Download Danielle Rich Artificial Intelligence Final Paper Robotics Whether we

Danielle Rich
Artificial Intelligence
Final Paper
Robotics
Whether we like it or not, Robotics is here to stay and is showing up in places
everywhere. Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction,
operation and application of robots and computer systems for their control, sensory feedback,
and information processing. We find them in our manufacturing plants, banks, and the cars we
drive are becoming closer every day to where they won’t even need a human operating them.
The idea of robots has been an idea for as long as man could create the image in their mind, but
the reality of them has only been around for a short time.
In 322 B.C., the Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote “If every tool, when ordered, or even
of its own accord, could do the work that befits it... then there would be no need either of
apprentices for the master workers or of slaves for the lords.” It may seem that Aristotle was
wishing for a few robots to be around to keep him company. Very simple models of robots had
been designed in Aristotle’s days. As early as 350 B.C., A Greek mathematician named Archytas
of Tarentum built a mechanical bird they called “the Pigeon” and was operated with the power of
steam and is histories earliest study of flight. By 200 B.C. water clocks were designed and had
movable figures on them (MegaGiant).
In 1801, Joseph Jacquard built an automated loom that was controlled by punched cards.
These punch cards would be used later as an input method for some of the earliest 20th century
computers. Charles Babbage, inspired by Jacquards punch cards, is often considered the “Father
of the Computer.” Although during his lifetime, his project “the Analytical Engine” never did
produce a functional version, his work lives on as the foundation of the binary numbering
system. By 1898, Nicola Tesla was playing with a remote controlled robot boat in Madison
Square Garden. And by 1926 the first robot debuted on the silver screen in the file entitled
“Metropolis” (MegaGiant).
Alan Turing introduces a computer called the Turing Machine in 1936 and after that the
robotics field starts to get really exciting. Imaginations about the future about robots takes off
and Isaac Asimov, an author who compiled stories about robots that eventually became known as
“I Robot” compiled the Three Laws of Robotics in 1942.
1. A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to
come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would
conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with
the First or Second Law.
And later added a fourth law called the Zeroth law: A robot may not injure humanity, or, through
inaction, allow humanity to come to harm. By 1950, Alan Turing published Computing
Machinery and Intelligence in which he proposed a test to determine whether or not a machine
can think for itself. This test became known as the “Turing Test.”
In 1956, “artificial intelligence” is looked at as more reality than science fiction for the
first time and by 1959 John McCarthy and Marvin Minsky began the Artificial Intelligence
Laboratory located at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Two years later, the MH-1, a
computer operated mechanical hand was created. A year later, the first industrial robot arm is
introduced and designed to complete repetitive or dangerous jobs on the assembly line for
General Motors.
Big Blue, a chess program created by Richard Greenblatt, took headlines in 1967 because
it beat the grand master chest player Gary Kasparov. Mr. Kasparov was a critique until he lost to
a machine. By 1977, possibly two of the most famous robots were introduced to the world.
Universal studios released Star Wars and R2-D2 and C-3PO were instant hits and inspired a
generation of researchers.
Honda begins a robot research program in 1986 “that starts with the premise that the
robots "should coexist and cooperate with human beings, by doing what a person cannot do and
by cultivating a new dimension in mobility to ultimately benefit society"(MegaGiant). Ten years
later, Honda debuted with a humanoid robot called the P3. In 1989, researchers at MIT unveiled
the first walking robot that they named Genghis. In 1992, Marc Thorpe Has the idea to start a
robot combat event which continues to grow in popularity. People love the idea of robot toys and
in 1998 Furby became an instant hit and became the most popular Christmas toy for the year. A
year later Sony released the AIBO robotic pet, which is still very popular in other countries and
some people prefer them to a real dog. People have become emotionally attached to these robotic
dogs.
Currently, robots are everywhere, and only increasing in jobs and things they can do.
Some experts speculate by 2040, fifty percent of all US jobs will be done by robots. I have
already seen the robot in the manufacturing workplace, but seeing a humanoid robot in real life is
very hard to imagine. The human race may be on the brink of bringing the science fiction robot
to reality. Humanoid research has begun to accelerate and although small in number, groups of
people around the world who are hosting projects are getting together and discussing the
advancement of AI (INL).
At the Idaho National laboratory, researchers are working to develop a new class of
machines with the ability to adjust their autonomy enabling them to use their own intelligence to
meet the level of control handed down from the user. At INL, they have focused on developing
“sensor–rich robots and fusion algorithms that enable the robots to fully “experience” and
“understand” the environment” (INL). These robots come in a wide variety starting from allterrain vehicles to colonies or swarms of interactive robots.
The Humanoid Robotics Group at MIT is working on giving Cog and Lazlo a human
face. They want to be able to design and fabricate an iconic, humanoid face for each robot that
will foster a social contact between robot and human. The scientists and researchers at MIT
believe that a well-designed face will assist in regulating interaction, receive appropriate
stimulus and, in the longer term, will learn how to imitate tasks. The first prototype has already
been fabricated and installed onto the head platform Lazlo (MIT).
The MIT group has also been developing a robotic torso they call Cog. It is their goal to
create a robot that is capable of interacting with the world that includes both objects and humans
in a human like way. They have found that a far better way to develop this robot is to allow it to
interact with its environment and learn its predictive model.
The first that is able to develop and show emotions was unveiled in 2010 by a European
research team. They call him Nao and he expresses he is sad by hunching his shoulders forward
and looking down. Happiness is expressed by raising his arms, and cowers when he is frightened.
He forms bonds with people depending on how they treat him and the more they interact with
him, the more Nao learns their moods and the bond becomes stronger (Jha). Nao has been
programmed to mimic the emotional skills of a one year old child. He can tell where his human
companions are looking and memorize different people’s faces and can remember past
interactions with different people. He can achieve this by using a neural network brain, and some
basic rules for what is good and bad. The emotions he has have been pre=programmed but Nao
decides when to display these emotions.
Researchers at the University of Hertforshire are working on non-verbal cues so the
emotions are revealed through physical gestures and postures rather than verbal or facial
expressions. They hope to see future robots acting as companions and possibly provide support
for the elderly. They can be programmed with different personalities like a needier robot to one
that’s a little bit more independent. The advancement that this team is making is simply
amazing.
I think it might be safe to say that the aspiration to build a humanoid can be regarded as
the ultimate challenge. With the advancement of AI, it also entails that we are making
spectacular advancement towards understanding how the brain works. We are augmenting and
re-creating the human body. We are developing artificial hearts, pancreases, joints and muscles.
It may very lead to the much sought after fountain of youth for the human race. It is crazy to
think but probably not all that out of reach anymore, but I am pretty sure that I may very well
watch a race of robots being born right before my very own eyes.
Bibliography
INL."Humanoid Robotics Current Research Projects." Humanoid Robotics Current
Research Projects. Idaho National Library, n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2012.
<https://inlportal.inl.gov/portal/server.pt/community/current_research_projects/541>.
Isom, James. "MegaGiant Robotics." MegaGiant Robotics. LEGO, 2005. Web. 07 Oct.
2012. <http://robotics.megagiant.com/history.html>.
Jha, Alok. "First Robot Able to Develop and Show Emotions Is Unveiled." The
Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 08 Aug. 2010. Web. 08 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/aug/09/nao-robot-develop-display-emotions>.
Kurzweil, Ray. "The Future of Robots." Popular Science. POPSCI, n.d. Web. 08 Oct.
2012. <http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2006-09/future-robots?page=1>.
MIT. "Current Research Projects." Current Research Projects. Humanoid Robotics
Group, n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2012. <http://www.ai.mit.edu/projects/humanoid-roboticsgroup/cog/current-projects.ht