Willow Garage

Here is a great company doing fascinating things with Telepresence Robots!

www.willowgarage.com

Lawyers for Robots???

Here’s a great article that I found in the SF Chronicle the other day on the future role of robots in our lives.  It speaks of the legal implications of robots as they become more and more involved in our lives.  It raises an interesting question though.  One that many overlook as we think of the reality of modern robotics as opposed to living in the fantasy “Terminator 2″ world.  More specifically, as robots become more and more autonomous, if something goes wrong…say a robot breaks a person’s arm or harm’s a child, or worse yet… kills someone… who takes responsibility?  The maker?  The distributor?  The robot itself?  The article raises a great question… if the robot makers are faced with multimillion dollar lawsuits for the actions of autonomous robots, they may be less inclined to develop them.  With other countries with less strict laws…or actually a public less inclined to sue…as we have here in America, we might find ourselves falling behind in the field of autonomous robotics.  Well, at least ones that directly interact with the general public.  Food for thought…

Robot Mag

I am now a subscriber… great stuff…

www.botmag.com

To NASA I go…

Hey All!  Admittedly, it has been a while since my last post.  But I have some great news!  I have been granted access to the Ames facility in Santa Clara!  There we will hope to get a first hand look at the NASA Lunar robot!  As you all know, about a month or so ago, NASA created a large explosion on the Moon in order to determine the existence of ice.  And what happened??? We have ice!  What does this mean?  Well… my first guess is that now we are DEFINITELY going back to the Moon!  Extremely exciting especially for those that weren’t yet around for the Apollo missions.  What else?  Well perhaps if we can harvest the ice into liquid water…which I can’t see how we can’t… we will be able to sustain a Lunar base and a potential launching point for trips to the out solar system!  Very exciting stuff!  Stay tuned!

Asimo, Emiew, and, Enon, and the Trumpet Playing Robot

Not to say it isn’t a cheesy soundtrack, but here is a video of four of Japan’s most famous robots!

http://www.pluggd.tv/video/channels/techtoys_video_podcast/episodes/2ktcq?play=1

Some more interesting video…

Of awesome robots!!

http://www.smartplanet.com/people/video/robotic-wall-climbers-from-rescue-missions-to-kids-toys/310114/?tag=col1;video-load-river

and…

http://www.smartplanet.com/people/video/next-gen-ui-learning-tools-and-toys-for-the-digital-age/349944/?tag=col1;video-load-river

Laws of Robotics

This was news to me…  I thought this was just something iRobot made up… go fig…

 

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Pushing the boundaries…

Here are some links to notable professors at local universities pushing the envelope of modern robotics.  Very exciting stuff!

Jacob Rosen – UCSC – http://bionics.soe.ucsc.edu/

Gabriel Hugh Elkaim – UCSC –  http://asl.soe.ucsc.edu

Chris Kitts – Santa Clara University – rsl.engr.scu.edu

So it seems…

…that the more I pay closer attention to this whole robot thing, the more interesting it becomes.  There are so many interesting organizations, people, and companies doing some great things in the world or modern robotics!  Here are just a few…

Carnegie Mellon University – http://www.cmu.edu/index.shtml – They host a show every year I believe, both on the east cost where they’re based, and here on the West Coast in the San Jose area!  Great stuff!

UCSC School of Engineering – bionics, autonomous vehicles

Santa Clara University School of Engineering – environmental robotics

UCSF and Kaiser San Leandro – both have robots that roam the halls of the hospital dispensing medication to patients

The Nummi Plant in Fremont – granted they are closing down, but they have some great robots that both build cars….AND play chess!!

And let’s not forget of course, Ames Research Center in Santa Clara who are at this moment developing and testing the Lunar rovers!

More to come!!

Nanorobotics

So here’s one that’s interesting to me.  Nanorobotics.  Now according to many sites around the internet including Wikipedia, which let’s face it, isn’t the most credible of sources, Nanorobotics is at this moment, theoretical.  But I find the idea of having tiny robots, or even micro chips passing through our bloodstream completely fascinating.  I know there are going to be those out there that will question ethics and morals, and probably even those that will bring religion into and blah blah blah… you know, the same people that don’t believe in stem cell research to help find cures for diseases.  But think about it, having a microscopic robot monitoring blood sugar levels.  Or fighting off viruses.  Or even going in and clearing out clogged arteries.  Or perhaps a robot that can latch onto damaged retina to enable a blind person the ability to see?  There are plenty of places out there that are at this moment developing such technology and it will be a fascinating to see what the next 10 years will bring in the realm of nanorobotic technology.