THE AGE OF THE ROBOT digital cultures and technologies post

The age of the robot is here, officials predict that by 2015 every home in Japan will have their own personal robot, we already have an array of pet robots on the market ranging including fur real pets, pleo the dinosaur, robo-dogs, and the paro- a robotic baby harp seal, 200 units were manufactured initially with a retail price of $4,400- they sold out in less than 50 hours.

The paro was designed with the elderly in mind, pertaining to give them comfort and company as many of them suffer from loneliness and depression and are increasing finding themselves in care homes with little company from loved ones. The seals have proved to be a huge success as tests have shown that they decrease stress and loneliness in the elderly by giving them a companion with over 30 A.I sensors and the ability to recognise their masters voice and hand gestures.

The pleo dinosaur pet has over 38 sensors that feed information about cleo's environment to one of 8 processors that can handle a collective 60 million calculations per second! A complex computer programme determines what the dino does next, whether he sneezes, turns he neck 180' to see who's scratching his back or peers over the edge of a table! the possibilities go on.

 Alsok- the worlds second largest security company have even developed a line of robo-cops as a result of Japanese youth shying away from 3k jobs- referring to the Japanese words for labour that is dirty.

The guard robots, one version of which is being used by a client in southern Japan, can detect and thwart intruders using sensors and paint guns. They can also put out fires and spot water leaks.

It is perhaps no surprise that robots would find their first major foothold in Japan. Japanese dolls and toys, including a moving crab using clockwork technology dating to the 1800s, are considered by some to be among the first robots.

Rather than the monstrous Terminators of American movies, robots here are instead seen as gentle, even idealistic creatures epitomised by 'Astroboy', the 1960s Japanese cartoon about an electronic kid with a big heart.

Kazuya Abe, an official at Japans NEDO Institute which co-ordinates national science research and development on robots: 

"People are and will be living alongside robots, which are seen here as more than just machines. This is all about AI [artificial intelligence], this is about the creation of something that is not human, but can be a complement or companion to humans in society. That future is happening here now."

All the robot's I have ever dreamed about are already here! I have been waiting for the day that Robot babysitters become available to the general population, and although my kids will be grown up and married when such a thing happens it is still amazing to know that all these things are happening. The babysitter Robot is called: PaPeRo and can distinguish different children's faces and then has the facility to call their parents in case of emergency.

Just think it is predicted that by 2020 personal robots will no longer be a thing of anime, they'll be here! Imagine, people walking around the street with their robotic personal assistants, no need for a phone anymore, your robot can do all that, you may be able to video call friends just by telling the robot their names who will then find them in your address book or by using some sort of online network in which we may all be on- (every aspect of our lives could be on a sever somewhere- as started by the online software sites) and then as your walking with your robot you can see your friend in a touch screen panel on your robots stomach! (or should i say area that represents a stomach in the human form) your robot can also be equipped with some kind of payment chip so you don't have to have one and it will be more secure on the robot, this means the robot can be scanned when you want to pay for anything, be it food, clothes or train tickets! 

you will be able to store all of your music, photo's and files on the robot, so bye bye I pod! your robot will play music for you through a speaker or you can connect wireless headphones! and there's no need to worry about roads whilst listening to your music as your robot will be your eyes! 

So there is yet another use for him, imagine how handy he/she would come in for the health sector? assuming we will still have blind people in the future, (as there are already technologies in place to return sight using a camera attached to the optic nerve!) the robot can guide them safely over roads and protect them from crack-heads and the like, the same goes for the elderly and infirm, the robot can take them shopping, help them dress, hell they could even hop on the back of him for a ride on experience! the robot can also have a handy storage safe for putting all your valuables and shopping in!

With voice and face recognition your robot will only respond to you and follow your orders! so there's no need for housework, cooking, cleaning, picking the kids up from school, posting mail, etc.

But what does this mean for us? will we become the fat wobbly regressed beings depicted in Disney's Wall E? so absorbed in technology that they were not even aware of walking and dancing? swimming? talking to one another in the real world as a pose to a virtual one? this is more than a strong possibility, as technology advances are we taking a step back? maybe the future will epitomize a matrix style way of living? maybe we will willingly transgress into that virtual state becoming nothing more than a brain in a jar? 

who knows, but i for one can't wait to see robots everywhere and for them to become affordable and accessible for everyone! then the next phase is the question of morality, at what point do we draw the line on using robots as slaves? as they become more advanced and human looking, they can certainly be programmed to seem to think independently and make choices for themselves, Is this how we were created? If we create an uber race of robotic beings that can technically out-live us and rule the world does that make us gods? 

to be discussed further in my next post and how robots can be used in the city of Leeds.