By Carl Weiss
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| Courtesy of Flickr |
In a take right out of one of those late night sci-fi movies the race is currently on to determine who is going to conquer the world first: autonomous robots or cybernetically enhanced humans. If you have been paying any attention to the
When most people think about robots today, they either get a
picture in their heads of the industrial automatons that now assemble
things like
cars and vacuum cleaners, or they think of mama’s little helper the
Roomba. But what most folks don’t appreciate is that everyone
from Google to the Dept. of Defense is on the verge of creating robotic
systems
that are capable of doing everything from fighting fires to driving on
California’s interstates with little or no input or oversight from
anyone.
Robots to the Rescue
Robots to the Rescue
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| Alice Krige as the Borg Queen in First Contact (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Robotics Challenge Teams Announced By DARPA
The Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
announced on Wednesday some of the top teams that will compete in its $2million contest to create robots that can be used to assist in natural
disasters and other emergencies.
What’s even stranger is that there are a number of developers,
universities and entrepreneurs who are creating robots that walk on two, four or
even six legs. These includes the Army’s
BigDog Robot, which resembles a metal Rottweiler that is designed to carry
heavy loads over rough terrain; the Cheetah, currently the world’s fastest
quadruped robot; and another called the Mule.
The four-legged robot,
developed by the U.S. government -funded Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency (DARPA) and Boston Dynamics, is part of DARPA's Legged Squad Support
System (LS3) program, and is packed with technology. It's a development on Big
Dog, a robot platform developed by Boston Dynamics several years ago.
The new robot walks on four
legs and has a fast-reacting balance system that means it won't fall over if
shoved from one side -- something that most robots can't handle. If it does
somehow fall , it's capable of righting itself. There are also "eyes"
at the front, actually electronic sensors that constantly scan the
surroundings.
But Wait, There’s More …
There are also robots that are
currently in use that can swim or even fly.
While most people are familiar with some of the DoD’s autonomous drone
aircraft, such as the Global Hawk, what many have not heard abou
t are
autonomous aerial bots that are the size of bats or even bugs. While these micro
air vehicles (MAVs) are ostensibly designed to be used to for such things as searching
for survivors in the wake of a disaster or even pollinating plants, it’s all
too easy to see that these bugbots could all too easily be converted into
flying listening devices which would give the term “bugging” a whole new
meaning.
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| WASHINGTON (Aug. 17, 2011) Michael Hopkins, left, and Bryce Lee, both graduate students at Virginia Tech. |
Scientists hope to put artificial bee brains
in flying robots
Scientists from the Universities of
Sheffield and Sussex hope to build a computer model of the honey bee’s brain,
with the ultimate hope of using it to control tiny autonomous flying robots.
The project is called Green Brain – a tip
of the hat to IBM’s Blue Brain
Project, the aim of which is to create a computer model of the human
brain. The Green Brain team, however, aren’t actually trying to recreate all of
a bee’s mental processes. Instead, they’re focusing on the systems that control
its vision and sense of smell.
Also, unlike the Blue Brain scientists,
they’re not using supercomputers to create their model. In order to get the
performance they’ll need out of desktop PCs, they are using high-performance GPU (graphics
processing unit) accelerators. Donated by the NVIDIA Corporation, these GPUs
are typically used to rapidly generate 3D graphics on home computers and gaming
systems. For the Green Brain project, they will instead be used to quickly
perform complex calculations.
What’s worse is that once these some of these
bots are out of the bottle, it is not going to be easy to put them back
in. Especially since at least one lab in
England has developed a way to power these critters on biomass. That’s right, these robots eat bugs. Eww!
Bug-Eating Robots Use Flies for Fuel
At the Bristol Robotics
Laboratory in England, researchers are designing their newest bug-eating
robot—Ecobot III.
The device is the latest in a
series of small robots to emerge from the lab that are powered by a diet of
insects. Most robots today draw that
energy from electrical cords, solar panels, or batteries. But Chris Melhuish
and his colleagues think such release-and-forget robots can satisfy their
energy needs the same way wild animals do — by foraging for food. "Animals are the proof that
this is possible," he said.
Over the last decade, Melhuish's
team has produced a string of bots powered by sugar, rotten apples, or dead
flies.
There’s Something Fishy Going on Here
But the friendly skies are not
the only realm into which autonomous robots have started to roam. There are also a number of inventors who have
created robots that can swim the seven seas.
Autonomous Swimming Robot Inspired by the Sea Turtle
Well, we
shouldn’t be surprised. Scientists have created swimming robotic versions of
the cow-nosed ray, the jellyfish, the sunfish, the tuna, and just the generic “fish,” so why not the sea turtle? That’s what a group of scientists
from the ETH Zurich research group are in the process of doing, and
they’ve named it naro - tartaruga (the original naro was another robotic tuna).
As it turns out, a couple of the sea turtle’s natural features make for a
pretty good robot.
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| Shadow Dexterous Robot Hand holding a lightbulb (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Although it is
possible to operate the current prototype by remote control, naro-tartaruga
is being created first and foremost as an exercise in autonomous underwater
navigation. The research team is also interested in seeing just how
energy-efficient its flapping-fin propulsion system will be.
There is currently everything from robo-tuna,
to automated jellyfish, to robotic eels that are designed to sniff out
underwater mines. While many of these cutting edge robots are tethered to their
human operators, there are a number that are being endowed with artificial
intelligence.
SUNNYVALE, CA and KAMUELA, HI, Oct 25, 2012 -- Liquid Robotics(R), an ocean data service provider and
developer of the Wave Glider(R), the first wave powered autonomous marine
robot, the world's first wave
powered, autonomous marine robot.
Wave-powered robots? You
heard it here first. Just like the
computer revolution of the 1980s, the next few years are going to see the
emergence of robotics as an everyday event.
For instance, California has just passed legislature that makes it legal
for “Autonomous Vehicles” to share the road with humanity.
Feds ironing out rules for autonomous cars
With the
increasing development of autonomousvehicles, and even some states issuing licenses for
self-driving cars, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration decided
it was high time to lay out a set of rules for these advanced vehicles.
According to a Detroit News report, NHTSA is embarking on a
research project that could take two to three years, at the conclusion of
which, the administration will write rules to govern driverless cars.
According to the report NHSTA administrator David
Sctrickland says the technology could possibly save "thousands of
lives." It was also reported that NHTSA has been in talks with a number of
companies, including Google, regarding the implementation and development of this
technology. Google has been testing its own fleet of driverless cars, logging
over 300,000 miles on American roads. The tech company says autonomous vehicles
could be made available to the public in the next ten years.
What’s even scarier is the fact that recent
developments have made it not only possible, but probable that computer and
robotic technology is going to be available that is wearable or even
implantable. Most people have heard
about Google Glass, which is a voice actuated computer that is worn like a pair
of spectacles. What hasn’t been as
widely promoted is the fact that there are other companies developing similar
technology.
You remember how we saw the unveiling of Google’s Project Glass earlier
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| Courtesy of Flickr |
Yes,
this is nowhere near as sleek as the Google Glass concept, but the HC1 is not
being targeted at the stylish consumer market. Instead, this is geared more
toward industry, military, aerospace, aviation, utilities and other similar
commercial applications in the field. And when I said it runs on Windows,
you’re not going to get the tiled interface of Windows 8; instead, this is
running on Windows CE 6.0 Professional with a custom speech recognition engine.
Robotic Exoskeleton has Potential For Space and Earth Applications
But these systems are
only the tip of the iceberg for wearable hardware. One of the most intriguing would have to be
NASA’s X1 Robotic Exoskeleton.
NASA has teamed up with The Florida Institute for Human and
Machine Cognition (IHMC) and Oceaneering Space Systems to develop a robotic
exoskeleton called X1. X1 is a 57 pound device that a human could wear over his
or her body to assist or inhibit leg movements.In space, the inhibit mode would
be used as an in-space exercise machine to supply resistance against leg
movement. Here on Earth, the assist mode could potentially help individuals
walk for the first time.
Some people have described this technology as
being “halfway to the IronMan,” which is apropos for a robotic suit that looks
like a cross between a storm trooper and a Transformer. But the fact of the matter is that not only
is hardware wearable, in some cases it has become implantable.
As shocking as the concept of implantable
computers may be to the average American, this technology is hardly new. For years such things as pacemakers and
implantable defibrillators have been available to the public. Not only are these devices computer
controlled, but industry experts recently issued a report that warned that
these devices are susceptible to malware.
That’s right, if you are a pacemaker user, your device could get
hacked. While other implantable medical
electronics such as cochlear implants designed to allow the deaf to hear and ocular
technology designed to let the blind see could also be hacked, the results of a
computer virus in these systems would in all likelihood not prove fatal.
Experts Discuss How Rise in Medical Malware Could Lead to Fatal Consequences
Computers and smartphones
aren’t the only technology susceptible to malware. Experts are saying
computerize medical equipment is being targeted through systems connected to
the Internet as well — and the effect could have deadly consequences.
Technology
Review reporter Kevin Fu, a medical-device security and a computer
scientist at the University of Michigan and the University of Massachusetts,
Amherst, said that although no injuries as a
result of computer viruses infecting medical equipment have been reported yet, they are
beginning to hamper patient-monitoring equipment.
The National Institute of
Standards and Technology Information Security & Privacy Advisory
Board panel discussed the potential consequences this malware could have
on patients, how it is getting into the system and what can be done about it.
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| Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum: Gift shop: Original model of the NCC-1701 Enterprise from the 1960s's "Star Trek" TV series (Photo credit: Chris Devers) |
Star Trek Technology: How 21st Century Scientists are Making it so
Since its inception in 1966, "Star Trek" has familiarized us with the lingo and applications of science. At
least, that was the case for me. I felt pretty disenfranchised from science at
school: it wasn't until I discovered science fiction that I realized I could understand other "difficult" technical concepts.
Since the show began, many of
us have become more tech-savvy than we could possibly have imagined at school.
More than that, we're now seeing emergent technology here on Earth that was
once little more than a Star Trek scriptwriter's dream. To get you in the mood
for this weekend's festivities, here's a roundup of some of the best Star
Trek-inspired technology.
As time goes on, it’s inevitable
that cybernetic systems, robotics, and even more "Star Trek" technology will
become not only available but as commonplace as the computer is today. Whether for good or bad, the only question
that remains to be answered is, “Do you think we’ll be able to use malware to
stop them from taking over the world?”
If you would like to find more articles like this type in your key phrase in the search box at the top left of this blog. If you found this article useful, share it with your friends, families and co-works. If you have a comment related to this article, leave it in the comment sections below. If you would like a free copy of our book, "Internet Marketing Tips for the 21st Century", fill out the form in the upper right-hand sidebar and get instant access.
Since 1995, Carl Weiss has been helping clients succeed online. He owns and operates several online marketing businesses, including Working the Web to Win and Jacksonville Video Production. He also co-hosts the weekly radio show, "Working the Web to Win," every Tuesday at 4 p.m. Eastern on BlogTalkRadio.com.
If you would like to find more articles like this type in your key phrase in the search box at the top left of this blog. If you found this article useful, share it with your friends, families and co-works. If you have a comment related to this article, leave it in the comment sections below. If you would like a free copy of our book, "Internet Marketing Tips for the 21st Century", fill out the form in the upper right-hand sidebar and get instant access.
Since 1995, Carl Weiss has been helping clients succeed online. He owns and operates several online marketing businesses, including Working the Web to Win and Jacksonville Video Production. He also co-hosts the weekly radio show, "Working the Web to Win," every Tuesday at 4 p.m. Eastern on BlogTalkRadio.com.
This is very useful to me because i read many article and implemented but doesn't work its very informative thank you for sharing with us.
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