[tt] a robotic future

[Eugen Leitl]

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/318/5853/1083

Science 16 November 2007:

Vol. 318. no. 5853, p. 1083

DOI: 10.1126/science.318.5853.1083

INTRODUCTION TO SPECIAL ISSUE

A Robotic Future

Marc S. Lavine, David Voss, Robert Coontz
 
CREDIT: DAVID FIERSTEIN

In Douglas Adams' science fiction series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the
Galaxy, the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation defined a robot as "your plastic
pal who's fun to be with," but it was a corporation whose complaints
department occupied the major landmasses of three planets and was the only
division to constantly show a profit.  Technology and automation have
provided a huge number of labor-saving devices and have at times relieved
humans from having to do monotonous and dangerous jobs such as painting sheet
metal or cleaning oil pipelines. However, there are times when one really
needs to interact with another human being, and at these times, the automated
"customer service" or banking machine is a poor substitute for a human.

What differentiates robots from other pieces of technology is their ability
to combine automation with action and at times a considerable amount of
mobility. They are not only able to do static tasks such as dispense money or
direct phone calls, but they can also lift, walk, weld, paint, vacuum, or
explore. Unlike most devices that are designed to be used by a human
operator, robots are increasingly being built to function within a human
environment and are thus becoming more and more humanoid. Perhaps for this
reason we view them in a different light than other technologies.

This special section looks at robots and robotics from a wide range of
perspectives. Bellingham and Rajan (p. 1098) tell how robots with an
increasing sense of autonomy are being used to explore the hostile
environments under the oceans and in outer space. Pfeifer, Lungarella, and
Iida (p. 1088) examine recent efforts to design robots based on lessons
learned from biological organisms. They show that robots can improve their
performance by borrowing living body plans and substructures. Madden (p.
1094) reviews the progress that has been made in developing artificial
muscles that can compete with the properties of human muscle and may one day
enable untethered robots to run, leap, jump, or climb. But even as robots
become more lifelike, the biological function of self-replication still
eludes them, as Cho (p. 1084) reports.

The last two pieces take us from body to brain. In a story by Lester (p.
1086), we find that robots are increasingly used in secondary schools and
undergraduate programs as tools to interest students in engineering and
computer science. From a different direction, a Perspective from Edelman (p.
1103) describes a research program in which robots equipped with brainlike
devices learn to carry out tasks in the presence of visual cues and other
sensory feedback. These "Darwin" bots may teach us something about our own
ways of thinking and learning.

Outside the special section are two stories in News Focus. Service (p. 1056)
looks at future exploration of the Northeast Pacific Ocean using partly
robotic platforms, and Cho (p. 1060) covers the DARPA Urban Challenge, an
international competition for self-navigating driverless cars held in
California earlier this month. In looking to the future it is also prudent to
look at the past. In an Editorial by Sawyer (p. 1037), we learn how the
science fiction literature has long considered a robotic future and the many
ethical questions this will raise.

They most certainly won't be all plastic, and they may not be our pals, but
robots are going to play an increasing role in both scientific and everyday
life. It will certainly be interesting to see where we take them and where
they are able to take us.