“Robots that can climb stairs, crawl over ditches, survive three-story falls—and pester people who ignore your e-mails. Morticia is quite the capable robot. She can scramble over the outback at about 15 kilometers per hour, climb stairs, survive a 10-meter drop onto a concrete floor and even navigate underwater. Not bad for a little critter that’s less than 20 centimeters high and 65 centimeters long—about the size of a small suitcase.” Read the rest of the interesting report at TechReview.
The Robots Are Coming
About The Author
Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
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…what OS does it run on?
um.. dammit.. robots scare me
You know what scares me? Those damn flying monkeys from the wizard of oz. They scared me when I was 5 (saw it for the first time on my birthday, I couldn’t sleep at all), and they scare me now (sad isn’t it?).
Well since most all robots run an embedded OS theres not much there to talk about. Many control systems can barly be called an OS, things like simulink code in a special controller, or D-space which is used in the automotive world and such, or even just a bunch of code that was written just for that bot and was started from scratch. Besides in all reality the OS it’s running if there is one doesn’t really matter, it’s not going to change how it runs, bout the only differances is how hard it is to code and such.
Brad,
The OS it runs matters, but not in a technical way. It matter which companies gets those marketshares, or even if opensource groups gets them.
But yeah, when it comes to the technical view, it really doesn’t matter much, unless the OS comes with some features that makes AI development easier etc.
Exactly,
Around here if it was any OS it would not matter but if it was say linux, people would rant about the power of linux and how it is superior for the job. If it was windows people would say how it sucks and will have BSOD. For things like this most people don’t get that it doesn’t really matter, or they don’t understand how it is being used. Every now and then you will see something say how linux was used in a car. People think linux is running things when in reality it has nothing to do with the car, just maybe it’s ability to check your email.
I’ve seen those Japanese movies, we have to get those robots before they get us!
True fact: A robot has already killed a person, one of those assebly line robots killed a worker in Japan. Imagine what they’ll do once they can run around.
I’m guessing it was the workers fault. Doubt the robot even relized it killed anyone
Yeah, that is the way they always rationalized it in those old Sci Fi movies “what? It is just a machine, it can’t think…”
lol
btw when I first saw how fast those robots in those data tape silos and file rooms move I nearly wet myself (you know like the silo in the beginning of that horrible movie hackers). even stepping into the silo after it was shut down (or walking through the file room after the safety was on) was eerily scary, like outer limits ghost town scary.
Yeah, it is pretty wierd to see those robot carts that run around warehouses getting things and dropping them off, all by themselves.
I heard of a robot camera factory, where there were no people at all. They left the lights off most the time. The robots just built the cameras…