Predictions, Rumors and Gossip about Robots

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Jeff Block
Predictions, Rumors and Gossip about Robots

A friend of mine made the following two predictions in my presence the other day concerning robots coming into their own...

  1. Robots will be "bigger than PC's" -- meaning that their impact on society will be even more signifcant than that of the personal computer.
  2. Robots will mature twice as fast as computers have -- meaning that what computers / PC's have done in the last 30 years (from the Comodore 64 to the Pentium Duo laptop with a nice 17" LCD widescreen and 2 GB of RAM), robots will do in 15.

So my question to you is, "What do you think?". 

I admit that robots are going to be big and that they're moving fast.  I submit the fact that Wowwee is integrating Segway technology into their next line and that the Japanese are working on housecleaning androids as evidence.  Plenty more where that came from, but if those don't convince you, check this out:  another Microsoft article.

But my friend's claims are HUGE.  Do you agree?  Make some predictions!  Either way, back them up though.  I'm curious WHY you think the way you do on the subject. 

Also, I'd love to see posts of the latest news and info about how robots are "invading" our world.

Jeff Block
I'll be the first to post a

I'll be the first to post a link.  Thought this site was interesting:  http://robots.net/.

(BTW, I thought I'd also put a link in to the article I just wrote about the Lego Mindstorms robot)

Larry Dillon
As a student in an

As a student in an engineering class, we took a few field trips to several local factorys to see the manufacturing processes. It was the most interesting thing I have seen in a long time. I saw robots take a big hunk of metal and forn it into a shiny clutch plate for a cooling fan. It was so neat , as I stood there amazed that this robot Picked up this piece and took it through several tools that its arm changed all by itself!. Ihere was another one that also did all the measuring and Q C of other types of parts. Robots in the form of manufacturing are here to stay, and I think the type of robots to do everyday tasks for us or some of us lazy peeps are not only on there way, but very close to being here to stay!

Ron Repking (not verified)
I came home from work today

I came home from work today and my son told me that they had "robot day" in their fine arts class at their grade school.  I couldn't get much out of him, but he told me that they were showing off all kinds of 'cool' robots.  He couldn't tell me what kind they were.

Eric Brandt
There have just appeared two

There have just appeared two contrasting stories on the utilization of robots in the "real world":

First,  a miniature 5 gram robot that that enters patient bodies through incisions to perform medical procedures -- complete with minicamera and drug dosage. 

 

miniature robot 

The second reported that a Mideast military firm has unveiled a "hunter-killer" robot that rolls through "dark alleys, caves and tunnels" armed to the teeth. 

 

 

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