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Opinions
My pathway to robotics
Jaidyn Edwards
25 Sep 2013
My name is Jaidyn Edwards. I am eighteen years old and live in South Australia. For me, being interested in robotics was part of an evolutionary process built upon a few core interests I had as a chil...
Drones for Schools
Matthew Schroyer
24 Sep 2013
To understand what the Drones for Schools program is, and how it came about, it helps to know a few things about my background. I didn't originally set out to be a STEM educator. I had some science ed...
Getting started in robotics, an educational concern
Claude Baumann
23 Sep 2013
I am profoundly convinced that if we are able to preserve the natural curiosity of early childhood in growing up individuals, without fail they will develop a durable attraction to science, technology...
The triangle of life: Evolving robots in real-time and real-space
Alan Winfield
20 Sep 2013
At the excellent European Conference on Artificial Life (ECAL) a couple of weeks ago we presented a paper called The Triangle of Life: Evolving Robots in Real-time and Real-space (this links...
FounderDating hardware edition
Andra Keay
28 Aug 2013
First crowdfunding, now startup services – hardware is eating the software world. FounderDating launched a hardware vertical on Wednesday, after seeing increasing demand from hardware entrepreneurs ...
Memories of Skyrim
Alan Winfield
26 Aug 2013
From time to time I like to visit Skyrim. I've been going there for about 2 years - completed the main quest a year or so ago, and since then go back to undertake a side quest or, more often that not,...
The scourge of the RoboTroll is already upon us
Alan Winfield
22 Aug 2013
When a robot ethics working group met nearly three years ago one of the things we fretted about was privacy. We were concerned especially about personal companion robots. Whatever their purpose, be it...
The truth is no stranger than fiction when it comes to robots
The Conversation
21 Aug 2013
Killer robots, a problem as old as voodoo. Source: x-ray delta one.
By Kathleen Richardson, University College London
Robots represent the cutting edge in science. For decades we have been promis...
The right way to regulate drone privacy
Robert Morris
19 Aug 2013
On August 6th, I had the honor of testifying in front of the California State Assembly Public Safety Committee on regulation of drones, by the state of California. The committee is considering seve...
In-corporating body language into NLP (or, More notes on the design of automated body language)
Mark Stephen Meadows
07 Aug 2013
This article discusses how body language is a part of natural language, personality, and NLP design. The article covers various methods for approaching this problem and makes recommendations for the r...
When terrible engineers are good
Andra Keay
06 Aug 2013
A recent post "I need terrible female engineers" on Medium by Amy Nguyen describes her feelings as a female engineer; feeling that technical women are expected to be super humanly perfect - like Summe...
When robots start telling each other stories…
Alan Winfield
31 Jul 2013
About 6 years ago the late amazing Richard Gregory said to me, with a twinkle in his eye, "when your robots start telling each other stories, then you'll really be onto something". It was a remark wit...
DARPA’s Virtual Robotics Challenge a practical step forward on the long road toward disaster-response capable humanoids
Hallie Siegel
24 Jul 2013
Based on a media rountable discussion with DRC Program Manager Gill Pratt and CEO of the Open Source Robotics Foundation Brian Gerkey.
The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear disaster was a wake-up call...
Robotics has a new kind of Cartesian Dualism, and it’s just as unhelpful
Alan Winfield
22 Jul 2013
I believe robotics has re-invented mind-body dualism.
At the excellent European Robotics Forum earlier this year, I attended a workshop called AI meets Robotics....
euRathlon and the DARPA Robot Challenge: A difference of approach
Alan Winfield
22 Jul 2013
A week ago the DARPA Robotics Challenge unveiled the ATLAS humanoid robot, which will be used by seven competing teams. Developed by Boston Dynamics, ATLAS is an imposing 1.8m 150Kg bipedal humano...
Long view required to keep economic policy in step with developments in robotics
Frank Tobe
16 Jul 2013
Policy is really about long-term thinking — a process we should do but don't do for various reasons. Though China is a notable exception, very few governments make long-term planning a priority.
...
Robotics and the disruptive transformation of agriculture
John Payne
15 Jul 2013
Over the last few years, there has been increasing talk about the potential of agriculture as a market for robotics. Speaking about future markets for unmanned aerial systems in a recent presentation ...
My robot is smelling my dirty laundry (or, Notes on privacy, PRISM, and home service robotics)
Mark Stephen Meadows
03 Jul 2013
This article considers privacy in robotic systems (such as personal service robotics) as being of greater importance than privacy in telecommunications (such as Internet). We will return to our regula...
Food delivery drones. But is it a business?
Andra Keay
18 Jun 2013
Food drone delivery ideas are taking off all over the place. But is it a business or just an advertizing stunt? Tacocopter was one of the first although still more of a theory than a practice. Stanfo...
Robots: The “ables” of the next technology trend
Andra Keay
11 Jun 2013
The report is out – there should be rejoicing up and down robot street! Why? Because one of the tech industry’s most respected analysts is being very bullish about robots as the next technology tr...
New Robotics and new opportunities
Alan Winfield
28 May 2013
Here are the slides of my talk at the BARA Academic Forum for Robotics meeting Robotics: from innovation to service, on Monday 20 May 2013:...
Could we experience the workings of our own brains?
Alan Winfield
08 May 2013
One of the oft quoted paradoxes of consciousness is that we are unable to observe or experience our own conscious minds at work; that we cannot be conscious of the workings of consciousness. I've alwa...
The uncanny valet (or, Notes on the design of robot psychology)
Mark Stephen Meadows
04 May 2013
This article outlines the problems of today's phone and online help systems and offers solutions to conversational systems of tomorrow. The article is about the design of hearts and minds for robots, ...
Intuitive Surgical, a manufacturer with almost no tangible assets?
Robert Morris
01 May 2013
Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) is a prime example of how robotics is similar to other IP intensive industries like software, biotech, and entertainment.
In December my colleagues and I produced a...
A crisis of expectations
Alan Winfield
29 Apr 2013
At the first UK Robot Ethics workshop on 25th March 2013, I offered — for discussion — the proposition that robotics is facing a Crisis of Expectations. And not for the first time. I argue that on...
Robots and the economy: Red herrings, or canaries in a coal mine?
Matt Beane
13 Apr 2013
Recent economic trends are perplexing. Corporate profits are up. Productivity is up. Jobs and pay for the average worker have crashed, and are recovering slower than in any other decade on record. ...
Commercial opportunities to create more than 100,000 manufacturing jobs when FAA opens airspace to UAS
Chris Mailey
12 Apr 2013
AUVSI recently released a report titled The Economic Impact of Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration in the United States. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) currently has heavy restrictions on...
In agriculture robots replace job vacancies
John Payne
12 Apr 2013
It used to be that it didn’t matter how grueling the work was, so long as it was safe enough that a worker could get through the day uninjured by being careful. If the boss paid cash at the end of t...
Jobs for roboticists
Sabine Hauert
11 Apr 2013
During my Master studies in computer science, I had the opportunity to spend a year at Carnegie Mellon University in the USA. Most of my classes there were about robotics, I got to participate in Robo...
AFK (or, Robotic free speech, and what you can do to help)
Mark Stephen Meadows
03 Apr 2013
This article looks at how the robotics industry of today is following in the footsteps of the personal computer industry of yesterday, and why Natural Language Processing, like the Graphical User Inte...
VLAB: Drones – The commercial era takes off, but breaking the law is going to blow-up in our faces
Robert Morris
26 Mar 2013
Last Tuesday I had the pleasure of attending VLAB: Drones – The Commercial Era Takes Off at Stanford GSB. The event was truly fantastic and the panel was amazing. The moderator was Chris Anderson,...
Military robots: No reason to freak out
Robert Morris
17 Mar 2013
As a robotic warfare veteran, there are three common misperceptions about the use of robots in warfare that I’d like to address.
Misperception #1: There is some sort of ethical quandary or challe...
The inevitable conflict?
Chris Mailey
14 Mar 2013
Study the past if you would define the future. - Confucius
War will always have a human element. Robots will be tools in future conflicts, just as they (and other technologies) have been in the past...
Why isn’t my mother a mechanic?
Andra Keay
08 Mar 2013
As a child, my mother had her own overalls. She grew up stripping engines and cleaning carburettors. She was the daughter of a mechanic and master builder. Then she became a librarian.
As a child, ...
So long, and thanks for all the bots!
Markus Waibel
12 Feb 2013
So, depending on who you ask, Willow Garage is shutting down, pursuing commercial interests, or changing direction. But things are not as dire as some may think: ROS is fine (the OSRF will support it)...
euRathlon is go!
Alan Winfield
07 Feb 2013
I'm very excited to be leading a new project called euRathlon - which is short for European Robotics Athlon. Up until now the project has been under wraps, but now - finally - we can go public. I'll e...
