BBC Science Focus Magazine In this extract from
We, Robots, we journey into the past, experience the present, and ponder the future of science fiction, and of artificial intelligence.
It appeared near the Houses of Parliament on Wednesday 9 December 1868. It looked for all the world like a railway signal: a revolving gas-powered lantern with a red and a green light at the end of a swivelling wooden arm.
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Its purposes seemed benign, and we obeyed its instructions willingly. Why wouldn’t we? The motor car had yet to arrive, but horses, pound for pound, are way worse on the streets, and accidents were killing over a thousand people a year in the capital alone. We were only too welcoming of of anything that promised to save lives.
i robot is one of them. they are creating robots and other systems for troops in everyday combat situations with one result in mind saving lives. robots cut through the cloud of war and let you see more clearly. if you have a robot you can send that robot ahead, establish what we call situational awareness which really means what s going on here. this is the i robot warrior. warrior is a 300 pound robot that can run a 4 minute mile and it can do it for over 20 miles. it s stronger than we are faster than we are and it s going to take on many many different kinds of missions. it is designed to be big, powerful but still operate in an internal architectural environment. you are seeing a huge change in the type of warfare we are faced with. in afghanistan and iraq the enemy is virtually
i robot is one of them. they are creating robots and other systems for troops in everyday combat situations with one result in mind saving lives. robots cut through the cloud of war and let you see more clearly. if you have a robot you can send that robot ahead, establish what we call situational awareness which really means what s going on here. this is the i robot warrior. warrior is a 300 pound robot that can run a 4 minute mile and it can do it for over 20 miles. it s stronger than we are faster than we are and it s going to take on many many different kinds of missions. it is designed to be big, powerful but still operate in an internal architectural environment. you are seeing a huge change in the type of warfare we are faced with. in afghanistan and iraq the enemy is virtually