How far are we truly from a robot depending society, like in the movie iRobot? With advancements in humanoid robots, learning robot and programming, and quantum computing it seems that such a world is around the corner.
On October 21, 2000 Honda unveiled one of their greatest inventions, a humanoid robot known as Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility or ASIMO for short. ASIMO is about three feet tall and is able to walk, run, and almost move like a human. Unlike other robots ASIMO is able to walk up and down stairs as well as interact with its surrounding such as knowing when to stop before a wall and the direction to go afterwards. Honda has displayed its creation at several expos around the world and one of them even part of a short show at Disneyland. Throughout the past several years ASIMO had several improvements such as longer battery life, the ability to carry objects and move with them, and a doubling in degrees of freedom to allow it to be more flexible and human-like.
Two other remarkable humanoid robots are the Child-robot with Biomimetic Body, also known as CB2 (CB Squared) and Diego San. CB2 is about four feet tall and was built by Osaka University in Japan. This robot is able to recognize facial expressions and mimic them to able to respond to the person making them. The goal of the project is to create a robot that is able to learn as a baby does. Its structure is full of several sensors to act as its nervous system and feel when someone grabs its hand or rubs its face. To make it more human like the robot has a thin layer of skin over its mechanical structure which is made out of silicon. The University of California San Diego designed their baby, Diego San, similar to that of Osaka University. Their humanoid robot is does not have an outer skin, but instead it has the face of a boy which can easily show recognizable emotions and interact with those around it. The researchers who designed Diego San believe that it will not be long until their robot is complete.
With silicon chips reaching its soon predicted end, computations done by computers are getting faster and faster. With the study of quantum computing we would be able to see an even bigger rise in the rate computers do these computations. If integrated with one of the robots stated above the humanoid robots would be able to interact and live with humans like we see in movies. The question is how far away the technology from making these predictions a reality. Some scientist predict that quantum computing is only a couple of decades away from having a working system. Right now the most complex calculation done by a quantum computer is three times five equals fifteen, but as simple as this sounds the calculation was done across five atoms.
In his show, Sci-Fi Science: Physics of the Impossible, Dr. Michio Kaku explained his design for a robot right out of science fiction. He used technology that either currently exist or may be available within the next several decades. The robot is designed to constantly be learn due to a neural network, ran by a quantum computer, similar to those in the human brain. Its body structure is made up of modules that allow it to disassemble and reassemble itself into any shape or form. Along with its neural network this allows the robot to overcome any obstacle in seconds since its brain is able to find a solution by cross referencing several options with a database. As it can be seen a robot dependent society is closer than we think.
The idea of a sentient, learning robot is something that deeply interests me. One thing I notice when people write about robots with this mindset, however, is that no one ever points out the military applications. My biggest fear isn't something along the lines of iRobot, but rather that a military grade AI concludes that loss of American life is worth defeating the "enemy" and turns its guns on us.
ReplyDeleteWhile I think robots could be beneficial in certain situations, the idea of robots becoming a more prevalent part of our society seriously disturbs me. In the military scenario, robots could help prevent the loss of human lives in war. Even in medicine, perhaps robots could more efficiently sort through data than a human. With that said, I think the idea of technology replacing some of the more organic parts of human life is depressing.
ReplyDeleteEven today, we are attached to smartphones and other sources of technology. I have been out to dinner with friends and there will be times were every single person is on their phone instead of enjoying each others presence and conversation. If this is already happening, I fear that robots would take away certain aspects of life that makes being a human unique.