Don’t Blame the Robots

I never would have expected the New York Times to fall in lockstep with the conservative media by publishing an article that caters to the unduly fearful and paranoid sensibilities of the knee-jerkers via the headline: “As Robots Grow Smarter, American Workers Struggle to Keep Up.” Most surprising and disappointing was the fact that the article featured quotes solely from economists; not a single representative of the robotics industry was referenced. I know I’m not alone in questioning the logic and wisdom of that approach! If an article is going to insinuate that robots are to blame for a myriad
Continue Reading

Be Here Now

I recently had the privilege of attending an industry only event – the Robotics Industries Association (RIA) Collaborative Workshop. It’s been awhile since I’ve been in the audience at an RIA workshop;  a decade perhaps? As a non-engineer trying to understand robotics – one of the most complex technical fields on the planet (and off the planet) – and listen to the sessions by the world’s leading manufacturers at this Workshop – I need all the brain boosting I can to focus and understand. However, today one is expected to Tweet to the conference #hashtag. Obviously, I want to support this industry
Continue Reading

‘Her’ in the Flesh?

‘Flesh’ may not quite be accurate (at least not yet), but could JIBO be the first real ‘Her’? I can’t wait – The World’s First Robotic Psychiatrist® could have an actual ‘patient’ by the year 2016 when JIBOs become the first family robot. Both the robot and the marketing campaign are brilliant. JIBO is the #1 most successful technology campaign on Indiegogo. This is not an overnight start-up or a hyped funding effort. This is a 15-year labor of ‘love (child)’ of Dr. Cynthia Breazeal, the founding mother of social robots, and the culmination of nearly two decades of unprecedented
Continue Reading