ROBOPHILOSOPHY

May 13, 2023May 13, 2023

Robots in Hawai’i – Part 7

Mauna Kea volcano is the highest mountain in the world, measured from the bottom of the sea. It is considered a sacred place in the culture of Hawai’i. In this context, the famous and important telescopes on the top are always the cause of bitter disputes. The operation of drones is also not allowed on the mountain. However, a small robot made it on it in 2008. This was reported by several media outlets, including Science Daily. “During the field experiment, Nov. 1-13, the robot called Scarab will simulate a lunar mission to extract water, hydrogen, oxygen and other compounds that could potentially be mined for use by future lunar explorers. The four-wheeled robot will trek to different sites, using a Canadian-built drill to obtain a one-meter geologic core at each site. Each core will be chemically analyzed by on-board instruments developed by NASA.” (Science Daily, 14 October 2008) After that, it became increasingly difficult for robots to climb Mauna Kea. It is easier for scientists and tourists, who only need 4-wheel drive and robust health.

May 13, 2023May 13, 2023

Robots in Hawai’i – Part 6

The west coast of the Big Island is known for its beautiful white sandy beaches and coral reefs, from Honomalino Beach in the south to Hapuna beach in the north. It is now threatened by climate change, drought, fire, invasive species, and human impact. The region of Hawai’i has been classified as a vulnerable ecosystem zone. A Boeing Company describes these dangers on its website and has developed technology to counteract the dangers. The Liquid Robotics Support Operations Test and Evaluation Facility in Kawaihae, Hawai’i is the main hub for Wave Glider development, ocean testing, and regional operations, as well as the birthplace of the Wave Glider. The Wave Glider sits on the surface and is connected to another device floating in the water eight meters below it. The two look like mother whale and baby whale, except baby whale is a little off. The Wave Glider is capable of collecting and communicating ocean data in real time through unpredictable conditions for up to a year. It connects and communicates undersea data to satellites and land, creating an ocean network. The Wave Glider is designed to support a wide variety of sensors and payloads. The modular and adaptable payload design is coupled with a powerful solar power system and on-board computing environment.

May 13, 2023May 13, 2023

Robots in Hawai’i – Part 5

The K5, a security robot, comes from Knightscope in Silicon Valley. It can be seen there regularly. It provides, e.g., security at the Stanford Shopping Center. The conical robot is autonomous. It can see, hear, and even smell smoke and gas. The classic security robot also made it to Hawaii (Hawaiian: Hawai’i), for the first time in 2021, according to the Khon2 platform: “There is a new security guard getting a lot of attention at the Financial Plaza of the Pacific in downtown Honolulu, but it is not what you would think — it is actually a robot and the newest member of Bank of Hawaii’s security force. It looks like something out of a sci-fi movie – only it is actually real. Currently, the security robot is patrolling the busy area in and around the Bank of Hawaii’s Financial Plaza on Bishop and Merchant streets. For many people, the robot is a curiosity – attracting lots of odd looks – with some people capturing video and even posing for selfies. But many others, like Nasir Randall, are not quite sure what to make of it.” (Khon2, 28 October 2021) Security robots, along with cleaning robots and transport robots, are among the service robots that are largely error-free and already saving money. Over the next few years, they are likely to become widely used and accepted around the world.

May 13, 2023May 13, 2023

Robots in Hawai’i – Part 4

Cleaning robots, along with security robots and transport robots, are among the service robots that work largely error-free and are already saving costs. The Hawaii Department of Transportation Airports Division continues to modernize Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) and give HNL an open, clean feel. The modernization includes the addition of two robotic floor scrubbers to supplement custodial services. This was reported by the Hawaii Department of Transportation. “The robotic scrubbers will help us keep HNL sanitary and sparkling,” said Ross Higashi. He is the Hawaii Department of Transportation’s deputy director of airports. “Use of this technology will also allow us to maximize available staff in maintaining our busiest airport to standards.” (Website Hawaii Department of Transportation) Without a doubt, cleaning robots are also an option for the other islands of Hawai’i, such as the Big Island and Kaua’i. On the Big Island, there are two airports that come into question. In addition, cleaning robots could be used in the streets of Hilo. Also other service robots are entering the market that can clear beaches and lawns of litter.

May 13, 2023May 13, 2023

Robots in Hawai’i – Part 3

Surveying and collecting rare plant species that grow on steep cliffs has been a risky business for scientists and conservationists for centuries. The world’s first aerial sampling system, which uses a robotic arm suspended from a drone, is attempting to solve this problem in Hawai’i. An article published by Mongabay magazine back in November 2022 states: “In Hawai’i’s Kaua’i island, the world’s first aerial sampling system has successfully flown into high-altitude cliff faces to cut out samples from rare plants and bring them back to a nursery. Scientists call it ‘the Mamba,’ a cutting mechanism on a remote-controlled robotic arm suspended from a drone. The system was developed by Hawai’i-based not-for-profit conservation organization National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG) and Quebec-based technology company Outreach Robotics and the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec.” (Mongabay, 9. November 2023) Ben Nyberg, the NTBG’s geographic information system and drone program coordinator, told Mongabay in an interview: “It is really unlocking a lot of areas that have previously been completely inaccessible.” (Mongabay, 9. November 2023) Of course, criminals could also adopt the technology. But it would be almost impossible to smuggle rare plants out of Hawai’i due to strict customs controls.

May 13, 2023May 13, 2023

Robots in Hawai’i – Part 2

Ruby Tuesday is a popular restaurant in Hawaii (Hawaiian: Hawai’i), on the island of O’ahu. The location close to the airport is not one of the most beautiful ones. The food is also not praised by everyone. But the restaurant is known for its artificial staff. “Our KEENON DINERBOT is helping the staff here deliver trays and plates, so that they can pay more attention to improving customer satisfaction.” This is the message in a promotional video from Keenon Robotics in Singapore. The robot is a classic transport and serving robot. It has large, square blue eyes. In Europe and Asia, BellaBot is best known. It has a cat face and cat ears and is controlled via user input and voice commands. The European model Plato is also shaking up the market. Khon2, a platform from Hawaii, first reported on the new employee at Ruby Tuesday in 2022. “Staffing is such a problem now. Everything from managers down to servers and kitchen help cooks so this really helps our servers out,” Ruby Tuesday owner Rick Nakashima told Khon2 journalists. Indeed, robots of this kind seem to be at least a band-aid for the shortage of skilled workers. Customers’ reactions vary. Some seem to find the robots entertaining. Others say that direct contact with waiters is important to them. The restaurant emphasises that the robot is not intended to replace waiters. Rather, the robot acts as a support.

May 13, 2023May 13, 2023

Robots in Hawai’i – Part 1

Hawaii (Hawaiian: Hawai’i) is not necessarily associated with robots. But in the larger cities, you can be sure to encounter them. There are service robots such as the Keenon Dinerbot and surgical robots such as the da Vinci Surgical System. In addition, robots are used in the wild, for example for nature conservation. The hospital group in the east of the archipelago advertises with the following words: “East Hawaii Health Clinics is excited to introduce our fully operational robotic surgery center. This state-of-the-art equipment allows us to perform minimally invasive surgeries that would otherwise require greater surgery time and recovery time. We look forward to continuing to provide East Hawaii with exceptional surgical options.” (Website East Hawaii Health Clinics) This type of care is available in Hilo, among other places. The small town on the Big Island has the latest medical technology, such as that used in Basel and Berlin. Hilo is surrounded by tropical rainforest. Nearby are Akaka Falls and Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. In the city itself, giant banyan trees grow. One must not forget the many homeless people who are at the end of their tether. Like California, Hawai’i has not dealt with this problem. These people will never be able to afford treatment with a surgical robot.

May 9, 2023May 9, 2023

CONVERSATIONS 2023 in Oslo

The CONVERSATIONS 2023, a two-day workshop on chatbot research, applications, and design, will take place at the University of Oslo, Norway. According to the CfP, contributions concerning applications of large language models such as the GPT family are warmly welcome, as are contributions on applications combining information retrieval approaches and large language model approaches. Building on the results from previous six CONVERSATIONS workshops, the following topics are of particular interest: 1. Chatbot users and implications, 2. Chatbot user experience, design, and evaluation, 3. Chatbot frameworks and platforms, 4. Chatbots for collaboration, 5. Democratizing chatbots – chatbots for all, 6. Ethics and safety implications of chatbots and large language models, 7. Leveraging advances in AI technology and large language models. More information via 2023.conversations.ws.

May 6, 2023May 6, 2023

Robot Hand Can Operate in the Dark

“Researchers at Columbia Engineering have demonstrated a highly dexterous robot hand, one that combines an advanced sense of touch with motor learning algorithms in order to achieve a high level of dexterity.” (Website Columbia Engineering, 28 April 2023) Columbia Engineering reported this on its website on April 28, 2023. The text goes on to say: “As a demonstration of skill, the team chose a difficult manipulation task: executing an arbitrarily large rotation of an unevenly shaped grasped object in hand while always maintaining the object in a stable, secure hold. This is a very difficult task because it requires constant repositioning of a subset of fingers, while the other fingers have to keep the object stable. Not only was the hand able to perform this task, but it also did it without any visual feedback whatsoever, based solely on touch sensing.” (Website Columbia Engineering, 28 April 2023) “While our demonstration was on a proof-of-concept task, meant to illustrate the capabilities of the hand, we believe that this level of dexterity will open up entirely new applications for robotic manipulation in the real world”, said Matei Ciocarlie according to the website. He is the Associate Professor in the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science who developed the hand together with his graduate student Gagan Khandate (Photo: Columbia University ROAM Lab).