Recap

The State of Robots

Roboticist and writer Daniel H. Wilson discussed the current state of robotics as well as the future implications of various robotic applications and AI. So-called 'Terminator' robots can run as fast as a car, but have a problem with overheating at those speeds, he reported. Vehicles that drive themselves are also being developed-- making driving decisions based on tapping into a computer network.

While servant robots continue to be refined in such countries as Japan, Wilson suggested that pet robots, that need to be taken care of, may offer more therapeutic value, as humans readily project their emotions onto them.

He also touched on technology that was promised for the future yet never arrived, such as the jet-pack. The personal flying device was initially in development by the US Army, but they found it was not useful for soldiers, as it called too much attention to them. Other problems with the jet pack: it shoots out super-hot steam and it's really loud.

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'Where's my Jetpack?' Illustrations

Daniel Wilson sent us some illustrations from his book Where's My Jetpack? They were created by illustrator Richard Horne. Click here to view.