A new video that the company put out just a day ago shows Atlas performing more complex movements. It is now able to jump on boxes of different height, jump between those boxes, turn 180 degrees in the air, and, last but not least, land a backflip! (Verge)
First, I think we should take a moment to appreciate the development of the robot. Look how far Atlas's movements have improved and become more complex in just the past year. Just a year! The field of robotics is moving quickly! What is the significance of Atlas's refined mobility? There are a vast amount things that this robot could be used because of its improved movement. The most obvious uses for a robot with these kinds of motor skills would be a situation that is too dangerous for a human. For example, fire rescues, bomb situations, and space missions are some circumstances where a humanoid robot could facilitate the operation and keep humans safe.
"Why does it have to be a humanoid robot to complete these tasks," you might ask. I don't think the robot necessarily has to be humanoid to complete these tasks, but I could see how having a human-like appearance could be more comforting to humans when they need to trust the robot. On the other hand, A Wired article argues against making humanoid robots. The article says that we should move away from creating separate human-like robots and instead focus on improving current objects to automate specific tasks. What do you think?
After reading a few of the articles on Atlas's great feat, there was one reoccurring theme that I noticed. At the end of most of the articles, there were either multiple videos of robots failing in recent robotics contests or a calming sentence or two to reassure the reader not to worry about the "robot revolution." Why were these sections added to almost every article? It might have something to do with the human fear of superior robots taking over and the danger they bring with them. Maybe it has something to do with the thought of these robots taking our jobs (Telegraph). Perhaps it's both! An article from Independent had various twitter user responses to the new Atlas video. Some of the tweets seem nervous or scared about the video and others had mixed feelings. Although these are just a few opinions on the matter, it
While Atlas's motor skills don't apply to the Artificial Intelligence subjects of linguistics and chat-bots that we have been talking about in class, it will be talked about later in the course. The Lego robots that we will be programming towards the end of the term won't seem like much compared to Atlas. Nonetheless, they both fall into the category of Autonomous robots, which we will be learning about during week 6.
Other things that I found while researching that are neat:
- Boston Dynamics' YouTube page
- More about Atlas
- Boston Dynamics' other robots
- DARPA Robotics Challenge - Robot Fails
Of course, Boston Robotics isn't only working on humanoid robots -- first they made the "Big Dog"! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZUS4NVNH2o (Arguably, it's also kind of creepy...)
ReplyDeleteWow it's amazing the various motor functions they were able to achieve when not to long ago it was difficult just to get robots to walk properly. I wonder what kind of physics and programming it takes to pull off that backflip?
ReplyDeleteI think part of the reason we are scared of robots is that we have this "superiority complex" where we think we are the best species that ever existed. We don't want to create something that can potentially be better than us, as we will lose our feeling of superiority and hurt our ego.
ReplyDeleteInteresting... but perhaps that fear doesn't apply to the A.I. researchers, whose egos would be bolstered (rather than hurt) if they were the first to create a superior intelligence?
DeleteRegarding whether or not robot designs should be humanoid, I think it somewhat defeats the utilitarian function of a robot. We design them to be far more proficient at a task than human beings could ever be, and human beings are simply not designed optimally for certain tasks. So fixating on a humanoid form as a solution could be stunting the design process from the start. Though I understand why, at this point in robotic design history, why there is such a push to explore humanoid designs. There is an attempt to heighten the abilities we know we have as human beings over a wide range of tasks before completely redesigning that format to accomplish the same tasks. Ultimately it requires a humbling of ourselves, to realize that the two leg, two arm, one torso and a head format might not be the end-all be-all of evolutionary perfection.
ReplyDeleteObviously humanoid robots might not be efficient in several task. But researching and developing humanoid robot allow us to further advance robotic to solve future problems. We might one day need a non-humanoid robot to do back flip (for some unknown reason) and we would have the basic to develop that. Moreover, humanoid robot might not be the best at some specific task, but it is a catch-all solution for many other tasks. If humanoid robot can do all physical task human can do, the flexible quality of humanoid robot make it a great candidate for assisting human in unpredictable problems that arise
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that human has the habit of idealizing our function and anatomy. It makes sense to design based on human structure first since our design has been modified to fit the environment for a long time. However, by doing this, we are effectively limit ourselves from more effective, task-oriented designs.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I was thinking -- robots that move quickly and can't get damaged as easily as humans might be great for emergency situations, like rescuing people trapped under debris or in caves, or going into a smokey, burning building to rescue others. It might be expensive to maintain, but it would prevent loss of human lives (and maybe jobs?) in the future.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right, people are scared of the human race being overtaken by robots. I showed these videos to a group of friends. 5/6 people instead of appreciating the robot commented how scary this is that robots are able to this.
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