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Blow Your Mind: Robotic Roomates and the Science of Smell
by Robert Lamb | November 17, 2011
So I think this bit of fan mail from our listener John sets up this week’s episodes rather nicely: “Listening to Robots podcast and y’all keep mentioning Roombas, and I know you are cat people. We on a Skeptical Listserve were discussing Roombas last month, and a participant mentioned that a friend of his had a Roomba and a Cat. The cat crapped on the carpet, and the Roomba not-so-helpfully tracked the feces all over the house.”
What’s that buzzing around the room? A bird? A plane? Nope, it’s just a robotic insect sent by some shadow government to spy on our every move. Yes, welcome to the age of the microdrone. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Julie and I check in on the current state of militarily drone technology, the rise of biomimetic bird-bots and just how the future may shake out.
Well I’m all grown up now.
Yes, Julie and I have discussed the reality and inevitability of sexbots before on the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast and now Chinese developers have created sperm-collecting robots designed to stimulate human males and collect their genetic material. As you’ll see in the following video, the whole thing looks like one of Doctor Who’s Daleks, except with an unsettling-looking apparatus on the front instead of a death ray. The things debuted at China International Medical Equipment Fair in Shenzhen, China last month. Let’s watch:
Blow Your Mind: Machines, Morality and Sexbots
by Robert Lamb | May 19, 2011
As we covered in a previous episode, robots can now be programmed to deceive other robots and even humans. But did you know they can also be programmed to approximate something like guilt? Julie and I consult with Dr. Ronald Arkin of the Georgia Institute of Technology on teaching bots how to process like humans.
And yes, we will also talk about sexy, sexy sexbots — machines crafted through our ingenuity to appeal to our most basic cravings. We’ve all heard of the notorious Roxxxy. What does it mean to have feelings for a machine, ethically? Dr. Arkin weighs in and even goes so far as to declare Roxxxy a “bad robot.” And not in the naughty sense. In the crappy sense.
Imagine that you are an inventor. You have been working for six months on your latest, greatest creation. You run to your spouse and shout, “Honey, I’ve done it! Come watch!” And your spouse sees this demonstration: It is amazing and cool. Also mysterious – how can the thing pick up mayonnaise like it is [...]
How much dexterity and control does a doctor have when using a surgical robot? You can get a sense of it by watching this video, where the doctor folds a paper airplane using the remote manipulation system of a da Vinci surgical robot: Here is what the da Vinci surgical robot looks like from the [...]
Trailer for Hawken – A first-person shooter with mechs
by Marshall Brain | March 31, 2011
Mechs are one of those vehicles that have been predicted by Science Fiction for decades but have never made the transition to real life. For example, the mech in Avatar in 2010 is amazing in its realism: 30 years earlier, the AT-STs appeared in The Empire Strikes Back: Even though they don’t yet exist in [...]
This robot is called Geminoid DK and looks remarkably realistic: This is from the first test of the Geminoid. The first hint of a smile triggers immediate response. The people laughing in the background are the designers, who at this point have worked on the robot for months, and here see it operated for the [...]
Jeopardy, IBM’s Watson Supercomputer vs. Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter, Day 3
by Marshall Brain | February 17, 2011
We have witnessed Watson’s prowess on Day 1 and Day 2: A look at last night’s Jeopardy game featuring IBM’s Watson Supercomputer, Brad Rutter and Ken Jennings Jeopardy, IBM’s Watson Supercomputer vs. Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter, Day 2 Last night was the final round, and Watson cleaned house: Final score on ‘Jeopardy!’: Computer 1, [...]
Jeopardy, IBM’s Watson Supercomputer vs. Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter, Day 2
by Marshall Brain | February 16, 2011
In Day 2, Watson continues to dominate: Watson Cleans House On Day 2 Of ‘Jeopardy!’ Challenge Veteran “Jeopardy!” champs Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter scored only five correct responses between them during the “Double Jeopardy!” round that aired Tuesday. They ended this first game of a two-game match with paltry earnings of $2,400 and $5,400, [...]
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