Category: Robotics | Page 2

Friendly crazy robot handyman on orange background. Creative design cyborg toy. Copy space photo

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Jonathan Bartlett
Date
October 3, 2022

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Robotics}

Tesla’s Optimus is Sub-Optimal

_{With other robotics programs far outrunning Tesla, it can be hard to see what Elon Musk is adding to the field and why he's even trying} _{Jonathan Bartlett
October 3, 2022

4

Artificial Intelligence, Robotics}

As promised, Elon Musk demonstrated his prototype robot “Optimus” at the 2022 Tesla AI Day. The original plan for the robot included: Navigating the world through AutoPilot (the Tesla vehicle’s driver assistance system) Being able to perform repetitive or dangerous tasks safely Being able to be instructed using natural language instead of programming A year later, the Tesla robot has not even remotely demonstrated the ability to do any of these things with any sophistication. That’s not surprising given Elon Musk’s penchant for promising things and not delivering them, but it does drive home the point that many of Musk’s mistakes stem from his more general misconceptions about the nature of the world. Musk is great at organizing people, capital, Read More ›

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Gary Varner
Date
October 1, 2022

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Robotics

Tagged
Featured, Isaac (robot in Orvilles 3)}

Should We Love or Hate an Intelligent Robot? Or Care at All?

_{In Season 3 of Orville that becomes a serious question} _{Gary Varner
October 1, 2022

6

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Robotics}

The Orville Season 3 was recommended to me by a reader. I recall seeing a large portion of the first season and enjoying it. I had not watched the second season until preparing for this series of reviews. Unfortunately, I must say at the outset that I found myself very disappointed in Season Three, ironically called New Horizons because it only retreads about half of Season Two. This latest season fell far short of my expectations which were based on my memories of the first season. Still, we’re going to take a look at each episode and see where the problems lie. Before beginning our review of the first episode, a little prologue is required. During the midpoint of the Read More ›

Closeup of Hummingbird Hawk-moth butterfly (Macroglossum stellatarum) feeding of red valerian flowers (Centranthus ruber) in flight. Its a species of hawk moth found across temperate regions of Eurasi

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News
Date
September 23, 2022

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Biology, Military, Robotics

Tagged
University of Washington}

Machine Uses Live Hawk Moth Antenna for Smell Detection

_{Human-created sensors are not sensitive, fast, or discerning enough to identify and process smells in the danger zones for which the Smellicopter was designed} _{News
September 23, 2022

3

Artificial Intelligence, Biology, Military, Robotics}

We’ve often written about electronic prostheses that link up with the human nervous system — which essentially means controlling the prosthesis by thoughts alone. A reversal is also possible, as the University of Washington demonstrated in 2020: A machine (the “Smellicopter”) used an insect’s antenna to identify and seek out smells: “Nature really blows our human-made odor sensors out of the water,” said lead author Melanie Anderson, a UW doctoral student in mechanical engineering. “By using an actual moth antenna with Smellicopter, we’re able to get the best of both worlds: the sensitivity of a biological organism on a robotic platform where we can control its motion.” Sarah McQuate, “The Smellicopter is an obstacle-avoiding drone that uses a live moth Read More ›

Robot dog delivering pizza. 3D illustration

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News
Date
August 22, 2022

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Robotics

Tagged
Evan Ackerman}

New AI Institute Aims at “World’s Smartest” Intelligent Machines

_{Boston Dynamics’ Marc Raibert thinks they’ll make progress at machines that think like humans if they keep at it long enough} _{News
August 22, 2022

4

Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Robotics}

Hyundai Motor Group and Boston Dynamics recently announced the launch of the Boston Dynamics AI Institute, with more than US $400 million to start. Boston Dynamics founder Marc Raibert is to head it up, for the purpose of “creating future generations of advanced robots and the world’s smartest and most capable intelligent machines.” Boston Dynamics, founded in 1992, is already famous for its robot dogs: Raibert has bigger plans for smarter robots, as he detailed in a recent interview, as he told Evan Ackerman at IEEE Spectum: The new thing that’s clearly different from what Boston Dynamics is doing, is to make robots smarter, in the sense that they need to be able to look at the world around them Read More ›

3D render beautiful woman computer generated photo realistic to to illustrate the uncanny valley effect

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Robert J. Marks
Date
July 12, 2022

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Psychology, Robotics

Tagged
Boris Karloff's Frankenstein (1938), Featured, Frankenstein Complex, Non-Computable You (book), Robert J. Marks, Sophia the Robot, Thomas Edison's Frankenstein(1910), Uncanny Valley}

AI: The Shadow of Frankenstein Lurks in the Uncanny Valley

_{The fifth and final excerpt from Non-Computable You (2022), from Chapter 6, focuses on the scarier AI hype} _{Robert J. Marks
July 12, 2022

8

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Psychology, Robotics}

Wrapping AI in an impressive physical package can magnify the perceived impact of new technology. Doing so uses seductive optics. The confusing of AI packaging with AI content was evident in media excitement about a Buddhist robot who delivers messages to the faithful. “The world’s first sutra-chanting android deity, modeled after Kannon the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy, was introduced to the public last week,” the report reads. The robot can “move its eyes, hands, and torso, make human-like gestures during its speech, and brings its hands together in prayer. A camera implanted in the left eye to focus on a subject gives the impression of eye contact.”1 Technologically speaking, nothing special is happening here. The messages from the Buddhist robot Read More ›

Old lonely woman sitting near the window in his house.

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News
Date
July 1, 2022

Categorized
Medicine and Health, Relationships, Robotics

Tagged
Japan and robots}

Is a Robot Pal Really a Solution to Old Age Loneliness?

_{New York State is buying a companion bot called ElliQ in a pilot project that is likely among the first of a trend} _{News
July 1, 2022

4

Medicine and Health, Relationships, Robotics}

New York State is buying 800 ElliQ robots from Israeli firm Intuition Robotics to help seniors cope with the familiar problem of loneliness — which worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic: ElliQ, a tabletop device that resembles a virtual assistant like Alexa or Siri, can make small talk, answer questions, remind users to take medication, help contact friends and family, initiate conversation and help with other daily activities. Users interact with the robot an average of 20 times per day, according to the company. Margaret Osborne, “New York State Purchases Robot Companions for the Elderly” at Smithsonian Magazine (June 22, 2022) Greg Olsen, director of the state’s Office for the Aging, says that seniors accept new technology like the ElliQ model Read More ›

Girl in orange shirt standing near house robot

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News
Date
May 4, 2022

Categorized
Medicine and Health, Robotics}

Is the World Running Out of Humans? Are Robots the Answer?

_{But then why have we “run out of human beings,” as some claim?} _{News
May 4, 2022

2

Medicine and Health, Robotics}

So some claim: The pandemic and the U.S. labor shortage are starting to change the conversation about robotics and automation from threat to opportunity — from putting jobs at risk to filling critical gaps in the workforce. “The biggest shift that has happened from 2018 to now is that we’ve literally run out of human beings to do the things that we need to do,” said roboticist Siddhartha “Sidd” Srinivasa, a professor at the University of Washington’s Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering in Seattle who founded Carnegie Mellon University’s Personal Robotics Lab during his 18-year tenure in Pittsburgh. That shift is giving a new spark to robotics engineers and entrepreneurs who have long aspired to change the world Read More ›

A humanoid robot with a shopping trolley is shopping at a grocery store. Future concept with robotics and artificial intelligence. 3D rendering.

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News
Date
March 7, 2022

Categorized
Relationships, Robotics

Tagged
Evan Ackerman}

Engineering Mag Editor Dislikes Androids That Make People “Feel”

_{That’s not really the job of a robot, says Evan Ackerman, who“hugs robots” himself} _{News
March 7, 2022

4

Relationships, Robotics}

Evan Ackerman, a senior editor at the prominent engineering mag IEEE Spectrum, thinks — even though he “hugs robots” — that we don’t really need androids in daily life. Ackerman, who has a degree in Martian geology, focuses on “Nicola,” an android under development at Riken, a research institute in Japan, modeled on a boy and intended to ““to promote natural interactions with both adults and children.” So far, it is only a head. The reason that this research was necessary is because androids can be tricky to read at times, especially when making expressions associated with negative emotions, which are more difficult to distinguish. And that’s one of the reasons why I’m so skeptical that androids are the best Read More ›

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News
Date
March 4, 2022

Categorized
Chemistry, Robotics

Tagged
Origin of life, Venus (life on Venus)}

Will AI Chemistry Robots Finally Discover the Origin of Life?

_{Chemist Lee Cronin’s hopes for a breakthrough by getting robots to motor through millions of chemical combinations, looking for self-replicating systems} _{News
March 4, 2022

4

Chemistry, Robotics}

How did molecules form self-replicating systems? This is a harder problem than we sometimes think because it’s not obvious why molecules should seek to develop into complex organisms that can self-replicate. Science journalist Katharine Sanderson notes that University of Glasgow chemist Lee Cronin is using robots to test the “billions of ways” it could have happened: He and his team have set up machines that combine a selection of simple substances – acids, inorganic minerals, carbon-based molecules – to react randomly. The outcome is analysed and then an algorithm helps the robot choose how to proceed. In this way, the robot can hunt through vast swathes of chemical space to see if any self-replicating systems emerge. Cronin thinks this automated Read More ›

Centipede is a poisonous animal with many legs that can bite and release poison to enemies.

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News
Date
March 1, 2022

Categorized
Robotics}

A Robotic Centipede Is Not Just a Toy

_{It may be useful in agriculture because it replicates natural centipede skills at navigating rough ground or water} _{News
March 1, 2022

3

Robotics}

Georgia Tech biological physicist Daniel Goldman recently told a virtual meeting of the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology that he hopes to build a centipede robot. A robot that riffed off the centipede, a carnivorous land-dwelling arthropod with a long body and many jointed legs, would look a little bit like this: What would it be good for? Well, intense study by Goldman and his colleagues showed that centipedes have ways of overcoming obstacles that make them especially useful for agricultural tasks like planting, picking, and weeding, where they must constantly adapt to the landscape (land or water), which is something a lot of machines have difficulty with: Here’s one of their papers on the topic. Another approach, pioneered Read More ›

Young disabled man playing on piano electronic synthesizer with artificial prosthetic hand in music shop

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News
Date
February 21, 2022

Categorized
Medicine and Health, Robotics}

What If a Prosthetic Limb Could Feel Like the Real Thing?

_{No, this isn’t some Uncanny Valley; the human nervous system responds to electrical signals from machines} _{News
February 21, 2022

4

Medicine and Health, Robotics}

A NOVA special premiering February 23, looks at a remarkable new development in prostheses that “allows prosthetic legs to move and feel like the real thing.” Here’s the trailer: Follow the dramatic personal journey of Hugh Herr, a biophysicist working to create brain-controlled robotic limbs. At age 17, Herr’s legs were amputated after a climbing accident. Frustrated by the crude prosthetic limbs he was given, Herr set out to remedy their design, leading him to a career as an inventor of innovative prosthetic devices. Now, Herr is teaming up with an injured climber and a surgeon at a leading Boston hospital to test a new approach to surgical amputation that allows prosthetic limbs to move and feel like the real Read More ›

LEGO MINDSTOM EV3 - FLL ROBOTICS COMPETITIONS for kid.

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News
Date
February 1, 2022

Categorized
Neuroscience, Robotics

Tagged
Featured}

A Lego Toy That Solves Mazes May Bring New Hope to Amputees

_{Organic materials that enable computer chips to work like neurons could improve the usability of prostheses} _{News
February 1, 2022

8

Neuroscience, Robotics}

A Lego toy robot with an organic brain, programmed to solve mazes, promises better prostheses: In the winter of 1997 Carver Mead lectured on an unusual topic for a computer scientist: the nervous systems of animals, such as the humble fly. Mead, a researcher at the California Institute of Technology, described his earlier idea for an electronic problem-solving system inspired by nerve cells, a technique he had dubbed “neuromorphic” computing. A quarter-century later, researchers have designed a carbon-based neuromorphic computing device—essentially an organic robot brain—that can learn to navigate a maze. Saugat Bolakhe, “Lego Robot with an Organic ‘Brain’ Learns to Navigate a Maze” at Scientific American (January 28, 2022) The difference between a regular materials-only computer chip made of Read More ›

3d rendering of an android robot cyborg woman humanoid - side view and isolated in an empty background

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News
Date
January 28, 2022

Categorized
Relationships, Robotics

Tagged
Engineered Arts (robotics)}

Watch a Robot Try To Replicate Human Emotions

_{We wouldn’t know there was such a thing as human emotions if this were our only source} _{News
January 28, 2022

2

Relationships, Robotics}

A robot by BilTek trying to replicate human emotions The reactions have been pretty much what we might expect: The clip, posted by EHA News, shows the head of the robot, which has been designed to look so life-like that its eyes, mouth and facial expressions are detailed enough to be able to mimic human expressions. One Twitter user commented that the robot was showing ‘The UK emotions of being absolutely off ya bonk’. Simon Catling, “Scientists Create Robot Trying To Replicate Human Emotions And Everyone’s Saying The Same Thing” at UNILAD (January 14, 2022) Catling notes that a video of another, much creepier, robot by Engineered Arts surfaced last month: The robot in question – called the Ameca – Read More ›

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News
Date
January 15, 2022

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Religion, Robotics}

Sci-Fi Saturday Special: The Journey of the Nauts

_{The astronaut discovers a planet run by robots that think humans are lying if we say there is no Creator because, after all, we created them} _{News
January 15, 2022

3

Arts & Culture, Religion, Robotics}

(A short story by Jonathan Witt) Let’s see. How to start? As I surfaced from cryo, I was reminded of the old Christmas poem. “A cold coming we had of it,” one of the Magi begins, and I was thinking, the fellow doesn’t know the meaning of cold. Try halfway to absolute zero across seventeen light years of interstellar space. Granted, the cryo made the journey feel like an overnighter, but don’t imagine some trillionaire spa sleepover. Imagine yourself liquored up on bad moonshine, stuffed in a sack full of dry ice, knocked unconscious, tumbled about for an hour, quick-thawed, flushed of blue antifreeze, pumped full of dehydrated/rehydrated blood, and then shocked awake. That’s the cold coming we had of Read More ›

Shaved male nape and a lot of usb cables connected to it. Concept of dependence in thinking and information

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Gary Varner
Date
January 15, 2022

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Ethics, Robotics

Tagged
Day the Earth Stood Still (2008), Gort (robot in Day the Earth Stood Still), Klaatu (character in Day the Earth Stood Still)}

Enforce the Law With No Bias? Use Robots! Oops, Wait…

_{The 2008 remake of the 1951 film, The Day the Earth Stood Still, explores the concept} _{Gary Varner
January 15, 2022

5

Arts & Culture, Ethics, Robotics}

Since we’ve been reviewing the Matrix movies, I thought I would review another sci-fi film starring Keanu Reeves, The Day the Earth Stood Still, (2008) which was a remake of a film of the same name that came out in 1951. However, as I was watching this train wreck, even by remake standards, I thought I ought to watch the original for a little extra context. What I saw compelled me to write this review. Here’s a trailer for the original, which gives some sense of the period: Now the new version: The movie opens with a spaceship landing and the alien, Klaatu, and his robot, Gort, stepping out of the ship. Klaatu is shot and Gort destroys a few Read More ›

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News
Date
November 18, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Robotics

Tagged
George D. Montanez}

Can a Robot Be Programmed To Detect a Trap?

_{A team led by a Harvey Mudd professor programmed some digital gophers to spot possible traps while seeking food — and some without that ability} _{News
November 18, 2021

4

Artificial Intelligence, Robotics}

One issue in robotics is enabling the robot to detect danger. That’s harder than it might seem; it involves evaluating uncertainties. In their open access paper, a Harvey Mudd College research group describes the situation in dramatic terms by asking readers to picture a dilemma: Imagine a wealthy individual has announced they have hidden a large sum of money in an abandoned mine. You feel particularly adventurous and visit the mine in search of treasure. Approaching one of the mine’s many entrances, your excitement plummets as you notice the hazardous conditions. The precarious wooden floor planks separating you from a 50-foot drop are worn and rotted. Trails of crumbling rock intermittently fall from the roof and walls, indicating a potential Read More ›