeatedly dance to the same song rather than interact with the kids. During these trials, the children became far less interested in the friendly automaton. For the final three sessions, however, QRIO could once again unleash its entire social arsenal.
It is very interesting how a machine that exhibits social behavior is accepted by children which in my opinion necessitates further study of Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). In fact, HRI is a newly established branch of robotics with its own conference; HRI was first established as a field of study 3 years ago during the 2004 RAS/IFRR summer school on Human-Robot Interaction.
Read Could Robots Become Your Toddler's New Best Friend?
09/10/2007 - MAARS: New transformer-like robot goes to war
QinetiQ North America announced today a new military robot that boasts a number of new hardware and software improvements over its predecessors. The new Modular Advanced Armed Robotic System (MAARS) military robot is designed to replace the TALON and SWORDS platforms. MAARS is a lighter robot that can move faster than the older models; it can also carry either a machine gun or a robotic arm so in a sense it is a single robot that can perform the tasks of the two other robots before it. When equipped with a robotic arm, MAARS becomes a perfect platform for IED removal.
In terms of the software, Wired.com reports that the new robot can be configured with safe zones where it cannot shoot at people; these are meant to be areas occupied by friendly troops.
This is an instance of controlled autonomy for mobile robots. In such a system, a human operator has control over the robot's actions at all times. A fully autonomous robot would not require any type of supervision. It makes sense that the military would want control over a machine that can pull the trigger at will. It is a mechanism that can prevent casualties among friendly troops and situations such as those portrayed in Terminator and The Matrix movies where machines decide to take over and eliminate human life.
The following video shows the MAARS robot.
The purpose-built MAARSTM chassis provides a uni-body frame with easier battery and electronics accessibility. Other features include a larger payload bay, higher torque, creating faster ground speeds and improved braking. The new Digital Control Unit significantly improves command and control and situational awareness for the operator resulting in greater safety margins. The complete system weighs about 350 pounds.
In terms of the software, Wired.com reports that the new robot can be configured with safe zones where it cannot shoot at people; these are meant to be areas occupied by friendly troops.
MAARS (Modular Advanced Armed Robotic System) features new software controls, which allow the robot's driver to select fire and no-fire zones. The idea is keep the robots from accidentally shooting a flesh-and-blood American. A mechanical range fan also keeps MAARS' gun pointed away from friendly positions.
This is an instance of controlled autonomy for mobile robots. In such a system, a human operator has control over the robot's actions at all times. A fully autonomous robot would not require any type of supervision. It makes sense that the military would want control over a machine that can pull the trigger at will. It is a mechanism that can prevent casualties among friendly troops and situations such as those portrayed in Terminator and The Matrix movies where machines decide to take over and eliminate human life.
The following video shows the MAARS robot.
