http://aaai.org/AITopics/AINewsRecent news stories from the "AI in the News" collection of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) AITopics site.en-usaitopics08@aaai.org (AI Topics)Mon, 21 May 2012 00:00:50 GMTPyRSS2Gen-1.0.0http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rsshttp://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/paralyzed-woman-mind-control-robot-arm-article-1.1079334?localLinksEnabled%3DfalseParalyzed woman uses mind to control robot arm Cathy Hutchinson directed arm to pick up bottle of coffee and bring it to her lips: researchers THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Wednesday, May 16, 2012, 2:56 PM braingate2.org/AP Cathy Hutchinson of East Taunton, Mass. A report by researchers published in the Thursday, May 17, 2012 issue of the journal Nature describes how two people, paralyzed years before by strokes, were able to control free-standing robotic arms with the help of a tiny sensor planted in their brains. It describes how two people who lost use of their arms and legs because of strokes years before were able to control free-standing robotic arms with the help of a tiny sensor implanted in their brains. The computer was taught how to interpret the brain patterns through practice as the paralyzed participants watched the robot arms move and then imagined that they were moving their own arms the same way.http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/paralyzed-woman-mind-control-robot-arm-article-1.1079334?localLinksEnabled%3DfalseWed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/may/09/google-self-driving-car-nevada?INTCMP=SRCHThe first fully licensed self-driven car a modified Toyota Prius won a special permit on Tuesday, the first of three applied for by Google, which allows it to be used on the state's roads, including the famous Las Vegas strip. Autonomous vehicles are the "car of the future," said Bruce Breslow, the director of Nevada's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), in a statement. He also thought that self-driving cars whose brakes and accelerators are connected to computers, and which are fitted with GPS, a substantial database, artificial intelligence systems, and a laser radar (Lidar) which can detect obstacles such as people, cyclists and other cars on or around the road could be substantially safer than human drivers. The cars in Nevada will have a special licence plate with an infinity sign to indicate that they are not necessarily being driven by a human......http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/may/09/google-self-driving-car-nevada?INTCMP=SRCHWed, 09 May 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-usa-defense-robotsbre84805n-20120508,0,2296018.storyU.S. military embraces robots with greater autonomy PENN HILLS, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - The unattended steering wheel on the 15-ton military truck jerked sharply back and forth as the vehicle's huge tires bounced down a rain-scarred ravine through mounds of mine rubble on a rugged hillside near Pittsburgh. Of more than 6,000 robots deployed, about 750 have been destroyed in action, saving at least that many human lives, the Pentagon 's Robotics Systems Joint Program Office estimates. "The ground domain is much, much tougher than the air domain because it's so dynamic," said Myron Mills, who has worked on both aerial and ground robotic systems and now manages an autonomous vehicle program for Maryland-headquartered Lockheed Martin Corp. Enough progress has been made that Lockheed's Squad Mission Support System, a 5,000-pound (2,268 kg) vehicle designed to carry backpacks and other gear for overloaded foot soldiers, is now being tested in Afghanistan.http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-usa-defense-robotsbre84805n-20120508,0,2296018.storyWed, 09 May 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120423131856.htmIf a robot in combat has a hardware malfunction or programming glitch that causes it to kill civilians, do we blame the robot, or the humans who created and deployed it? The researchers' latest results show that humans apply a moderate amount of morality and other human characteristics to robots that are equipped with social capabilities and are capable of harming humans. This suggests that as robots gain capabilities in language and social interactions, it is likely that many people will hold a humanoid robot as partially accountable for a harm that it causes, the researchers wrote. They argue that as militaries transform from human to robotic warfare, the chain of command that controls robots and the moral accountability of robotic warriors should be factored into jurisprudence and the Laws of Armed Conflict for cases when the robots hurt humans.http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120423131856.htmMon, 23 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/diy/qbo-robots-now-up-for-preorderYesterday, we showed you a $99 robot research (and fun) platform that you can buy instead of a $400,000 robot research (and fun) platform. In that respect, it s similar to the philosophy behind other robot kits: if you buy a Qbo, you don t have to worry about spending a lot of time and money (maybe most of your time and money) building a robot from scratch that does what Qbo can do. Qbo will be coming in three different flavors: basic, lite, and pro, and here are the differences: Qbo Basic: If you want to customize all of Qbo s guts, Qbo Basic is just a chassis with all the plastic covers and mechanical parts along with HD webcams and a set of controller boards. Qbo Lite: For researchers who want a robot that works out of the box (like all you software types), Qbo Lite includes sensors and computers and comes fully assembled and ready to go.http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/diy/qbo-robots-now-up-for-preorderThu, 19 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.hybridcars.com/news/google-adds-lexus-rx450h-autonomous-testing-fleet-44646.htmlPublished April 19, 2012 By Huw Evans Weve already heard about Googles somewhat controversial autonomous vehicle test program which began two years ago using Toyota Prii and other vehicles. The sighting comes just days after the California Senate passed Bill 1298, which enables the California Highway Patrol to set standards and performance requirements relating to autonomous vehicle testing. Speaking with Wired, a spokesperson for Google said, in the course of our work, we experiment with testing our algorithms on various vehicles to help improve our technology. Overseen by Dr. Sebastian Thurn, the director of Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and Google engineer who co-created the companys Street Mapping Service, the autonomous vehicle program was initially clouded in great secrecy, though Google went public with it in 2010.http://www.hybridcars.com/news/google-adds-lexus-rx450h-autonomous-testing-fleet-44646.htmlThu, 19 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/humanoids/darpa-robotics-challenge-here-are-the-official-detailsIllustration of a disaster response scenario part of the DARPA Robotics Challenge: The robot on the right uses a power tool to break through a wall, and the one on the left turns a valve to close a leaking pipe. Image: DARPA DARPA to the robotics community: the challenge is on. The DARPA Robotics Challenge is offering tens of million of dollars in funding to teams from anywhere in the world to build robots capable of performing complex mobility and manipulation tasks such as walking over rubble and operating power tools. It s all about adaptability what s the most adaptable system that can be used during that first day or two of the disaster when you have a chance to reduce the scope of the disaster by taking action, Dr. Gill Pratt, the DARPA program manager who s organizing the challenge, told IEEE Spectrum.http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/humanoids/darpa-robotics-challenge-here-are-the-official-detailsTue, 10 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://gigaom.com/mobile/ford-is-ready-for-the-autonomous-car-are-drivers/Ford is ready for the autonomous car. There is no technology barrier from going where we are now to the autonomous car, said Jim McBride, a Ford Research and Innovation technical expert who specializes in autonomous vehicle technologies. McBride said Ford has already built research vehicles with high-resolution omnidirectional cameras that can see the road and the cars surroundings far better than any driver with a few mirrors. But while Ford may be ready to take that technological jump, drivers arent quite prepared to take the leap of faith necessary to forfeit complete control of their vehicles to an onboard computer or larger network intelligence, said Mike Kane, the Ford vehicle engineering supervisor for driver assistance technologies.Its not that drivers are adamantly opposed to the concept of a driverless car, Kane said; Ford believes that through the gradual introduction of more automation, drivers will come around to the idea of a car that drives itself.http://gigaom.com/mobile/ford-is-ready-for-the-autonomous-car-are-drivers/Mon, 09 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/IeeeSpectrumRobotics/~3/NRm3GnQgfnw/video-friday-happy-easterRobots, I guess, are really big on Easter. I think the TurtleBots at Clearpath Robotics need to have their dates reset, cause they re a wee bit early on the Easter egg hunt: Unknown to the human employees at Clearpath, our robots decided it was high time they partook in the fun of Easter celebrations. ... In a characteristically cheeky move, one of our more personable TurtleBots took it upon itself to play Easter Bunny and hide eggs around the office for the other TurtleBots to find. (with videos)http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/IeeeSpectrumRobotics/~3/NRm3GnQgfnw/video-friday-happy-easterFri, 06 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.business-standard.com/india/news/devangshu-datta-manmachines/470222/The most obvious example of defence research translating into normal civilian use is the Internet, which was launched as a project to develop communications protocols to survive wartime network disruptions. The payoffs for autonomous driverless cars, or roadbots as they are sometimes known, would be large. The early roadbot trials started with the Eureka project between 1987 and 1995. These could negotiate multi-lane highway traffic without much intervention.http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/devangshu-datta-manmachines/470222/Thu, 05 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.kurzweilai.net/design-and-print-your-own-robotMIT is leading an ambitious new project to reinvent how robots are designed and produced. Funded by a $10 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the project will aim to develop a desktop technology that would make it possible for the average person to design, customize and print a specialized robot in a matter of hours. This research envisions a whole new way of thinking about the design and manufacturing of robots, and could have a profound impact on society, says MIT Professor Daniela Rus, leader of the project and a principal investigator at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). It currently takes years to produce, program and design a functioning robot, and is an extremely expensive process, involving hardware and software design, machine learning and vision, and advanced programming techniques.http://www.kurzweilai.net/design-and-print-your-own-robotWed, 04 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://newsfeed.time.com/2012/03/30/watch-woman-or-machine-sophisticated-japanese-she-bot-blurs-the-line/Imagine a world where robots conduct traffic, work in factories, make sushi and vacuum office floors. Her creator, Japanese robotics guru Hiroshi Ishiguro, programmed her built-in computer with 65 behaviors, making her one of the world s most intelligent robots. Ishiguro says his new robot F, as he s named her, is more elegant and approachable than his past creations. (MORE: New Sprinting Humanoid Robot Will One Day Come with Flexible Arms and Tactile Skin) The biggest difference between Ishiguro s copy of himself and F are the number of actuators, or motor-like mechanisms, that control behaviors.http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/03/30/watch-woman-or-machine-sophisticated-japanese-she-bot-blurs-the-line/Fri, 30 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.motorauthority.com/news/1074540_continental-develops-semi-autonomous-car-technologyCompanies like Audi are even developing an all-round system that drives the car in traffic jams. An "Emergency Steer Assist" system helps drivers swerve to avoid hazards, and a force-feedback accelerator pedal to encourage more efficient driving. Continental considers it "driver assist" technology, rather than something to take over driving entirely, but in testing the car has operated well on the highway, slowing with traffic, avoiding construction cones and edging along with stop-and-go traffic. While many are uneasy over the though of their cars driving for them, autonomous cars are getting closer and closer to production reality, and some states--such as Nevada--have already given the technology the green light.......http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1074540_continental-develops-semi-autonomous-car-technologyTue, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.physorg.com/news/2012-03-iais-military-robot-barber-charity.htmlIAIs military robot acts like barber in charity role (PhysOrg.com) -- In robotics, three hands are better than one, in the form of a device that has been developed by Intelligent Automation Inc (IAI) for use as troop support. The three-armed robot can protect troops by lending its handling skills to carry out backback inspections for explosive devices, for example, and, to use the military term, "disarm" Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). Paul Bosscher, a robotics engineer at Harris, described the impressive features of its device to ABC News at the time. "The robot can cut wires, pull blasting caps, surgically defeat the explosive device and in the process save all of this forensic evidence that they use to ID who the bombmakers are what their bomb-making methods are," Bosscher said.http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-03-iais-military-robot-barber-charity.htmlSun, 25 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT