Yes, I know you are going to say The Catawba Primate Lab Gee upgrades
have been feebly successful so far---but you don't remember when he came
to us as deck cargo on a tramp steamer from Papua, New Guinea, chomping
on eucalyptus leaves and slurping up fermented coconut juice. We really
couldn't do much more for him until after the operation so his knuckles
didn't drag the ground. We were as much surprised as you were when he
elbowed those poor hogs out of their trough of spoiled barley water.
Should have bought more aggressive hogs to teach him better manners. If
we had to do it over again, they would have been wild boars with
six-inch tusks from Tennessee like those that wander in and out of the
Skeens back bedroom.
However our new affiliation with South Korean robot scientists give us
the option of turning old melonhead into a robot that can learn---hey,
we know when we have been dealt four aces. More details below.
SEOUL (AFP) - South Korean scientists said they had developed the
world's smartest robot able to think and learn like a human.
Unveiling their creation, they said the robot that looks like a small
teenager wearing a blue and grey space suit was the first wireless
network-based human-like robot.
It can become wiser through learning because unlike other robots, the
device is linked with an outside computer through a high-speed wireless
telecom network, and is able to exchange information with the server and
respond quickly to real-life environments.
"This is the first network-based humanoid in the world," said You
Bum-Jae of the state-financed Korea Institute of Science and Technology
(KIST), introducing the 150-centimeter (60 inches)-high robot weighing
67 kilogrammes (147 pounds).
"We developed this humanoid focusing on intelligence capability by
taking advantage of networking technology in which South Korea is
strong," he said.
Unlike already-developed humanoids whose intelligence capabilities are
largely fixed with built-in circuits, the network-based humanoid relies
on its outside server whose capacity can be expanded easily.
Equipped with visual and force sensors, the new robot detects movements
and speech, then sends the data to the server for processing and
receives directions allowing it to interact with people and the environment.
At the unveiling here, the robot replied to New Year greetings from a TV
commentator and shook hands with him.
It can recognize its master, detect and analyze visual and audio
signals, and people's movements.
When showed a 10,000 won (10 dollars) bank note, it said: "That's a
10,000 bank note that people would like to have."
When asked about its name, it said: "I am sorry. I don't have a name
yet. Please give me one."
Then it waved its hands, saying: "I will see you again next time when I
will have become wiser."
Its creators say the new robot's ability to move and walk lags behind
that of the ASIMO developed by Honda of Japan. It can walk to and fro
and diagonally at a maximum speed of 0.9 kilometers (0.56 miles) per
hour while ASIMO is capable of running at a speed of three kilometers
per hour.
The new robot is an amalgam of various technologies including those for
real-time data transmission, visual, audio and force sensors as well as
high-speed processing.
"Aside from enhancing its intelligence, we will make efforts to develop
its capability of recognizing objects and handling them," said You of KIST.
"This robot could be used in the future as an assistant at home and
offices who is highly intelligent and always ready to serve you."