The Actroid androids are part of a new generation of robots, artificial beings designed to function not as programmed industrial machines but as increasingly autonomous agents capable of taking on roles in our homes, schools, and offices previously carried out only by humans. The foot soldiers of this vanguard are the Roomba vacuums that scuttle about cleaning our carpets and the cuddly electronic pets that sit up and roll over on command but never make a mess on the rug. More sophisticated bots may soon be available that cook for us, fold the laundry, even babysit our children or tend to our elderly parents, while we watch and assist from a computer miles away.
“In five or ten years robots will routinely be functioning in human environments,” says Reid Simmons, a professor of robotics at Carnegie Mellon.
Such a prospect leads to a cascade of questions. How much everyday human function do we want to outsource to machines? What should they look like? Do we want androids like Yume puttering about in our kitchens, or would a mechanical arm tethered to the backsplash do the job better, without creeping us out? How will the robot revolution change the way we relate to each other? A cuddly robotic baby seal developed in Japan to amuse seniors in eldercare centers has drawn charges that it could cut them off from other people. Similar fears have been voiced about future babysitting robots. And of course there are the halting attempts to create ever willing romantic androids. Last year a New Jersey company introduced a talking, touch-sensitive robot “companion,” raising the possibility of another kind of human disconnect.
Saturday 23 July 2011
Robots ☀
16 notes
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qoutesinmybrain reblogged this from thinkingbeing and added:
“ever willing romantic androids” - hmmmmm
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silas216 reblogged this from azspot
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silas216 likes this
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robotuprising reblogged this from azspot
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notsayinsupersaiyan reblogged this from woody and added:
Robots ubiquitous in 5-10 years? I’ve been waiting for this news for so very very long.
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patryninabox reblogged this from woody
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woody reblogged this from azspot and added:
I want one.
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edanbook reblogged this from azspot
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anotherword likes this
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thinkingbeing reblogged this from azspot
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skullanddie likes this
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scudmissile likes this
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imall4frogs said:
In a 1980s lecture, Kurt Vonnegut observed, “The coming century asks a question of us. What are people for?” The answer forming now seems to be, “We’re for less and less as time passes.”
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azspot posted this
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