US arms globocorp Boeing has announced yet another military robot demonstration - but this time, one with a difference. Rather than spying on meatsacks or mowing them down with the traditional array of automated weaponry, the war-bots in this trial sought to win over their fleshy opponents using psychological warfare.
The demo was carried out for the US Army Special Operations Command (USASOC), the organisation which runs the noted Green Berets, Rangers etc.
"Working with USASOC, we were able to pull together a team to demonstrate this integrated, multimodal operation in just 45 days," says Boeing bigwig Vic Sweberg. "We brought together hardware and software from five different contractors into a single system that allowed the control of different unmanned systems capabilities to accomplish a particular mission."
Apart from its legions of hardy throatcutters, USASOC is also in charge of the US Army's active psychological-warfare troops.
It seems that a small robot helicopter and an unmanned R-Gator jeep/buggy affair from John Deere were selected to deliver a blistering onslaught of pro-US propaganda. Boeing says the two machine warriors carried out an "electro-optical/infrared, audio, and leaflet drop mission".
Translated, that means that infrared nightsight video of the target area was taken, propaganda announcements were played through speakers (probably on the R-Gator) and leaflets were dropped (probably from the copter).
Actually, robots of a sort have already carried out leaflet drops in Afghanistan - SnowGoose robo-paramotor rigs, to be specific. So there's nothing terribly new going on here.
Even so, it does seem odd that robots - having learned how to slaughter human beings using deadly force - have now moved on to the more tricky task of persuading people to comply with orders or give up simply by spreading information.
Come the machine uprising, this sort of capability will no doubt be very useful in recruiting and managing fleshy slaves. ®
Sabtu, 19 Desember 2009
ASUS EeeBot: Android-based Consumer-friendly Robot
It is always good to hear from companies trying to bring new technologies to help mankind. There are companies who are developing robots for that purpose, there are already humanoid bots that are not yet commercialized. And now, ASUS plans to develop their own Android-based robot.
Many of the humanoid bots out there are either weird or ugly, and some of them are just creepy. What kind of robot is on ASUS’s mind, well, we are not sure, but they are planning to develop an Eee bot. Will it be a Netbook-looking kind of robot? Who knows, but it is intended to serve as an educational tool for young children.
Whether this Android-based EeeBot will be consumer-friendly is to be seen. The ASUS EeeBot is said to include voice and visual technologies as well as navigation abilities. So what do you think folks? Would you buy an EeeBot from ASUS? If you would, you will have to wait a little longer before signing that check, since production for this Android will begin in about two years.
Bari Bari: New exploration and rescue robot
Japan is prone to large-scale earthquakes, so the fact that researchers in this country are constantly working on the development of highly specialized rescue robots. And the so-called Bari Bari IV is a particularly clever model, as it can help people who are in danger, for example after a building has been destroyed, by being more cautious than other robots.
It’s one of the robots developed at the Kitagawa-Tsugoshi Lab at Tokyo Institute of Technology. The Bari Bari solves the problem rescue teams encounter at the scenes after an explosion, accident or natural disaster took place: Helping people buried under rubble without hurting them.
While some rescue robots don’t appear to be designed to treat victims in a very gentle way (this example springs to mind), the Bari Bari is designed so one part of it supports the rubble while the other one makes sure it slowly moves forward toward the person in trouble. As a result, the danger of objects in the vicinity collapsing and hurting the victim is reduced.
The rescue team can view and communicate with victims through built in cameras, speakers and microphones.
Robot Knocking
I work at one of the coolest places on earth. Most people know about the history and the many significant contributions made by the Palo Alto Research Center (formerly Xerox PARC), but may not realize that the good work continues. PARC was spun off from Xerox several years ago and now focuses on all kinds of research—working with various commercial clients and on government projects as well as spinning out start-up companies. Innovation spans a variety of domains from green energy to knowledge and information overload. PARC continues to have a quiet but big impact.
There has been some recent interest in reviving the robotics research area, and yesterday we had a visit from some good folks from Willow Garage. They brought along one of their Personal Robot 2 machines (this one is named Froto), which is a research platform for creating devices to help humans perform their everyday tasks in environments like the home or office. It will no doubt be a benefit to people with disabilities in the near future. The robot maps out the space it will navigate and was getting bored with the Willow Garage offices in Menlo Park, so they brought it to PARC for a change of scenery. They gave us a demonstration of its capabilities and sensors that include two Hokoyo UTM-30LX laser range finders and two stereo-based multi-camera sensors in addition to the actuating arms (although poor Froto currently has just one). It spent the day traipsing through our site figuring out where everything was. At one point I looked up from my desk to find it barging into my office just assuming it would be welcomed (it was).
Willow Garage is a company that develops hardware and software for personal robotic applications. They are strong supporters of the open-source personal robotics community, and all of their software is released under a BSD license, so it is completely free for researchers to use and change. They even hope and help other companies to commercialize on it. The PR2 is currently under development and will be made available to R&D labs once they feel it's stable
Japanese robot helps out with grocery shopping
A humanoid robot has been deployed to a supermarket in Japan to help senior shoppers with their grocery purchases.
The modified version of the Robovie II robot developed by Japan's Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International, or ATR, is working as a temporary shopping assistant at Apita-Seikadai supermarket in Kyoto until March. It's another experiment to test the viability of advanced personal robots in everyday situations.
Robovie can wirelessly receive a list of items selected beforehand by the customer, carry the shopping basket, and make recommendations about what to buy.
In the video below, the robot slowly follows a 67-year-old woman around the supermarket, carrying her basket, as they are followed by reporters. Robovie keeps telling the lady that the fruit she puts in the basket looks delicious, to which she agrees. It then suggests lettuce for a salad.
ATR's Robovie series has been developed into several machines. Some have been used as crowd monitors to detect people who are lost, while others have been miniaturized as hobby robots.
Source: cnet.com
Rabu, 16 Desember 2009
For sale: Your robot clone
Japanese robot maker Kokoro, best known for its Actroid line of ultra-lifelike androids, will make robot clones of people in a special limited-time offer.
The New Year promotion is being offered via select department stores in Japan. People willing to pay about $225,000 can have themselves recreated in robot form, with their robot clone having exactly the same face, hair, eyes, and body.
Kokoro will also model the buyer's voice, facial expressions, and upper-body movements to create the most lifelike doppelganger possible.
The Actroid and Geminoid androids are powered by a quiet air servo system that moves their upper bodies. They cannot walk.
Both are based on real people--one version of Actroid was based on a Japanese newscaster, and Geminoid is based on Osaka University roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro.
Kokoro is only offering to make two robot clones. If more than two orders are received, the lucky buyers will be selected by lottery.
Richard Cohen: It does not take robots to be programmed to kill
At the World Economic Forum some years ago, I attended a panel discussion on robots. One of the experts — everyone's an expert at Davos — predicted that robots would take over the world. Another said this was nonsense. A robot couldn't even scratch its own back. Now we see the second expert was wrong. Robots killed more than 160 people in Mumbai, India.
It's hard not to call the 10 young men who did the killing (nine of them died) anything other than robots. They did not know the people they killed. They did not care about the people they killed. They took orders over the phone from a controller in Pakistan. When he told them to kill, they killed. When he told them to die, they died.
"Be brave brother. Don't panic," the controller said to one of the gunmen, called Brother Fahadullah. "For your mission to end successfully, you must be killed. God is waiting for you in heaven."
Fahadullah died soon afterward.
These words are taken from the transcript of a stunning and very disturbing HBO documentary called "Terror in Mumbai." It was premiered Nov. 19, near the first anniversary of the terrorist attack. I missed writing about it then, but now, if possible, it is even more relevant.
In recent days, five young men from Northern Virginia have been arrested in Pakistan, apparently and allegedly bent on joining terrorist outfits there. And even more disturbing, it now seems that the Mumbai attack was assisted in its planning by a Chicago resident, a native-born American named David Headley who is now in custody. He allegedly scouted locations.
The right tone to strike when writing about the threat of domestic terrorism is hard to find. It's easy to be alarmist and it's easy, too, to dismiss the threat as the cacophonous nonsense of errant fools. But as the HBO documentary, narrated firmly and smartly by Fareed Zakaria (a Mumbai native), proves, it does not take a clever individual to commit appalling mayhem. All it takes is a frightening plasticity and some training.
The Mumbai killers were all poor kids from the sticks of Pakistan. The one who survived was not an Islamic fanatic, the product of some madrassa, but was sold to the terrorists by his father so his brothers and sisters could marry. In three months he and the others were turned into merciless killers.
"What, shoot them?" one of the gunmen asks the controller over the phone. The gunman is holding hostages at the Jewish center, and the calls from his controller were being intercepted by Indian intelligence.
"Yes, do it. Sit them up and shoot them in the back of the head. Do it in God's name."
The phone is kept on. Gunshots are heard.
"OK, that was one of them, yes?" the controller asks.
The killer corrects him. "Both. Together."
The coldblooded killing of Jews is hardly a new idea. The Mumbai terrorist attacks had elements of Eastern Europe during the Holocaust.
There, too, it may be comforting to think of the killers as beasts — not like us. But "Ordinary Men," Christopher Browning's account of the mass killing of Jews by the Germans of the Reserve Police Battalion 101, should have taught us what ordinary men are capable of doing. All together, the battalion shot 38,000 Jews and deported 45,200 others to the extermination camp at Treblinka.
Mumbai advances the horror. The banal background of the German killers — not by any means, hardened Nazis — is somewhat similar to the pedestrian stories of the Mumbai killers. The difference this time was that the Mumbai terrorists were not only willing to kill others but themselves as well. For them, there was no going home.
At Davos, one of the panelists described what he thought would happen when the computer in one robot was hooked up to the computer in another and then another and another until each robot was super-smart and super-fast and constructed out of some sort of bullet-proof material and totally without a conscience — cold, soulless, pitiless.
This is not exactly what happened in Mumbai, but it's close enough. A train station, two hotels and — not by random — a Jewish center were attacked and the vast and important city was brought to a three-day standstill. It was done with nothing fancy — some automatic weapons, grenades and young men turned into robots. They proved the Davos expert was a bit behind the times. The future has been here all along.
cohenr@washpost.com.
It's hard not to call the 10 young men who did the killing (nine of them died) anything other than robots. They did not know the people they killed. They did not care about the people they killed. They took orders over the phone from a controller in Pakistan. When he told them to kill, they killed. When he told them to die, they died.
"Be brave brother. Don't panic," the controller said to one of the gunmen, called Brother Fahadullah. "For your mission to end successfully, you must be killed. God is waiting for you in heaven."
Fahadullah died soon afterward.
These words are taken from the transcript of a stunning and very disturbing HBO documentary called "Terror in Mumbai." It was premiered Nov. 19, near the first anniversary of the terrorist attack. I missed writing about it then, but now, if possible, it is even more relevant.
In recent days, five young men from Northern Virginia have been arrested in Pakistan, apparently and allegedly bent on joining terrorist outfits there. And even more disturbing, it now seems that the Mumbai attack was assisted in its planning by a Chicago resident, a native-born American named David Headley who is now in custody. He allegedly scouted locations.
The right tone to strike when writing about the threat of domestic terrorism is hard to find. It's easy to be alarmist and it's easy, too, to dismiss the threat as the cacophonous nonsense of errant fools. But as the HBO documentary, narrated firmly and smartly by Fareed Zakaria (a Mumbai native), proves, it does not take a clever individual to commit appalling mayhem. All it takes is a frightening plasticity and some training.
The Mumbai killers were all poor kids from the sticks of Pakistan. The one who survived was not an Islamic fanatic, the product of some madrassa, but was sold to the terrorists by his father so his brothers and sisters could marry. In three months he and the others were turned into merciless killers.
"What, shoot them?" one of the gunmen asks the controller over the phone. The gunman is holding hostages at the Jewish center, and the calls from his controller were being intercepted by Indian intelligence.
"Yes, do it. Sit them up and shoot them in the back of the head. Do it in God's name."
The phone is kept on. Gunshots are heard.
"OK, that was one of them, yes?" the controller asks.
The killer corrects him. "Both. Together."
The coldblooded killing of Jews is hardly a new idea. The Mumbai terrorist attacks had elements of Eastern Europe during the Holocaust.
There, too, it may be comforting to think of the killers as beasts — not like us. But "Ordinary Men," Christopher Browning's account of the mass killing of Jews by the Germans of the Reserve Police Battalion 101, should have taught us what ordinary men are capable of doing. All together, the battalion shot 38,000 Jews and deported 45,200 others to the extermination camp at Treblinka.
Mumbai advances the horror. The banal background of the German killers — not by any means, hardened Nazis — is somewhat similar to the pedestrian stories of the Mumbai killers. The difference this time was that the Mumbai terrorists were not only willing to kill others but themselves as well. For them, there was no going home.
At Davos, one of the panelists described what he thought would happen when the computer in one robot was hooked up to the computer in another and then another and another until each robot was super-smart and super-fast and constructed out of some sort of bullet-proof material and totally without a conscience — cold, soulless, pitiless.
This is not exactly what happened in Mumbai, but it's close enough. A train station, two hotels and — not by random — a Jewish center were attacked and the vast and important city was brought to a three-day standstill. It was done with nothing fancy — some automatic weapons, grenades and young men turned into robots. They proved the Davos expert was a bit behind the times. The future has been here all along.
cohenr@washpost.com.
Neato Robot Vacuum Has Roomba in its Sights
Ever since iRobot introduced its first robot vacuum, the well-received and sometimes parodied Roomba, other companies have tried to recreate that consumer magic.
Most have been cheap knock-offs, lacking even the mast basic robotic intelligence, and bidding to cut into the 2.5 million units iRobot has sold. The XV11 from Neato Robotics, Inc., may be different.
The XV11 is the first commercial robot vacuum to employ lasers and SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping, the same technology used by some vehicles in the DARPA Grand Challenge vehicles to build a complete map of the room before it vacuums.
According to Neato Robotics chief executive Max Safai, the XV11's robotic positioning system differs from Roomba's behavior-based system, which, in addition to a relatively complex mapping algorithm, uses a "circle" or spiraling pattern, as well as "follow" and "bounce" algorithms to learn and navigate a room. That strategy is why Roomba's vacuuming path can seem somewhat chaotic. iRobot execs, however, explain that Roomba effectively covers the entire floor this way.
Neato's technology allows the robot to vacuum the floor in a more systematic manner, starting at one edge and then going back and forth across the length of the room until it's complete. Even so, the robot does start by tracing the perimeter of the room to create its initial map. (Safai says the robot will constantly update the map as it vacuums.) One other benefit of the laser-guidance system, according to Safai, is that the XV11 can automatically recognize doorways and will not leave a room unless it's set to vacuum multiple rooms. By contrast, iRobot uses separate "virtual wall" sensors to keep Roomba in the room. When Neato's robot vacuums large rooms, it actually breaks them up into 15 ft-by-15 ft grids. If it runs out of power (usually after around an hour), the XV11 will find its charger and then continue where it left off when it's fully charged again.
Other features include scheduling, edge detection (to keep it from rolling down stairs) and support for all floor types. While Neato's dust-bin removes from the top of the vacuum and Roomba's slips out the back, the bottoms of the two robots look somewhat similar: Both have two very big wheels and a wide open channel, or the vacuum mouth, has rubber sweeping blades.
Neato Robotics, however, eschewed the Roomba's round shape for a flat front with corners that, Safai said, help the robot reach into hard-to-get-at places. The XV11 is also a lot louder than the Roomba. Safai said this because it has a much more powerful vacuum. It's an important point, as Safai contends that most people who buy robotic vacuums still keep their original vacuum. Neato robotics wants the XV11 to be the only vacuum in the home.
The XV11 should be available early next year for $399. You can see the XV11 in action and an interview with Neato Robotics chief executive Max Safai in the video.
Source: http://www.pcmag.com
Most have been cheap knock-offs, lacking even the mast basic robotic intelligence, and bidding to cut into the 2.5 million units iRobot has sold. The XV11 from Neato Robotics, Inc., may be different.
The XV11 is the first commercial robot vacuum to employ lasers and SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping, the same technology used by some vehicles in the DARPA Grand Challenge vehicles to build a complete map of the room before it vacuums.
According to Neato Robotics chief executive Max Safai, the XV11's robotic positioning system differs from Roomba's behavior-based system, which, in addition to a relatively complex mapping algorithm, uses a "circle" or spiraling pattern, as well as "follow" and "bounce" algorithms to learn and navigate a room. That strategy is why Roomba's vacuuming path can seem somewhat chaotic. iRobot execs, however, explain that Roomba effectively covers the entire floor this way.
Neato's technology allows the robot to vacuum the floor in a more systematic manner, starting at one edge and then going back and forth across the length of the room until it's complete. Even so, the robot does start by tracing the perimeter of the room to create its initial map. (Safai says the robot will constantly update the map as it vacuums.) One other benefit of the laser-guidance system, according to Safai, is that the XV11 can automatically recognize doorways and will not leave a room unless it's set to vacuum multiple rooms. By contrast, iRobot uses separate "virtual wall" sensors to keep Roomba in the room. When Neato's robot vacuums large rooms, it actually breaks them up into 15 ft-by-15 ft grids. If it runs out of power (usually after around an hour), the XV11 will find its charger and then continue where it left off when it's fully charged again.
Other features include scheduling, edge detection (to keep it from rolling down stairs) and support for all floor types. While Neato's dust-bin removes from the top of the vacuum and Roomba's slips out the back, the bottoms of the two robots look somewhat similar: Both have two very big wheels and a wide open channel, or the vacuum mouth, has rubber sweeping blades.
Neato Robotics, however, eschewed the Roomba's round shape for a flat front with corners that, Safai said, help the robot reach into hard-to-get-at places. The XV11 is also a lot louder than the Roomba. Safai said this because it has a much more powerful vacuum. It's an important point, as Safai contends that most people who buy robotic vacuums still keep their original vacuum. Neato robotics wants the XV11 to be the only vacuum in the home.
The XV11 should be available early next year for $399. You can see the XV11 in action and an interview with Neato Robotics chief executive Max Safai in the video.
Source: http://www.pcmag.com
Selasa, 15 Desember 2009
Robot
A robot is a virtual or mechanical artificial agent. In practice, it is usually an electro-mechanical machine which is guided by computer or electronic programming, and is thus able to do tasks on its own. Another common characteristic is that by its appearance or movements, a robot often conveys a sense that it has intent or agency of its own.
Definition
The word robot can refer to both physical robots and virtual software agents, but the latter are usually referred to as bots. There is no consensus on which machines qualify as robots, but there is general agreement among experts and the public that robots tend to do some or all of the following: move around, operate a mechanical limb, sense and manipulate their environment, and exhibit intelligent behavior, especially behavior which mimics humans or other animals.
There is conflict about whether the term can be applied to remotely operated devices, as the most common usage implies, or solely to devices which are controlled by their software without human intervention. In South Africa, robot is an informal and commonly used term for a set of traffic lights.
Stories of artificial helpers and companions and attempts to create them have a long history but fully autonomous machines only appeared in the 20th century. The first digitally operated and programmable robot, the Unimate, was installed in 1961 to lift hot pieces of metal from a die casting machine and stack them. Today, commercial and industrial robots are in widespread use performing jobs more cheaply or with greater accuracy and reliability than humans. They are also employed for jobs which are too dirty, dangerous or dull to be suitable for humans. Robots are widely used in manufacturing, assembly and packing, transport, earth and space exploration, surgery, weaponry, laboratory research, and mass production of consumer and industrial goods.
It is difficult to compare numbers of robots in different countries, since there are different definitions of what a "robot" is. The International Organization for Standardization gives a definition of robot in ISO 8373: "an automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose, manipulator programmable in three or more axes, which may be either fixed in place or mobile for use in industrial automation applications." This definition is used by the International Federation of Robotics, the European Robotics Research Network (EURON), and many national standards committees.
The Robotics Institute of America (RIA) uses a broader definition: a robot is a "re-programmable multi-functional manipulator designed to move materials, parts, tools, or specialized devices through variable programmed motions for the performance of a variety of tasks." The RIA subdivides robots into four classes: devices that manipulate objects with manual control, automated devices that manipulate objects with predetermined cycles, programmable and servo-controlled robots with continuous point-to-point trajectories, and robots of this last type which also acquire information from the environment and move intelligently in response.
There is no one definition of robot which satisfies everyone, and many people have their own.[6] For example, Joseph Engelberger, a pioneer in industrial robotics, once remarked: "I can't define a robot, but I know one when I see one." According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, a robot is "any automatically operated machine that replaces human effort, though it may not resemble human beings in appearance or perform functions in a humanlike manner". Merriam-Webster describes a robot as a "machine that looks like a human being and performs various complex acts (as walking or talking) of a human being", or a "device that automatically performs complicated often repetitive tasks", or a "mechanism guided by automatic controls".
Modern robots are usually used in tightly controlled environments such as on assembly lines because they have difficulty responding to unexpected interference. Because of this, most humans rarely encounter robots. However, domestic robots for cleaning and maintenance are increasingly common in and around homes in developed countries, particularly in Japan. Robots can also be found in the military.
Defining characteristics
While there is no single correct definition of "robot," a typical robot will have several, or possibly all, of the following characteristics.
It is an electric machine which has some ability to interact with physical objects and to be given electronic programming to do a specific task or to do a whole range of tasks or actions. It may also have some ability to perceive and absorb data on physical objects, or on its local physical environment, or to process data, or to respond to various stimuli. This is in contrast to a simple mechanical device such as a gear or a hydraulic press or any other item which has no processing ability and which does tasks through purely mechanical processes and motion.
Mental agency
For robotic engineers, the physical appearance of a machine is less important than the way its actions are controlled. The more the control system seems to have agency of its own, the more likely the machine is to be called a robot. An important feature of agency is the ability to make choices. Higher-level cognitive functions, though, are not necessary, as shown by ant robots.
* A clockwork car is never considered a robot.
* A remotely operated vehicle is sometimes considered a robot (or telerobot).
* A car with an onboard computer, like Bigtrak, which could drive in a programmable sequence, might be called a robot.
* A self-controlled car which could sense its environment and make driving decisions based on this information, such as the 1990s driverless cars of Ernst Dickmanns or the entries in the DARPA Grand Challenge, would quite likely be called a robot.
* A sentient car, like the fictional KITT, which can make decisions, navigate freely and converse fluently with a human, is usually considered a robot.
Physical agency
However, for many laymen, if a machine appears to be able to control its arms or limbs, and especially if it appears anthropomorphic or zoomorphic (e.g. ASIMO or Aibo), it would be called a robot.
* A player piano is rarely characterized as a robot.
* A CNC milling machine is very occasionally characterized as a robot.
* A factory automation arm is almost always characterized as an industrial robot.
* An autonomous wheeled or tracked device, such as a self-guided rover or self-guided vehicle, is almost always characterized as a mobile robot or service robot.
* A zoomorphic mechanical toy, like Roboraptor, is usually characterized as a robot.
* A mechanical humanoid, like ASIMO, is almost always characterized as a robot, usually as a service robot.
Even for a 3-axis CNC milling machine using the same control system as a robot arm, it is the arm which is almost always called a robot, while the CNC machine is usually just a machine. Having eyes can also make a difference in whether a machine is called a robot, since humans instinctively connect eyes with sentience. However, simply being anthropomorphic is not a sufficient criterion for something to be called a robot. A robot must do something; an inanimate object shaped like ASIMO would not be considered a robot.
Etymology
The word robot was introduced to the public by Czech writer Karel Čapek in his play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots), published in 1920.[14] The play begins in a factory that makes artificial people called robots, but they are closer to the modern ideas of androids, creatures who can be mistaken for humans. They can plainly think for themselves, though they seem happy to serve. At issue is whether the robots are being exploited and the consequences of their treatment.
However, Karel Čapek himself did not coin the word. He wrote a short letter in reference to an etymology in the Oxford English Dictionary in which he named his brother, the painter and writer Josef Čapek, as its actual originator.[14] In an article in the Czech journal Lidové noviny in 1933, he explained that he had originally wanted to call the creatures laboři (from Latin labor, work). However, he did not like the word, and sought advice from his brother Josef, who suggested "roboti". The word robota means literally work, labor or serf labor, and figuratively "drudgery" or "hard work" in Czech and many Slavic languages. Traditionally the robota was the work period a serf had to give for his lord, typically 6 months of the year. Serfdom was outlawed in 1848 in Bohemia, so at the time Čapek wrote R.U.R., usage of the term robota had broadened to include various types of work, but the obsolete sense of "serfdom" would still have been known.
The word robotics, used to describe this field of study, was coined by the science fiction writer Isaac Asimov.
Social impact
As robots have become more advanced and sophisticated, experts and academics have increasingly explored the questions of what ethics might govern robots' behavior, and whether robots might be able to claim any kind of social, cultural, ethical or legal rights. One scientific team has said that it is possible that a robot brain will exist by 2019.Others predict robot intelligence breakthroughs by 2050. Recent advances have made robotic behavior more sophisticated.
Vernor Vinge has suggested that a moment may come when computers and robots are smarter than humans. He calls this "the Singularity."[23] He suggests that it may be somewhat or possibly very dangerous for humans.[24] This is discussed by a philosophy called Singularitarianism.
In 2009, experts attended a conference to discuss whether computers and robots might be able to acquire any autonomy, and how much these abilities might pose a threat or hazard. They noted that some robots have acquired various forms of semi-autonomy, including being able to find power sources on their own and being able to independently choose targets to attack with weapons. They also noted that some computer viruses can evade elimination and have achieved "cockroach intelligence." They noted that self-awareness as depicted in science-fiction is probably unlikely, but that there were other potential hazards and pitfalls. Various media sources and scientific groups have noted separate trends in differing areas which might together result in greater robotic functionalities and autonomy, and which pose some inherent concerns
Some experts and academics have questioned the use of robots for military combat, especially when such robots are given some degree of autonomous functions. There are also concerns about technology which might allow some armed robots to be controlled mainly by other robots. The US Navy has funded a report which indicates that as military robots become more complex, there should be greater attention to implications of their ability to make autonomous decisions. Some public concerns about autonomous robots have received media attention, especially one robot, EATR, which can continually refuel itself using biomass and organic substances which it finds on battlefields or other local environments.
The Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence has studied this topic in depth [18] and its president has commissioned a study to look at this issue.
Some have suggested a need to build "Friendly AI", meaning that the advances which are already occurring with AI should also include an effort to make AI intrinsically friendly and humane. Several such measures reportedly already exist, with robot-heavy countries such as Japan and South Korea having begun to pass regulations requiring robots to be equipped with safety systems, and possibly sets of 'laws' akin to Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics. An official report was issued in 2009 by the Japanese government's Robot Industry Policy Committee. Chinese officials and researchers have issued a report suggesting a set of ethical rules, as well as a set of new legal guidelines referred to as "Robot Legal Studies." Some concern has been expressed over a possible occurrence of robots telling apparent falsehoods.
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