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Technology, Writing and the Internet Advanced Expository Writing
ENGL 249S-02 * Fall 2003 |
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Robots and Cyborgs
- Tara Abatemarco suggests this site called "Robots Today": "The article "Robots Today," by Ron Rothenberg, comes from the Carnagie Melon School of Computer Science. It's an interesting look at how robots are used more often then the public sees in our lives today. It also tells of current robot advances, one particularly interesting robot developed, Minerva, actually worked as a tour guide at the Smithsonian's Museum of American History, in Washington D.C."
Becky Allen's site is the International Federation of Robotics: "The International Federation of Robotics started in 1987 as a result of the International Symposium on Industrial Robots and is a non-profit, non-government, professional organization. At the website one can access predicted robot sales, specifics from the International Organization for Standardization regarding robotics, current news and developments, and links to World Robotics publications. The site also distinguishes between industrial and service robots and provides clear explanations for those individuals who may not be familiar with the applications of robots."
Marshall Annis sends this article from the Vancouver Sun: "Doug Ward柏s article from the Vancouver Sun is about how two scientists from the University of British Colombia are trying to create a robotic insect that will fly. By mimicking a dragonfly they believe that this tiny robot will actually be able to become airborne. They hope that
their 捌robosect柏 will someday aid in search and rescue efforts."
Deepak Arora sends this site from NASA: "Nasa is currently working on a robot to work side by side with humans, or to use as humanoids where the danger is too great for actual humans. The existing work in progress is the Robonaut (a combination of a robot + astronaut). This cyborg posesses a human shape, hands, and surprisingly a biologically inspired central nervous system!"
Paul Chuong's website is called Robotics Fundamentals: "This link is from a website called Robotics Fundamentals. In this site, many aspects of robots are presented, such as the impacts of robots in our lives, how they are used and in what capacities, and also how robots will greatly impact future society. It also gives a "Robotic Timeline," describing how robots have affected society through time."
John Fleming sends along this site from Amigobot.com: "http://www.amigobot.com/ is run by a company named ActivMedia Robotics that sells small robots and robot kits for robotics teams. The site includes a history
of working robots that are very similar to ActivMedias robots. Four robots are named in the
history timeline along with an explanation of each robot. According to ActivMedia, the first robot dates back to 1970."
Chris Gilmore suggests this site from HowStuffWorks.com: "Marshall Brain, a founder of How Stuff Works and respected professional in the writing field, grabbed my attention by describing an actual event envolving robots that recently occurred while he was at a McDonald's. A new automated ordering system impressed Brain, but also raised many questions for him as well. Agreeing that robots of the future could result in increased productivity in many professions, he then begins to speculate the probability that these same robots will eliminate the need for human employees, thus creating outrageous unemployment rates. Towards the end of the article, Brain provides a concise chart of job numbers and salaries in America and puts things into perspective when he calculates the amount of jobs that could potentially be lost."
Stefanie Kealey sends this link from the U.K.'s Guardian Unlimited: " This is an article by Polly Curtis from the "Gaurdian Unlimited", a United Kingdom news website. It gives a brief synopsis of the scientist who undergoes a potentially harmful operation to become the world's first 'real-life' cyborg. The goal of the experiment is to help scientists better understand the
nervous system, and restore movement in people after spinal injuries."
Kristy Klein suggests this article from Business Week: ""Robots" was written by Irene M. Kunii in Tokyo and Otis Port in New York. This site, http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/01_12/b3724007.htmdiscusses Japan's latest technology in robotics and the line of robo sapiens that they envision for the future. These robots would have amazing capabilities in memory, computational skills, andphysical strength and would help assist humans in hazardous environments, the military, everyday life, and care for the elderly to name a few examples. They willbe getting more and more necessary to keep up withJapan's needs, as 65% of the population is expected to be over the age of 65 by the year 2005. These robo sapiens are expected to be very popular for Sony, in addition to their already popularand cute robo pets."
Julie Lauenger suggests this article called "Robots and Their Role in Future Warfighting": "Ron Schafer wrote an amazing article discussing the futur role ofrobotic warfare for the United States Joint Forces Command. He states thatthe robots will operate largely autonomously with limited human supervion, not on the strategic level, but on the tactical level.Schafer points out that not only will the robots be more useful because they don't need to eat or sleep, but they will also be cheaper than humans."
- Paul Lavoie suggests Adam Currie's "The History of Robotics" page: "A webpage that advocates robots is The History of Robotics by Adam
Currie. This page talks about the history of robots, modern-day use of
robots in different fields, movies with robots in them, and robots in
the news."
- Jeffrey Lees sends this site called "The Rights of Robots": "The website discusses the issues concerning the idea of robots having rights as humans do. Robots are becoming ever more sophisticated and will no longer be thought of as inanimate machines in the future. The authors of the webpage are planners/futurists with the Hawaii Judiciary."
- Blake Loscalzo sends this site from the U.K.'s Otherland Toys: "This web site is an advertisement for London's Otherland Toys Company. Otherland Toys makes the most high tech gadgets on the market; from
artificially intelligent pets to artificially intelligent frisbees and boomerangs. These toys have such amazing capabilities it is frightening to imagine what kinds of toys will be foreseable in the future."
- April Mahoney sends along this article called "How to Avoid a Robot Takeover: Political and Ethical Choices in the Design and Introduction of Intelligent Artifacts": "Blay Whit and Kane Oliver, in their essay entitled 皟How to Avoid a Robot Takeover: Political and Ethical Choices in the Design and Introduction of Intelligent Artifacts氨, describe the possibility and probability of a robot dominated world. This article is published on the University of Sussex柏s Centre for Research in Cognitive Science homepage. The authors explore many scenarios described by technophobic individuals in which human beings would either become far too dependent upon machines, or the machines themselves would have more control over human life than humans. Whit and Oliver maintain that although technologically it is possible for these events to occur, it is not probable that humans will make the choices which will lead to machine domination."
- Kevin Manoni suggests this article from MSNBC.com: "Can you imagine a war where ONLY autonomous robotic "things" fight each other and the human casualties are dramatically reduced or even non-existant? This is a news article from MSNBC named "Building Robot Soldiers" that starts by telling a story of 6 men who were killed by an unmanned aircraft that carried hellfire missiles. These men were suspected Al-Qaeda Terrorists and were destroyed in the blink of an eye in a fiery blaze. Many military uses of robots are outlined in this article and I was forced to think of the consequences that might arise if this type of technology were to be used in law enforcement. The 6 men were not given a proper trial and were executed with impunity. Is this the future of mankind?"
Sophie Moravej suggests this article from ABC News: "The article 皟Dreaming and Soaring,氨 released on abcnews.com, was released after the February explosion of the space shuttle Columbia. Unhappy about the loss of lives, the public had raised questions of reasons for space travel and the use of robots instead of humans. The author, Jim Wooten addresses these questions and explains why, although robots are cheaper and faster, they cannot replace humans in space. A robot may be able to perform a programmed task, but if something unexpected arises, human presence is immeasurable."
Taki Naito sends this link from USA Today: "In USA Today's Tech website I came across "For humans and robot, its puppy love." Kathleen Frackelmann's article discusses home robots, such as pet dogs, like Sony's "Aibo" to be increasingly common for the next decade. They might replace normal pets, and actually become m[a]n'ss new best friend."
Katie O'Keeffe suggests Servo's Motion Picture Robots and Cyborgs site: "I found "Motion Picture Robots and Cyborgs" created by Servo interesting because it gave an outline of Robots that people are familar with, such as the robots found in movies and TV. While it isn't terribly 'technical,' it does raise the important issue of how people become acquainted with new-fangled gadgets even decades before they become mainstream. For example, the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz is a prime example of how radical a man or functioning being can be made out of tin. If only we could create a
tin heart too..."
Michelle Spangle suggests this article from ScienceNews.org: "At Science News Online, http://www.sciencenews.org/20001111/fob4.asp, I found an article by Sid Perkins titled "Lamprey cyborg sees the light and
responds." This article is about a research study in which the brain and spinal cord of a sea lamprey were connected to a robot. When the robot's sensors detected light, a signal traveled along electrodes, reaching the disembodied brain. The brain then sent signals along electrodes to the
robot, causing it to move forward, backward, in circles, or in spirals. This research will aid in the creation of prosthetic limbs by helping scientists understand communication between an animal's nervous system and a machine."
Jan Voolstra sends two links this week: - The first is AndroidWorld.com: "Android world is a site about androids and robotics, with cool information about animatronics, which is the mechanization of robotic creatures to make them more life-like. An interesting link off the main site lists movies with androids and robots from 1926-1996, so if you are interested in watching an old movie about robots pick one from this list."
- The second is called Robots and Mecha: "The Robots and Mecha page defines terms about
androids, robots, borgs and more. If you do not know the difference between evolved and transferred living mechanoids, this page will help you. If you follow the Main Menu link at the bottom of the page you will be brought to Science Fiction Technical Overview, which gives more choices about science fiction technology."
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This page was created as technical support for Kathrine Aydelott's ENGL 249S Course, Fall 2003. Created Aug 22, 2003. Last updated Sept 16, 2003.