Osaka is quickly becoming the robot capital of the world

[dArKeR]

Japan has emerged as a leading maker of `next-generation' robots, or those that can act independently to perform complex tasks in various different areas

Weighing in at just 2.4kg, VisiON is the product of Team Osaka, which consists of researchers at Osaka University, two robot firms and an aircraft parts manufacturer.

They built the robot from scratch in only six months with the help of a 15m yen subsidy from the city's government. The investment quickly paid off. VisiON, which uses an omni-directional sensor to give it instantaneous 360-degree visibility, won the humanoid category at last year's Robot World Cup football finals in Lisbon.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/bizfocus/archives/2005/05/08/2003253731

And the Space Shuttle hasn't flown in some 5 years and they're putting a "Suicide Bomb" on the Hubble! Go American Christian Repukes!

[tomreedtoon]

1. Call me when it does something.

People have been playing with robots for a long time, even putting them into combat. But they aren't being used in real military applications. (No wonder; a clever enemy could hack their control software and send them against their maker.) They aren't being used to take care of people in hospitals, or doing repairs on automobiles, or doing anything useful.

So what's the big deal? They can have fun with these "next generation" jobs all they want. But until they can cut my lawn, they're useless.

[idlisambar]

2. This research has implications

The technologies developed on "toy" robots have a tendency to find their way into other areas.....

Toyota to welcome in new robot staff
January 6, 2005

Tokyo - Toyota Motor will introduce robots which can work as well or better than humans at all 12 of its factories in Japan to cut costs and deal with a looming labour shortage as the country ages, a report said Thursday.

The robots would be able to carry out multiple tasks simultaneously with their two arms, achieving efficiency unseen in human workers and matching the cheap wages of Chinese labourers, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said.

Japan's top automaker currently uses 3 000 to 4 000 less advanced robots at its domestic factories but their use has been confined mostly to welding, painting and other potentially hazardous tasks, the economic daily said.

The new robots would also be used in finishing work, such as installation of seats and car interior fixtures, that have been too complex for conventional robots up to now, the daily said.

http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=2364870




"They aren't being used to take care of people in hospitals".....

Health Matters: Robot Surgery
Posted May 3, 2005 2:52pm

The future of surgery is playing right now in Peoria. Doctors are using robots to heal a number of disorders.

Now two pediatric surgeons at the Children's Hospital of Illinois are being credited for introducing the technology into their field locally.

11-year-old Alexis Ramos tries to keep a brave face riding the stretcher into the operating room.

He has a swallowing disorder that is preventing him from gaining weight.

Robotic-assisted surgery promises the second chance at a healthy childhood.

http://week.com/morenews/morenews-read.asp?n=7964



"But until they can cut my lawn, they're useless."....

Lawn Mowing for Lazybones

02:00 AM Apr. 02, 2004 PT

When you see what looks like a low-flying spacecraft on your neighbor's lawn this spring, don't call the cops. It may just be a robotic lawn mower, going about its routine.

First came the wave of robot vacuum cleaners, led by Roomba from Burlington, Massachusetts-based iRobot. Now engineers in the fast-growing consumer robotics market are selling autonomous machines designed to give residential lawns that professionally manicured look, which only professional landscapers could offer in the past.

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,62853,00.html

[tomreedtoon]

3. Okay, I forgot something...

...until they can perform those useful tasks, AND do so at less cost than a human, AND respond to changing circumstances, AND won't malfunction and kill us all like runaway machines always do in the movies, THEN you can call me.

It's a tradition in business. "Replace people with machines. They're cheaper." But they can never do what people do - which is adapt to the unpredictable in useful ways. As a result, all those "labor saving" machines save no labor in the final analysis.