This Human-Controlled Robot Is 13 Feet Tall

CNBC: This 13-foot robot cost over $100 million to develop and looks like it's straight out of a sci-fi movie

Giant human-controlled robots aren't just for Hollywood anymore.

CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin tried out the Method-2, a 1.6-ton, 13-foot tall robot made by Hankook Mirae Technology in South Korea. It's the same robot that made an impression on Jeff Bezos at Amazon's MARS conference last year.

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CSN Editor: This is one hell of a big robot (and expensive).

The European Parliament Wants To Give Robots Legal Status By Calling Them 'Electronic Persons'

The report proposes a kill switch on robots. © Francois Lenoir / Reuters

RT: Robot kill switches & legal status: MEPs endorse AI proposal

A European Parliament committee has voted in favor of a draft report that proposes granting legal status to robots, categorizing them as “electronic persons”.

The draft report, approved by 17 votes to two and two abstentions by the European Parliament Committee on Legal Affairs, proposes that “The most sophisticated autonomous robots could be established as having the status of electronic persons with specific rights and obligations, including that of making good any damage they may cause.”

Authored by Luxembourg MEP Mady Delvaux, the report proposes definitions and outlines rules to govern how robots interact with humans “now that humankind stands on the threshold of an era” that it claims will see artificial intelligence (AI) “unleash a new industrial revolution.”

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WNU Editor: I will not be surprised if this is past by the EU parliament.

A Robot-Powered Burger Restaurant Is Coming To San Francisco

This is the only known image of a burger manufactured by Momentum Machines technology. Momentum Machines / The Wharton School, The University of Pennsylvania

Business Insider/Tech Insider: This robot-powered restaurant could put fast food workers out of a job

A robot-powered burger joint is coming to San Francisco.

In 2012, secretive robotics startup Momentum Machines debuted a machine that could crank out 400 made-to-order hamburgers in an hour. It's fully autonomous, meaning the robot can slice toppings, grill a patty, and assemble and bag the burger without any help from humans. The internet flipped out.

Years of relative silence ensued, but in January, Hoodline's Brittany Hopkins learned that the San Francisco-based startup had applied for a building permit to convert a ground-floor retail space in the SoMa neighborhood into a restaurant.

Now it looks like the restaurant is actually happening. A job posting on Craigslist from early June gives us our first glimpse into how the company's future flagship, presumably opening soon, might work.

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CSN Editor: I suspect that this restaurant will also be more cleaner.

This Robot Can Play Chess With A Chessboard

A robot developed by Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute plays chess at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 8, 2017 ©Rob Lever (AFP)

AFP: For 'intelligent' robot, chess is just a hobby

A robot developed by engineers in Taiwan can pour coffee and move chess pieces on a board against an opponent, but he's looking for a real job.

The robot developed by Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute, which spent the week playing games against opponents at the Consumer Electronics Show, was displaying what developers call an "intelligent vision system" which can see its environment and act with greater precision than its peers.

With this enhanced vision, the robot can perform variety of tasks for service and manufacturing, and can also learn on the job with artificial intelligence.

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CSN Editor: Playing chess with a robot has just got interesting.

This 'Anti-Robot' Can Carry A Human And Run Over 20mph

Daily Mail: Meet 'Prosthesis', the terrifying 14ft-tall 'anti-robot' that can carry a human and run over 20mph almost SILENTLY

* Prosthesis is an 'exo-bionic racing robot' that is controlled by a human pilot sitting inside it
* The human sits at the center of the machine, and moves their arms to control it
* According to the creators, it can hit speeds of more than 30 km per hour

A 14-foot-tall exo-bionic racing robot could soon be tearing across the Nevada desert.

Exhibitors revealed the massive Prosthesis bot at CES 2017 in Las Vegas today, and they say it can hit a top speed of roughly 20 miles per hour – and despite its imposing size, it’s nearly silent when it moves.

The 7,700lb ‘anti-robot’ is controlled by a human pilot who stands at the center of the mechanical exoskeleton, using arm movements to drive it forward at terrifying speeds.

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CSN Editor: This is one big robot.

The United Nations Has Decided To Take On Killer Robots In 2017

YouTube

Seeker: U.N. Vote Puts 'Killer Robots' on the Agenda in 2017

International pressure mounts for a preemptive ban on lethal autonomous weapons systems.

Good news, fellow humans: The United Nations has decided to take on killer robots.

At the international Convention on Conventional Weapons in Geneva, 123 participating nations voted to initiate official discussions on the danger of lethal autonomous weapons systems. That's the emerging designation for so-called "killer robots" — weapons controlled by artificial intelligence that can target and strike without human intervention.

The agreement is the latest development in a growing movement calling for an preemptive ban on weaponized A.I. and deadly autonomous weapons. Last year, a coalition of more than 1,000 scientists and industry leaders, including Elon Musk and representatives of Google and Microsoft, signed an official letter to the United Nations demanding action.

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CSN Editor: Too late .... the genie is already out of the box.

The Evolution Of Robots In Movies and TV

From Gizmodo: Science fiction movies and TV shows don’t really count unless they have iconic robot characters. That’s a completely true statement, by the way. Nobody cares how good a story is unless they can pretend living in a reality where sentient robots, awesome droids, and fun little machine pals exists. We want to live in the future where Roombas go on adventures with us! Artist Scott Park illustrated all our favorite robots from movies and TV shows—think R2-D2 and HAL 9000 and Optimus Prime and Johnny Five—to show the evolution of these synthetic characters.

Prediction: Robots Will Outnumber Humans By 2040

Photo: 20th Century Fox

Business Insider: A programmer turned sci-fi author has predicted that robots could outnumber humans as early as 2040

There will be as many robots as there are humans within the next 24 to 39 years, according to a blog post published yesterday by a writer who is penning a new science fiction novel.

Logan Streondj, a software programmer and author, wanted to figure out when the population of robots will reach that of humans for his book titled “A home for robots or-else artilect war.”

Streondj used a variety of sources to determine the date. First, he turned to statistics website World Counts, which states there are roughly 350 thousand humans born every day, the equivalent of 130 million a year. The growth rate is around 1%.

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CSN Editor: There will be about 8 billion humans by 2040 .... I doubt that there will be 8 billion robots. But .... I have to admit that the math that was used in making this projection does make sense.

The First International Beauty Contest That Will Be Judged By Robots

Miss Universe

Tech Crunch: The First International Beauty Contest Judged By Robots

Robots are starting to appear everywhere: driving cars, cooking dinners and even as robotic pets.

But people don’t usually give machine intelligence much credence when it comes to judging beauty. That may change with the launch of the world’s first international beauty contest judged exclusively by a robot jury.

The contest, which requires participants to take selfies via a special app and submit them to the contest website, is touting new sophisticated facial recognition algorithms that allow machines to judge beauty in new and improved ways.

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CSN Editor: It is just not the same.

A Robot That Looks And Acts Human

Prof Nadia Thalmann (left) posing beside Nadine, a life-like social robot capable of autonomously expressing emotions and gestures. Credit: Image courtesy of Nanyang Technological University

Science Daily: Prof Nadia Thalmann (left) posing beside Nadine, a life-like social robot capable of autonomously expressing emotions and gestures.

Say hello to Nadine, a "receptionist" at Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore). She is friendly, and will greet you back. Next time you meet her, she will remember your name and your previous conversation with her.

She looks almost like a human being, with soft skin and flowing brunette hair. She smiles when greeting you, looks at you in the eye when talking, and can also shake hands with you. And she is a humanoid.

Unlike conventional robots, Nadine has her own personality, mood and emotions. She can be happy or sad, depending on the conversation. She also has a good memory, and can recognise the people she has met, and remembers what the person had said before.

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CSN Editor: This is the first generation .... one can only imagine what "she" will look like 10 years from now.

Here Comes The Robot Cops

Tech Crunch: Meet Knightscope’s Crime-Fighting Robots

The robots might one day rise up and take over, but a Palo Alto startup called Knightscope has developed a fleet of crime-fighting machinery it hopes to keep us safe.

Knightscope’s K5 security bots resemble a mix between R2D2 and a Dalek from Doctor Who – and the system behind these bots is a bit Orwellian. The K5’s have broadcasting and sophisticated monitoring capabilities to keep public spaces in check as they rove through open areas, halls and corridors for suspicious activity.

The units upload what they see to a backend security network using 360-degree high-definition and low-light infrared cameras and a built-in microphone can be used to communicate with passersby. An audio event detection system can also pick up on activities like breaking glass and send an alert to the system as well.

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CSN Editor: Robocop it is not .... but they are getting there.

U.S. Marine Corps Cancels Robotic Dog/Mule Project

Washington Times: Marines shelve Google’s $42M robot ‘AlphaDogs’ because they are too noisy

Marines will not be using robotic mules called “AlphaDogs” any time soon because the machines were deemed too noisy to be useful in a combat situation.

Boston Dynamics, the robotics company owned by Google’s parent Alphabet, has been working with DARPA, the Pentagon’s research division, to build the robots designed to carry supplies for troops.

The AlphaDog robots, also called the Legged Squad Support System (LS3), were designed to carry up to 400 pounds and provide much-needed relief for soldiers, Military.com reported.

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CSN Editor: I concur .... it was too noisy.

More News On The U.S. Marine Corps Cancels Robotic Dog/Mule Project

Marine Corps Shelves Futuristic Robo-Mule Due to Noise Concerns -- Military.com
U.S. Marine Corps rules out robotic dog, mule -- UPI
Robot Mule Put Out to Pasture by Marine Corps -- NBC
Noisy Robotic Mule Sidelined by Marines -- VOA
Hee-Haw! DARPA’s noisy robotic ‘pack mule’ mothballed over fears it could spill the beans -- RT
The Marines Are Shelving Their Robot Dogs -- Inverse
The US Marines won’t be using Google’s robot dogs because they fail a pretty basic test -- Quartz
US military says robotic pack mules are too noisy to use -- Verge
US Marine Corps doesn’t want Google’s ‘Alpha Dog’ LS3 robots because they’re too loud -- Digital Trends
AlphaDog Robot Sidelined by the Marines Because It’s Way Too Noisy -- Epoch Times
Marines’ LS3 robotic mule is too loud for real-world combat -- Ars Technica
U.S. Military Puts Down Its Robot Mule for Being Too Loud -- Popular Mechanics

MIT Technology Review's 2015 Annual Summary On Developments In Robots And AI

Will Knight, MIT Technology Review: What Robots and AI Learned in 2015

It was the year that self-driving cars became a commercial reality; robots gained all sorts of new abilities; and some people worried about the existential threat posed by super-intelligent future AI.

The robots didn’t really take over in 2015, but at times it felt as if that might be where we’re headed.

There were signs that machines will soon take over manual work that currently requires human skill. Early in the year details emerged of a contest organized by Amazon to help robots do more work inside its vast product fulfillment centers.

The Amazon Picking challenge, as the event was called, was held at a prominent robotics conference later in the year. Teams competed for a $25,000 prize by designing a robot to identify and grasp items from one of Amazon’s storage shelves as quickly as possible (the winner picked and packed 10 items in 20 minutes). This might seem a trivial task for human workers, but figuring out how to grasp different objects arranged haphazardly on shelves in a real warehouse is still a formidable challenge for robot-kind.

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CSN Editor: A brief and concise summary of the year.

A New Underwater Robot Could Be Used To Sniff Out Smuggled Drugs, Weapons

The oval-shaped submersible robot is half waterpoof to keep electronic components safe from damage. Credit: Sampriti Bhattacharyya/MIT

Underwater Robots Could Sniff Out Smuggled Drugs, Weapons -- Live Science

A warning to all smugglers: A new underwater robot could be used to sniff out contraband — including weapons and drugs — hidden aboard ships.

Developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the new, oval-shaped robot may be small (it's slightly smaller than a football), but it features some big crime-stopping abilities. One side of the bot is flat, which enables it to slide along the bottom of a ship to perform ultrasound scans of the vessel's hull.

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My Comment: I can see this being deployed in war zones ... or potential war zones like the Persian Gulf.

The Future Of Surgical Robotics Is Microscopic

The NeuroArm, a non-ferrous microsurgical robot—shown here with an electrified cutting tool and suction instrument—was used to remove a patient's brain tumor in 2008, while she was being scanned with an MRI. University of Calgary

The Microscopic Future of Surgical Robotics -- Erik Sofge, Popular Science

Chances are, you aren’t, and never will be, an astronaut. So the recent revelation that NASA is funding the development of a somewhat gruesome-sounding surgical bot—a fist-size contraption that would enter a patient’s gas-engorged abdomen to staunch bleeding or remove a ruptured appendix—isn’t exactly news you can use. The more relevant announcement might be from Intuitive Surgical, which announced that its newest robo-surgeon has been approved by the FDA. With thinner and more maneuverable arms, the da Vinci Xi will turn more open surgeries into minimally-invasive, robot-assisted procedures. Instead of requiring large incisions to get at various portions of a patient’s anatomy, the Xi will let surgeons reach essentially anywhere in the abdomen through smaller less traumatic punctures. With this clearance, the likelihood that you’ll one day be under the robotic knife just jumped significantly.

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My Comment: A good review on robotic advances in microsurgery.

Will Robots Rule the World?

Photo Used under Creative Commons license from Flickr user Antonis Lamnatos http://www.flickr.com/photos/lamnatos

Will Robots Rule the World? Find Out At Robo Madness Next Thursday -- Wade Roush, XConomy

An influential 1998 paper by Robin Hanson, an economics professor at George Mason University, asked what might happen to jobs and wages in a future with “mature machine intelligence”—computers and robots clever enough to take over most human jobs. The outlook is a little scary.

Hanson calculated that a world where machines could truly substitute for most human labor, would, at first, see unprecedented economic growth, including rising wages. But eventually, as machines became more numerous and more productive, they would push human wages down dramatically, leaving most people without the means to buy the stuff the machines were making. Hanson even threw around words like “Malthusian,” a term once reserved to describe catastrophic population growth and food shortages.

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My Comment: What's my take .... robots may rule the world one day .... but not today.

No Pentagon Money For Google's Robot Program

Google Rejects Military Funding In Robotics -- Defense Tech

Google doesn’t want the U.S. military’s money.

Even though the Internet search giant owns two companies that have contracts with the Pentagon, Google is choosing to forego military funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in at least one robotic competition.

Google bought the robotics firm Schaft that had developed a bipedal robot that won DARPA’s Robotics Challenge. The competition asked companies to develop a robot that could perform disaster response tasks to include navigating debris, climbing ladders and turning off a valve.

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My Comment: Too bad .... without this cooperation U.S. troops will probably not be able to benefit from this cooperation.

The U.S. Navy Is About To Deploy Robots

Robots Join The Navy To Fight Fires At Sea -- FOX News

The Navy’s new humanoid robots can detect fires on a ship, withstand extreme heat up to 500 degrees, and fight the fire shoulder to shoulder with human firefighters.

Designed to fight shipboard fires at sea, the Shipboard Autonomous Firefighting Robot, known as SAFFiR, is a human-sized robot. Under direction and funding from the Office of Naval Research, Naval Research Laboratory researchers have been working with university researchers to develop the tech.

SAFFiR is meant to move autonomously throughout a ship, learn its layout and patrol for structural problems. The robot will be able to interact with the sailors onboard, and take on many of their dangerous firefighting tasks.

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Update: Navy’s robot will interact with sailors, fight fires aboard ship -- Defense Systems

My Comment: This is a trend that I expect to continue.

Giant Robot Crab Walks

Giant Robot Crab Walks, Is Probably Coming Right For You -- Popular Science

Next stop: ocean floor.

The Crabster CR200 is a 1,400-pound behemoth of a 'bot soon being sent to the ocean floor—for both scientific and commercial use. Up until now, we've mostly seen it in action through still photos and animations, but here it is, menacingly lumbering into video.

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My Comment: That's one big giant robot crab.

Here Are The Robots That Are Defending America's Nuclear Material Stockpiles

These incredible carts work as security staff for the Nevada Nuclear Stockpile Site. One control centre can operate 16 vehicles at once

Caddy Not Included: The Unmanned Robotic Golf Cart That Can Detect Intruders And Is Tasked With Defending American Nuclear Materials Stockpile -- Daily Mail

* Incredible machines patrol the site in the same way as security staff
* Detect intruders from 600 feet by looking for signs such as an ajar door
* Up to 16 vehicles can be operated by one control centre
* Thanks to the caddies the site expects to make $7million in savings

Humans, normally charged with watching over America's nuclear stockpiles, could soon be out of a job after an unmanned robotic golf cart has been created which can do the same thing - 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The stockpile, stored at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS), is being watched over by a fleet of these incredible machines.

Known as a Mobile Detection, Assessment and Response System (MADR) the diesel-powered carts are fitted with three types of sensors.

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My Comment: It will only be a matter of time before these platforms are armed and readu to go.