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POPSJapan child robot mimicks infant learning
We are entering a new age of robotics. there is no doubt about that, at least in Japan. Robots integrated into everyday life is not only a technological feat but also a conceptual and social adaptation. In Japanese world view it is much easier to relate to robots as endowed with souls. This is fascinating, since it seems that we create our future technological world to reflect our beliefs and expectations. "Robots have hearts," said Kokoro planning department manager Yuko Yokota. "They don't look human unless we put souls in them. "When manufacturing a robot, there comes a moment when light flickers in its eyes. That's when we know our work is done." Public opinion in Japan may be more open to robots than in the West, where dark science fiction visions from movies such as "Bladerunner" and "Terminator" have conjured images of robo-soldiers taking over the world. Thanks to such benign cartoon characters as Astro Boy, "Japanese people have a friendly image towards robots
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POPSHow bad is giving it up for good? Considering its duration and tenacity, some have suggested that such a belief structure must be an essential part of the human condition or psyche. Others have even suggested that perhaps there is some kind of ‘god gene’ operating or ‘spiritual’ aspect of DNA that makes us adhere to these convictions. Whatever the reason though, it’s also generally supposed that the majority of human beings will continue to maintain their faith in a higher power either ruling over their lives or, at least, being responsible for original creation. In particular, how much of humanity can humans retain once they begin melding with machines? Or the other way around, when the very nature of prosthetics, synthetic organs and implants determine how much in us is actually organic and what parts non-natural? When the contents of consciousnesses can be downloaded to memory devices or uploaded from them into brains, it’s going to be difficult to preserve the same self-image of our human wholeness.
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POPSComputing In A Molecule They are focusing on two architectures: one that mimics the classical design of a logic gate but in atomic form, including nodes, loops, meshes etc., and another, more complex, process that relies on changes to the molecule’s conformation to carry out the logic gate inputs and quantum mechanics to perform the computation. The logic gates are interconnected using scanning-tunnelling microscopes and atomic-force microscopes – devices that can measure and move individual atoms with resolutions down to 1/100 of a nanometre (that is one hundred millionth of a millimetre!). As a side project, partly for fun but partly to stimulate new lines of research, Joachim and his team have used the technique to build tiny nano-machines, such as wheels, gears, motors and nano-vehicles each consisting of a single molecule. “Put logic gates on it and it could decide where to go,” Joachim notes, pointing to what would be one of the world’s first implementations of atomic-scale robotics.
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POPSInventor builds She-robot Le said: “Her software could be redesigned to simulate her having an orgasm.” Aiko can already react to being tickled or touched. She also recognises faces and speaks 13,000 sentences.
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POPSAutonomous VW says, "Look, Ma - No Hands" Traffic signals and stop signs were adhered to while oncoming traffic, three-way intersections and sudden stops by the demonstration cars in front of the Passat were recognized. Another engineer sat in the driver seat for safety precautions, but his hands never touched the wheel or foot pedals. It was like the Passat had become possessed!
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POPSCrash Avoidance Robotic Car Inspired by Flight of the Bumblebee The LRF detects obstacles up to two meters away within a 180-degree radius in front of the BR23C, calculates the distance to them, and sends a signal to an on-board microprocessor, which is instantly translated into collision avoidance. "The split second it detects an obstacle, the car robot will mimic the movements of a bee and instantly change direction by turning its wheels at right angles or greater to avoid a collision," explained Toshiyuki Andou, Manager of Nissan's Mobility Laboratory and principal engineer of the robot car project. "The biggest difference to any current system is that the avoidance maneuver is totally instinctive. If that was not so, then the car robot would not be able to react fast enough to avoid obstacles," Andou said. "It must react instinctively and instantly because this technology corresponds to the most vulnerable and inner-most layer of our Safety Shield, a layer in which a crash is currently considered unavoidable," he added.
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POPSEmotional robots in the spotlight Robots displaying emotional responses, is one of the greatest challenges not only of robotics, but also in understanding ourselves. What exactly makes us emotionally engaged? Is emotional behavior corresponds to real emotions? What are real emotions anyway?
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POPSSelf Assembly Robots Will Save Your Life Self assembling robots is the beginning of autonomous embodies artificial intelligence. Terminator scenarios are just our outdated need to understand a complex world in terms of bad guys good guys sort of mentality.
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POPSThe Evolving AI Ecosystem He takes his theory further, all the way in to the tubes of the internet. In collaboration with Professor Tim Berners-Lee – the co-inventor of the World Wide Web – the pair have been investigating the next generation Web. “What is emerging now is a digital ecosystem,’ says Professor Shadbolt, ‘involving lots of simple systems which connect millions of complex ones – humans!” And there begins to be a certain amount of logic and a lessening of the fear I feel for the day when I am some robots whipping boy. We see such developments already in websites such as Facebook and Flickr, and programs such as Google Earth and World of Warcraft. We are being linked together, ever so slowly by a collective consciousness.
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POPS Robots and Humans: Intel say equal by 2050 Robots: From the Factory Floor to Your Kitchen - Robots today are primarily used in the factory environment, designed to perform a single task repeatedly and bolted down. To make robotics personal, robots need to move and manipulate objects in cluttered and dynamic human environments, according to Rattner. They need to be cognizant of their surroundings by sensing and recognizing movement in a dynamic physical world, and learn to adapt to new scenarios. Rattner demonstrated two working personal robot prototypes developed at Intel’s research labs. One of the demonstrations showed electric field pre-touch that has been built into a robot hand. The technique is a novel sensing modality used by fish but not humans, so they can “feel” objects before they even touch them. The other demonstration was a complete autonomous mobile manipulation robot that can recognize faces and interpret and execute commands as generic as “please clean this mess” using state-of-the-art motion planning, manipula
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POPSA Robot Controlled by Self Organizing Biological Neural Net "Within a week we get some spontaneous firings and brain-like activity" similar to what happens in a normal rat -- or human -- brain, he added. But without external stimulation, the brain will wither and die within a couple of months. "Now we are looking at how best to teach it to behave in certain ways," explained Warwick. To some extent, Gordon learns by itself. When it hits a wall, for example, it gets an electrical stimulation from the robot's sensors. As it confronts similar situations, it learns by habit.
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POPSEmotional robots in the spotlight The work is still well shy of an I Robot scenario with emotionally complex machines taking matters into their own hands, but the empathy empowering software being developed by Feelix Growing is a big step forward for robotics. See a short video on the website
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POPSThe future of Mind Control research is showing that the brain can act independently of the body. One day, you could be sitting in an office and controlling a device from across the room—or in another building. And it’s not just flicking a switch. It could be a nanotool that’s moving through a tiny environment, and you can control it and see what it’s seeing.” That kind of extension could lead to new spectrums of scale and force, not to mention new kinds of sensory input altogether. Instead of merely imagining that you’re grasping a nanotool with virtual fingers, you could learn to pilot it like a minuscule spaceship—only with your mind. And if that device had any sensors, you might be able to process the data as though it were a tiny camera.
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POPSDo We Think That Machines Can Think? This study is the first ever to investigate the neuronal basics of direct human-robot interaction on a higher cognitive level such as mentalizing. Thus, the researchers expect the results of the study to impact long-lasting psychological and philosophical debates regarding human-machine interactions and especially the question of what causes humans to be perceived as human.
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