Robot vs Human

The in class discussion today left me with much to consider. The implications of brain chip implants? I am dubious about any type of invasive procedure that is not necessary to survival. However, I have to say that the point that was brought up about how it could possibly help those with diseases like Alzheimer's has made me at least partially reconsider my stance. If faced with the choice of living with a condition like that (or a stroke, or other debilitating condition), or getting an implant put into my brain, I would have to say that I would choose the implant. As long as my brain is healthy, and operating (somewhat) normally, I would still rather not have it tinkered with. Enough of brain chips though, what I'd really like to talk about is robots...

Today, I came home and was pleasantly surprised to see that there were a few articles featuring robotics in the May 2010 issue of Discover Magazine. One in particular caught my eye, "Machine Dreams". Discover Magazine's editor in chief, Corey S. Powell, moderated a discussion between four roboticists: Robin Murphy of Texas A&M, Red Whittaker of Carnegie Mellon, Javier Movellan of U.C. San Diego, and Rodney Brooks of MIT; concerning different areas of robotics.

One question that was posed to Rodney Brooks, founder of iRobot (which makes the Roomba), was "...you've talked about four goals that robot researchers should be aiming for. What are they?" In essense, his response was that they should aim to create robots that have:

1) "...the object recognition capabilities of a two-year-old child", as in being able to recognize that two different objects are still the same type of thing (their example was that two different chairs are still both chairs)
2) "...the language capabilities of a four-year-old child"
3) "...the manual dexterity of a six-year-old child" (ie. the ability to tie shoes)
4) "...the social understanding of an eight or nine-year-old child", the ability to take social cues from others

The panelists also spoke of how robots could be most beneficial to humans. One way that robots can be used is in space explortion. They don't have biological requirements (food, air, water, warmth) that humans have. Also, they are better suited to dangerous or lengthy missions than humans are. This could open up more possibilities of exploration in areas that humans would not be able to easily access (or access at all), like caves on the moon, the moons of outer planets, or even possibly further reaches of space beyond our own solar system.

Robots can also be used in other areas that could pose a threat to human survival, or cause harm to humans. For example, they are already being used for testing for explosives, search and rescue in floods, under deep rubble, and in low altitude fly overs in places with heavy tree cover.

Of course, their are a multitude of ways that robots can be useful to humans. They can assist in medical procedures, do manual labor, work on assembly lines, really the options are pretty much endless. Will they replace humans? In some areas, yes. Progress always requires a shift in the way that work is done though, and new jobs will likely open up in other areas as technology expands the horizons for what is possible.

Early Automatons

I have always heard the term automaton but I never knew what they are or how they are different from robots. From what I researched, automatons and robots are very closely related. One major difference is automatons are made with non-electronic moving parts. Automatons are usually created to mimic human or animal actions.

Due to the use of non-electronic parts, automatons have been around for thousands of years. The earliest automatons have been traced all the way back to ancient China. King Mu of Zhou was presented with a life-size human shaped automaton by a Chinese mechanical engineer.

"The king stared at the figure in astonishment. It walked with rapid strides, moving its head up and down, so that anyone would have taken it for a live human being. The artificer touched its chin, and it began singing, perfectly in tune. He touched its hand, and it began posturing, keeping perfect time...As the performance was drawing to an end, the robot winked its eye and made advances to the ladies in attendance, whereupon the king became incensed and would have had Yen Shih [Yan Shi] executed on the spot had not the latter, in mortal fear, instantly taken the robot to pieces to let him see what it really was. And, indeed, it turned out to be only a construction of leather, wood, glue and lacquer, variously coloured white, black, red and blue. Examining it closely, the king found all the internal organs complete—liver, gall, heart, lungs, spleen, kidneys, stomach and intestines; and over these again, muscles, bones and limbs with their joints, skin, teeth and hair, all of them artificial...The king tried the effect of taking away the heart, and found that the mouth could no longer speak; he took away the liver and the eyes could no longer see; he took away the kidneys and the legs lost their power of locomotion. The king was delighted."

I found this to be astonishing how something this complex was created around 1000 BC. This also brings up the thought of how was this technology was not explored more by the ancient societies. If this technology had been expanded, the world could have definitely panned out differently. There could have been armies of automatons that fought in the wars instead of people.

The automatons of the 13th to 19th centuries were a lot more complex than the ancient Chinese. Automatons started to become programmable but were used mostly for entertainment purposes. There were automatons created to play instruments, sing songs, hand washing, and other purposes that manipulated the environment for human comfort.

Due to the invention of electricity and creation of computers, automatons are not that big of news anymore. Now a days, companies are investing millions of dollars for robotics. There goal is very similar to the goals of the ancient mechanical engineers. However, companies today have much more resources and I think it is only time until robots become a major part of society.

Artificial Intelligence

Last week we discussed how artifical intelligence came about. I was curious as to when robots were first invented and what their capabilities were at the time. What I found was pretty interesting to me. In 1966, the first mobile robot was created that could reason about its actions, it's name was Shakey.

Shakey had many features such as acting, seeing and reasoning. If someone input a command into Shakeys computer, it would type back a response. Shakey could take instructions and work things out until he reached the objective or goal. In 1972, researchers named Peter Hart and Nils Nilsson created a film titled after the robot, Shakey. The film demonstrated all of Shakey's capabilities and how they've learned to program a robot at this stage in technology.

To believe that we were making robots back in the 60s, seems pretty hard to believe. I mean, yes, times were changing and technology was becoming more advanced but thats over 40 years ago. We've watched in class what they have been able to make now days and what can be produced is alot more advanced than Shakey but to know that this was starting to happen that long ago, in itself it pretty unreal.

Automation

Back in the day calculators was the big part in being automatic then came bigger machines that helped in mass production of products. For the next generation they have to look for the more intricate design of robots. We discussed in class how they have a robot designed by toyota I believe that can play the violin coming out this year.

I did more research on that and they have robots that do more than just play instruments. they have quite a few. They have about five or six different kinds. One that does a tradition Japanese dance, another that plays the trumpet and rolls, another that is like a futuristic wheel chair that moves faster, and finall one that is a futuristic wheel chair with Legs.
www.toyota.co.jp/en/special/robot/

I still can't believe some of the things that we have come up with today these by far are the best. However, it makes me wonder if I Robot the movie was a look into our future society.

Anna's 4th Post

Our lecture on Wednesday made it really apparent that automation is revolutionizing almost every aspect of our life. All of the videos in class were really interesting and showed examples of automation. My favorite examples are considered to be in the robotics category.

We learned about the components of robotics, which include structure, power source, actuation, sensing and locomotion. My favorite example was the robot dog, which was the machine with four legs that was able to sense its surroundings and adjust to keep its balance. It was able to move up steep hills and on snow, rocks, sand and grass. The robot dog's team kicked it over and it was still able to maintain its balance. It was so life like that I felt bad for it when they kicked it, but then I reminded myself that it was only a robot. Above is a picture of the robot dog.

Another example of automation we saw was the chip in a paralyzed man's brain. The chip connected to the man's thoughts and allowed his brain to control movements. This technology is predicted to increase mobility for the those that are paralyzed greatly in the future. It reminded me of the movie Avatar, because the main character in that movie is paralyzed and is able to move through an Avatar's body. It is crazy to think that modern technology relates to science fiction movies.

Automation

Plain and simple in my opinion, robots are going to replace jobs and people due to automation. For example, for people in hospice care. They already have project death date and the point of hospice is to comfort that individual before they pass away. Now my mom is a hospice caregiver and she tells me she doesn't do much because there is nothing she can do. Now if a person was comfortable with having a robot with them to comfort them, why would they have a person to do the same thing a robot can do? If the person dieing wanted somebody to play the violin, a robot can do that. That's just one example and the development of robots are far from over. So the development will get better overtime. So I think the first job to slowly decrease due to robots is something nursers due. Such as reading charts, typing, getting meds and stuff like that.

As for accounting, transaction can be done on computers. Back before the time of computers, accounting was more difficult. Having to do balance sheets by hand. Now its easier due to computers. Technology is not done developing and jobs will get easier overtime. Eventually, a company will not need so many accountants or any position relating to finances. Automation is a good and bad thing for people. I've always wondered was it more expensive to have technology and lay off people or just pay people for their work. I think it would cost more to develop technology. Versus just paying humans to do the same job. Telemarketers are starting to lose their jobs now because of AUTOMATED messages.

It's a serious topic that Americans or anybody else should consider more. People should analyze and think if their job can be replaced or lost due to automation. Technology is going fast, I don't know if the jobs we have now can keep up!

automation

In class we talked about automation and robotics. And we discussed the pros and cons of them. We learned that when you combine technology with automation and robotics, you will see that a lot of hard working people have been displaced in the manual labor work force. I have seen this first hand because I work in a auto assembly plant. I see due to the downsizing of the labor force over the past 6 years. With robotics and high tech gadgets that make work easier has eliminated lots of jobs. This may be a plus for the company, but it has the opposite effect on the laborers'. I hear from the old timers about how they would lift 100 lb transmissions for 8 hours a day, 6 days a week. Now, the heaviest thing you will lift is your lunch box. This form of technology is a plus, because it increases the health of the workers and saves money from having to replace injured workers.

One of the buildings where I work is about 50% robotics. Yeah, you need to humans to repair and maintain these robots, but the ratio is about 1 human to 20-30 robots. These robots have taken jobs from hard working people, but these robots will save the company money in the long run. They don't have to pay the robots holiday pay, sick pay, health benefits, or give them bath room breaks and the robots are more accurate and can work faster than a human. Like I mentioned earlier, good for the company, but bad for the worker.

Of course technology has helped us out in the long run, but it has a tendency to hurt as well. For example, the microwave. Its easy to use, very little maintenance, and it frees up time for you to do other things instead of standing over a hot stove. A year ago my microwave went out and I had to warm food up in the oven. It took 3 times as long and I was unsure of how long it would take. I never knew how much I depended on the microwave, but I did learn to be patient and that I needed to hurry up and get a new microwave.

Robonaut 2 Robot

After Tuesday's lecture, I found myself intrigued by the idea of robots. After a little research on the internet I found a great article,"NASA and GM develop ‘Robonaut2’ robot", detailing the unveiling of a brand new robot. Nasa and GM have partnered together to create R2, a robot designed to assist both the space program and the auto industry.

After three years R2 was finally shown to the public. He is the "world's most dexterous robot", thus creating new opportunities for robot use that never existed before. R2 was built to look like a robot from the waist up, this allows him to work in the same spaces meant for humans. Due to his design, he can do some of the same jobs humans can do and in some cases work right beside people as well. As of now, R2 does not have legs but Nasa and GM are looking into mobility options for the future.

So what can R2 actually do? The auto industry benefits from R2 because he can help develop advanced safety systems for future cars. Also, R2 can promise increased factory efficiency and promote the safety of factories as well. For the space program, R2 can be sent to space to assist Astronauts on their missions. R2 can be used for both programs to pilot vehicles autonomously, or without a human present.

With all that R2 can already accomplish, improvements to him are still being made. Nasa and GM plan to continue their research and continuously improve R2 making him capable to do more in the future.

Automation

In class learning about how automation is affecting the people with their jobs made me very interesting. I remember my uncle telling about how its becoming harder and harder for people to get jobs because robots are replacing everyone. He was telling me how when people were the only thing working in factory such as Ford buliding a car was not accurate becauase every perosn had a different meaning for accurate which was a problem for the customers. Once robots start being made for the plant people startedto lose their jobs by the hundreds. In places like the car industries robots have just about taken all the position people could have in the industry.

Robots have been becoming more and involve in our lives and it seem they are not stopping at all. They are do jobs better than people cheaper than they can. I research and found out that in the 1950s you could hardly see robots in the work environment, but now there no where you go that you do not notice robots. In class we even see a video about robot being able help the paralyze move and possiblty help them stand up again. With robots improving every year I feel that soon robots will not need us to help them anymore.

Ford is a great example of how automation is taking control of the jobs people try to get. If you visit the Ford Rounge Plant you will notice their are more robots than people working. Automation show that robots cannot only do a better job than people, but can also save a lot of money in the long run. Ford would not be the only person saving money, but the customers will also save money when buying the cars and be better protected. Ford is just one of the many companies deeply involve with automation and the future automation may completely run most of the business.

site to robots is: http://marshallbrain.com/robots-in-2015.htm

Robots - Friend or foe?

Last class we learned about recent robot technologies. I read an article off the Scientific American site the other day about a robot made for toddlers. A study done with a classroom of 1-2 year old kids shows that they favor the company of the robot. The study was done over a five month period. The kids treated the robot, named QRIO, more as another classmate than an object.

Have we given birth to AI (Artificial Intelligence)? QRIO is only programmed to do things, such as giggle when a child touches it on the head. Is that a form of intelligence? Yes and no. The robot responds to touch, as does most living animals. The robot was programmed that way; for animals, it's instinct. I'm not really sure how to feel about the situation. Since robots are man made, I don't see how they could ever become aware that they have the power to take over. If they're programmed to do something, then they can never deviate from that task.

The only way I see it happening is if somebody evil enough actually programs their own force of robots to take over, but there is still a man behind the machine. It's all science fiction, but pretty soon we will be seeing more and more of them. One of the best movie examples of a robot takeover? The Terminator, I, Robot, and The Day the Earth Stood Still. If these fictional stories are possible, (which in my opinion are not) we've got a lot to worry about.

Advancement in Robotics

Today's class was very interesting. We went over Robotics and how much they have advanced from earlier models. It is scary to think how far robotics have come. every day they are getting more and more advanced. they are starting to take over human jobs to make them faster and more efficient as well as cheaper.

I really liked when we watched the video of the robotic surgery machine. It is crazy to think that a robot with the aid of a doctor can preform a procedure, much faster and less invasive. I still find it a bit creepy that a machine is doing the work, because who's to say something wont go wrong with the machine.

I also like the robot that played the violin. It was really impressive how they can make robots so advanced and act like a real human being. Even some cars have robots in them, like the ones that can parallel park them selves or slow down them selves. I cant wait to see how they advance in the coming years.