Tech Trends

You. Robot.

by Adrienne Markovic

September 19, 2007

The phrase life imitates art comes to mind when I am confronted with the latest in robotics. Although it is still a mighty leap to the popular apocalyptic Hollywood versions, we are a lot closer to that level of robot sophistication than most people know. Pop culture is fascinated by the possibility of creating technology that will eventually overpower us. Hal 9000, in 2001: A Space Odyssey, the super-computer, even outsmarts the Protagonist, Dr. Floyd, until Hal's higher capabilities are disabled. In other words, they have to kill the computer. Will Smith's I Robot is another film that has a dark vision of the robot-centric world in mankind's future. Even Mike Myers is in on the theme with his upcoming, appropriately titled, movie How to Survive a Robot Uprising. These movies serve as some kind of warning to a impending future downfall caused by man's hubris. As we look so far in the future we sometimes we do not see what is right before us. The missing component of robotics that scientists currently have not overcome is organic emotion and free will. That makes the smartest robot at the present time just a tool and aid for humans. We may ask though, how much help do we really need as, robots systematically replace human action until people and pets are included.

This is the current breakdown of possible replacements.

• Instead of a Rescue Worker try Enryu! This giant robot moves around in all-terrain, including snow, with a hand that looks like the jaws of life. It has far more tools and strength to aid in rescue than man.
• Instead of your girlfriend try Repilee Q1. Looks like a woman, talks like a woman, moves like a woman, and has long hair. Good enough.
• Instead of your best friend try Robocco Asahi. This little R2-D2-esque bot is all about the beer. It stores chilled beer until the red button is pushed. This activates the process of opening a beer can and pouring it into a mug better than your favorite bartender, less foam and no spillage.
• Instead of your cat try Yume Neko Smile. This little guy rsponds to human touch, as well as human abuse. Petting it will make him pur. Rubbing the belly gives it an even deeper pur. You can grab it by the back of the neck and its little body goes limp. Beware of the tail though. If you pull it the cat lets out a banshee hiss and makes a nasty face. When just sitting around, the eyes blink automatically and its little bitty mouth makes a suckling motion just to make it 'cute' in general.
• Instead of your shrink try Domo. Domo's schtick is that it has eyes that closely replicate human's. Domo has voice recognition and responds to touch. When you speak, Domo looks at you as if it was listening. without the human hassle of talking back. Domo is your go-to guy for smiling and nodding.

Do not think that you yourself are exluded! Within your home, even you can be eliminated. Instead of you try the Honda Asimo. Asimo looks and moves like a real man in a big space suit. This sturdy guy can go forward, backward, up stairs, down stairs, and even run at 4 mph. Asimo aslo can recognize gestures, moving objects, environment, sounds, and faces. He takes direction from people. The point is to help in the home so he has been built to the specifications of doorknobs, electrical outlets, etc. to better perform household duties.

Combine all Asimo's features with a new home-grown innovation in robotics and we have the potential of some I-Robot type robots. At USC they have a robot that exists in a computer with some startling advances in robotech. This humanoid robot looks human-ish with different muscular features accentuated making him look like a bad samurai caricature. Its eyes are cameras. This robot has the ability to learn face movement of people and over time watches what it finds 'interesting'. That sounds like some qualitative thought processes going on. This can be defined as 'will', although not quite 'free will'.

This is the scorecard of bio-life versus man-made robot capabilities at the current time. However, keep your head up for future technologies. Although we would all like help, we are still all on the fence on how far we want those 'helping' capabilities to go. Fret not though because by the time human capabilities are performed by robots, we will have already lost control and become part of Earth's own history, alongside the dinosaurs.

http://www.enryu.jp

http://asimo.honda.com

http://www.youtube.com

Google Sky: Tech in the Home

by Adrienne Markovic

Google has done yet another leap into the techno-future with their monumental addition to Google Earth, the much touted Google Sky. The big brother-esque utility friendly Google Earth has successfully been one upped with the addendum of Sky. Trekkies and astronomers unite as the worlds of sci-fi and science crash in jubilation over it and it is worth the hype it has garnered. Sally Ride, the first female astronaut, even endorses Sky in a cute video overview about some of its capabilities. Sky is a whopping compilation of all photo-mapping of our universe as we know it scientifically at the present time. To access Sky, get into Google Earth and click on the Sky option.

What exactly does Google Sky do?

• It gives you full access to Earth's Moon, the planets, hundreds of millions of stars, constellations, and two million galaxies.
• Upon opening the Sky option in Earth, you will get a view of the sky directly above your location on Earth. So if you want to get online in Siberia, you will see the Siberia's heavenly bodies.
• Allows you the ability to screen the view with different layers, which can be opened individualy or simultaneously. These layers include: the life of a star, a guide to the galaxy, the moon, the planets, the Hubble telescope, Backyard Astronomy, and the constellations.
• Layers is included in the features category along with the sky view, grid, and red horizon line for orientation.
• Google sky can be searched by the name of the object or the numerical coordinate.

The possibilities are virtually endless for this space odyssey smorgasborg. The astro-illiterate can still look at the pretty pictures and search the sky for their zodiac constellation. If you want an instant portal to the Horse Head Nebula, sky is there for you. If you want to view Alpha Centauri, the closest system that could harbor sentient life, sky is there for you. Sky can even direct you to the famous dog star, Syrius. Syrius appears over the sky during the 'dog days of summer, get it? Even if you aren't really into this kind of stuff this nouveau-tech is sure to inspire nights of random exploring in the anals of man's scientific knowledge.

http://earth.google.com