Really think about that baby next to you, or in you, or possibly the one you're married to. Think about it. Wouldn't life be so much easier if that baby was a robot? I mean, look how adorbable the little fella is. Look at how it learns about the environment while playfully swimming on it's back.
It probably just uploaded the schematics of the room it's in. You know, for the future cybernetic humonid take over?
As the title indicates, the surgical da Vinci robot is clearly being used for it's intended purposes. That purpose being: stylin' on all other robots that wish they had the swag and technological bling that this one cleary possess. What with having them arms and grape peeling power. One day, yes, one day this surgical robot will see the inside of -- a melon.
[In all honesty, The da Vinci robot has been quite the achievement for modern medical science. It's been zapping cervical, prostate and all sorts of cancers for years. For more info, go here]
I can't quite vocalize specifics of the tech being used here, so I'll let the engineers responsible do that for you here. However, I want to highlight a portion of their synopsis that struck a chord with me.
This quite simple experiment touches interesting psychological aspects of self-consciousness, whose complexity can be proved by the fact I already mentioned of the few species that can recognize themselves in front of the mirror.
I'm realizing my next batch of upcoming articles deal largely with how personally I process detail in art and/or the production of said art. When I saw Qbo, looking at himself ... itself, I first thought [skeptically] how much assistance is being used. I hear keyboard clatter, is this playing a role?
Then I let go. I looked at the robot's optical movements as if looking at a car being manufactured. Jigsaw puzzles being aligned but not wedged together. Then the instructor tells Qbo that the reflection is of him ... of it.
I tried thinking long and hard about the first time I saw my reflection. It was so far back that my consciousness takes for granted how our brains adjusted and have been adjusted time and time again, in how we see ourselves, and how we see each other.
A very human side of me wondered if a 'second Qbo' was there looking at an adjacent mirror, would the litany of pre-programmed reactions have still been "Nice?" What if Qbo's reaction wasn't so cheerful?
I love that the next frontier of artificial intelligence is of aspects of the self-conscious. But I do find it funny that we must build something wholly new, to understand something about ourselves. Thoughts?
So the Harvard engineering research department has been up to no good. In by that I mean, they've possibly created several breakthroughs with just one robo-project. Here we see a video that has all the fireworks of paint drying, but what you don't see are the many uses that could come as a result.
By creating a "soft robot" we can come closer to understanding how inverterbrates function. Their muscle structure and movements could lead to several marine biological studies. Not only this, but there is a clear military use that will most-likely follow. And I'm all for more robots and less humans out on the battlefield [at least, when asked].
One result I hope comes from this is an advancement in prosthesis and amputee studies. We could finally be closer to giving those in need something past a mannequin limb.
Anyway, that's it from me. I'll get back to writing about games and stuff...
Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 2:13PM 
