Willow Garage to make domestic robot development open source

October 24, 2007| Stettin| 0 Comment| 4:23 pm

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Technology

I found this C|Net news article via Slashdot talking about a company named Willow Garage that hopes to develop domestic robots, autonomous boats, and autonomous cars. I’m especially interested in this development since I’m such a fan of Asimov, who is attributed to first using the term ‘robotics’. I’m not sure that there will be any sentient robots any time soon, but I’m glad to see that the development information will be open source. I think that keeping the design specifications open will be a good thing, rather then keep them secret which could lead to a monopoly like US Robotics and Mechanical Men in Asimov’s writing.

How far do you think robotics will have progressed 10, 20, or even 50 years from now? I’m interested in reading your comments about this.

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New advances in Nanotechnology, should we be excited or scared?New advances in Nanotechnology, should we be excited or scared?

I have been interested nanotechnology, or nanoscience as this video refers to it, for a very long time. If you have heard about nanotech, but haven’t seen any visuals, I highly recommend this video. It touches on properties at the nano scale both in nature and how we are developing our own new materials. They also touch on the development of nano machines. What worries me is for nanotech to become useful, they will probably have to develop self-replicating machines.

In one of my reviews a few years ago for The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson, he writes about Matter Compilers, usually referred to as an M.C. for short. That’s great right? We can just make whatever we want, any time we want! There are also little battles between autonomous nanobots called mites that break out. If I remember correctly, these massive battles on the nano scale result in a type of dust that pollutes the air and causes respiratory problems. That’s no good! There is a little excerpt on Google books that doesn’t really have any spoilers. It begins on the end of page 59 through page 61. Click through this link for the full text.

I can certainly see something like what Stephenson describes happening within our lifetimes. What do you think?

Luke Skywalker bionic arm waiting on green light for clinical trials.Luke Skywalker bionic arm waiting on green light for clinical trials.

I noticed today on my RSS feed for TheForce.net there was a news blurb about Luke’s prosthetic hand from Star Wars might soon become a reality. I tried clicking on the full article located at MSN but for some reason it didn’t come up for me. After a google search I found an article located on the IEEE Spectrum site that had more information. The prosthetic arm was nicknamed “Luke Arm” by Dean Kamen, the inventor of the Segway. An interesting video found via Engadget shows the arm in use and explains the modular approach used in manufacturing. It looks like the project’s fate lies in the hands of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) which has funded the first two phases. If clinical trials are approved, it is possible that veterans could have access to these as early as next year.

Blinky, your new best friendBlinky, your new best friend

Quarreling parents, an annoying kid, and a lovable robot make this short film a fun trip into the near future. Who hasn’t wanted a robot playmate of their own? Blinky is no Robbie, but at least he tries. Check the 12 minute movie out for a treat. Be sure to go full screen and turn on HD if your connection can handle it.

—Edit— The original video was taken down for quite some time, but is back!