Apropos to this discussion thread, a recent article by Marlene Bourne for Nanotechnology Now says:
I recently spent several days at Georgia Tech for an annual event called RoboCup. This is an international research and educational initiative whose goal is to develop, by 2050, a team of fully autonomous humanoid robots that can play against the human world soccer champions—and win...I spent the majority of my time at RoboCup watching two humanoid leagues: kid-size and teens. The teen league is comprised of two-legged robots that are about 4 feet tall. What struck me was how incredibly slowly (and methodically) they moved. But, they were able to both successfully kick (and defend) goals, although defense was more the result of a misdirected kick than any real defensive play. Despite the slo-mo action, the bots apparently work hard and play hard. It was a bit disconcerting to see one of the robots lying on its stomach in between rounds as team members fanned it with paper—presumably to cool off overheated circuits—but it was evident that a robotic version of heat stroke was in play here...
Beyond the sheer fun of this event, it's clear that the level of sophistication found in robotics continues to move forward by leaps and bounds, with MEMS gyro sensors and accelerometers playing an important role in balance. However, a lot of work certainly remains to reach the goal of a world champion soccer team being beaten by their robotic counterparts. Just wait until the electronics are in place; then it'll be cool to see nanomaterials come into play to give these guys human-looking qualities. Good thing we have nearly 4 decades to work on all of this; although, from what I've seen, I suspect it may not take that long.
Four decades? Yeah, I seriously doubt it will take that long.
Tags: nanotechnology nanotech nano science technology ethics weblog blog
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