45 posts tagged “robots”
Once again, T-Rex says what I'm thinking.
The robots have been quiet about their plans for world domination as of late, but they couldn't hide from me forever. In fact, they revealed their strategy for starting a war on two fronts:
European Union (EU) member states are losing out to the Japanese when it comes to developing useful robots that are commercially available. The European Commission (EC) urged businesses to turn their robotics research into viable products much more quickly than they do now.
Yes, even my beloved Europe may soon be taken over by the robot conspiracy.
Link: BBC NEWS | Technology | Europe needs bigger robots push
Apparently, Dublin's Art Community is controlled by robot sympathizers. The city is hosting a "Save the Robots" festival next week:
Robots will be pushing shopping trolleys around Dublin's streets and robotic ducks will be swimming in the ponds of St Stephen's Green as part of a festival of robots starting this month.
Save the Robots will kick off at the Ark in Dublin's Temple Bar on June 22 and feature an exhibition, festival and workshops examining robots in film, fantasy and art.
Audiences will have the chance to build their own robot or create a mini science fiction film. The festival will also feature Artbots, a New York-based 'robot talent show' that is visiting Europe for the first time.
Nutty!
So I was reading a story about the idea that artificial intelligence could someday be used to fight wars and I discovered this most disturbing sentence:
Already schematized into PowerPoint presentations with tangled colored arrows, talking points and an Orwellian lexicon - "soldier systems," "networked lethality," "war fighter machine interfaces" - the rationale for the effort is laid out in an Army promotional video: "Either you create your future or you become the victim of the future someone creates for you."
So our plan to use computers to fight wars is already laid out in PowerPoint. Not only is the enemy shaking in their boots, but the robots are laughing at how easily they can manipulate us.
It's still Tuesday, so posting robot related news late still counts. That said, what the heck is up with this?
Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR), a cutting-edge developer of robots in Kansai Science City in Seikacho, Kyoto Prefecture, recently set up an affiliate to sell humanoid robots.
The affiliate, ATR-Robotics Co., which was set up on Jan. 14, has entrusted post offices in the Kansai region to take orders for the robots and ship them via Yu-pack parcel service in an attempt to expand sales from researchers and robot enthusiasts to the general public.
Since when did Post Offices sell robots? Japan is a really crazy place when it comes to robots.
Link: Daily Yomiuri On-Line
Tiny robots powered by living muscle have been created by scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles.
The devices were formed by "growing" rat cells on microscopic silicon chips, the researchers report in the journal Nature Materials.
Less than a millimetre long, the miniscule robots can move themselves without any external source of power.
From Slashdot comes some interesting news about the use of robots to fight the loss of "cultural memory:"
Neil Halelamien writes "As reported on robots.net and other sources, researchers at Tokyo have used the HRP-2 Promet humanoid robot to help preserve moves from ancient Japanese dance for future generations. The researchers used motion capture to record the movements of a dancing master, then encoded and replayed them on the robot. The HRP-2 Promet robots are themselves quite interesting, capable of standing up after lying down and non-autonomously operating a backhoe. The external appearance was created by a designer known for his work on several anime series."
The robots, in their ruthless march towards world domination, have advanced on three fronts according to this week's robot news.
First, some evil Social Scientists have put together a conference to develop the social mechanisms of robots. Well adjusted robots will be about to take over the world far more effectively.
Link: CogSci 2005 Anroid Science Workshop - Toward Social Mechanisms:
Second, a musician in Arizona got tried of dealing with other rockers and built his own band, literally. Now the robots have their own rock stars!
Link: Captured By Robots:
Finally, Toyota has announced plans to increase the number of robots it uses in its factories:
Toyota Motor will introduce robots that can work as well or better than humans at all 12 of its factories in Japan to cut costs and deal with a looming labour shortage as the country ages.
The robots would be able to carry out multiple tasks simultaneously with their two arms, achieving efficiency unseen in human workers and matching the cheap wages of Chinese labourers, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said last week.
Japan's top carmaker uses 3000 to 4000 less-advanced robots at its domestic factories but their use has been confined mostly to welding, painting and other potentially hazardous tasks, the economic daily said.
The new robots would also be used in finishing work, such as installation of seats and car interior fixtures, that have been too complex for conventional robots up to now, the daily said.
Link: Toyota to staff factories with robots.
How long until we have socially adjusted rock stars building automobiles?
It makes sense that since Robots are becoming more affordable, the U.S. Army will give robots machine guns. Yeah, armed robots.
