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DailyDirt: Unmanned Spaceships And Robots

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Tue, Dec 7th 2010 5:00pm — Michael Ho

Artificial intelligence software still seems like science fiction -- even though smarter and smarter software is found in all sorts of everyday gadgets now. Robots are replacing humans in manufacturing jobs and doing all sorts of dirty work that people can't or won't do. So let's hear it for our automated slaves doing cool stuff for us.

The US Air Force's unmanned X-37B space plane lands after 7 months in orbit. Who really needs the space shuttle anymore? (And note that the Russians pretty much accomplished this feat with the Buran, too.) url
The Uncanny Valley still runs pretty deep, so creepy-looking robots will be the norm for the near future. url
There's nothing creepy about Japanese robots picking ripe strawberries: Yum. url
NerdKits has built a ~~xylophone~~ glockenspiel robot for the holidays -- and has released open source code along with DIY instructions for it. url

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Filed Under: robots, spaceships

20 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2010 @ 7:52pm

All these programs are taking our jobs! We need to go on strike!!!!
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AR (profile), 7 Dec 2010 @ 8:09pm

AI, interesting concept for copyright
This may sound stupid (and slightly off topic. If someone used opensource, or proprietary, software in or as the base code for the AI software, and if the AI created something or figured something out...
Who would then own the copyright, patent, and/or license on the created material/product/discovery?
I could see where it could get a bit confusing.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2010 @ 8:19pm

Re: AI, interesting concept for copyright
Well programs are already doing discoveries on their own and since they don't complain the ownership of the discovery have been going to the owner of the said program.

NASA have used a lot.
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Michael Ho (profile), 7 Dec 2010 @ 11:15pm

Re: AI, interesting concept for copyright
That's actually a pretty interesting question.. and one that maybe Wolfram Research has explored?

Or maybe there are already CS folks working on programs that can automatically write patent applications..... :P
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Dec 2010 @ 12:06am

http://www.genetic-programming.com/coursemainpage.html

Genetic-programming is used a lot to produce things that no human discovered before.

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=14394

""The software also may invent designs that no human designer would ever think of," Lohn asserted. In addition, the software also can plan devices that are smaller, lighter, consume less power, are stronger and more robust among many other things - characteristics that spaceflight requires, according to Lohn."

Endless Original Music: Computer Program Creates Music Based On Emotions
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090601085928.htm

Who gets the copyright for that?

LoL

We live in interesting times indeed.
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Dec 2010 @ 12:10am

Some more links to automated music creation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolutionary_music
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generativ e_music
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer-music
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Hephaestus (profile), 8 Dec 2010 @ 8:45am

Strawberry picking robot ....
My vision of the future, when these robots come down in price and start becoming standard farm equipment. Riots in the streets of East LA. Farms being burned for replacing illegal workers with robots. When houses are constructed by robots, when McDonalds goes robot servers, when the cabs of NYC are robotically driven, when robotic prostitutes happen, same issues.

Gonna be fun to watch ... rioting street hookers and all :)
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Hephaestus (profile), 8 Dec 2010 @ 9:07am

From the creepy robot story (Crossing the uncanny valley)

" Hollywood, too, would probably enjoy replacing stuntmen�and perhaps even temperamental stars�with computer-generated versions. A world without celebs? That really would be eerie."

Actually that would be the end of hollywood because anyone then make movies.

Also has anyone else seen how creepy these robots are IRL. """""serious shiver"""""
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nasch (profile), 8 Dec 2010 @ 9:14am

AI
We'll never think we have artificial intelligence, because anything we can already do we consider "just a program", and AI is whatever we can't make a computer do yet.

For example, take the game Spore back 20 years, and the way the animals behave would probably be considered AI. Now we don't think of it that way, it's just a game. Pretty much anything using heuristics could be called AI. And so on. AI is here already and has been for quite some time, but our expectations keep moving with the technology.
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nasch (profile), 8 Dec 2010 @ 9:21am

Re:
Has anyone else seen the first Final Fantasy movie (The Spirits Within)? I think it got to the other side of the valley - I didn't find it creepy at all. That was released I think in 2000, and I can't figure why nobody's done better in the 10 years since (that I know of). FF was pretty convincing, but not perfect. Are they all working on video games instead?
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Overtkill (profile), 8 Dec 2010 @ 10:21am

AI and what we think we know...
There are already many innovations that are years ahead of this discussion in the defense contractor 'sphere' of development, involving unmanned drones and attack craft.

Comparing the x-37B to the space shuttle is like comparing a model airplane to the real thing. It has nowhere near the same capabilities. While I do agree that its technology is a start in the right direction, There is perhaps more merit in revisiting an idea like the VentureStar:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VentureStar

In order to replace something, you must meet and surpass the capabilities of what you intend to replace. IMHO, We should keep flying the shuttles until an idea like this can happen as we really don't have a real replacement option.

SSTO (Single Stage to Orbit) would be a great evolution away from using wasteful expendable rockets, only burning fuel in the spacecraft's engines to reach orbit.

Thanks for Reading. :)
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Michael Ho (profile), 8 Dec 2010 @ 12:17pm

Re: Re: the FF movie
That Final Fantasy movie was pretty good, but not quite on the other side of the valley -- in my opinion. It wasn't creepy, but when you airbrush real human images too much, the images are no longer that realistic. That's why Aki Ross was able to fit right into the Maxim Hot 100 in 2001:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0d/Ffmaxim_aki_ross.jpg
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Hephaestus (profile), 8 Dec 2010 @ 1:56pm

Re: Re:
" I didn't find it creepy at all. "

I actually enjoyed Final fantasy spirits within.

What I was talking about are the japanese, singing and dancing female robots. Go to youtube and watch a couple. The movements are not quite human even when they get it close, it gives you an uneasy something is not quite right feeling.
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nasch (profile), 8 Dec 2010 @ 3:15pm

Re: Re: Re: the FF movie
I don't quite follow. It was still in the uncanney valley, but not creepy? Or do you mean it just wasn't perfect?
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nasch (profile), 8 Dec 2010 @ 3:22pm

Re: Re: Re:
Oh yeah, the robots are not even close yet. I think they can have great success staying on the left side though. There are robots that look human enough to kind of identify with them, but not so much that they start to get creepy.
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Hephaestus (profile), 9 Dec 2010 @ 7:08am

Re: Re: Re: Re: the FF movie
Basically there is a limit to how close you can make a human likeness before it becomes creepy. Its the subtle facial features and motions that people notice when the likeness is really close to human. You don't notice it in caricatures.
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nasch (profile), 9 Dec 2010 @ 8:54am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: the FF movie
Yeah, that's the whole concept of the uncanney valley. But Michael said it was "not quite on the other [right-hand, acceptable, non-eerie] side of the valley" and "it wasn't creepy". Which seem, to me, to be contradictory statements.
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Michael Ho (profile), 9 Dec 2010 @ 11:40am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: the FF movie
Not sure I'm contradicting anything -- "pretty good" on the Uncanny Valley graph could be right on the edge of the "cliff" on the left side of the valley.

Perhaps there's even a "Wiley E Coyote" effect where an image could be suspended over the valley for a little bit before it plummets into creepiness... :)
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Hephaestus (profile), 9 Dec 2010 @ 12:07pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: the FF movie
"Perhaps there's even a "Wiley E Coyote" effect where an image could be suspended over the valley for a little bit before it plummets into creepiness... :)"

Big Ole Grin ...
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nasch (profile), 9 Dec 2010 @ 12:48pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: the FF movie
Oh I see, well I think it was WAY more convincing than anything on the left side of the valley. I mean, a zombie is at the bottom on that chart, and surely Aki Ross looks more like a healthy human than a zombie does.

Perhaps there's even a "Wiley E Coyote" effect where an image could be suspended over the valley for a little bit before it plummets into creepiness... :)

Ha, totally! The longer you look at it, the creepier it looks. :-)
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