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Entry 5- Boston’s Moving Robot

Definitions Humanoid robot- a robot with its body shape built to resemble the human body (1) Biped Robot- a robot that has two legs (2) Bipedal Humanoid Robots One recent story to come out of the robotics community is that of Atlas, the bipedal humanoid robot from the company Boston Dynamics.  While bipedal humanoid robots are definitely not new, the achievement that Boston Dynamics has recently made with Atlas is actually quite a big deal.  Simply put, Atlas the humanoid robot is capable of doing a backflips (4).   While this may seem a bit anticlimactic being that performing a backflip is certainly a common thing among humans, I would argue to first consider past attempts of bipedal humanoid robot in performing the everyday actions of humans. Just observe these robots trying to perform very simple tasks.   As you can see, Atlas’ ability to perform a backflip is quite amazing.  However, one reasonable question regarding such robots could arise:  If
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Entry 4- My Neighbor Orchestra

Definitions Automation-the technique of making an apparatus, a process, or a system operate automatically (1).   Affective Computing- computing that relates to, arises from, or deliberately influences emotion or other affective phenomena (2). Automation of Jobs The use of robots to automate jobs is something that is often criticized because of how many people have been put out of their jobs.  To some extent, this replacement seems natural.   For example, in the case of factories workers being replaced with robots, when you have a more efficient way of getting a task done, it is understandable that you would want to switch to that method.  However, the question of whether human workers should be replaced with robots does not have a clear cut answer.   This is the case when considering the role of the manager.  To try and find an answer, look at  B12, the company behind the software program Orchestra.  This software gives us a look into a future where robots are in th

Entry 3- Amazon’s Delivery Service

Definitions Prime Air: Amazon’s drone delivery service which is still in the development process (1) UAV: Unmanned aerial vehicles such as drones (4) SSA: “Sense and Avoid”. A somewhat ambiguous term that describes technology that allows drones to avoid a collision by sensing objects  (3)   “Sense and Avoid” and UAVs The year was 2013 when everyone’s favorite online shopping company, Amazon, was ready to take package delivery to the next level using drones.  However, while the development of Amazon’s drone delivery service, known as Prime Air, has been talked about over the past few years, it seems that none of us have been able to say that we have received anything via drone.  For those wondering why this is the case, the answer is not so simple.  Working within the established drone-flying laws, figuring out the logistics of where drones can deliver, and developing better technology are all issues that have been hurdles for Amazon (1). However, Amazon is working ha

Entry 2- The Replicant Returns

Androids and AI With the recent release of the science fiction film "Blade Runner 2049", many are currently discussing when and how the use of human-like robots will become a reality.  In both Blade Runner films, audiences are introduced to the beings known as replicants, which are artificially intelligent androids that look and behave in the same way as humans.  While a discussion on such a topic would be fascinating, one must first ask, what is artificial intelligence?.  Simply put, artificial intelligence can be defined as “the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems”.  These computer systems are known as neural networks and they allow computers to make connections and “learn”, similar to the human brain.  This concept clearly interested author Mindy Weisberger from Live Science, who was inspired by the replicants of the most recent Blade Runner film to try and attempt to answer questions regarding the likelihood of a

Entry 1 - The Tale of the Sobot Rimulator

Why Use Robots? Over the course of this blog, you will learn about various types of robots and their relation to computer science.  However, it is first important to understand what a robot actually is and how they can be used.  While many definitions for robot exists, one that seems to be applicable for this blog comes from the English Oxford Living Dictionary, which defines a robot as “A machine capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically, especially one programmable by a computer.”  With this definition, relation between robots and computer programming is clear.  In the same way that a compram program is an algorithm that computer is capable of performing, one can create a set of actions for a robot to perform in order to achieve a goal or attain a certain outcome.          Nick McCrea the Software Engineer     Now when you hear that Nick McCrea is a software engineer with a background in robotics, what comes to mind?  Based on the definition of ro