Mr. Roboto

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/05/14/honda.robot.ap/index.html

When I first saw the headline for that article I thought, "Wow, holy crap they made a robot that can conduct an orchestra. The future is now!" But upon further inspection they didn't really make a robot that can conduct an orchestra, they made one that mimics exactly the motions of a conductor. The robot, as fascinating as it is, cannot react to the music or any environmental changes around it. So all it does is takes some pre recorded motions and does them according to how the conductor did them previously. Still pretty spiffy, but not in the same ballpark as a robot that reacts to its surroundings.

And that's the trick really, that's what the Navy and other government entities are striving for. An artificial intelligence that can not only mimic the reactions or what a human did, but adjust to the stimuli and changes that happen during the mission. It is what makes robotics so hard and I only barely understand the problems from a technical standpoint, but the ability to change a pre-programmed course is a significant challenge. That's why things like the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Grand Challenge is such a big deal, because it pushes those interested in helping to advance the science of robotics and autonomous operation.

For those not in the know, the DARPA challenge is to make vehicles that can travel long distances without human operators. Some of the challenges take place in tough, non-road courses, and some take place in urban environments.

Soon we may have advanced cars that can navigate land without any assistance at all from human programs, we have such autonomous vehicles in the water and in the air, but the land presents much different challenges. Conducting is far more subtle and difficult in many ways, more perception and adjustments must be made. Someday we may have a robot conductor that can sense the pitch and tempo of an orchestra and adjust accordingly, making it not a mimic, but an actual honest to goodness conductor. When that happens they can start making robot musicians who react to the conductor, and then we can have an all robot symphony orchestra. I'll be there watching, and I'll enjoy the music, but I'll be pissed off when the robot working the concession stand didn't butter my popcorn to the exact amount I wanted...and the robot bartender didn't make my drink as strong as I requested. Stupid robots, always trying to crush humanity...