WHOI Underwater Robot Takes First-Known Automated Ocean Samplehttps://phys.org/news/2020-01-whoi-underwater-robot-first-known-automated.htmlA hybrid remotely operated vehicle developed by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) took the first known automated sample performed by a robotic arm in the ocean. Last month, an international team of researchers used one of WHOI's underwater robots,
Nereid Under Ice (NUI), to explore Kolumbo volcano, an active submarine volcano off Greece's famed Santorini island.
Slightly smaller than a Smart Car, NUI was equipped with Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based automated planning software—including a planner named "Spock'—that enabled the ROV to decide which sites to visit in the volcano and take samples autonomously."For a vehicle to take a sample without a pilot driving it was a huge step forward," says Rich Camilli, an associate scientist at WHOI leading the development of automation technology as part of NASA's Planetary Science and Technology from Analog Research (PSTAR) interdisciplinary research program. "One of our goals was to toss out the joystick, and we were able to do just that."
... Billings says this level of automation will be important for NASA as they look toward developing technologies to explore ocean worlds beyond our solar system. "If we have this grand vision of sending robots to places like Europa and Enceladus [the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, respectively], they will ultimately need to work independently like this and without the assistance of a pilot," he says.
"We can eventually see having a network of cognitive ocean robots where there's a shared intelligence spanning an entire fleet, with each vehicle working cooperatively like bees in a hive," Camilli says. "It will go well beyond losing the joystick."
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Two-Legged Delivery Robots Walk Upright, Threaten Warehouse Jobshttps://screenrant.com/ford-agility-digit-delivery-robots/If artificial intelligence doesn't steal your job, the bi-pedal Digit robot might. Especially now that's it up for sale and Ford already a buyer.Agility Robotics has now sold its first Digit bi-pedal robot and the buyer is Ford. The Digit robot has been seen as one possible solution to what is often referred to as the “last-mile” problem for delivery companies. However, in solving that problem, Digit does raise the issue of what this could potentially mean for human workers in those sectors.
Digit has been in development for some time and is essentially a robot that stands and walks on two new legs. While a bi-pedal robot could be of use in many work placements, it has garnered specific interest from the home and office delivery sectors. The reason being that while self-driving cars are now starting to roll out for deliveries in more locations, they can only get from A to B, not from B to the delivery door. Solutions like Digit have been viewed as a possible fix for this last-mile issue as they could potentially ride in a self-driving car and then complete the delivery on foot. Now, it now looks like Digit has taken the next step on the journey to becoming part of the workforce.
... "As online retailing continues growing, we believe robots will help our commercial customers build stronger businesses by making deliveries more efficient and affordable for all of us." said Ken Washington, chief technology officer and vice president of Ford Research and Advanced Engineering. "We learned a lot this year working with Agility, and now we can accelerate our exploratory work with commercial Digit robots."
... Digit comes with a bevy of features that make it optimal for usage in factories like the ones Ford has. It can walk upright and can tightly fold itself so it can be stored in a car.
"Digit represents a major milestone for Agility," said Agility CEO Dr. Damion Shelton. "For the first time, a full humanoid robot -- with both mobility and manipulation capabilities --will be available for customer applications in a wide variety of industries, both indoor and outdoor. We look forward to showing off our work on both logistics and non-logistics tasks in the coming months."
https://www.techrepublic.com/article/ford-becomes-first-customer-to-incorporate-agility-robotics-into-factory/-------------------------------------
Samsung's New Neon 'Artificial Human' Project is Finally Unveiled: It's Looks Like AI Dystopiahttps://mashable.com/article/neon-future-ai-dystopia-ces/... They're designed to have conversations and behave like real humans. They form memories and learn new skills but don't have a physical embodiment, at least not now. Neons can help with "goal-oriented tasks or can be personalized to assist in tasks that require human touch." They can act as teachers, financial advisers, health care providers, concierges, actors, spokespeople or TV anchors.
... Stick one on local news in front of extreme weather, reading online updates, and they'd pass a Turing testWhile they can borrow traits of real people and have a similar look and voice, they can't be exact copies of existing humans, Neon said. And each Neon is unique, with its own personality.
... The Neon artificial humans are powered by two pieces of Neon proprietary technology. The first, called Core R3, stands for "reality, realtime and responsive." That's what makes the Neons respond quickly and in a lifelike manner. The second is called Spectra, which is responsible for intelligence, learning, emotions and memory.
Neon describes Core R3 as an advance in the "domains of behavioral neural networks, evolutionary generative intelligence and computational reality." The company said it's "inspired by the rhythmic complexities of nature and extensively trained with how humans look, behave and interact." The latency of Core R3, or how long it takes to respond to queries, is less than a few milliseconds, letting the Neons react and respond in real time.
"CORE R3 can computationally create lifelike reality that is beyond normal perception to distinguish," Neon said in its FAQ.
... Neon's technology appears to be flirting with the "
uncanny valley," the sensation of disgust some people experience when they encounter something that looks very similar to, but isn't exactly, a person.
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New Trump Autonomous Vehicle Plan Lets Industry Regulate Itself. (... What Could Possibly Go Wrong?)https://techxplore.com/news/2020-01-autonomous-vehicle-industry.htmlThe Trump administration on Wednesday unveiled its most recent round of guidelines for autonomous vehicle makers that still rely on the industry to police itself despite calls for specific regulations.Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao announced the proposed guidelines in a speech at the CES gadget show in Las Vegas, saying in prepared remarks that "AV 4.0" will ensure U.S. leadership in developing new technologies.
But the guidelines will likely fall short of expectations of auto safety advocates and the National Transportation Safety Board.
In November, the NTSB, which investigates crashes and makes safety recommendations, condemned a lack of state and federal regulation for testing autonomous vehicles.The NTSB said Chao's department failed to lead in regulating the new technology and put autonomous vehicle advancement ahead of saving lives.