• Asimo Goes From Automatic to Autonomous, How Long Until We Can't Decipher It From One Of Our Own

    by
    SPACE: 2099 Team
    Published on 04-10-2012 08:13 PM
    6 Comments Comments


    Asimo has gone from "automatic machine" to being able to make its own decisions.

    The latest video exhibits some of its latest features and innovations, mainly being able to detect other objects, walking on uneven surfaces and the ability to generate its own autonomous behavior.

    It are these capabilities that are moving Asimo towards co-existing with humans in a practical environment.

    Asimo is the brainchild of Honda's Advanced Steps In Innovative Mobility, which began in 1986. The mission's focus is on engendering education the sciences and robotics, but has the long term ambition of developing a practical use in an environment coexisting with people

    Given the recent geopolitical strife occurring amongst some nations going nuclear, Asimo could be adopting a more prominent role as a first responder in a nuclear disaster.

    "During the first 24 hours (of the nuclear disaster) there were things that should have been done but were not done because it was too dangerous for people to do them."

    There might not be a better example than at the recent nuclear disaster in Fukushima, according to this account.

    The workers in charge of the venting operation took iodine tablets. It was a feeble attempt at protection against the radiation they'd soon encounter, but it was better than nothing. They gathered protective head-to-toe suits and face masks connected to air tanks. At 3:45 a.m., the vent crew tried to measure the radiation dose inside the reactor building, which had been off limits for 6 hours. Armed with handheld dosimeters, they opened the air lock, only to find a malevolent white cloud of some "gaseous substance" billowing toward them. Fearing a radiation steam bath, they slammed the door shut. They didn't get their reading, but they had a good indication that things had already gone seriously wrong inside the reactor.

    Asimo isn’t without its share of criticism, primarily the lack of a long term focus and Honda's apparent desire to promote a short term “robotic hype machine.”

    DISCUSS: Given the advancements Asimo has made over the past two decades, how could it function Space 2099? Could it have a place in the series, perhaps not just as a first responder to a disaster, but as a prominent character that foreshadows an evolving role for Asimo in years to come? Would you be interested in seeing “Asimo in 2099?”
    Comments 6 Comments
    1. Companion's Avatar
      Companion - 04-10-2012, 09:30 PM
      My personal opinion is: of corse, why not? I mean progress in computer science has been so fast and probably it will be more in future, so maybe not showing such an AI working with humans could be' very few realistic. I think it should have a place in space 2099.
    1. Christopher Piri's Avatar
      Christopher Piri - 04-10-2012, 11:52 PM
      YES.

      Make it cool. Make it different. Make it unique.

      Build a better robot and they will come (the fans).

      Look, man, there is very little under the sun. Aren't there supposed to be, like, only 7 stories in the world? Endless variations, yes, but the same basic thing: boy meets girl, fish out of water, road trip, etc. etc.

      Space is essentially a road trip, an anthology, a wagon train through the desert, only its precept is that its characters are not on this trip by choice (a la ST: Voyager) AND that they are unprepared and cannot control their course (the only different concept 1999 ever added to the sci-fi genre). Its denizens were all humans except for an omniscient, sometimes ominous Main Computer, the pre-Information Age vision of future computers (Hal, Colossus, Mother).

      Robots and androids are a staple in science fiction. How you handle it depends on your story needs.

      Having a robot/android like Data meant a plethora of fish-out-of-water stories and the examination of the human condition. Having a robot like Twiki or Lost in Space meant camp comedy relief. Brian the Brain and Ash were villians.

      If we can achieve Asimo NOW, then are we thinking Asimov's I-Robots in 2099?

      Are they workers? Drones? Miners? Why are they there? Are there many? How expensive and realistic (not the least to say interesting) is it to propose robots in Space?

      If you give us a Maya in a robot suit we will go batshit crazy, and not in a nice way. I'm worried you will think to add a gimmicky character that people will see as a rip-off, because while we fans all love Maya, and she is usually better remembered by the general public than most anything else except the Eagles and Base, most would agree that the '76 sci-fi community saw her as a token, not resident, alien. A rip-off. A blantant ploy to plump ratings and win over Star Trek fans. Those fans had abandoned us by mid-season of Year One and couldn't be won back no matter what they did.

      Be very careful when adding robots to Space. Really think it out and figure out the logic and angle.

      Make it unique.

      Make it new.

      Make it Space.
    1. Columba's Avatar
      Columba - 04-11-2012, 02:10 AM
      Having a robotic presence in the show might work. You could also have a tie-in with Honda and other current companies to provide continuity between our time and 2099.

      Let's not see a Space 2099 robot become a type of Cylon, though. That's already been done.

      I would expect to see some Apple products in the show. Who knows what Apple will come up with in the next 70 years?

      It will boost interest in the show to feature some surviving institutions and organizations from our own time in 2012. The use of humor when referencing these things works well.

      This was done in Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis, and was also done in Stargate Universe. Referring to popular culture (movies, TV Shows, plays, music and the like) makes a science fiction series more relevant to the audience.

      I liked the humorous references to Star Wars and Star Trek in Stargate about Teal'c and the gang, for example.

      The gap between 2012 and 2099 is a bit large, but I think that SOME things in our current culture will survive in 2099.
    1. Mike Campbell's Avatar
      Mike Campbell - 04-11-2012, 03:14 AM
      As a plot device? No. As a tool to be used occasionally- like a laser tank in the original Space:1999. Sure.
    1. EJD1984's Avatar
      EJD1984 - 04-15-2012, 03:23 PM
      If you choose to use a robot, either keep in the background, or use very sparingly. The danger it that it could wind up being seen too much of a gimmick.

      I would only use a robot of this nature as a necessity plot point, or just a piece of machinery. Sounds a little cold, but I would keep the focus of the show on the human characters.
    1. al feersum's Avatar
      al feersum - 04-15-2012, 05:33 PM
      ... mentioned elsewhere concerning mecha - no cute 'droids'. Form follows function, and if the development of a 'humanoid' robot is required, why the hell can't a human do it? We've already got powered exoskeletons, suits that block all manner of dangerous stuff, plus, we've got rational minds behind our bodies. So what benefit would 'autonomous' mecha give us? Absolutely none. In fact, it'd be a hindrance rather than a help. Typically, Proya's 'I, Robot' got this bang on the money. Whilst only taking concepts from Asimov's Robot stories, Vintar and Goldsman got the general flavour and extrapolated their own fiction. In this case 'Del Spooner' was rescued from an accident in favour of a child, simply because he had a higher probability of survival, and even disregarded a direct order from a human which violated the second law, and in fact, violated the first law by allowing the child to die - yet this is the paradox of Asimov's three (four) laws. That's the problem with AI - it's really, really dumb.

      A 'smart' robot 'first responder' would, however, be better designed. Not an androform device, as too much processing power would be required to make it move and keep its balance. Sure, it may have legs, or wheels or tracks, and it would have manipulator 'limbs', but it would be designed from the ground up to enter hostile environments and not look like a cutesy humanoid.

      Lets look at a real-life example of a robot that does a human's job (although not necessarily autonomously). An extemely hostile environment requiring care and precision:

      Attachment 246

      Not a smiley face in sight.