So, how was the meeting?

Kevin’s Mechano ‘bot		Kevin’s Gadgeteer‘bot
Gadgeteer becomes a Pen Pal		Kevin’s "Robot Wars Class" motor

The Science Fiction origins of Robotics took off in the 1920’s with episodes of ROSSUM’S UNIVERSAL ROBOTS (RUR) & Fritz Lange’s 1926 production METROPOLIS. As many of these early visions ended in disaster, (by RUR episode 4 the robots had turned on their masters & destroyed humanity), Asimov noted he wished to offer a different scenario by establishing his famous "3 Laws of Robotics". Roughly summarized, a robot (1) can’t directly or through inaction allow a human to come to harm (2) must obey a human unless doing so conflicts with the 1^st Law (3) must preserve its own survival unless doing so conflicts with the previous Laws. These Laws were demonstrated in the Science Fiction Classic FORBIDDEN PLANET, when "Robby the Robot" was unable to comply with a request to "shoot the commander".

Famed MIT Artificial Intelligence researcher Marvin Minsky noted that Asimov declined to visit Marvin’s initial Robotics machines, with Asimov claiming the primitive state of the machines would cloud his vision of future robotics. However, by 1989, in a historic meeting of Asimov & Engleberger, Asimov declared robotics had finally evolved to the point of beginning to turn his dreams into reality.

A major boost to robotics development occurred in 1946 with the development of the 1^st mainframe computer, the University of Pennsylvania’s ENIAC. The machine filled a room with the power of a modern digital wrist watch, and IBM Founder Thomas Watson predicted only 5 such machines on the planet to handle all the world’s computing needs. However, science fiction writers that same year predicted that miniaturization would one day lead to a computer in every home & that computers would be connected to share information & create a World Wide Library of Knowledge.

Carnegie-Mellon’s Artificial Intelligence researcher Hans Moravec noted that, though today’s computer-powered robots fall about a million times short of matching the human brain, the technology is advancing at a rate of 1000 times every 15 years. In only about 30 years from now the million times goal will be reached, so that robots matching the capability of the human nervous system should appear circa 2030. Hans started working in the 1970’s developing robots with pattern recognition, when even simple navigation through a field of objects would cause the robot to pause and compute for many minutes between moves. Similarly, 10 years ago Red Whittaker’s machines would take hours to cross a room. However, over the last 6 years a quantum leap has occurred, enabling, for example, construction of a driver-less car that can move at the speed limit, take turns, slow down as needed and find it’s way across the country.

Currently sites are set on making a humanoid robot, which offers the advantage that the robot will find the human world, built to the same scale, "made for it". At MIT’s "Leg Lab" a tethered machine resembling the lower half of an ostrich & named "Turkey Walker" is already demonstrating remarkably life-like walking ability. In Japan a vision system was recently developed that allows robot eyes to recognize & track objects. The system is upgradeable beyond human capability by adding infrared, synthetic aperture radar & laser range finding. A system was also developed as a human face that can both recognize & respond with appropriate facial expressions.

To complement the robot’s super athletic abilities, work is proceeding on robots that can think for themselves. Arthur C. Clark noted that, in his work 2001, HAL, the super intelligent brain that "went mad", was a bit optimistic to expect arriving by the year 2001 but certainly more that achievable by 2101. Clark looks forward to robots that can go out on their own & develop lines of thought independent of any programming. The main difficulty in achieving this goal anytime soon lies in the difficulty robots have in understanding the world around them. Commonsense rules about reality aren’t built-in and, for humans, we learn them as we mature. Marvin Minsky noted that attempts to program in a myriad such rules soon grow unwieldy, so a newer approach is to build machines that are like children that can learn. One machine shown, called "Xavier", sported pattern recognition, mapping, speech synthesis & neural network computing.

Britain’s Kevin Morrick observed that if machines become more intelligent than humans, this world "would become a robot world, not a human world" & robots would be in control. Kevin demonstrated a team of tiny, insect brain power robots that started "life" not knowing how to do anything. However, through neural networking & the stunning power of the "genetic algorithm" (goal-oriented trial-& error runs with best result characteristics passed on to the next generation), the machines had learned how to do many things on their own. Learned skills included including locating power sources & recharging themselves. Additionally, the more experienced robots can teaching each other by passing on learned skills, thus demonstrating true robot evolution. In a striking robot simulation example of this process, a red robot mouse was instructed to chase a yellow mouse which in turn was instructed to run away. In the 1^st generation run both mice meander randomly, barely finding each other. By the 1000^th run they’re running a fast dog-chase-cat pursuit. In a run pitting a 1000 run-experienced red mouse against a 200 run-experienced yellow mouse, it’s all over for the yellow mouse in a matter of seconds. Joe Engleberger noted that machine evolution can occur at blinding speed & the whole thing can get out of control very quickly.

Robots that can repair their appendages & even "brain parts" are beginning to appear. The SWISS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY has developed computer circuitry that can self-diagnose, detect & repair itself on it’s own. Robots with such ability would be virtually indestructible.

Inspired by 2001’s HAL & impatient with waiting for its arrival, Professor Rod Brooks set out to build the "coolest around" ultimate humanoid robot version of HAL, named COG. The cutting-edge machine has a head sporting 2 cameras for each eye to provide wide & narrow field of view, as well as an arm , (with a 2^nd arm is in the works), heavily laden with sensors that allows users to interact with the arm. As users interact with the system, the robot can learn from the experiences.

As robots become more intelligent, several future scenarios begin to emerge. Will robots also become more ethical, as Asimov wonders, or will they become the killing machines battling mankind as portrayed in the film "Terminator2 ", or will various human-robot hybrids such as "Cyborgs" predominate? The 1973 Cyborg debut of Hollywood’s "The 6 Million Dollar Man" was alleged to have been based on a real individual.

The story was based on the life of a pilot who replaced an arm lost in a plane crash with a Robotics equivalent. Surgeon Joe Rosen has already developed super strong carbon fiber mechanical arm prosthesis systems that feature high dexterity & fine control capability. Rosen feels this type of work could lead to the building of new kinds of humans. In fact, NATO consulted Rosen for a Conference on building a Bionic Man. Rosen drew up elaborate engineering diagrams outlining designs across the spectrum of possibilities, including hybrid mixes involving computer brains running human appendages & visa versa.

Surgeon Donald Humphrey noted it’s now possible to achieve crude bionic man capability. Humphrey is working with animals to control robot arms directly from their brain. In one of Humphrey’s experiments, a monkey named "RC" has an electrode device imbedded in it’s brain. The device monitors & "lights up" upon detecting activity, enabling hookup to a robot arm to allow the monkey to move & operate the arm to retrieve tasty snacks.

RC’s brain hardware establishes a direct connection between the Biological nervous system & a Robotics mechanical system. While Humphrey aims to install the brain circuitry in paralyzed persons to regain use of their muscle, he notes such systems are useable in non-challenged humans to achieve superhuman physical abilities.

Bionic sight is being developed by John Hopkins Hospital eye surgeon Dr. Eugene Dejuan. Inspired by the "Star Trek Visor", Dejuan has developed a prototype chip of 25 electrodes. The chip installs in the eye of a totally blind person, with the electrodes directly connected to the nerve endings in the back of the eye. By connecting the electrodes in different configurations, Dejuan’s totally blind patients have been able to see spots of lights in various patterns, shapes & even colors for the 1^st time in their lives. For sighted patients, Dejuan sees the possibility of extending normal vision to include night vision and other areas of the electromagnetic spectrum, not to mention similar possibilities for other senses.

University of Southern California Professor Ted Berger found inspiration in the research of Canadian Wilder Penfield. Penfield experimented with electrical stimulation of the brain on conscious patients during surgery. The stimulation caused patients to retrieve & relive forgotten memories. Berger is working at putting human memory on to a computer chip. The chip emulates the memory function of the Hippocampus region of the brain by simulating the region’s role as a biological circuit controlling how electricity flows through the area. Berger’s plan is to model brain area functionality, put it on a chip & insert it into the brain. The chips could restore damaged tissue as well as enhance normal memory, perception & motor control.

Roboticist Mark Pauline feels comfortable with the idea of attaching additional bionic appendages to the human body. Conversely, Science Fiction author Bruce Sterling feels the problems of irritation, infection & rejection will defeat the idea, citing current problems people experience with contact lenses.

One final Cyborg enhancement the FUTURE FANTASTIC Special missed is shown in the ORION PICTURES sequel ROBOCOP 3. Towards the end of the film, having successfully battled a Japanese next-generation Kung-Fu Humanoid Robot, ROBOCOP dons a newly developed Jet Pack attachment and flies to an inner-city battleground to save the day.

In summing up the "future fantastic" possibilities, as our natural abilities are becoming strained by the impact of technological civilization, several scenarios emerge. We may become a combined human-robot species, possibly with robots the more intelligent group having worked out a way to cooperatively co-exist with humanity. Asimov envisions we may "cross-merge", with robots moving "from the metal to the organic" and humans from the "organic to the metal & plastic". Further still we may evolve to a single higher species, as we humans move our nervous systems & personalities incrementally into superhuman & virtually indestructible robot host bodies. Whatever the outcome, this author plans to brush up on his Basic Stamp & PIC programming immediately, so that that his future business venture, "Robota’s VR Bar & Grill", leaves no avenue of revenue uncovered!