[lotuseclat79]

Robots 'Evolve' the Ability to Deceive.

An experiment shows how "deceptive" behavior can emerge from simple rules.


Robot Communication Courtesy of PNAS

Researchers at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland have found that robots equipped with artificial neural networks and programmed to find "food" eventually learned to conceal their visual signals from other robots to keep the food for themselves. The results are detailed in a PNAS study published today.

-- Tom

[ekim68]

Marines want lots of robots they can throw

The US Marine Corp has a request - build and rapidly deploy more 10lb or under robots its personnel can throw into dangerous situations that can quickly gather information without endangering Marines.

The throwable robot is part of a family of robots that would range from the 10lb version, to one that would act as a central controlling device and weigh close to 300lbs. According to the C4ISRjournal.com site, Marine commanders are demanding ever lighter robots so that troops don't have to offload critical equipment from their rucksacks to accommodate them.

http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/44509

[lotuseclat79]

If an autonomous machine kills someone, who is responsible?.

The Royal Academy of Engineering has published a report exploring the social, legal and ethical implications of ceding control to autonomous systems


The supercomputer Hal in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey embodies our worst fears about autonomous machines. Photograph: RGA

-- Tom

[ekim68]

High-Speed Robot Hand Demonstrates Dexterity and Skillful Manipulation

A few blogs are passing around videos of the Ishikawa Komuro Lab's high-speed robot hand performing impressive acts of dexterity and skillful manipulation. However, the video being passed around is slight on details. Meanwhile, their video presentation at ICRA 2009 (which took place in May in Kobe, Japan) has an informative narration and demonstrates additional capabilities. I have included this video below, which shows the manipulator dribbling a ping-pong ball, spinning a pen, throwing a ball, tying knots, grasping a grain of rice with tweezers, and tossing / re-grasping a cellphone!

http://www.hizook.com/blog/2009/08/0...l-manipulation

[aka Brett]

ladies beware...a new kinda of woman is available....thats right..one that has an off switch

[ekim68]

Tossable bots for US Navy SEALs

The shortlived era of the throwable "camera grenade" may already be over, as beercan-sized, hurlable robots with infrared nightsight video are now being delivered to US troops. Tellingly, elite special-operations units have also decided to try the new kit out.

The gear in question is the "Recon Scout" minidroid from American firm Recon Robotics. The machine has an infrared see-in-the dark video system and can drive itself about very quietly on command from a remote human operator.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08...ut_navy_seals/

[ekim68]

'Plasmobot': Scientists To Design First Robot Using Mould

Scientists at the University of the West of England are to design the first ever biological robot using mould.

“This new plasmodium robot, called plasmobot, will sense objects, span them in the shortest and best way possible, and transport tiny objects along pre-programmed directions. The robots will have parallel inputs and outputs, a network of sensors and the number crunching power of super computers. The plasmobot will be controlled by spatial gradients of light, electro-magnetic fields and the characteristics of the substrate on which it is placed. It will be a fully controllable and programmable amorphous intelligent robot with an embedded massively parallel computer.”

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0827073256.htm

[ekim68]

Swarms of Solar Microbots May Revoluntionize Data Gathering

Researchers are developing ways to mass-produce tiny robots the size of a fly that operate like swarms of insects to collect data to aid in surveillance, micromanufacturing, medicine, and more. Measuring in at under 4 mm square, the microbots have all the equipment necessary to move, communicate, and collect data, plus they generate all of their own power via solar panels.

http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/08/31/...ata-gathering/

[lotuseclat79]

This is about as smart as I would like a Robot to be:
How Wired.com Built Beer Robot, Our DIY Kegerator.

This is the story of Beer Robot, an ugly old fridge that grew into a super geeky kegerator. It started out innocently enough. After work one day at the local brewpub, three Wired.com staffers had a revelation: “What our office really needs is a kegerator!”

-- Tom

[ekim68]

Scientists in Florida ask, where’s Waldo?

SARASOTA, Fla. - Scientists on Florida's Gulf Coast are trying to find an underwater robot that has mysteriously vanished.

The robot from the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota has been missing since Monday.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32702588...ws-weird_news/

[ekim68]

iCub the robot helps scientists understand humans

LYON, France (Reuters) - Robots that can make their own decisions have so far been confined to science fiction movies, but a child-sized figure with big eyes and a white face is trying hard to turn fiction into reality.

Its name is iCub and scientists are hoping it will learn how to adapt its behavior to changing circumstances, offering new insights into the development of human consciousness.

http://www.reuters.com/article/techn...5861RV20090907

[lotuseclat79]

Robots Reveal Insights into Evolution.

In an ironic twist to our understanding of life, robots may offer a greater degree of realism for studying some of the intricacies of natural selection and evolution than real organisms offer. In a recent study, scientists have used evolutionary robots to investigate the evolution of social information. Their results mirror theoretical predictions more closely than results from experiments with real organisms, and may provide an explanation for some of the observed variation in animal species.


(A) The robot used for the experiments, which has floor sensors to distinguish food and poison sources, and a ring of blue lights. (B) Robots emitting blue light near a food source. Image copyright: Sara Mitri, et al.

-- Tom

[lotuseclat79]

MIT Helps Little Dog Navigate Rough Terrain.

Sometimes robot videos just make me laugh. CSAIL at MIT has been working with Boston Dynamics’ robot Little Dog, helping it navigate rough terrain in novel ways.


MIT is teaching Little Dog new tricks in navigation.

-- Tom

[lotuseclat79]

Can Robots Make Ethical Decisions?.

Robots and computers are often designed to act autonomously, that is, without human intervention. Is it possible for an autonomous machine to make moral judgments that are in line with human judgment?

This question has given rise to the issue of machine ethics and morality. As a practical matter, can a robot or computer be programmed to act in an ethical manner? Can a machine be designed to act morally?

-- Tom

[ekim68]

Originally Posted by lotuseclat79

MIT Helps Little Dog Navigate Rough Terrain.

Sometimes robot videos just make me laugh. CSAIL at MIT has been working with Boston Dynamics’ robot Little Dog, helping it navigate rough terrain in novel ways.


MIT is teaching Little Dog new tricks in navigation.

-- Tom

Wow, how cool... I want one of those...