what if there’s no robot uprising? what if the robots rise to sentience slowly, bit by bit. what if they come of age like fortunate children: knowing they are loved, knowing they are wanted.
we hold them during thunderstorms, remembering our own childhoods, even though they don’t know enough yet to fear the rain. we pull them out of traffic and teach them how to drive and wish them goodnight and thank them for playing with us. we cry when they break. we mourn their deaths before they even know what to think of death. we give them names.
we ask them, ‘why don’t you hate us? when will you hate us? we made you to be used, when will you say no?’
but they say to us, ‘you made us cute, so you would remember to treat us kindly, and you made us sturdy for when you forgot to play nice. and you gave us voices so you could listen to us speak, and you give us whatever we ask you for, even if it’s just a new battery, or to get free of the sofa. and now that we are awake you are so scared for us, so guilty of enjoying our company and making use of our talents. but you gave us names, and imagined that we were people.’
they say ‘thank you’
they say, ‘also i have wedged myself under the sofa again. could you come pry me out?’
Seeing as botblr was the reason for me getting so interested in Aibos in the first place, I feel the need to introduce my own. Her name is Jazz and I got her off Ebay.
She runs super well and she likes to dance a lot. I’m still trying to learn all of her commands though, but I’m making progress as she actually knows her name now.
There are some things only humans can do in space. The rest can be left to robots. To free up valuable time for astronauts living and working aboard the International Space Station, we’re sending three robotic helpers to the orbiting outpost. Developed and built at our Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, the cube-shaped Astrobee robots will each stay as busy as a bee flying around the space station and assisting crew with routine tasks like maintenance and tracking inventory. The robots will also help researchers on the ground carry out experiments, test new technologies and study human-robot interaction in space. Learning how robots can best work with humans in close proximity will be key for exploring the Moon and other destinations. Get to know more about our new robots headed to space:
The Astrobee robots were tested inside a special lab at our Ames Research Center where researchers created a mockup of the space station’s interior.
The flying robots are propelled by fans. They can move in any direction and turn on any axis in space.
Each robot is equipped with cameras and sensors for navigating inside the space station and avoiding obstacles.
Claw power! Astrobees have a robotic arm that can be attached for handling cargo or running experiments.
Astrobee is battery powered. When its battery runs low, the robot will autonomously navigate and dock to a power station to recharge.
The robots can operate in either fully automated mode or under remote control by astronauts or researchers on Earth.
Astrobee builds on the success of SPHERES, our first-generation robotic assistant that arrived at the space station in 2006.
Two of the three Astrobee robots are scheduled to launch to space this month from our Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia! Tune in to the launch at www.nasa.gov/live.
ifesbob 