My Final Statement

                                                                                                               

 As a part of the Master Thesis, some blogs are published on the websites for the non-expert readers to understand that the technology brings some benefit and applications. The Master Thesis of the group members are based on the FPGA board, though the topics are different. We first decided the main topic was the embedded system, sooner we broadened our focus to the robot system which is considered in relationship with the human beings.

1.       General prospect

At the beginning, I started the topic with a film to present the popular opinions toward the robots. In “Humanity of robots”, the movie “I, robot” is discussed. It is thrilling that robots attack or even kill the people; however, one of the distinguished robots helps the hero save the world. Unfortunately, the happy ending of the film does not release the threatening thought toward robots which many people obtain. If the robot should understand the emotional feelings, human were afraid of them because he has a “stronger” body, a “smarter” brain, or an “evil” heart? Why haven’t we already been threatened by some human beings in nowadays?

Though the visible differences between robot and human exist at present, robots are electrical supplied and human beings need food and water instead, no one ensures robot can understand emotion someday. In “Differences between robot and human”, some reasons are listed to explain the purpose of human behaviors: for their happiness, for the children and so on. All of reasons are based on the sensitive self-awareness. On the contrary, the robots’ main tasks are set by human beings now; no matter how smart they are they are still “pets” for human beings, not an individual creature. As viewed from humanistic, another criteria to different the human and robot is emotional factor. Why do we like a pet than a robot one? People still care more about the invisible links between creatures, not an intelligent “stone”.

2.       Humanoid robots

The mid-stage between human and robot now is the humanoid robots whose appearances like a human being and also actions are more or less alike as well. The differences between the normal robots are discussed in “Humanoid robot”. Generally speaking, robots are manufactured in order to fulfill appointed tasks but the humanoid robot tries to imitate human behavior. Humanoid robots can do self-maintenance and autonomous learning which the normal robots cannot do. They avoid harmful situations to people, property and itself, also safe interacting with human beings and environment.

It’s a good research tool in human science through the procedure of building them. “Robot revolution” shows producing a humanlike robot is highly challenging and involves multitasking in many fields, such as robotics, biomechanics and so on. Designers first need to understand the human body structure and behavior to build a humanoid robot. Through the deep study of human cognition, the computer software is set to implement interaction and learning and so on.

A humanoid-torso robot, named Simon, whom is introduced in “Robots designed to read human reactions”, tries to understand when it has gained a person’s attention. With close to 80 percent accuracy, it’s using only his cameras as a guide to tell the result. Our Master Thesis’s topic seems like a simplification version of Simon: a camera is installed to sensing the environment and processed data controls the robot arm to interact with surroundings. It’s also a representation of exploration human beings. Some scientists believe that using an objective analysis to grasp the subjective information, robot could interact with human in the same way people do with each other.

3.       Applications

As mentioned in “Think positive to the robots and yourself”, you can list many reasons to be afraid of robots: human will perceive appearance and fall in love with robot (see “Absolutely boyfriend”) if the robot is beautiful enough; comparing with robots, human are error-prone and less effective, therefore the robots will seize the jobs to increase the numbers of jobless people. But some dangerous jobs such as military applications or boring jobs such as cleaning the street need the robots to handle. From another perspective, people exert themselves in other domain instead of these boring jobs. As a consequence, it’s a good opportunity for people to develop other skills.

• Earthquake rescuing robots

 

It’s good news that many robots are set for extreme conditions that human hardly help, just like earthquake rescuing. “Robots help in searching survivors in Japan earthquake” indicates Japan has advanced developments in robotics. Some groups published some robots for searching and rescuing survivors and some of them were deployed as assistance for survivors in the earthquake and tsunami that occurred in Japan.

• Nuclear cleaning robots

 

Since the earthquake has arisen some serious problems especially the invisible nuclear radiations. ““Unimportant” factors in robot design” brings the forgotten memory of Chernobyl disaster back. At that time of rescuing and cleaning, the deadly radiations after explosion harm everything at least in the range of 30KM; hence robots took charge of the deadly jobs. Unfortunately, even the robots couldn`t hold on under the highly radiations in a few days, the nuclear radiation causes electronic devices to cease signal transmission so the robots, which contain electronics components, would stop working (see “Robots with nuclear mission”). Nowadays, robots with harden shield could manage to work under high radiation and they have been used at nuclear power plants for checking radiation levels, removing waste and so on.

Taking notes of the extreme working conditions is on the table. Although the fancy amazing designs are inspiring and refreshing people, under certain extreme circumstance where robots are indeed needed, more efforts should be taken on not only functionality but also stability.

4.       Development

In spite of many functional robots are being, they aren’t popular. Financially, big companies want cheap robots that can replace workers and always bring benefits. Certainly, they will not pay the money to exploit the fancy robots which produce less money. Most of the people are seeking interest as priority without considering the consequence and don’t even give much leeway to go. These reasons limit the development of the functional robots. When the nightmare comes, such as explosion of the nuclear power plants, human beings notice the importance of developing the no profit-making robots.

5.       Conclusion

From my point of view, robot is needed to make our life easier. As the technology developed, robots will fill over around us or even become our neighborhoods in future. People maintain fear of robots but it may be reduced if we get used to seeing them as assistants in our life. Human could lead the capability of the robots into positive directions and protect ourselves from dangerous environment.

Final Statement Robot Controversies

Final Statement:

ROBOT CONTROVERSIES

 

 

As it is normal with controversies it is always complicated to get to a general final statement that equals a conclusion of all topics critically commented by different persons. This final statement will be finishing the robotic topics in a more personal opinion and not project everybody’s mindset that took part in the discussions.

Further a distinction in subtopics can clearly be made. Starting with the present use and its broad fields of application now and in the future. Of course this is related to the responsibility of the development of and the actions done by the robots themselves. Finally, a further topic arises which stating that the end of the robotic evolution is marked by the possibility of some ultimate resemblance between robots and ourselves.

Starting with the robotics already around us today, we can see a difference in interpretation of the terms ‘robot’ and ‘robotics’. People are looking too specific towards certain representations of them  like the tangible mechanical puppets that try to interact with people or make life easier. Others understand them as the heavy machinery used in for example the car industry. But is, strictly speaking, a random plane that carries over 200 persons safely from one destination to another with auto pilot not a robot? All systems where a certain autonomous behavior is based on inputs with a processed result can be tagged as robot.

Lots of people do not realize how much they are surrounded by robots already nowadays, and certainly in terms of automation. The general view one has when thinking of a robot is a mechanical representation of a man. Two legs, two arms, body and head with some reactions that have a small human-like behavior. Some more technical people will allow the presence of wheels and a not so exact physical resemblance so that the device is still a robot for them.

Look at all the proposals of application in very different areas such as farming and cleaning where automation is replacing people’s hand craft at increasing speed. Or the possibilities that arise in health care with prosthetic devices that react on human signals.

All this exists peacefully around us with our brains getting so used to it that we will not realize it unless mentioned, and theoretically they are some kind of robotics.

A recent example of their use and necessity is the autonomous or remote steered machines/ robots that helped with the recent drama’s occurring  in Japan. Robots helped a great deal in the rescue operations due to the tsunami and were used in nuclear environments to close the reactors of Fukushima These are accomplishments where which humans fail in without the help of these machines. They are irreplaceable for such tasks.

Of course a lot of this starts in the biggest industry of technological breakthroughs; the military. Where its use gives rise to the biggest controversies about robotics and their development. We spare human life by not sending in men, but take easily out lots of others by this ‘automation’. And these last words call up a next question: Who in the end is responsible for eventual actions of robots?

Automation and robotics always have a human source or influence. It can be the manufacturer, the human steering action where it is based on, or even disturbing influences that were to avoid while the machine is running. This is again leading to never ending discussions. Eventually, with the increase of autonomous behavior of the robots, a human decision with laws and restrictions will have to come. An object that has no reasoning ability can not be held responsible for its actions, but one can only deactivate it to prevent further harm or destruction.

Another point that is to be decided by the human users and developers is the question whether there should there be a limit for robot technology? Are we able to draw the line or is humanity so strongly leaded by the inevitable trend of innovation and progress in technology? Of course again more conservative viewpoints will try to slow down and put strong restrictions on this technological evolution, while on the other hand certain innovation and progress minded people will love it when no limits are blocking their futuristic creativity.

Furthermore, as technology is making our world more connected and smaller, and this compared to other global controversies, how can we ever get to general laws and restrictions that are identical over the entire world. If  we just look at the present use of robots we can already see a geographical difference in development purposes.

While the United States and Europe tend to produce only very practical and efficient devices that are used with professional interaction for a specific goal, Japan on the other hand also develops them for daily interaction in a far more familiar way.

This leads to a next, maybe more futuristic point. What is happening with the difference between humans and robots? Will it be possible that next to the increasing capabilities that are given to the robots for automation purposes also a certain intelligence, and even better, a certain emotion can be implemented. Is it possible to fine tune these machines towards one of natures creation, the human being. Also, looking at Japan as a leading example, more and more people see the future with robots around them. This anywhere and anyhow. Some see them as a kind of daily help buddy, which just will make their live far easier. Anything that requires too much effort or is just too boring to be done by ourselves will be handled by the ‘personal’ robots. Others even see a peaceful living together with them ‘living’ amongst humans. It will be a new race that will sample emotions physically and have an implemented intelligence that one day might get reasonable and have more creativity than that of the man himself who developed the first ones. Which will also lead to further development by the robots themselves.

But at first stage a possible evolution direction will be leaded by the mindset of the developers. This can be towards a more peaceful or more aggressive application. But almost always economics and profit will have a key role in its development, production and evolution. Next to that, the inevitable trend of the human search into innovation has never really followed some predefined lines. It is not really possible to exactly describe how technology and humans will be interacting. We can only see an increasing speed of evolution with even more radical changes of direction. What we expect now will certainly be created, but it will not by definition be the leading technological breakthrough of its time. Not so public achievements are made everyday in terms of nano technology and microelectronics. These can provide a totally different kind of robot than ‘expected’.

We should welcome robotics in our lives ———the new generation of robots tends to help, protect and amuse

Background:

<<The Age of Robots>>

• First-Generation Universal Robots

Timeframe: 2000-2010

Distinguishing feature: General-purpose perception, manipulation and mobility

• Second-Generation Universal Robots

Timeframe: 2010-2020

Distinguishing feature: Accommodation learning

• Third-Generation Universal Robots

Timeframe: 2020-2030

Distinguishing feature: World modeling

• Fourth-Generation Universal Robots

Timeframe: 2030-2040

Distinguishing feature: Reasoning

Statement:

In our blogs, we talked from Japanese rescue robot to the toy robot, from automatic system to detect asbestos to the electronic pet. These all proved that the second generation of robots tends to help, protect and amuse. Indeed, we are all glad to know that rescue robots participated at the Japanese earthquake rescue. We expect that more advanced and useful robots are developed and used in the disaster rescue. We would prefer to see it is a robot instead of a person to fix the nuclear leakage. The electronic pets designed by Japanese companies used to be very popular, and where sometimes even considered a substitute for a real pet. Many people have had an electronic pet (like tamagotchi) and have found great joy in the process of raising and playing with it. Comparing with electronic pets, now more interesting and realistic robot toys are coming available in our lives.

Around 1920, Karel Čapek wrote the theater play Rossum’s Universal Robots. This is the earliest recorded moment the word robot was used. The play begins in a factory that makes artificial people called robots. He predicted that we would have robots that replace people to do the boring and laborious works. Now we can notice the prediction is coming true. In the field of industrial, the robotics is generally applied.

As the social development, the division of labor becomes clearer and clearer, especially in the industrial area. A person could repeat screwing nuts the whole day. The companies start to use robots to finish the boring and exhaust jobs. The robots could finish the job more efficient and create more profits for the companies. More and more robots are used to replace people. At the other side, people worried about that they will lose their jobs. The situation happened in America. The labors reject the robots to replace people in case that they would lose their jobs. As a result, the development of America robotics is limited. But the situation in Japan is totally opposite. Because of the lack of labors, Japanese would like to use robots to help people to finish some jobs. As a result, Japan becomes the most advanced industrial country. It occupied most market of Automotive, Electronics and General Assembly Industries. But the unemployed rate of Japan is almost the lowest in the world. On the contrary, the robotics of England is quite underdevelopment comparing with other developed countries. But the unemployed rate of England is keeping high. Through the comparison, we can notice that the robotics at one side take over people’s jobs, at the other side the robotics create more other opportunities. The robotics is creating more social wealth. From history, we conclude that developing the robotics is necessary and unavoidable. The countries that positively develop and apply the robotics would benefit. Now the second generation robotics becomes popular. The first generation robots are designed and programmed to do the specific tasks. The results of the tasks are fixed by the inflexible programs. The first generation robots increased the speed of industrial development. As everybody knows that the Industrial robots already have a huge market. In one UNECE report, it mentioned that the Home robots are starting popular and it will increase faster than industrial robot. The second generation robots are designed to have learned abilities. The robots are expected to do more powerful tasks and more adaptable. We are on the way to the second generation robots. The second generation robots have learned ability, but it doesn’t have consciousness and won’t get hurt persons. They are proposed to help people out of trouble and share our daily work. We don’t need to feel afraid about the robots, because until now they are just machines which are controlled by programs. Even though most robots are designed for a single task and are often not very efficient, robotics will continue improving and will one day be capable of taking over most of our annoying household tasks or industrial work.

At the other hand, people’s demands have become increasing with the development of society. People start to develop robots to help us around the home with our normal daily tasks. Assisting robots in various form and shapes, with different kinds of functions are being developed at ever increasing speed. The autonomous robotic vacuum cleaner Roomba which is able to navigate a living space was introduced in 2002 and in 2011, the iRobot CEO stated “We have sold more than 6 million home robots worldwide”. The robotic pet Aibo which is designed and manufactured by Sony used to be very popular robotic toy. Unfortunately, Sony discontinued Aibo in 2006 for some reason. The humanoid robot developed by French company replaced Sony’s robot dog Aibo in the Robot Soccer World Cup, an international robotics competition. Nao has been available as a research and learning tool since 2008. These are only several examples, more types with different functions are being developed constantly. These robots are still very different from the robots shown in science fiction movies, where the robots often rebel against humans. Maybe one day those robots will become reality. But the current generation of robots is programmed to help us with specified tasks. Current technology does not even allow robots to have any sort of consciousness like we know it in humans. Thus a robot rebellion isn’t something to be scared of for a very long time. For now and in the near future, robots will help us like they are programmed. We can see many examples already, like in ShangHai World Expo, a cooking robot is shown. After the food is ordered, it starts to cook according to the chosen recipe. It can cook 24 different Chinese meals and each only takes three minutes. We hope the robot can do more flexible and adaptive jobs, like help the disabled person and take care of old persons. Creating a robot that totally replaces a human’s working capacities is rather complex and involves advanced artificial intelligence. At that point, robots will most likely be greatly superior to humans when it comes to their tasks. Robots in industrial production lines are already faster, more accurate and cheaper than humans who would do the same job. Surgery robots will be far more precise, flexible and won’t get tired. This leaves the patient with less risk and smaller injuries after an operation. The cost of robots used to limit the development of robots. That’s partly reason that Sony stop supply Aibo. Now as industrial development and the cost of the production and components decreasing, the costs of robots become cheaper. This is good news to the robots development.

Robots will change the way we live in many ways by lifting more and more tasks off our shoulders, creating possibilities to do other things while the robots are working for us. Robots can help you to do household duties like cleaning your house or washing dishes. This way, humans have more time to do useful work, or spend the time with family or friends. The entertainment sector also leaves opportunities for robotics. Robot toys can play with children and help them in their development. Or a robot partner when you want to do tennis, or help you to practice dancing.  Home security can be done by a robot, which can keep his attention up constantly and look out for unfamiliar situations like a fire or burglar. Robots can help with some supportive office jobs, or administrative work. Rescuing robots will play an increasingly big role in saving lives after disasters, and offer possibilities humans can’t reach. Like saving someone from a situation that would be life-threatening for the rescue personnel. Hard to reach places (like high buildings) are no problem for robots.  They can work under extreme circumstances like deep sea or a burning building.

In the near future, robots will join in our lives in various ways, and play a role of growing importance. Welcoming them in our lives will increase the development speed of the second robot generation, while offering us the advantages of the current generation. Robots will make our lives easier and increase our general living comfort.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robotics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roomba

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nao_%28robot%29

http://www.frc.ri.cmu.edu/~hpm/project.archive/general.articles/1993/Robot93.html

Final statement

The blog of Robot Controversies (https://gtinfauto.wordpress.com/) mainly talks about robots nowadays and in future. Different attitudes towards robots from human beings are discussed. Moreover, the blog also introduces applications of robots in military, in medical field, and in people’s daily lives. Controversies happen in all these fields, and it is a topic which will always be discussed concerning robots.

I am very interested in the relationship between robots and humans. To try to analyze it, one should first discover what robots are, why people should pay more attentions on them and what applications of robots are nowadays. In the blog, my colleagues and I searched the concerning information and discussed all these fields. Only after these, one can make a prediction of what the future of robots will probably be, and what we should do to push the trend of robots.

Robots nowadays

Robots have already been developed for quite a long time, and have been applied to many fields so far. In the blog, some fascinating topics and issues have been discovered and discussed. Here they are concluded into the different topics below.

In daily life

In the blog a series of virtual life in Japan are introduced and discussed. This topic is indeed very interesting, since Japan is no doubt a country which spends tremendous money and technology on robots. One attractive aspect is about electronic pets, which was launched in Japan in 1996. This application is concerned with both the application itself and in ethics. I myself will never buy an electronic pet, however I am in favor of the idea of electronic pets. It is apparently a solution for those who do not have much spare time to raise a real pet, and I believe varieties of other reasons make people to do so. I have kept pets in my childhood, and I can still remember how sad I was when they escaped or died. Electronic things have solved problems due to the reality, and realized some fancy but nonrealistic ideas of humans. On the other hand, ethic problems always occur. We can never touch an electronic pet and feel its warm body by our hands. Or even in one day if we can, it still feels different with a real life. This phenomenon happens not only with the pets’ issue, but with all the intelligent robots. The problem is not the robot itself, but the strange feelings from the deepest hearts of humans. Humans are those who give preconceptions towards the latest developed technologies, especially when there is a possibility that they are able to threaten humans.

Another aspect of robots in current life is not a fancy one, but more practical. The best performance of robots now is the automation system. The automation system is the predecessor of intelligent robots, and is applied in all the fields of industry. Automation systems are so important that people cannot live without it. In the blog, several opinions are discussed. Some people like automations very much, since it saves people’s time and increases the efficiency of productions. It can also achieve the tasks which cannot be made by humans. Meanwhile, another opinion is hold by some people. They miss about their childhoods, when everything could be done by hands, and the relationship between people was much better than now. Everyone was connected, and emotions flew everywhere, which was quite the opposite as today. For myself, I choose to accept the current society, and keep my childhood in my memory. I believe this is always the trend of developing. New things appear, and take the place of the old one. Our society is developed in this way, and this is not good or bad. The only thing we can do is to face the reality with courage, and choose the way of life which we want. What is more, we are engineers. We can make an influence in the robot industry, which is already a privilege than others.

In military

I have posted some articles about military robots in the blog. The reason is that I found myself interested in this topic. Military is always what a country focus on most. The highest and latest technologies are used in military developing. In the blog I have introduced some robot techniques in military, and discussed the current problems people met in the technology developing of military robots.

Instead of sending soldiers to some dangerous tasks, we can send robots to take the jobs. Military robots seem to be the most undoubted one that should be developed most. I keep the same opinion with this, and believe that the military developing will push the development of applications of robots in other fields. The only concerning is also about ethics, since military robots are normally more powerful than in daily industries.

In other special fields

Robots are applied to some special fields in the current society, e.g. in medical fields, in emergencies, etc. Thanks to our blog, I get to know more about those applications. The most recent topic is that robots are used in the earthquake in Japan. Robots are needed most in these dangerous tasks, but these situations require a higher performance of the robots. The nuclear radiation has a major impact on electronics, which is a big issue for technology nowadays. Fortunately some advanced robots are developed with harden shields, and can work under high radiation. From this point, it is really necessary to develop military robots.

Another familiar aspect is the medical field, which is so suitable for the application of robots. In the blog we discussed some applications, and almost everyone keeps a supporting attitudes towards these robots.

Robots in future

Robots in future will always bring people to think about the human-like robots. This part is also the most controversial one. In my last two posts of the blog, I explained my attitudes are complex but quite positive.

Intelligent robots are always the hot topic. They will look like a human, and behave like a human. I do not know what attitude the others will take upon them, but I will treat them friendly, or basically the same as humans.

Other than the attitudes from humans, some critical issues should also be concerned. People are worried that intelligent human-like robots will take their jobs. However I still keep a positive thought of this. I believe that people can always find what they can do, as long as they want. No one or machines or intelligent robots will make people useless. We should face the challenge bravely, and accept the inevitable trends.

Final Statement: Controversies on Humanoid Robotics

My final statement on our blog “Robot Controversies” focuses on humanoid robotics. Humanoid robotics seems to be the ultimate goal of robotics, thus it will inevitably attract all kinds of controversies. In order to expatiate well, I will separate this article into a conventional “what-why-how” style.

What is Humanoid Robotics?

For the moment, humanoid robotics is quite a vaguely-defined field. There are companies and institutions making efforts in robotic facial expressions and there are those concentrating on its intelligence. Some say that humanoids should resemble humans while others argue that even a robot arm can be regarded as a humanoid. The most appropriate definition seems like this: “humanoid robotics includes a rich diversity of projects where perception, processing and action are embodied in a recognizably anthropomorphic form in order to emulate some subset of the physical, cognitive and social dimensions of the human body and experience.”

Whatever humanoid robotics is, it attracts mechanical, electrical and computer engineers, roboticists, computer scientists, artificial intelligence researchers, psychologists, physicists, biologists, cognitive scientists, neurobiologists, philosophers, linguists and artists all around the world to contribute to this area.

Why does Humanoid Robotics exist and is continuously being developed?

Throughout the history of mankind, human beings had and will still have great passion in using others’ labor rather than our own. We used animals and then we invented machines, so naturally and eventually we will come to creating some other intelligent beings.

Compared with human cloning which is also a way to do that but just unacceptable, humanoid robotics surely has some impact on the feelings of human beings but it is more likely to be accepted. Although they are totally two different things, the comparison is still reasonable in the sense of “recreating humans” which, of course, is claimed to be never. The goal of humanoid robotics is to create a new kind of tool to interact with human beings rather than replacing them, to do more sociable work instead of tedious and repetitive labor.

The research and development of humanoid robotics certainly has values. As a practical example, it offers a unique research tool for understanding the human brain and body. It has been applied to the area of cognitive science.

How is the research of Humanoid Robotics going?

To make robots think like humans is never an easy job. In early times, researchers focused on high-level cognition but provided no mechanism for building control from the bottom up. Hence, most systems did not learn things through interaction with the environment as what human beings do. Later, a transition of the emphasis from intelligent processing to robust real-world action came into being.

Nowadays, humanoid research is accelerating. Great efforts having been made in legged locomotion, arm control and dexterous manipulation, robot-human interaction, service and entertainment robots, learning and adaptive behavior, perception, and anthropopathic (emotive) robots. Although it seems that all those efforts are being made on the right track, revolutionary results hardly come.

With the penetration of various fields other than computer science, electronic and electromechanical engineering such as psychology, biology, neurobiology, linguistic and even philosophy, the future perspective of humanoid robotics looks promising. Theoretically Moore’s Law can be applied in humanoid robotics as well; if it would be more or less similar in practice, a bright future of humanoid robotics would be expected.

How will Humanoid Robotics affect human beings?

Now comes the real controversial part of humanoid robotics. One thing can be sure is humanoids will definitely change the way we interact with machines.

On the positive side, humanoid robotics has its unique value in studying other sciences such as cognitive science as mentioned earlier. It marks the latest technology and will surely lead a great leap in artificial intelligence. Most important of all, once the technology was mature, it would dramatically increase efficiency in industry owing to its much higher reliability than normal machines and take human beings where we have never been.

However, on the negative side, we tend to have doubts towards humanoid robotics. The first question might be: when do we need a machine that tries to act like a human when there are plenty of human beings on this planet? And an immediate question would be: if they resemble human beings in many manners, should we still treat them as machines?

To answer the first question, it requires us to trust the “law” that humanoid robots will never replace human beings. One simply reason for they are there can be that we need more user-friendly machine interfaces. But how effective is that “law”? If there existed a humanoid robot with high intelligence but no emotional problems and full of energy as long as being powered on, it would be more likely that a human being would be replaced. Worse still, the replacement would tend to occur not only during working but in personal life as well. To live with a humanoid robot would be much easier than to live with a real human. In worst case, a humanoid robot can always be powered off and then rebooted as wish. We certainly can never use this approach towards a real human being.

Thus, the real threat of humanoids is not job replacement but emotional replacement. We might interact more with machines and less with each other.

But still, it gives no reason to stop the development of humanoid robotics. And if humanoids are required to be truly reliable and useful so that they can outperform traditional machines, they must be able to adapt and develop, thus possessing the “intelligence”.

Reference

Humanoid Robotics, https://inlportal.inl.gov/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=536&parentname=CommunityPage&parentid=7&mode=2&in_hi_userid=3338&cached=true (2011).

Final Statement

Robot Controversy focus on Military Robots

By: Weldie D. Tedla

Over the course of technological developments human beings come up with invention of sophisticated machines with intelligent controllers. These machines make human life much easier in all daily activities. They are found to be very important tools especially in areas where human beings are exposed to risks. They do not only take risky jobs but also do many tasks which human beings could n’t do by themselves. Robots are among these machines.

Robots can accomplish various activities either in their own or with the help of human beings. This includes those robots which are used in researches to act as human-like systems, those who are engaged in more specific roles like military robots, and assistant robots which are used to move, lift, and carry industrial items. Nowadays, state of art robots with specific roles like surgery, military, etc are invented and being improved and making the life of human beings easier.

With all its advantages and irreplaceable functions, robot technology invites intense debates in some of its applications. Military application is one of the controversial robot applications which many people argue at. It is believed that the history of military robots can be traced back to the times of World War II. From that time an immense improvements have been made and currently the most commonly used military robots is unmanned aerial vehicle. This robot can be armed with air to ground missiles. There have been some developments towards developing autonomous fighter air jets and bombers.

We have seen wars since the beginning of human history and even currently some countries like Libya, Ivory Coast are engaged in intensive wars. Referring to the parts involved in the war, they may do an offensive or defensive war. What so ever the war may be; it could be a war against terrorism or an operation to bring someone to peace, it is believed that wars are conducted in order to protect people of the world and their respective countries from further psychological and physical destructions. In all types of wars it is an evitable people die and properties are destroyed. There is no war conducted for free; all types of war eat-up human life and money.

In order to save the loss of human lives and carry out risky operations in war, military robot was invented. Very recently the U.S. government used hundreds of military robots in Iraq. Specifically the U.S. Marines deployed a dozen dragon runners. And it is believed that they have performed extremely well. Thus, they are credited saving solders’ lives.  It is undeniable that military robots have a lot of advantages. Besides to saving human lives in military missions, at least they are immune to fatigue, sleep deprivation, lack of visibility etc. They can also involve in military missions, which are believed to be too dull, dirty, or dangerous to warrant the risk of human life; in other words in missions in which human loss is a must. Though military robots give soldiers inimitable helps in their military charges, concerned parties argue against the use of these robots. Specifically, a lot of debates are being made in the development and use of autonomous military killer robots.

The names given to the military robots like predator and reaper are indications to the need of ethics behind the rapid advancement of military unmanned systems. The idea of autonomous robots equipped with machine guns, Sniper-rifles, grenade launchers, etc is attracting concerned parties into intense debates. Rules have been laid down to govern the conduct of war, more specifically to say what behavior is forbidden, for wars carried out by human soldiers. Each country has the obligation to conduct what so ever war under the umbrella of these rules and regulations. These concerned parties argue that there should be international rules and conventions of war which battle field autonomous robots should be learnt before they are officially deployed to military missions. Currently, a number of countries including U.S., South Korea, Israel, etc are deploying armed robot border guards though there are no internationally agreed ethical codes and guidelines in place.

The other related issue they point out is the current autonomous military robots are not equipped with extra intelligent control system so they cannot identify legal targets. Hence, a robot can be tricked into killing innocent civilians. It is believed that this is extremely challenging issue to be addressed by the current robot technology. A simple example they give is robots could not discriminate reliably between buses carrying enemy soldiers or school children, let alone be ethical. Even there is no clearly written rule that we should hold responsible for improper conduct and unauthorized harms caused by an autonomous robot: the designer, the manufacturer, or field commander, etc. With prices falling and technology becomes easier, there is great fear that robot arms race will be difficult to stop and hence it is imperative that we create international legislations and code of ethics for autonomous robots at war before it is too late.

I am fan of robot technology. Because, I strongly believe that without robot technology this world would not be as easy as these days to deal with. Besides assisting human beings, robots engage in duties which could never be done by us. Industrial robots are typical examples which hugely help human kind. They decrease cost and waste material while speed up production. They also remove risks to employees by performing dangerous tasks. They carry out industrial and other works which are unthinkable to be done by human employees. I can give one example here. Currently; Japan government is to make it illegal to enter a 20 km evacuation zone around the reactor. Hence, remote-controlled robots are being used at the quake-hit Fukushima nuclear plant to measure radiation levels. The robots have been inside reactors two and three where they are revealing the damage to the interior of the plants by taking pictures and sent for further analysis. A lot can be said regarding the benefits we human beings get from robots.

On the contrary, I share the idea of those people who specifically criticize the deployment of autonomous battle field robots. Of course, it is more useful losing a robot than a human life. Looking it only from the useful side we may rashly conclude that sending autonomous military robots to battle field will save the lives of human soldiers and that is good news for us. However; if we try to look deep to the case, we will definitely see the ugly side of it given the present technology of robot technology. As we all know war is not conducted only in deserts; it can be carried out in areas where civilian habitants are found. With the existing technology, robots do not have the intelligence to discriminate innocent people from targeted enemies. They can run over crowd of civilians and cause devastating damage. If we go even deeper to the case, these military robots could not identify enemy soldiers who have clearly indicated their desire to surrender. Geneva conventions of war have included international agreements which mainly focus on protecting civilians from intentional and unintentional attacks besides to humanitarian treatment of victims of war. The current deployed autonomous military robots have never been taught and trained to act according these conventions. Thus, in any way war crimes will definitely be committed by these machines.

To conclude, I definitely believe that all sorts of robots are helpful to human beings. I can also say that semi-autonomous military robots are useful. Because, they are partially controlled by human soldiers who fully understand and respect the Geneva conventions of war. Say for example we can have mine clearance, surveillance and reconnaissance robots. However, with the existing technology I believe that autonomous military robots should not be deployed to any military mission. I should say that there is a long way to travel before we deploy them to battle fields.

Final Statement blog by Michael Mehari

The notion of automation made a huge impact into our daily lives. From the moment we woke up until the time we sleep late in the night, we barely not see automated devices these days.

For years, people used to travel longer distances on foot, for years people used simpler tools as aid for searching foods, for years people traveled hundreds if not thousands of kilometers to deliver messages and many more. But we share one common thing. We don’t do them all now a days. What was the reason behind such a revolution?

The need for change is one of human being’s basic traits that has been and will be for centuries to come. The invention Thomas Edison has come up supports this basic need of ours. In his laboratory when he was asked about his invention, he said “we now know a thousand ways not to build a light bulb” after a restless struggle he put on to his new invention.

Human beings are constantly trying to come up with new things. Be it good or bad, the notion of being new has its own place and that makes you feel a sense of accomplishment at the end. The introduction of Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) has been widely used as refrigerants, propellants before their side effect is revealed and discarded from the world. From this and similar examples, we understand that change for human beings is a basic necessity.

In the past, when there was not enough food to eat, enough water to drink or to cultivate the crops, automation systems were invented to help people cope up these difficulties. But in today’s world, especially in developed countries, this is not the case anymore. As they say, luxury comes after necessity; these countries have changed the way they build automation systems. Mostly we see them in entertainment areas, military defense, robotic applications, and others. In today’s paper, I will present on robotic automation systems and their controversial issues.

Robot, an intelligent machine, is recently gaining popularity throughout the world. We used to see robots often in research areas and movies but now a days they are moving into the industry and to our homes. And due to this popularity reason, controversial ideas are getting attention more than ever.

“Robots are a great help to the society; but after all they are machines. They do what they are told to do and what if they harm people; why should we be pessimists all the time, why not we see the brighter side. They can teach, do work, help the poor and most importantly, entertain us; Robots should not be allowed to assist physicians in medical facilities. Because they don’t know what a feeling looks like, so does the difference between pain and joy. Thus, never ever should they be allowed to treat patients; but today’s Robots are showing some feelings. We should give them a chance to see what they can come up to; …” these are the kinds of questions and replies that initiated us to write a blog on robot controversial. On the next section, I will present a detailed view on the overall blog concept that we have been discussing for long and try to summarize my own view in the end.

Generally speaking, the blog writing was good. Many if not all controversial points were forwarded in different perspectives. Some of them explained the positive and negative sides of robots and their controversial points people are currently facing. While others wrote taking only one side and further elaborate the reason behind it. One thing I have noticed and I believe should be given a lot of attention is that some blogs were fantasizing on non existing facts. Most of them were excerpt from movies but why are we concerned with what will come in the future? Are we setting the path to our future trends or simply telling us what they expect to see in the future? I will leave this to the reader.

Nevertheless, there were people posting general facts on today’s robots. Especially their mission in nuclear applications, survival and search operations, and accompanying depressed people were among the top ranking. I must say I was thrilled by the variety of the blogs posted. Coming to my part, I will explain the general theme of my blogs, what differences were there compared to the rest, and finally give my own opinion.

I started my blog with a controversial issue on human teachers and automated computers. It tells about who should replace and be replaced by the other with all the benefits and drawbacks behind. Then I came from a different angle regarding automation system problems where I discussed on solving a problem or modify a problem to a different form. The aim of this particular post was to show the reader on past problems that where taught solved but still we see it different forms. Thus the reader will have insight to look in todays automation system problems in that perspective. My third blog brought one interesting topic on a virtual computer boy called Milo who was made in such a way that we interact with him and share his life. Here as well, I forwarded a very nice controversial point for the group to discuss further. After this, I came up with an idea to combine the cultural difference I saw among different nations and come up with a controversial point people are talking these days. This blog will take you back in history and opens up your mind to see why changes were made the way they are now. Finally, I presented two paradox views in automation systems. My main drive was a paper written on “paradox of our time”. It presents different views people were aiming at but it is the reverse which is happening in reality and I tried to show similar facts in automation systems.

All in all, compared to the other blogs posted, II am a bit out of line. I guess I don’t like the trend in robotic and automation systems. I prefer a rather slow transition, more natural like with extensive test on the positive and negative side effects before letting the robot interact with the user. I also believe that rather fast changes in everything and especially in automation systems are not good all the time. What we see is only a very small part of the general system and we don’t know the drawbacks for the changes we are introducing. That was why I mentioned in one of my blogs that “the world is like current in an inductor. You cannot change it abruptly as it has its own consequences and it will come in the near future whether we like or not.”

Virtual Life in Japan — Chapter 6 Future Robots Perspective

This is my final chapter of the series of “Virtual Life in Japan”, so naturally this will also be the conclusion part of all the previous chapters. Here actually I’m not going to limit the contents only within Japan because automation and robotics are the worldwide issue. And as you’ve probably noticed, “virtual life” doesn’t only refer to those virtual games people willingly involve themselves into but also includes all the other elements which make today’s life more and more approach to ancient science fictions. In addition, the other posts I’ve read will contribute here as well.

Quoted from what Yuanyuan said in one of her posts “Japan is the kingdom of robots” which is also my reason to write this series, we have witnessed the similarity between their development of electronic games and that of robots. Both are getting more and more human emotions involved in, and by the point of the manufacture of electronic/robotic pets, they intersected with each other. If there would be a culture of robotics, the Japanese robotic culture would tend to be more humane and aesthetic while the American and the European more practical and effective. Since Japan possesses the most advanced technology in robotics, the world’s first most humanoid robot will be more likely to be created in Japan.

By browsing through other members’ posts, I’ve become more confident that the future robotics will be more focused on the aspects below:

1. Military robots
2. Rescue robots
3. Home robots

The reasons can be found in all the previous or perhaps following posts and their comments, therefore I’m not going to say more. Just let us hope for a bright future of robotics and in the meantime, keep a critical mind so we won’t make too terrible mistakes that might draw the history backwards.

Robot revolution

   Human beings are complex system. It should not be suspicious that producing a humanlike robot is highly challenging and involves multitasking in many fields, such as robotics, biomechanics and so on.

    Even though nowadays the technology is still too complex and costly to match our purpose, we can predict that robots will be designed for military purposes and they are already been applied in this area. On the positive side, they may be used as robotic soldiers on the war and bring advantage at reducing cost of human lives and resources. But they could be used as weapons for terror purpose.

   As the technology developed, robots will fill over around us or even become our neighborhoods in future. People maintain fear of robots but it may be reduced if we get used to seeing them as assistants in our life. Human could lead the capability of the robots into positive directions and protect ourselves from dangerous environment.

Reference:

http://www.docin.com/p-118356266.html#documentinfo

Do you like robots? Part B

Or I am totally wrong. I should take a robot as a human being from the very beginning.

Imagine an old couple do not have children for any reason, and they buy a human-like robot to be their son. He looks like a human and is treated as a human by his parents, then of course we should treat him as a human as well.

Maybe the human-like robots are not used to be labors in future at all, and they are just like another human species on earth. And there are other labor robots who will act as machines in industry, servicing, and military, just the same as today.

My point of view is that: for those ‘labor’ robots, most of us will accept them and use them in a proper way. But for those who should be treated as humans, I will accept them just as another human species, and believe that they can be good or bad, interesting or boring, etc.

What about you? Which attitude will you personally take towards a human-like robot?