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Robots: Bringing Intelligent Machines to Life
Can we build a robot with humanlike intelligence? What technology is needed to produce the perfect blueprint for the ideal "living" robot? What part will robots play in the future of humanity? Are we risking robot domination of the world? This highly readable volume tells the past, present, and future stories of robots and Artificial Intelligence, more commonly known as AI. Discussed here are the dreams of the pioneers Alan Turing and John von Neumann, who envisioned making computers intelligent when they were first invented. The author also describes in detail the current state of computer and robot technology, and points out the challenges inherent in teaching a machine to "think" and make decisions. Other topics include the life cycle of a present-day robot, raw materials and energy sources required for robot construction, and experimental progress in the field of self-designing robots. This absorbing volume is science fact—not science fiction. It includes more than 200 full-color photos and illustrations.
- GenresNonfiction
144 pages, Hardcover
First published October 15, 2002
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December 24, 2012
This is an interesting book though sadly its very material date it so quickly that in parts its almost painful.
The problem is that the subject or robots and robotics is constantly changing - so quickly in fact that although concepts and ideas may stay the same - the designs, technology and indeed science are advancing at such a pace the book is woefully behind the times. A bit like the Moore's law for computing the ideas are interesting but the examples of them being applied practically are now outdated. However that is also its saving grace - sometimes we take things for granted too much and we should remind ourselves of how much things have progressed - I remember the days of Robbie the robot and all those countless B movie mechanical monstrosities - now however not that many years later we have robots so convincingly human that they have been used in tests to see if you can tell the differences between a human and their mechanical avatar.
The problem is that the subject or robots and robotics is constantly changing - so quickly in fact that although concepts and ideas may stay the same - the designs, technology and indeed science are advancing at such a pace the book is woefully behind the times. A bit like the Moore's law for computing the ideas are interesting but the examples of them being applied practically are now outdated. However that is also its saving grace - sometimes we take things for granted too much and we should remind ourselves of how much things have progressed - I remember the days of Robbie the robot and all those countless B movie mechanical monstrosities - now however not that many years later we have robots so convincingly human that they have been used in tests to see if you can tell the differences between a human and their mechanical avatar.
Displaying 1 of 1 review