Robots

Subscribe to Robots

Athletes are not the only ones competing at this year’s Winter Olympics in South Korea. Spectators will encounter a number of competing technologies. From robot greeters and drones that improve the spectator experience, to smart helmets and tech suits to help Olympians, technology is the hidden star of the Winter Olympics. Below is a round-up of some of the leading-edge technology being used at the games.
Continue Reading Technology Takes the Gold at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea

At the most recent SXSW, Hanson Robotics, based in Plano, TX, debuted its latest personal robot – Sophia. With lifelike skin that is made from patented silicon, Sophia can emulate more than 62 facial expressions. Cameras inside her “eyes,” sophisticated computer algorithms, and a combination of voice recognition technology and other tools enable Sophia to “see” and “think.” Sophia is just the latest example of major advances in the development of machines striving to attain human “characteristics,” “intelligence,” and “awareness”.

Creepy? Maybe. Predestined? Definitely.

Life Imitating Fiction

Arguably, the notion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Cognitive Computing has been around since Frankenstein was published in 1818. For example, consider the Star Trek series, especially The Next Generation, where AI is prevalent. The android DATA was imparted with human-level intelligence and expertise by his creator, Dr. Soong. Albeit fictional, DATA is an example of a machine achieving human-level awareness. Conversely, Seven of Nine (or more specifically the Borg/Borg Collective) is essentially a human or humanoid that has been assimilated and made more machine-like, striving for efficiency and perfection of a machine.  The Borg individual is given artificial limbs, eyes, and other body parts, as well as implants (for example, brain implants), so that each Borg individual can communicate with the Collective and the Borg Queen.Continue Reading Rise of the Machines: DATA vs. the Borg Collective