Robytes
by Jeff Eckert
Prof Envisions Bot Threat
Prof. Noel Sharkey is not exactly
a silent, plodding evil genius, toiling
away somewhere in an obscure lab.
In fact, the rather colorful guy
appears regularly on TV (about 300
appearances so far) and radio, and
in a range of publications. But he is
also — among other things — a
Professor of AI and Robotics at the
University of Sheffield ( www.shef
field.ac.uk) and has an impressive
string of academic abbreviations after
his name. It is therefore worth noting
that, in a keynote address to the
Royal United Services Institute (RUSI),
he recently opined that terrorists
may soon get a clue and replace
suicide bombers with robots. The
threat is largely a by-product of
military research in the field,
occurring not only in the USA but in
Canada, South Korea, South Africa,
Singapore, Israel, China, Russia, and
India, as well.
According to Sharkey, “With the
current prices of robot construction
falling dramatically and the availability
of ready-made components for the
amateur market, it wouldn’t require a
lot of skill to make autonomous robot
weapons.” He further pointed out
that a small GPS-guided drone can be
built for approx. $500. “It seems
clear,” he continued, “that there is an
urgent need for the international
community to assess the risks of
these new weapons now rather than
after they have crept their way into
common use.” Not a bad idea when
you think about it.
Batplane Program Begins
radar and a sensitive navigation
system will help the bat find its way
at night, and it will be able to
scavenge energy from solar,
wind, vibration and other sources
(presumably excluding insects) to
recharge its lithium battery. Collected
data will be radioed back to the
home base, making it particularly
useful for short-term surveillance in
support of advancing soldiers.
U-M also gets this month’s
Bloated, Labyrinthine Acronyms for
Hype (BLAH) award. The program
goes by the name of Center for
Objective Microelectronics and
Biomimetic Advanced Technology
(yes, COM-BAT).
Remote Remote Control
Engineers envision a six-inch robotic
spy plane modeled after a bat.
Photo courtesy of Eric Maslowski,
University of Michigan 3D Lab.
It doesn’t actually exist yet, and
the accompanying illustration is an
artist’s rendition, but the US Army
has awarded the University of
Michigan College of Engineering
( www.engin.umich.edu) $10
million to develop the
microelectronics for a new,
compact robotic spy plane.
The grant can be extended by
another five years and $12.5
million at the Army’s option.
U-M will develop sensors,
communication tools, and
batteries for this micro-aerial
vehicle, dubbed “the bat.” The
concept includes tiny cameras
for stereo vision, a microphone array that can home in
on sounds from different
directions, and detectors
for nuclear radiation and
poisonous gases. Low-power
It’s still under development, but
Toshiba ( www.toshiba.co.jp)
researchers have provided a sneak
preview of ApriPoko, which is
basically a remote remote control for
TVs, stereos, and other electronic
systems. According to various reports,
ApriPoko sits and “listens” for infrared
signals emitted by standard remotes.
When one is detected, he inquires,
“What did you just do?” You
might answer, “turned on the TV,”
“changed to the adult channel,” or
Noel Sharkey presenting the Bright Sparks
TV series for BBC in N. Ireland.
Toshiba’s ApriPoko bot.
Photo courtesy of Toshiba Corp.
8 SERVO 06.2008
