It's 2004. Where are all the robots? Plus this week's news

[Computing Unplugged]

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January 7, 2004 INSIDE THIS ISSUE Where are all the robots? This week's news

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GUEST EDITORIAL
It's 2004. Where are all the robots?
By James Booth

A while back, Computing Unplugged put out an open call for articles about robots. Well everybody, it's 2004 and I want to know: where are all the robots?

Where are the Robbie the Robots from Forbidden Planet? Where are the Danger, Will Robinson robots from Lost in Space? Where are the Rosie the Robots from the Jetsons? Dare I even ask, where are the R. Daneel Olivaw robots from Asimov's Robot series? The science fiction most of us grew up with promised us a veritable army of stainless steel, electronic, mechanized servants by now. Where are they? I'm tired of waiting. I'm still pretty young as far the span of a human life goes, but before I die, I'd like to have my own, genuine, real live (as it were) robot.

Robots of yesterday
Let's take a ride back to the 1980s. Are you aware that there were personal robots on the consumer market in the 80s? There were several different models and makers, but the two I remember most vividly are the B.O.B (which supposedly meant "Brains on Board") by Androbot and the H.E.R.O. line by Heath. These were not a remote-controlled chassis in the image of an automaton. They were legitimate, thinking, semi-learning, mobile computers.

B.O.B.'s design was unique in that it only had two wheels and canted at about a thirty-degree angle that kept the unit stable even when not moving. B.O.B. had infrared and ultrasonic sensors that allowed him to see and hear. He could interact with his environment and communicate with his users.

The H.E.R.O. is the one I remember most because I wanted one. It was about three feet tall and looked like a space heater with a keypad on top and an articulated arm. H.E.R.O. had several different personalities that could be programmed and even had a speech synthesizer. These robots could be programmed with simple games like Simon, could maneuver their way around their environment on their own, and learn their environment. They could act as motion sensor alarms, alarm clocks, and even transport and manipulate light objects when equipped with the arm.

Now granted, these robots were really nothing more than glorified toys, but for the time, these robots were amazingly advanced. Especially if you consider that the Visor I'm writing this on has more memory and a faster processor than any of those old robots did -- or any PCs on the market at that time, for that matter. Considering the technological level of these robots twenty years ago, and Moore's Law governing computer technology advancement, shouldn't we have artificially intelligent synthetic humanoids by now?

It's 2004, people. Where are all the robots?

For information about present day and future robots, read the rest of the article by clicking here.

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COMPUTING UNPLUGGED NEWS CENTER
This week's news
Want to get the very latest mobile and wireless news? The Computing Unplugged News Center is updated every day with news of product releases, industry info, tips, techniques, and pointers to great mobile and wireless resources on the Web. Here's this week's news:

Networking fun!
For those of you who've been trying to get into any of the ZATZ sites for the past four hours, we're back! This one was fun. The Verizon folks tracked three separate equipment failures on their end of the T-1 circuit, but it took so long to find because one of the equipment failures was a buggy board on one of their test devices. As a result, their tests were giving wrong information. Needless to say, it's time for chocolate. Also, special thanks to the Verizon techs who stuck through the process all afternoon and WAY into the evening with good humor

Mini iPod unveiled
In his keynote address at Macworld, Steve Jobs unveiled a new addition to the iPod family -- the iPod mini. The Seattle Times says that at $249 and with 4 gigabytes of storage, the mini is only slightly smaller and slightly cheaper than its $299 iPod.

Intel funds home entertainment development
E-Commerce News reports that Intel's venture capital wing, Intel Capital, will oversee the Digital Home Fund, which will have a US$200 million bankroll to back startups that develop home entertainment hardware and software.

Macromedia gets new head of mobile and devices unit
Juha Christensen resigned as Microsoft Corp. corporate vice president of mobile devices in November to join a startup but has instead signed on with Macromedia Inc. According to InfoWorld, Christensen has been named president of Macromedia's mobile and devices business unit. The mobile and devices unit is primarily focused on expanding use of Macromedia's Flash format by mobile phone makers and providers of content for mobile use.

CES preview
As Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard and other tech stalwarts head to Las Vegas for this week's Consumer Electronics Show, CNET takes a look at what to expect from Microsoft and HP at the show.

PalmSource partners with RIM
CRN reports that PalmSource unveiled an alliance with Research in Motion (RIM) to jointly develop BlackBerry connectivity support for Palm OS as part of its Palm Powered Mobile World program introduced during Comdex Las Vegas 2003. At the same time, HP teamed with Cranite System on a partnership to deliver wireless networking solutions to government and health-care vertical markets.

PalmSource posts loss
PalmSource posted a wider quarterly net loss, hit with charges related to its spinoff from PalmOne. In its first financial report since being spun off in October, the company said it had a net loss of $9.1 million, or 89 cents a share, for its fiscal second quarter ended Nov. 30. That compares with a year-ago net loss of $8.3 million, or 83 cents a share.

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