Robots vs. Humans

We continued with our lesson on Robotics this evening, and started off by Googling Isaac Asimov's "Three Laws of Robotics" as made popular in his 1942 short story "Runaround". The 3 laws state that:

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.

These laws are of course fictional at this point in time but it is - none the less - interesting to take note of.

We had a quick talk about the different types of robots in use today:

Mobile Robots

Mobile robots are also known as Automated Guided Vehicles that are primarily used for the work of material transportation in large workplaces such as warehouses, hospitals, container ports and alike. They function in such areas with the help of wires or lasers, by sensing the environment in which they operate.

An advanced version of AGV is known as Self Guided Vehicle (SGV). Such robots are PatrolBot, Speci-Minder, Golfer, Tug, and so on. These robots can be taught navigation separately in a particular environment. Moreover, such robots also have competency to conduct non-sequential tasks in complex environments. Because of this, they are also referred to as intelligent robots.

Industrial Robots

As industrial tasks require accuracy, speed, reliability as well as endurance, industrial robots have potentially replaced humans in performing those tasks. In the last 30 years, robots have attained an edge in automated production lines. Many industrial robots these days perform palletizing as well as packaging, laboratory applications and dispensing jobs.

Telerobots

Such type of robots function at places, which are not safe or inaccessible for humans. An operator placed at a certain distance from the telerobot commands it with the aid of space shuttle. Laparoscopic surgery is one such thing that is performed with telerobots.

Telerobots are also used for exploration of space. Some of the applications of these robots are for construction of spaceships, maintenance of satellites, development of space station and alike. These robots have also found their application in military and are increasingly used by US military.

Robots in agriculture

There are many robots that are still in an experimental stage and have been used to pick apples, gather harvest, plant seeds and transplant seedlings. Moreover, there is one such robot in Australia that is used to shear sheep.

Service Robots

These types of robots are used in Japan and are divided into two categories; one is for professional use and the other one is for personal use. Professional robots are used for military purposes, to perform underwater tasks and clean harmful materials. Personal robots are appreciated for their artificial intelligence and used in house cleaning, caring of elders, entertainment and so on.

We also watched some YouTube videos about various different robots. You can go check them out for yourself:

• Bird robot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l0xavWi7kU
• Industrial robots http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkNVhtOCcrE
• High Speed robot hand http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KxjVlaLBmk
• Titan the robot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKm2aOd62ZI
• Kismet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KRZX5KL4fA&feature=related

Lastly we had another little "robot navigation" competition. This time, Amore and Anje walked off with the prize - I nice big chocolate hamper donated by our friendly Sunridge SuperSpar.

Diary

This was our last SCC club meeting for the term. The date of our next club meeting will be communicated to the club members in the new term.

Until next time...

References

Videos are from YouTube

The description of the various types of robots, as well as the Three Laws of Robotics were all found on Wikipedia.

Humble beginnings

The computer club had it's first club meeting for 2012 on 20 February 2012.

We always have a few admin matters to sort out during the first meeting. This is also a good time to lay down some rules (something which the computer club does not have much of). 

Welcome

But first let me welcome the new club members to the SCC (Sunridge Computer Club). And a very warm welcome also to the parents of the new members who are now a very big part of the club too. The club is aimed at teaching more advanced and in dept topics related to computers and technology in general. However, I stick to my vision of making the club FUN. 

Needless to say, this is not a regular school lesson and as you might have noticed we dress very informally - slops, barefoot, shorts, t-shirt are not just allowed but virtually required. :-) One part of the dress code which is non-negotiable is that each member comes to class wearing a big smile.

Admin

Just so the new parents know what the procedure is at club meetings...We generally take register before we do anything else. This is often followed by a brainstorm session. And then we get on with the actual lesson. 

Computer Club Badges

Each club member is required to wear a computer club badge as part of his/her school uniform. SCC badges can be purchased from Mr. Williams at R25.00 each.

Robotics Part 1

We did not have much time after we sorted all the admin, rules and brainstorming out. But we started with an introductory activity to robotics this evening. Obstacles were placed in the lab and participants (remote controls) had to guide their team mates to certain spot while avoiding the obstacles. This had to be done by using only 3 commands.

Note
Our club meetings are always exactly one hour. I don't leave until the last member has been collected. I ask that parents please collect their kids on time (18:15).

Diary
Our next club meeting will be on 5 March 2012.

Until next time...

Links, Regs, Links, Regs, Links, Regs, ...Vorentoe!

Stiff competition was at the order of the day...

All our codenames have been chosen and name badges have been printed - thank you Stehan! (More about Stehan's hard work later). Therefor, from this moment on, all the members and myself shall be referred to by our codenames. Both here and at our club meetings. NOTE TO SELF: I'm sure Floppy Drive was standing on his toes here on the right - he can't be taller than I am. :-(

On the agenda for today was:

1. Taking register
2. Outstanding minutes
3. Outstanding permission slips (yes, despite my efforts and begging, I'm still waiting for 2 more permission slips) ai, ai, ai.
4. Name badges & thanking Gigabyte for his dedication
5. ThinkQuest logins
6. Robotics Lesson part 2

Unfortunately attendance was not up to scratch tonight with 3 members (iRobot; Shift; and Graphics Card) being absent without being excused. Parents and members are reminded about the rules of the club and the permission slips which were signed. Repeated failure to attend without excuses being made will not be tolerated and club membership may be revoked.

A beeeeeeeeg thank you goes out to Gigabyte for the design, layout, typing up, printing, and basically making our name badges which boasts our codenames, real names, and the club logo. Our name badges look really good. Baie dankie Gigabyte.

There will NOT be another computer club meeting on the 20th of September as I said initially. It was brought to my attention that the grade 6 learners only return from their outdoor education on the 20th and will surely be in need of some rest. This was probably the last meeting of the SCC for this term. The next date will be advised.

ROBOTICS - Part 2

We recapped on what we learnt about robots during the last meeting before being introduced to the "prettiest and sweetest" little robot called Kismet. Kismet consists of just a head and a neck but, in those two body parts are 21 motors controlling her facial expressions, and 4 cameras which detect movement and senses human facial expressions. Her vision alone is controlled by 9 computers. She can listen, talk, blink, smile, and do many more cool things. She will lean forward when interested/curious and retract when she "feels" threatened. She will smile and raise her eyebrows when praised and bow her head and sulk when scolded.

Teams were formed and given a worksheet with three everyday objects and the question was asked: "Am I a robot" for all of them. Members had to use what was learnt and consider 5 requirements to determine if each of the 3 objects could be classified as being a robot or not.

We watched videos of industrial robots, one with the sole purpose of welding car parts and the other one spray painted cars on an assembly line. We also witnessed what was claimed to be the fastest robot. This video made it clear that robots have an major advantage over humans when it comes to speed and accuracy, especially when doing a repetitive jobs.

Navigate your robot - activity

Members teamed up in pairs for this activity. One was chosen to act as a "robot". The "robot" was blindfolded and was directed through an obstacle course by the "programmer" using only 3 predefined Afrikaans words (Links, Regs, & Vorentoe) and 1 "special command" which they could decide on beforehand to make the task easier and faster. Any other words from the programmer on his vantage point, or if the robot bumped into any obstacles led to immediate disqualification. To make this task more interesting the element of time was thrown into the equation. G-Force and Floppy Drive walked away with the prizes (2 packets of Liquorice Allsorts) this time with a record time of 1 minute and 4 seconds and incredible accuracy.

This activity made it clear that it was not so easy to have a robot do exactly what you want it to do when it can't think for itself and has to rely on our instructions. We take for granted how easy everyday tasks are when motion, and navigation comes from one person but it is a completely different story when we split the motion and navigation up into two entities who are now dependant on each other to get the job done.

Makes one think, doesn't it?

This is Motherboard signing off.