whuffie:davereed:Robots Might Help Grow Crops on Mars - Gizmodo Robots, space travel, plants… there’s nothing not to like about this story!
Technology Review: Blogs: TR Editors’ blog: Robots ‘Evolve’ the Ability to Deceive
Excellent. They can lie now.
A “cybernetic human” HRP-4C, designed to look like an average Japanese woman, walks in front of journalists during a demonstration in Tsukuba, near Tokyo (via The Big Picture)
Scientists fear a revolt by killer robots - Times Online »
Remember how sci-fi and silly an idea like the ‘internet’ was 30 years ago?
- At the conference, held behind closed doors in Monterey Bay, California, leading researchers warned that mankind might lose control over computer-based systems that carry out a growing share of society’s workload, from waging war to chatting on the phone, and have already reached a level of indestructibility comparable with a cockroach.
- “These are powerful technologies that could be used in good ways or scary ways,” warned Eric Horvitz, principal researcher at Microsoft who organised the conference on behalf of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence.
- According to Alan Winfield, a professor at the University of the West of England, scientists are spending too much time developing artificial intelligence and too little on robot safety.
- “We’re rapidly approaching the time when new robots should undergo tests, similar to ethical and clinical trials for new drugs, before they can be introduced,” he said.
- Robotic unmanned predator drones, for example, which can seek out and kill human targets, have already moved out of the movie theatres and into the theatre of war in Afghanistan and Iraq. While at present controlled by human operators, they are moving towards more autonomous control.
- They could also soon be found on the streets. Samsung, the South Korean electronics company, has developed autonomous sentry robots to serve as armed border guards. They have “shoot-to-kill” capability.
- Noel Sharkey, professor of artificial intelligence and robotics at Sheffield University, warned that such robots could soon be used for policing, for example during riots such as those seen in London at the recent G20 summit. “Is this a good thing?” he asked.
Employees from the Japanese robotics company Cyberdyne don the company’s robot suit “HAL” (Hybrid Assistive Limb) for a walk on a Tokyo street, to celebrate the mass production version of the suit.
Tsukuba University professor Yoshiyuki Sankai and Cyberdyne developed the robot suit to work in unison with the wearer, anticipating the user’s motions and adjusting accordingly.
The suit could help with rehabilitation, physical training, heavy labour, and rescue support at disaster sites.
(Image: Yoshikazu Tsuno / AFP / Getty Images)
A robot has taught itself to smile, frown, and make other human facial expressions using machine learning.
To get the incredibly realistic Einstein robot to make facial expressions, researchers used to have to program each of its 31 artificial muscles individually through trial and error. Now, computer scientists from the Machine Perception Laboratory at the University of California, San Diego have used machine learning to enable the robot to learn expressions on its own.
To begin teaching the robot, the researchers stuck Einstein in front of a mirror and instructed the robot to “body babble” by contorting its face into random positions. A video camera connected to facial recognition software gave the robot feedback: When it made a movement that resembled a “real” expression, it received a reward signal.After the robot figured out the relationship between different muscle movements and known facial expressions, it started experimenting with new expressions, such as eyebrow narrowing.
The robot’s expressions are still a bit awkward, but the researchers say they’re working on ways to make them more realistic, as well experimenting with strategies besides “body babbling” that might speed up the learning process. The group says its studious robot may even improve our understanding of how infants and children learn to make facial expressions.
more here.
Thanks to that lovely creature Harvey C. who emailed me this link. Cause it had my boy Albert. Harvey you rock!
Combine this with that battery that runs on blood, and you can bet your soul is gonna get eaten.
Robot with the brain of a 2 year old looks unspeakably evil | DVICE
Japanese child robot mimicks infant learning
The creators of the Child-robot with Biomimetic Body, or CB2, say it’s slowly developing social skills by interacting with humans and watching their facial expressions, mimicking a mother-baby relationship. A bald, child-like creature dangles its legs from a chair as its shoulders rise and fall with rythmic breathing and its black eyes follow movements across the room. It’s not human — but it is paying attention.
