CMSC 150 - Fall 2017 - Studio Robotics

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 ...

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...

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). Howev...