I must admit, I really dig robots. And not just the cute little cartoon ones that clean your house or deliver cakes (are those only in my dreams?)... And not just robots like Wall-E (who is my boyfriend, by the way)... I love the concept of making the inanimate animate.
Today we heard from Ryan Adams who is building computers that can see. We learned a lot about how our eyes work, and did you know that when your eyes are moving you are actually blind? Yes, this means that when you look from one point to the next the movement between is unseen, unrecognised... It's like your brain internalizes for that instant and Mr. Adams can prove it to you:
Get a mirror. And find a friend.
Look into your friend's eyes. You can see them moving back and forth, yes?
Now look into the mirror and notice that you cannot see your own eyes shift back and forth... You are blind in the interim...
David Hanson creates bio-inspired robots. Some you can have conversations with, and are life-like in bodily movement and facial expression... This one is called Zeno. Watch how the artificial skin moves. It's called "frubber" for flesh and rubber:
Zeno... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q88FK37Q8jU
But the one that REALLY flipped me out was the robo-dog. Just WATCH how it can move across different terrains and how it reacts when pushed, or when sliding across ice... AMAZING
Go Robo-Dog!! - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHJJQ0zNNOM
Stephen Paulter spoke about surgical robotics. He has applied the use of a tiny robotic hand during minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery. This kind of stuff was what made me want to be a surgeon when I was 12. I went to the U of T open house and cut the peel off a banana using laparoscopic tools, but they were simple scissors and a grasper. I think I would have made a great surgeon...
And when you make the inanimate animate, we must remember puppetry. Ronnie Burkett also spoke, and I remember seeing one of his puppet shows in high school called "Streets of Blood"... Do you guys remember that?
Robo Dog is going to give me nightmares... that has to be the creepiest thing I've ever seen! The way it holds its balance when kicked or when slipping reminds me of Terminator. If we start creating robotic creatures that can withstand physical force like that, we're doomed!
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