-Caveat Lector- >From The News Observer, http://www.news-observer.com/monday/business/Story/508038p-505358c.html - Published: Monday, June 18, 2001 3:43 a.m. EDT Paul Gilster Robots raise issue of what 'alive' is If you're a science-fiction buff, you've heard of Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics. They state: 1) A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm; 2) A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law; and 3) A robot must protect its own existence, except where such protection would conflict with the First or Second Law. That's pretty clever stuff, and as a boy growing up on novels such as Asimov's "The Caves of Steel" and Jack Williamson's "The Humanoids," I always assumed that by 2000 or so, such laws would be needed. It seemed obvious that technology would produce mechanical devices that could do the heavy lifting, while we organic beings led a life of leisure. No more drudgery for 21st-century man! It never occurred to me that the first home robot would be a battery-powered lawn mower. Robomower was designed by an Israeli company called Friendly Robotics (http://www.friendlyrobotics.com) To use it, you lay a navigation wire around the plot to be mowed and let the robot's sensors navigate as it cuts and mulches your grass. Yet though Friendly Robotics has an energizing motto ("Mission: To Be the Leader in Home Robotics"), it's clear that the $795 Robomower is a long way from human-style awareness, much less independent action. Much the same can be said about the industrial robots that spray parts, weld joints and insert chips in manufacturing settings around the world. They can do one thing only, and they have little flexibility in adapting to changing circumstances. But interesting things are happening on the robotics front. Consider a company called Cybermotion (http://www.cybermotion.com) A glance at its Web site reveals CyberGuard, a robotic security system that patrols warehouses, factories or other industrial areas, up to 15 miles per night. CyberGuard's sensors can identify smoke, industrial spills and the presence of intruders. Down inside CyberGuard is a computer that uses dead reckoning and what the company describes as "uncertainty modeling" and "fuzzy logic" to help it learn and adapt. Approximately 100 instructions direct the robot and control its subsystems, connecting to a base station that monitors its progress. CyberGuard can be sent on pre-designed pathways or it can be set to operate without human intervention, navigating around obstacles with ease. CyberGuard is out there doing its stuff as we speak. In fact, a U.S. Army performance assessment report in 1999 gave the security robot its highest rating for quality and service. The Army has bought a number of them to keep an eye on warehouses, and so have major pharmaceutical companies such as GlaxoSmithKline, Bayer and Novartis. Only in the most general sense can CyberGuard be described as "humanoid"; in fact, it looks sort of like an overhead projector on wheels. But ongoing work at MIT by the Humanoid Robotics Group is delving deeply into the question of how to create a humanoid robot that not only operates independently but also manages to have a social life of sorts with people. One project is called Kismet, an experiment with facial expression and body posture that would allow man/machine interactions to be more intuitive. Kismet is basically a robotic head that uses vocalizations and facial expressions driven by 21 motors to convey information. Kismet's face is remarkably expressive, with "eyes" that swivel and "lips" that convey a wide range of "feelings." Another MIT project, called Cog, is an attempt to build a humanoid robot that approximates the dynamics of the human body. Already given adaptive, lifelike arms, Cog's hands are being developed now (no legs as yet, though MIT has another group working on the specifics of leg articulation). Ultimately, COG is about the blend of hardware with artificial intelligence, to create a robot that learns not by instruction but by trial and error. Run with a certain puckish humor by computer science professor Rodney A. Brooks, the Cog project has its own answer to Asimov's laws. As Brooks says on the project Web site: "The truth is that our lab focuses on building robots that are as human as possible. Even if we were successful in all of our goals (which is, in technical terms, 'not likely'), the robot would have no 'super-human' abilities. It would be no more likely to take over the world than, say, Pulitzer-Prize winning film critic Roger Ebert." But in a more serious vein, Brooks puts his work in this light: "My burning question is what is it that lets matter transcend itself to become living." And though that has always been a philosophical question, it's now one that enters the world of engineering in this fascinating work. You can read more about MIT's Humanoid Robotics Group at http://www.ai.mit.edu/projects/humanoid-robotics-group And consider ongoing work to meld biology and robotics. The result is a so-called "cyborg." At Northwestern University in Chicago, researchers have merged the brain stem of a lamprey eel with a small robot, producing a creature that uses biological inputs to drive robotic wheels, allowing it to track a beam of light. And Duke University's Miguel Nicolelis and a team of researchers have used nerve signals from a monkey's brain to control a robotic arm. The work has possibilities in creating machine assistance for the control of artificial arms or legs. In real-world terms, such fusions may solve physical problems once thought untreatable. In a broader philosophical realm, Brooks' question about when matter becomes living is likely to heat up as this work continues. Paul A. Gilster can be reached at [EMAIL PROTECTED] <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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