“When humans use a personal computer, we enter into the computer’s world. If it can’t do something, or if it crashes, too bad; we have to deal. But a robot enters into our world. If floors are uneven, if legs get in the way, if lighting conditions change, the robot has to deal.” George Musser‘s review of the Roomba robot vaccuum cleaner explains why Robot armies haven’t taken over the world yet. —Robots that Suck (Scientific American)
Another quote from the article: “What makes it a breakthrough is the price, $200, which approaches the don’t-need-spousal-preapproval range.” The word Robot was popularized by Karel Capek’s play R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots), which was written in 1920.
Similar:
Surprise sidewalk encounter with my man Hopkins outside the Admin shuttle stop this mornin...
This is what the techbros are excited about? Really?
New infographic to help our graduating English majors make sense of their capstone project...
Pushing and pulling vertices. Components that fit together perfectly when I model them in ...
Quantity leads to quality - Austin Kleon
A surprising detail in bank records helped a historian bust a longstanding myth about Iris...