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Toy robot intended to save humans from evil, future bots
When roboticist David Hanson thinks of the future, he fears that man will accidentally create a super-sentient artificial intelligence that is heartless and clinically insane.
So to save the world, he formed Hanson Robotics and built Zeno, a 17-inch robot boy, who smiles, laughs, recognizes your face and remembers your name.
Fending off the end of the world may be a heavy mantle to hang on the shoulders of a 17-inch robot that's still in prototype stage, but Hanson does call Zeno the superhero of the singularity.
"We want to be damn sure that by the time [robots] become as smart as we are, they have a conscience and compassion and that we are friends.," Hanson said. "There's no guarantee. They could be psychotic."
Zeno is himself a visitor from the future — a robot who reached consciousness in 2029, but is found by government web crawlers. From there he's put into a government academy for artificially intelligent robots, where those in charge may have nefarious motives.
"The world will need a superintelligent hero," Hanson said. "Superintelligent agents are also able to spawn technology that could destroy us all."
This narrative, crafted by Hugo award winner Tony Daniel and University of Texas performance professor Thomas Riccio, is intended to make Zeno into a character that people identify with and want to to see develop — something with the depth of a movie character or a figure from a Homerian epic.
That makes Zeno into as much of a sociological experiment as it is a technical marvel or fun toy.
"The idea is to create a cultural phenomenon and accelerate the use and humanization of the technology," Hanson said. "Robots have gotten steadily more capable but humans' expectations that robots should have minds keeps biting robot developers."
Which is to say that Hanson wants Zeno to change robots and humans.
Zeno has charmed visitors at Wired's NextFest tech celebration for the last two years, including an ongoing run in the 2008 pavilion in Chicago's Millennium park (open through Oct. 12).
Still, Zeno is clearly a work in progress, prone to hip problems, battery issues or overly long diatribes about the singularity, when a wink or smile would be more charming.
Zeno already does "know" people, and in his mind, has a knowledge container that stores a photo of the person and details about that person. The next step is getting Zeno to start making theories about the world, discarding the dumb ones and amplifying the plausible ones.
That, according to Hanson, is the essence of intelligence, and once a robot can combine that ability with the knowledge available on the internet, superintelligence won't be far off.
Hanson Robotics hopes to begin selling a mass market version of Zeno for about $300 starting sometime in 2010. When roboticist David Hanson thinks of the future, he fears that man will accidentally create a super-sentient artificial intelligence... more -
Check Out My Robot Arm
The Sci-Fi films of our childhoods were full of crazy futuristic inventions such as cyborgs and hoverboards. But are they still so futuristic or a real possibility? The Sci-Fi films of our childhoods were full of crazy futuristic inventions such as cyborgs and hoverboards. But are they still so fut... more
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Deep Green the pool playing robot
So we've all heard of robots that can play chess, go, blackjack.. even ones that'll compete against you in tennis or F1 racing - but mostly in their own virtual world. Now a team from Queen's University have developed a robot that can play above-amateur pool in the real world.
From TechDigest:
"Deep Green is a gantry robot, mounted to the ceiling above the table, which uses a Global Vision System and a set of guide lights to figure out where all the balls are at any one moment and how to play each shot." So we've all heard of robots that can play chess, go, blackjack.. even ones that'll compete against you in tennis or F1 rac... more -
Robot Controlled Robot
"If you think robots might one day control human beings, then you are right, because the process is already underway. The Viking mega-robot “Little Big Man” is controlled by another robot, which makes it believable to think that robots might eventually control humans too. The tinier robot is placed within a neon cave in the bigger Viking’s radio cabinet chest.
Showcased at the San Jose Museum of Art, the robot was built by Nemo Gould. Nemo has also built other robots such as the “Above It All,” which has a tripod-like design and follows the same pattern of having a robot within a robot. The toad, the deer, and the blink, which is made of recycled materials, are some of the other interesting robot models by Nemo Gould..." "If you think robots might one day control human beings, then you are right, because the process is already underway. The Viking ... more -
Open-Source Humanoids
"The Willow Project is a seriously cool effort to bring robotics to the masses: think of it as Lego Mindstorms all grown up. The project makes all their hardware and software designs open source, so anybody with the capability can take part, downloading existing designs and uploading their own. You don't have to be Dr Robotnik taking a break, either - the project includes tutorials and instruction, so all you need is the desire to make awesome robots.
Open sourcing robotics clears the way for all kinds of incredible innovations. Some developments might not have the security or stability of commercial releases, but you don't have to wait for a million people to want something before it becomes profitable. The internet has already shown that sheer love and hard work can create the most amazing things, and now that same creative energy can be directed into things that can then get up and walk.
As robotics technology evolves the homebrew programs will accelerate to keep pace: don't be surprised to find "flesh{bot 0.1" available for bittorrent in the next ten years. With advances in synthetic skins, certain sectors of the web might be able to download entire behaviour sets instead of just movies of people doing those things. As long as they watch out for security. It's bad enough when your computer can steal your bank account info - but when a robot can physically go through your wallet, the best firewall in the world won't save you.
Open source robotics
http://ostatic.com/172525-blog/open-source-roboticists-...
Willow Project http://pr.willowgarage.com/ " "The Willow Project is a seriously cool effort to bring robotics to the masses: think of it as Lego Mindstorms all grown up. The... more -
House Building Robot To Be A Reality Soon
A new automated construction system is all set to change the face of home-building, for it is soon going to step out of the developmental phase and become a functional house-building robot. This prototype was developed by Behrokh Khoshnevis of the University of Southern California.
A computer-controlled crane or gantry will build houses efficiently without any manual labor. It will use a quick-setting concrete-like material and will build up structures in a layer-by-layer fashion. This system will be adept at erecting walls of almost any shape and specification and can finish a full-fledged house in a matter of a day without any breaks. In addition to the savings on labor costs, the machine is believed to be eco-friendly in contrast to the standard home construction method, which churns up to seven tons of waste and fumes.
Such is the quality of this prototype that NASA is eyeing this machine for aid in building a lunar habitat. The maker suggests that the robot’s ability to rapidly construct housing will help authorities in reconstructing shelters in areas struck by natural calamities. A new automated construction system is all set to change the face of home-building, for it is soon going to step out of the developmen... more -
Robotic BigDog is US army's best friend
Video footage of BigDog, which has been built to carry equipment and march alongside troops in rough terrain such as in Iraq, has attracted millions of viewers.
The robot, which is described as its creators as the "alpha male" of robotic animals, is about the size of a Great Dane. It runs at 4 mph and can hold a 24-stone load. However its makers, Boston Dynamics, have claimed that it will soon be succeeded by an even faster, stronger model.
A computerised brain sits at its core, and controls a small petrol engine which drives its aluminium legs. Each of the legs features three joints that can be repositioned 500 times every second, meaning the robot can even withstand a hefty blow to its body.
Marc Raibert, the president of Boston Dynamics, said: "Internal force sensors detect the ground variations and compensate for them. And BigDog's active balance allows it to maintain stability when we disturb it."
Current models of BigDog are remote-controlled from army bases by commanders. However it is thought that future versions will be built with eye-like sensors that allow it to become "unleashed" by making intelligent decisions about a journey.
The project was sponsored by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which is responsible for coming up with radical inventions for the military. Video footage of BigDog, which has been built to carry equipment and march alongside troops in rough terrain such as in Iraq, has attr... more -
Watch how Bumblebees outwit robotic spiders
Elizabeth Mitchel of BBC wrote how Scientists found out the survival traits of bumblebees.
**
Scientists have found that bumblebees learn from their "near-death" encounters with crab spiders and adapt their future foraging strategies.
They watched real bees in an artificial meadow - containing yellow "flowers" and robotic crab spiders.
Bees that had been "captured" spent longer inspecting flowers during subsequent foraging trips.
They may outwit the spiders - but at the expense of valuable foraging time, Current Biology reports.
Crab spiders lie in wait on flowers, ready to ambush their "most prized prey" - the bumblebee.
This cryptic predator has an amazing ability to change its colour to closely match the flower it is lurking on.
Scientists wanted to know if bumblebees adapt their foraging behaviour after encountering a crab spider.
(more of the story if you click the link of course : ) Elizabeth Mitchel of BBC wrote how Scientists found out the survival traits of bumblebees. ** ... more -
Robots on the move - The Industry Boom
"In a greenhouse in Groton, Clara Vu is handing empty plastic pots to a pair of squat, two-wheeled robots. The robots hold onto the pots, ferry them to the far end of the small greenhouse, and then put them down, creating a nice, evenly spaced grid.
This is the sort of work that happens in thousands of commercial nurseries around the country: arranging potted plants in a field or greenhouse and then moving them to give them more room to grow. Often, the physically demanding work is done by migrant workers, some of whom are undocumented - which presents an enforcement risk to the growers that employ them. The company that Vu helped start, Harvest Automation Inc., thinks that a new kind of rugged robot could be the solution, doing the same work for about 65 percent of the cost.
Another key piece of what's happening is that venture capitalists are beginning to put money into robotics companies, which have traditionally had to piece together government contracts and research grants.The future's looking bright for the sector as a whole, too. The Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council, a trade association, has created a robotics sub-group, though meetings seem to be few and far between..." "In a greenhouse in Groton, Clara Vu is handing empty plastic pots to a pair of squat, two-wheeled robots. The robots hold onto t... more -
The Hand of Man
Have you ever wanted an enormous, hydrolic-powered, car-crushing right arm? With The Hand of Man, this power can be in your hands. Or hand. Have you ever wanted an enormous, hydrolic-powered, car-crushing right arm? With The Hand of Man, this power can be in your hands. Or ... more
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British doctors perform world first robot surgery
British doctors have carried out the world's first operation using a robot to repair a condition that kills 7,000 people a year.
The condition, called an abdominal aortic aneurysm, involves a key artery that pumps blood around the body from the heart weakening and swelling and can go undetected until the section bursts, which is often fatal.
Ministers have now announced a national screening programme for ruptured aneurysms to detect the condition and allow more people to have corrective surgery.
A team at St Mary's Hospital in central London, have carried out the first operation to repair an aneurysm using a £400,000 robot.
The new technique will reduce the operating time, add extra precision and allow more complex cases to be attempted.
If extended across the whole country the robotic repair would mean an extra 10,000 to 20,000 patients could have their aneurysm treated.
Grandfather James Arnold, 78, from Wembley, north London, became the first patient to have his aneurysm repaired using the Sensei robot on Tuesday.
Two days later he was out of bed and will be discharged from hospital within days.
He said: "I feel great, it has put my mind at rest. Knowing I had an aneurysm is like walking around with a time bomb inside you, every time I had a touch of belly ache I thought it was going to blow, but I can rest easy now."
New keyhole surgery means the repair can be carried out by passing a thin tube along the blood vessel from the groin into the swollen section and inserting a metal scaffold to reinforce the stretched section and stop it bursting.
Often several metal stents are needed and it can be impossible to match up the ends of each stent into one continuous artificial blood vessel by hand.
In the operation, observed by the Daily Telegraph, Dr Mo Hamady, Consultant Interventional Radiologist, used a monitor and joystick to control a robotic arm attached to the tube with a sensor on the end.
Using x-ray images constantly taken of the patient, the ends of the stents can be joined exactly.
The team also included Miss Celia Riga, Vascular Fellow and Robotics Vascular Research Lead, Mr Colin Bicknell, Vascular Surgeon and Professor Nick Cheshire, Consultant Vascular Surgeon and Clinical Programme Director of Circulation Sciences and Renal Medicine at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs St Mary's Hospital.
Earlier this year ministers announced a screening programme for all men aged 65 to detect aneurysms so they can be monitored or repaired.
It is offered only to men as the condition is much more common in men than in women.
There are only three Sensei robots in the UK, two at St Mary's being used to correct an irregular or fast heartbeat and one at Bart's Hospital also in central London. British doctors have carried out the world's first operation using a robot to repair a condition that kills 7,000 people a year. ... more -
Robotic Chair, Here the Seat grabs You
Your average work of cutting-edge contemporary art gets seen by maybe a few hundred, a few thousand people. So far, thanks to footage that has gone viral on YouTube, a motorized sculpture called "Robotic Chair" has been seen by almost a million people.
The piece, conceived by Canadian artist Max Dean, then realized as a collaboration with roboticist Raffaello D'Andrea and mechanic and sculptor Matt Donovan, consists of what seems to be a standard wooden chair. As you watch, it collapses with a crash, its legs and back and seat flying off in all directions. Then, over the course of the next 10 minutes, the chair's almost animate seat seeks out its missing back and legs, and the whole sculpture reassembles and rights itself.
Seen in person at Vancouver's Contemporary Art Gallery, where the much-traveled work is on view, it is tremendously effective. Yet to Dean's surprise, that impact seems to have survived translation onto computer screens.
"In 1985, when I became one of the artists in residence at the National Museum of Science and Technology in Ottawa, I dreamt up this project about a chair that would fall apart and put itself back together again. I was thinking, 'What happens if there's an object that is out of our control?' I wanted the piece to determine its own state. That was one of the driving ideas, and a chair just seemed to be the natural thing to work with. They're everywhere, and we take them almost for granted, and we invest an enormous amount of trust in them. They're extensions of our body, almost.
"I wanted my chair to be very generic, and yet I wanted it to have this capacity to fall apart and put itself back together. At that time, I don't think it was conceivable to do it. The computing power wasn't even there. It was only in 2004 that I got together with Raff D'Andrea, and he came up with the idea of the chair seat being the robot itself. And it was only when we started building it that the whole metaphoric aspect of it -- the idea of falling -- became paramount in my mind. Falling seems to be everywhere in our Western culture. We fall in love, we fall into depression, we fall asleep.
"Because it's outside of what we normally know, I think everyone has come at the chair with a particularly interesting take. Kids cry in front of it. People applaud it. People laugh at it. People are cynical about it. There's such a range of emotions that go on in front of this thing that it's been overwhelming. I thought I was making a sculpture, and I realize that we have created a performer."
-- Interview conducted and condensed by Blake Gopnik
"Robotic Chair" is also on display at Flowers East gallery in London until Sept. 13. Visit http://www.flowerseast.com or http://www.roboticchair.com for information.. Your average work of cutting-edge contemporary art gets seen by maybe a few hundred, a few thousand people. So far, thanks to footage ... more -
Lego robot beats Rubik's Cube
A Swedish man has designed and built a machine using the plastic bricks which can single-handedly solve the fiendish 1980s puzzle Rubik's Cube.
Hans Andersen bought a Lego Mindstorm kit for his daughters, but by his own admission "they haven't had much access to it yet”. Instead, he kept it and, for reasons best known to himself, decided to use it to create a Cube-solving machine.
The finished product, called Tilted Twister, can solve the Cube in just sixty moves. A Swedish man has designed and built a machine using the plastic bricks which can single-handedly solve the fiendish 1980s puzzle Rubi... more -
Finally! A robotic fish that can explore the ocean by itself
Researchers at the University of Kitakyushuu [JP] in Southern Japan (where else) developed a battery-powered robotic snapper that can swim in salt water for about one hour to gather oceanographic data.
The fish weighs 7kg and is covered by a silicone body. It is able to move like a real snapper via a tailor-made propulsion system, making it possible for the the robot to blend into its natural surroundings. Researchers at the University of Kitakyushuu [JP] in Southern Japan (where else) developed a battery-powered robotic snapper that can ... more -
Reading scientists create robot with biological brain
Scientists at the University of Reading have created a robot with a biological brain that is capable of steering around objects without any input from humans or computers.
The robot's brain contains rat brain cells which are now being taught to learn the appearance of objects they have seen before.
This would enable researchers to study the formation of memories and gain insights into diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
Professor Kevin Warwick from the university's School of Systems Engineering said: 'This new research is tremendously exciting as firstly the biological brain controls its own moving robot body, and secondly it will enable us to investigate how the brain learns and memorises its experiences.
'This research will move our understanding forward of how brains work, and could have a profound effect on many areas of science and medicine.'
Dr Ben Whalley, from the university's School of Pharmacy, added that the robot could provide a 'really unique opportunity' to investigate the activity of individual brain cells in relation to complex behaviours. Scientists at the University of Reading have created a robot with a biological brain that is capable of steering around objects withou... more -
Gordon, the Robot with a Biological Brain
Gordon is a robot with a brain from cultured rat neurons. From the article:
"Because the brain is living tissue, it must be housed in a special temperature-controlled unit -- it communicates with its "body" via a Bluetooth radio link.
The robot has no additional control from a human or computer.
From the very start, the neurons get busy. "Within about 24 hours, they start sending out feelers to each other and making connections," said Warwick.
"Within a week we get some spontaneous firings and brain-like activity" similar to what happens in a normal rat -- or human -- brain, he added." Gordon is a robot with a brain from cultured rat neurons. From the article: ... more -
Mind controlled bionic limbs
In the George Lucas classic Star Wars, hero Luke Skywalker's arm is severed and amputated during a lightsaber fight and consequently fitted with a bionic arm that he can use as if it were his own limb. At the time the script was written, such a remedy was pure science fiction; however, the ability to manufacture bionic arms that have the functionality and even feel of a natural limb is becoming very real,The time has come for implementing this technology on paralyzed human patients and amputees....
Keeping it short- BMI stands for Brain Machine Interface!
A longer read through the article will explain more, but this is super cool amazing groundbreaking stuff!!!
Technology Rocks! In the George Lucas classic Star Wars, hero Luke Skywalker's arm is severed and amputated during a lightsaber fight and consequen... more -
Surgical side effects cut with robotics
"As 3D images illuminate the viewfinder, a joystick delicately maneuvers a pair of robotic arms. It may sound like a video game, but Dr. Nikhil Shah is actually performing cancer surgery.
Robotic surgery allows for smaller incisions, reduced blood loss and much greater precision by the surgeon.
In this case, the surgeon is removing a man's prostate gland. Robotic surgery is a growing trend in treating prostate cancer. The number of cases have increased sevenfold in the past four years, from 10,000 in 2004 to a projected 70,000 in 2008, according to Intuitive Surgical Inc., the creators of the robotic device. The advantages of robotics -- fewer side effects and quicker recovery times in many patients -- have led to increased use for other surgeries, including hysterectomy, kidney cancer and some heart procedures.
"At first, men think we hook up a robot and then go get some coffee, but the reality is the robot arms are a tool that I control, just like a scalpel, " said Shah, who has performed more than 600 robotic prostatectomies at St. Joseph Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia.
One benefit Shah describes is precision that far exceeds the human hand. The robot-controlled scalpel works delicately around the nerves and blood vessels in the pelvic area, vastly reducing the risk of damage that can lead to incontinence or impotence. "I'm able to spare all the things that help men have their dignity and at the same time take away the cancer," he said.
Studies have shown some benefits of robotically performed prostatectomy over a traditional open prostatectomy -- but the data aren't overwhelming. One clear advantage, Shah said, is the reduced blood loss. Also, robotic surgeries are considered minimally invasive. Instead of a 4½-inch incision, robotics patients have six dime-sized incisions in the abdomen. Some patients experience only minimal pain and are in the hospital less than 24 hours.""
YES. The future is now! "As 3D images illuminate the viewfinder, a joystick delicately maneuvers a pair of robotic arms. It may sound like a video game, ... more -
Three Engineers, Hundreds of Robots, One Warehouse
This is the demonstration facility of Kiva Systems, a start-up in Woburn, Mass., just north of Boston, that wants to reinvent the centuries-old warehouse business. Kiva's idea is simple: by making inventory items come to the warehouse workers rather than vice versa, you can fulfill orders faster. A computer cluster keeps track of all robots and racks on the floor, and resource-allocation algorithms efficiently orchestrate their movement. This is the demonstration facility of Kiva Systems, a start-up in Woburn, Mass., just north of Boston, that wants to reinvent the cent... more
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Robot Who Helps Save Lives
"The new Disney movie WALL-E features robots of the future actively helping humans. But the future is now. This ScienCentral News video reports on a real robot that could help us take care of elderly relatives from miles away."
I think this awesome how we are progressing the robotronic field can't wait till we actually do have these things in our home. I am all for making life alot easier for the human race. especailly for the elderly. "The new Disney movie WALL-E features robots of the future actively helping humans. But the future is now. This ScienCentral News... more
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Robotics
