Callout to the #robotics community: I'm a tech reporter working on a freelance story for a national magazine about the TOMY Armatron robotic arm toy sold in Radio Shack starting in 1984 (one of my favorite toys from my childhood).
I'm looking to speak with any robotics engineers who had their careers inspired by this toy. It's a marvel of mechanical engineering. If anyone knows someone like this please email me: [email protected]
Thanks!
Marques Brownlee has put up a video about a US$20,000 robot. The company behind it claims it can do a whole range of household tasks 'through the power of AI', and will be delivered next year.
They even demonstrated a prototype to a journalist.
And the entire demonstration was being remotely controlled by a human operator.
And the company admits that, other than one or two simple tasks like opening a door, all tasks will be completed by a remote human operator. Those tasks will need to be scheduled in advance.
So.
Assuming this thing can be put into mass production, a huge if, it's basically a mechanical Turk.
Mark my words.
If this thing makes it to market, and that's a big if, the operators will be in a low-wage country.
It will almost exclusively be a way for rich white Americans to have human servants do their chores, without them being in their house.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j31dmodZ-5c
#robot #robotics #Marques #MarquesBrownlee #ArtificialIntelligence #VultureCapital #AI #tech #technology
🤖 #Robots #Mecha & #Robotics accounts to follow:
ROBOTICS
@drcaberry - Professor of Engineering & Robotics at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
@loy - Robotics & tech fan, energy efficient houses
@kd8bxp - Video maker interested in robotics, radio, retro tech
ART
@smoketopus - Draws robots in a cute adorable style, makes mini-comics
@smerp - Artist creating works using robot pen plotters
@supaplex - 3D graphics artist, retro sci-fi scenes with robots
🧵 1/2
French first lady Brigitte Macron and other spouses of world leaders. "It will be formed in the shape of humans. Very soon, artificial intelligence will move from our mobile phones to humanoids that deliver utility. Since our environment is designed for people, humanoid systems are uniquely suited to navigate and operate within our world. They fit well."
"Imagine a humanoid educator named Plato," she continued. "Access to the classical studies is now instantaneous. Literature, science, art, philosophy, mathematics and history. Humanity's entire corpus of information is available in the comfort of your home. Plato will provide a personalized experience, adaptive to the needs of each student. Plato is always patient, and always available. Predictably, our children will develop deep critical thinking and independent reasoning abilities. The AI-powered Plato will boost analytic skills and problem solving and adopt in real time to a student's pace, prior knowledge and even emotional state. The byproduct — a more well-rounded lifestyle for our children, freeing up time for being with friends, playing sports and developing interests beyond school. A more complete person."
MARS HAS
A MAINTENANCE PROBLEM 💎
Yesterday, I was writing about human beings on Mars, and one question kept nagging at me. People say we’ll send the robots first.
Fine.
But getting to Mars, landing there, and then working for years in the Martian environment are brutal demands on machines, not to mention the ongoing industry, building and maintenance work to be done upon arrival.
Radiation damages electronics and computer chips. Extreme temperature swings stress materials. The red dust gets in everywhere. Moving parts wear out. Bearings fail. Electric motors fail. Cables fail. Sensors fail. And there is nobody there with a toolbox.
So the usual answer is: send lots of robots, make them modular, give them spare parts, and let them repair one another. Which sounds sensible until you ask the obvious question.
WHO REPAIRS THE ROBOT THAT REPAIRS THE ROBOTS?
A Mars colony built by machines would need far more than a few clever humanoids to unload the rockets.
MARS WILL NEED SOMETHING CLOSE TO AN AUTONOMOUS INDUSTRIAL SYSTEM.
Robots maintaining robots. Robots replacing worn parts. Robots diagnosing faults. Robots manufacturing components. Robots keeping power, communications, mining, transport and construction working for years without a single human engineer ever standing beside them.
And eventually, if the whole thing is supposed to become independent of Earth, they would need to make their own replacement parts from local Martian materials.
That is not a small detail.
THAT IS PRACTICALLY AN ENTIRE CIVILIZATION OF MACHINES.
We have become very good at landing robots on Mars. We have not yet demonstrated a self-maintaining robotic economy on Earth, let alone on another world.
So perhaps the real question is not: “Can Elon Musk send robots to Mars?” Quite possibly. The harder question is:
CAN HE SEND A SYSTEM THAT CAN KEEP ITSELF ALIVE?
Because if the answer is no, then the robots are not building a colony.
They are just waiting to break.
@3goodthings @DigitalCoup @meditation @economics_that_works @startrek
#Mars #Space #Robotics #AI #robots #ElonMusk #SpaceX #Technology #Earth #toolbox #building #colony
