Robotica Exotica

Bussard's Fusion

I recently stumbled upon this while looking for something else, and has a nice time procrastinating by reading through it. Bussard (of the Bussard Ramjet fame) has been working for the last 12 years on a practical fusion device, quite different from the Tokamak. Frankly, after reading it, I really don't understand the physics behind it, but I found it fascinating to read nonetheless.

It is one of those things which seems like a reasonable thing to spend R&D money on. If it works, it changes everything. If it doesn't, we still learn a great deal about the physics involved.

The original video of the presentation "Should Google go nuclear?" is here.

Living on Earth and Robots

The NPR show Living on Earth has a very nice show on Robotics that ties into the home robots that were on display at CES this year. They interview some of the people at the MIT robotics lab, and some of the stuff that they are working on is truly fascinating.

Increasingly, living on earth means living with robots; sharing the planet with ever more intelligent machines that perform tasks from the mundane like the robo lawn mower that cuts your grass, to the highly specialized like robo-docs that do surgery. The word robot comes from the Slavic word "rabota," or work and was first used by Czech science fiction writer Caral Chepeck in 1921. Ever since, robots have stirred and captured our imaginations.

Robosapiens, life-like robots that obey our every command are still the stuff of Hollywood. But at the just concluded consumer electronics show in Las Vegas, robots for the home were being hailed as the next big thing. It's an industry poised to amaze.

To see first hand where things are headed check out MIT's humanoid robotics group. Here on the Cambridge, Massachusetts campus, grad student Aaron Edsinger has just put the finishing touches on one of the world's most advanced robots.

Saudades do Brasil

As anyone who has read my bio knows, I grew up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A good friend of mine sent me this link to a Walt Disney cartoon, Acquarela do Brasil (Watercolor of Brazil). It is quite dated, but wonderful as well. Like a miniature version of Fantasia, but with a specific geographic theme.

Robots at CES

There seem to be a whole lot of Robots at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this year. This article by the BBC has a survey of some of the more ubiquitous ones.

Any robotic technology which makes people more accepting of having robots in their home is great.

"We have all grown up with movies like Star Wars and Terminator and have a very definitive perception of what robots are.

"We are trying to change that perception with Asimo.

"The reality of humanoid robots is going to be much different from what we have seen on television."

The next hurdle for Asimo is better artificial intelligence.

"We need Asimo to be smart enough to understand what we want it to do and they go and do it.

"We are still in the infancy of artificial intelligence."