Week 3 | Robotics + Art
In this week's material, we learned about a number of interesting topics including industrialization, knowledge production, mechanization, robotics, and art. The topic that I found the most interesting was robotics, specifically, the TED talk "Robots Will Invade Our Lives" by Rodney Brooks. This TED talk that was a part of this week's resources shows Rodney Brooks, a roboticist who speaks to an audience about the important role that robots already have in our society and how there will be significant growth in the presence of robots in our everyday lives.
[Figure 1.] Furby Toy
Brooks argues that for years there have already been robots around us that we just didn't acknowledge, for example, Furby's, lawn mowing robots, home cleaning robots, other robotic toys, and even military robots like the PackBot.
[Figure 2.] House Cleaning Robot
I found this very interesting to learn about because I never considered how many robots are already around us, because society has a very specific image of robots and that image doesn't usually look like a Furby or a house-cleaning robot. Nonetheless, Brooks does an excellent job explaining how these little everyday robots are just the beginning of the robot invasion, as there will be a significant growth of robots around us in the coming years.
[Figure 3.] PackBot
Some of the robots that Brooks discusses that really caught my attention were the PackBot and the rescue robots that were used during 9/11. Brooks illustrates the important role that robots already play in our lives by discussing the PackBot, which is a surveillance robot that the military uses. These robots are very intelligent and they even listen to the commands of soldiers.
[Figure 4.] Rescue Robots from 9/11
Furthermore, the 9/11 robots were used to search dangerous buildings in order to find survivors. Through this TED talk, Brooks demonstrates the importance of robots in society, and how their presence will only continue to grow over time. He highlights that there is no stopping the robot invasion, but he also argues that there is nothing to worry about instead, society should enjoy this journey.
Text Sources:
Brooks, Rodney. “Robots Will Invade Our Lives.” Rodney Brooks: Robots Will Invade Our Lives
| TED Talk, https://www.ted.com/talks/rodney_brooks_robots_will_invade_our_lives/transcript?language=en
Buchanan, Matt. “Object of Interest: The PackBot.” The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 23 Apr.
2013, https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/object-of-interest-the-packbot.
Drenik, Gary. “Why Robots Are Taking over the World - and That's a Good Thing.” Forbes,
Forbes Magazine, 12 Dec. 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/garydrenik/2022/12/09/why-robots-are-taking-over-the-worldand-thats-a-good-thing/?sh=50a31f3e2818.
Raj, Aaron. “Emerging Tech May Allow Robots to Take over the World.” TechHQ, 29 Dec.
2021, https://techhq.com/2021/12/emerging-technologies-may-allow-robots-to-take-over-the-world/.
Stahle, Tyler. “Robots Are Taking over Jobs, but Not at the Rate You Might Think Says BYU
Research.” News, News, 18 Apr. 2023, https://news.byu.edu/intellect/robots-are-taking-over-jobs-but-not-at-the-rate-you-might-think-says-byu-research.
Image Sources:
[Figure 1.] Amazon.com: Hasbro Furby Connect Friend, Blue : Toys & Games.
https://www.amazon.com/Hasbro-Furby-Connect-Friend-Blue/dp/B01EARLU70.
[Figure 2.] Chen, Connie. “12 Smart Home Gadgets That Practically Clean the House for You.”
Business Insider, Business Insider, https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/best-cleaning-gadgets-2018-1.
[Figure 3.] Awards, Excellence, et al. “IRobot 510 PackBot Multi-Mission Robot.” Army
Technology, 29 June 2020, https://www.army-technology.com/projects/irobot-510-packbot-multi-mission-robot/.
[Figure 4.] Murphy, R.R. “Activities of the Rescue Robots at the World Trade Center from 11-21
September 2001.” IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine, vol. 11, no. 3, 2004, pp. 50–61., https://doi.org/10.1109/mra.2004.1337826.
I really liked the direction you took on your post about looking at how robots will "invade" human lives. I completely agree with you that humans fail to realize how much they depend on robots in their daily lives. A few more examples that I can think of are cell-phones, self-driving car technology, and voice assistants like Siri and Alexa. Though I understand the importance of robots in our lives and I agree that this presence will continue growing, I'm unsure about the idea that humans shouldn't be worried. Do you think robots will/have already become more powerful than humans?
ReplyDeleteHi Bailey! I really like how you talk about the specific image that society has of what a robot should look like. This led me to realize that I never noticed how many everyday items would be considered robots. I thought it was interesting that you mentioned Furbies as an example especially due to the controversy behind them. Some people were concerned that Furbies were recording and repeating information and the toy was ultimately banned. Although there are certain robots that seem scary or unsettling, robots can be extremely beneficial and used to expand our knowledge. The house cleaning robot you mentioned is an example of this but on a larger scale, robots can operate in environments that humans can not such as outer-space or the deep sea.
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