A Slice of Life
Bill Lites
I just read an article about a new micro engine that says scientists have built the “smallest petrol engine,” tiny enough to power a WATCH. The mini-motor, which runs for two years on a single squirt of lighter fuel (they say), is set to revolutionize world power/energy technology. It produces 700 times more energy than a conventional battery, despite being less than a centimeter long. It is hard for me to imagine a motor small enough to run a laptop, much less a watch, being able to replace a battery, but that is what the article was saying could happen in the not too distant future. Check it out on the Internet.
Inspired by colonies of insects such as ants and bees, researchers are modeling the behavior of “swarms” of thousands of tiny robots, which together perform a useful task, such as finding something hidden, cleaning, or spying (on who I wonder?).
While most robots today are installed in factories or homes, performing labor or life saving jobs, many new types of robots are being developed in laboratories around the world. Much of the research in robotics now is not focusing on specific industrial tasks, but on investigations into new types of robots, alternative ways to think about or design robots, and new ways to manufacture them. It is expected that these new types of robots will be able to solve real world problems when they are finally realized.
Then there are the fears and concerns about robots that have been repeatedly expressed in a wide range of books and films. A common theme in this genre is the development of a master race of conscious and highly intelligent robots, motivated to take over or destroy the human race. Does any of that kind of paranoia sound familiar?
Now, you know, I just started out to go on the Internet to check out a few things about “Robots” for my friend Leon, and now I have written a three-part (1250 word) blog about just some of what I found. Who says the Internet is not a distraction? Well, it sure can be one for me, as you can see.
—–The End—–
Old Things R New 
Robotics is an interesting subject and the advances go beyond much of what I can comprehend, but until they duplicate the synapses of the human brain, a robot can only be as smart as the human who created him. Don’t you think?
LikeLike
SO interesting…fascinating is more appropriate.
LikeLike
Robot technology is fascinating.
LikeLike