The latest Robot Hall of Fame welcomes 3 new inductees
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http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/04/23/1904994.aspx
The Robot Hall of Fame may sound like a science-fiction museum, but the latest inductees actually include more real robots than fictional ones. Among the stars of the show are a couple of contraptions that have surpassed science-fiction expectations: NASA's twin Mars rovers.The other robots on the honor roll are also worthy of recognition:
* iRobot's Roomba floor-cleaning machine, arguably the first robot to do useful work in the living room (and pay off on the technological promise of "The Jetsons").
* Intuitive Surgical's da Vinci Surgical System, which helps doctors do precision surgery in operating rooms (including prostate gland removal ... yow!).
* Huey, Dewey and Louie, the cute robotic gardeners from the classic 1972 environmental sci-fi movie "Silent Running" (just in time for Earth Day).
* The T-800 Terminator, the killer robot from the future that was featured in the 1984 movie "The Terminator" (a role that arguably boosted Arnold Schwarzenegger's career as California's "Governator").
But could any of those other honorees work on the radiation-blasted surface of another planet, sending back science for more than five years without a single service call? I didn't think so!
The "Class of 2010" inductees were announced on Tuesday in Pittsburgh by the Carnegie Science Center and Carnegie Mellon University, during a preview of the science center's Roboworld exhibition. Starting in June, Roboworld will serve as the permanent home for the Robot Hall of Fame.
The Hall of Fame was created in 2003 to pay tribute to the fictional and real robots that have "inspired and embodied breakthrough accomplishments in robotics." Inductees are selected by a jury of scholars, researchers, writers, designers and entrepreneurs. The latest batch of robots will officially take their place next year.
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To refresh your memory, here's the list of past Hall of Fame inductees. These robots and the newly named Class of 2010 are ineligible for the "People's Choice" prize:
* 2003: HAL 9000, Mars Pathfinder Sojourner rover, R2-D2, Unimate.
* 2004: ASIMO, Shakey, Astro Boy, Robby the Robot, C-3PO.
* 2006: AIBO, SCARA, David (from "A.I."), Maria (from "Metropolis"), Gort (from "The Day the Earth Stood Still").
* 2008: Raibert Hopper, NavLab 5, LEGO Mindstorms, Lt. Cmdr. Data (from the "Star Trek" saga).
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