I was talking to an older gentleman while we both waited in line. When I mentioned I was from Massachusetts, he told me he had served in the Navy in New Bedford, MA when he was younger. We then started talking about New Bedford which led to a discussion of the true story about the gang rape portrayed in the 1988 movie, ‘The Accused.’ This led to a further conversation on the cover-up and politics in the ‘Whaling City’ (New Bedford) and then I mentioned that 25 years later, I could not believe how so many women in the military
Continue Reading
Becoming the world’s first robot psychiatrist
I heard from an old friend and mentor, Dennis Dupuis. I am making this blog a tribute to Dennis, who is the one that actually helped me come up with ‘Robotic Psychiatry’ 27 years ago with his ‘Aladdin’s Magic Lamp’ exercise. Here’s what he just wrote in an email to someone else and forwarded it to me: “20 years ago, a gal named Joanne Pransky worked for me, and I knew she had potential to be something, but like most people, she had no idea what she could do with her life. She would always complain about “all the things” that
Continue Reading
Blowback against DARPA’s Atlas
I can’t believe all the negative publicity Darpa’s Atlas is getting. I’m even more surprised that some of it is coming from robotic news sites: http://io9.com/meet-the-pentagons-latest-robotic-abomination-atlas-754134125 http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57593396-1/be-afraid-darpa-unveils-terminator-like-atlas-robot/ http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2421687,00.asp Of course there’s some positive reporting on this humanoid and its capabilities: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/12/science/modest-debut-of-atlas-may-foreshadow-age-of-robo-sapiens.html?smid=yt-nytimes&_r=0 However, I expect robot publications to taut the technical advantages and benefits, regardless of what the public may fear or feel, especially as robotic developments result in a physical resemblance to robots in science fiction. I do wonder how DARPA is promoting this robot ‘out of the shoot’. In 2004, I witnessed a PR problem first-hand while working at the DARPA
Continue Reading
Defensive robots
Darpa unveiled its ATLAS robot – – another brilliant robot built by Boston Dynamics. It slightly resembles Robby in the movie Forbidden Planet. Another sci fi robot in the ‘flesh’. What isn’t apparent upon a first look at Atlas, are the years, experience, and man hours put into this robot. Its evolution started probably nearly 30 years ago by Marc Raibert. It is designed to be a team member in the military and will get tested in practice by the Darpa Robotics Challenge. Love the criteria for this challenge, especially number 3, ‘must be able to be operated by non-engineer”.
Continue Reading
Genius machines
I heard back from David Hanson (who liked the idea of Zeno in Space). I then started doing more research and came across the GENI Lab, ‘Genius Machines–robots with greater-than-human consciousness, creativity, and compassion’. It’s ‘Dream Team’ are 4 of the world’s best for this: David Hanson, Mark Tilden, Ben Goertzel, and Gino Yu. They just started this nonprofit in 2013 and I’m so proud to say I’m their second Twitter follower! Speaking of ‘Dream’, I’m dying to be their resident ‘Robotic Psychiatrist’!
Continue Reading
Making Mr. (Robo) Right
I think the most advanced social robots in terms of both intelligence and physical features are Hanson’s RoboKind. David Hanson is brilliantly creative, and I’ve been dying to have his robots (Zeno, Adam, etc.) as some of my patients. Since reading this article – http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/video/2013/jun/27/japanese-robot-astronaut-floats-zero-gravity-video – all I can think of (naturally, as a Robotic Psychiatrist), is how lonely Kirobo will be, and then it dawned on me – why not have Zeno as his companion? Together, they can communicate to the astronauts, each other, and the world regarding their experiences. (And, I would be Zeno’s doctor to make sure
Continue Reading
robo majordomo
I so need a robo-majordomo. I wrote and published about it over 20 years ago, and if you had asked me then, I would have guessed I would have had one by now. The RoboDomo would oversee and communicate with all the smart household appliances, and take care of my day-to-day business of running both the home and office. Kind of like a butler and secretary all in one. It could unload food that was delivered while simultaneously verbally update me on the top 3 medical robot news items of the day. I guess I am hoping to spur a
Continue Reading
Human error
Both the crash of the Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 at San Francisco Airport, and the New York Metro North train crash were the both due to human error, (the first from lack of proper training and the latter a lack of attention, apparently from fatigue). How can we NOT afford for our transportation systems NOT to rely on human judgment and decision making? Human error accounts for 90% of all road accidents, resulting in an approximate 30,000-40,000 fatalities per year. I hope that each day is one more day closer to autonomous vehicles on the road. I have a 17-year
Continue Reading
biomimetics: it’s the bees’ knees
I was talking with my creative, musician neighbor from Costa Rica who also has an incredible green thumb. We’ve hired him to take care of our yard and landscaping, and he is incredibly knowledge on all aspects of both. Through experience, he knows how to rid of bees’ nests in the corner of our gutters, protect our cherry trees from being eaten by birds, close up mole holes, and today he enlightened me with the bent ‘knees’ of birds, something I had never paid any attention to. However, as he spoke about them, it seemed like it would make for
Continue Reading
robot-assisted 5k
I really could have used an exoskeleton or robot-assist device to run in the steep hills of the Kenwood 10K as well as the 6 mile Fireworks hike on Sugarloaf Mountain. I can’t run the 10K and I barely walked it. I was the last person (out of hundreds) to complete it. 2.5 hours and by the time I finished, the bananas, bagels, watermelon, and water were gone. Forget-about-it – the Parade had started. Between the heat and the difficult walk, the combined lack of sleep, stretching out, and food, I was not in good shape at the end. (That’s
Continue Reading
Recent Comments