October 31st, 2009 :: 4 Comments
Since today is Halloween, I’ve decided to post a few scary and/or creepy looking robots.
Happy Halloween!
October 29th, 2009 :: 1 Comment
Early generation military robots are already in trouble.
The first blow to robotic military systems has come at the hands of the UN. UN human rights investigator Philip Alston wants the US to explain how they decide who and what to attack with their unmanned drones. The concern is that these drone attacks lead to arbitrary executions, which are banned under international law. Drone attacks have so far been highly successful in remotely attacking targets that cannot be reached with traditional military systems, but they have also been criticized due to loss of innocent lives in their attacks and the possible violation of other nation’s sovereignty when used. The drone attacks have not stopped though, mainly due to their undisputed effectiveness. Despite that fact, is this a sign that attacks by military robots are viewed differently than attacks by human soldiers? And if so, what effect will this have towards the future of robotic warfare?
October 27th, 2009 :: 0 Comments
Remember the robot Toyota is developing that seemed to be the next step in robots moving similar to humans? Well, they have already been trumped. Boston Dynamics, the company that has introduced the BigDog rough terrain locomotion robot (video) and a robot able to jump 25 feet in the air (video), have now introduced the Petman. Petman was developed to test military clothing, but since it walks just like a human, it is just another step in making robots that will be able to chase you. At this pace, robots will be able to run at 50 mph at peak efficiency in just a few years.
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October 23rd, 2009 :: 3 Comments
You are being watched.
Closed Circuit TV (or CCTV) systems are currently in use all over the world in an ongoing attempt to decrease crime and terrorism. As a citizen of the United States my exposure to CCTV systems is fairly limited, usually just inside shopping centers, casinos or parking lots and garages. My perception changed after a visit to London and three events that happened to me during my stay. First off, CCTV cameras seemed to be on every block, facing in every direction. This seemed like a major breach of privacy to me, but I could understand their usefulness as a deterrent and as a tool for the police. Secondly, during my visit I had lost my passport, and in my search to find it I ended up in an underground surveillance room to fill out some paperwork. In the room were two people, staring at a wall of monitors showing CCTV feeds. Again I was amazed how the citizens of London had their everyday lives watched. I eventually had to pay a visit to the US embassy, where the third event happened and I saw the possible value of CCTV. A news report was on TV in the waiting area, and it showed CCTV footage of a child being kidnapped. By the time I left the embassy a few hours later, the perpetrators had been caught as a direct result of the CCTV footage. I came away from the whole ordeal wondering if the trade of privacy for security was worthwhile. I had been shocked at what I saw, yet had seen exactly why it was in place.
Well, current CCTV developments have made it easy for me to know where I stand. A system called AISight is being used around the globe, and it is terrifying.
October 20th, 2009 :: 1 Comment
Hate washing dishes? This could soon be a thing of the past.
Do you hate washing dishes? Of course you do, unless you are some kind of cleaning masochist. Hopefully your kitchen has never looked as bad as the picture on the left, and even if you own a dishwasher, the daily chore of loading and unloading dishes can be very annoying. Luckily the folks at Panasonic are developing a robot that is able to do the dishes for us. The robot consists of an arm that is able to grab and move dishware without breaking anything, plus a camera to observe the arm and make sure it doesn’t become confused. Before putting the dish into a dishwasher, the arm will first empty any remaining contents into a sink. The robotic arm is also capable of simple serving techniques, such as scooping food out of a serving dish and placing it in a bowl.
As with any robot, there is a dark side to go along with all of the potential benefits. In the case of Panasonic’s robotics division, they are reluctant to make a strong push into consumer robotics due to the fact that there are no safety standards or liability laws concerning robots that interact with humans. Panasonic is projecting sales of $1.1 billion of home use robots by 2015, so it is surprising that they are hesitant when such a large amount of sales and money could be on the horizon. The video below states this same fact, and also gives a short explanation of the robot, as well as a few other robots that Panasonic is developing for consumer and commercial use.
October 18th, 2009 :: 1 Comment
In a world that appears to become more obsessed with sex by the day, it seems inevitable that robots would eventually be made specifically to satisfy a person’s sexual desires. Robots have already been made that look more human than anything seen before, even though they are still very creepy.
Robots LOVE Hello Kitty.
So what is the future of sexbotics, and what are the consequences if robotic sex becomes morally and socially acceptable?
October 16th, 2009 :: 1 Comment
Lieutenant General Rick Lynch, commander of the US Army’s 3rd Armor Corps, has repeated his request for robots to be added to the military operating in the Middle East. According to Lynch, of the 155 loses the 3rd Army Corps has suffered, 122 could have been prevented by the use of autonomous robots. That’s right, autonomous. He doesn’t believe drones like the Predator or Reaper or other unmanned but human controlled robotic systems will get the job done. He is a very fervent believer that a robotic army should add to or replace portions of the current military system, and he has 4 specific uses where he believes robots should be used.
October 15th, 2009 :: 1 Comment
I’ve been playing around with Twitter today, trying to find decent plugins to integrate a Robot Armageddon Twitter page within RobotArmageddon.com. Many of them break the layout of the page or just plain don’t work, but there a a couple that I have been able to add.
The most obvious of these is an option at the top of the frontpage to add a tweet about RobotArmageddon.com to your Twitter. A similar option will appear at the top-right of each individual post page. If you click the link you are able to add a tweet to your Twitter without opening a new window/tab or having to leave the site at all. There are quite a few options that you can choose from, but all you really have to do is click ‘post to your twitter’, click the update button, then click close after the tweet is submitted. A bit.ly short link is automatically used in your tweet.
Also on each post page, just above the ‘post to your twitter’ link is an option to retweet that post on Twittley.com. Twittley is a site that only shows user generated content from members of the Twitterverse. It’s a good place to waste some time and find some cool new sites.
If you enjoyed what you read, please share the love on Twitter and Twittley.
You can also promote your own Twitter – there is now an option to include your Twitter username when you leave a comment. If you choose to use this, your Twitter username and a link to your Twitter page will appear beneath your name after you leave a comment so other users will be able to view your Twitter. Look at the comments for this post to see an example.
The Robot Armageddon Twitter page is still a work in progress. Currently there are a few websites (Twittley & Redgage) that automatically post tweets whenever new content is added to RobotArmageddon.com. If everything gets jumbled up with similar tweets from different sources then it will change, but for the time being those tweets will show alongside anything I decide to tweet myself. If you chose to follow the Robot Armageddon Twitter, I will reciprocate and follow yours as soon as I can.
If you have any questions or comments regarding the Twitter or Twittley pages, please send an email to david [at] robotarmageddo [dot] com.
Since you read this, and hopefully contributed to spreading RobotArmageddon.com across the Internet, click the ‘Continue Reading’ link to see a Youtube clip of a robot humping all kinds of household items. Cheers.
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