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WD_376/ 2007
(  Satoshi Kinoshita )
| Series: | Works on paper: Drawings 4 | | Medium: | oilstick on paper | | Size (inches): | 31.1 x 21.4 | | Size (mm): | 790 x 544 | | Catalog #: | WD_0376 | | Description: | Signed, date and copyright in pencil on the reverse.
Isaac Asimov's "Three Laws of Robotics" (1940's)
1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
-www.auburn.edu/~vestmon/robotics.html
Robot -
A robot is a mechanical or virtual, artificial agent. It is usually an electromechanical system, which, by its appearance or movements, conveys a sense that it has intent or agency of its own. The word robot can refer to both physical robots and virtual software agents, but the latter are usually referred to as bots to differentiate.
While there is still discussion about which machines qualify as robots, a typical robot will have several, though not necessarily all of the following properties.
* is not 'natural' i.e. artificially created
* can sense its environment, and manipulate or interact with things in it
* has some degree of intelligence or ability to make choices based on the environment, or automatic control / preprogrammed sequence
* is programmable
* moves with one or more axes of rotation or translation
* makes dexterous coordinated movements
* appears to have intent or agency (reification, anthropomorphisation or Pathetic fallacy.
Official definitions and classifications of robots -
Robotics Institute of America
Countries have different definitions of what it means to be a robot. For example, the Robotics Institute of America (RIA) defines a robot as:
A re-programmable multi-functional manipulator designed to move materials, parts, tools, or specialized devices through variable programmed motions for the performance of a variety of tasks.
and also recognizes four classes of robot:
* A: Handling devices with manual control
* B: Automated handling devices with predetermined cycles
* C: Programmable, servo-controlled robots with continuous of point-to-point trajectories
* D: Capable of Type C specifications, and also acquires information from the environment for intelligent motion
Japanese Industrial Robot Association
In contrast, the Japanese Industrial Robot Association (JIRA) recognizes as many as six classes:
* 1: Manual - Handling Devices actuated by an operator
* 2: Fixed Sequence Robot
* 3: Variable-Sequence Robot with easily modified sequence of control
* 4: Playback Robot, which can record a motion for later playback
* 5: Numerical Control Robots with a movement program to teach it tasks manually
* 6: Intelligent robot: that can understand its environment and able to complete the task despite changes in the operation conditions
International Standards Organization
Such variation makes it difficult to compare numbers of robots in different countries. Japan has so many robots partly because it counts more machines as robots. For this reason, the International Standards Organization gives a single definition to be used when counting the number of robots in each country. International standard ISO 8373 defines a "robot" as:
An automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose, manipulator programmable in three or more axes, which may be either fixed in place or mobile for use in industrial automation applications.
Other definitions of robot -
There is no one definition of robot which satisfies everyone, and many people have their own. For example,
Joseph Engelberger, a pioneer in industrial robotics, once remarked:
I can't define a robot, but I know one when I see one.
The Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary defines "robot" as:
A machine used to perform jobs automatically, which is controlled by a computer.
Dangers and fears
Although current robots are not believed to have developed to the stage where they pose any threat or danger to society, fears and concerns about robots have been repeatedly expressed in a wide range of books and films. The principal theme is the robots' intelligence and ability to act could exceed that of humans, that they could develop a conscience and a motivation to take over or destroy the human race. (See The Terminator, The Matrix, I, Robot) Robots would be dangerous if they were programmed to kill or if they are programmed to be so smart that they make their own software, build their own hardware to upgrade themselves or if they change their own source code.
Frankenstein (1818), sometimes called the first science fiction novel, has become synonymous with the theme of a robot or monster advancing beyond its creator. Probably the best known author to have worked in this area is Isaac Asimov who placed robots and their interaction with society at the center of many of his works. Of particular interest are Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics. Currently, malicious programming or unsafe use of robots may be the biggest danger. Although industrial robots may be smaller and less powerful than other industrial machines, they are just as capable of inflicting severe injury on humans. However, since a robot can be programmed to move in different trajectories depending on its task, its movement can be unpredictable for a person standing in its reach. Therefore, most industrial robots operate inside a security fence which separates them from human workers. Manuel De Landa has theorized that humans are at a critical and significant juncture where humans have allowed robots, "smart missiles," and autonomous bombs equipped with artificial perception to make decisions about killing us. He believes this represents an important and dangerous trend where humans are transferring more of our cognitive structures into our machines. Even without malicious programming, a robot, especially a future model moving freely in a human environment, is potentially dangerous because of its large moving masses, powerful actuators and unpredictably complex behavior. A robot falling on someone or just stepping on his foot by mistake could cause much more damage to the victim than a human being of the same size. Designing and programming robots to be intrinsically safe and to exhibit safe behavior in a human environment is one of the great challenges in robotics. Some theorists, such as Eliezer Yudkowsky, have suggested that developing a robot with a powerful conscience may be the most prudent course of action in this regard.
Literature - Main article: Robots in literature
Robots have frequently appeared as characters in works of literature; the word robot comes from Karel Čapek's play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots), premiered in 1920. Isaac Asimov wrote many volumes of science fiction focusing on robots in numerous forms and guises, contributing greatly to reducing the Frankenstein complex, which dominated early works of fiction involving robots. His three laws of robotics have become particularly well known for codifying a simple set of behaviors for robots to remain at the service of their human creators.
The first reference in Western literature to mechanical servants appears in The Iliad of Homer. In Book XVIII, Hephaestus, god of fire, creates new armour for the hero Achilles. He is assisted by robots. According to the Rieu translation, "Golden maidservants hastened to help their master. They looked like real women and could not only speak and use their limbs but were endowed with intelligence and trained in handwork by the immortal gods." Of course, the words "robot" or "android" are not used to describe them, but they are nevertheless mechanical devices human in appearance.
Numerous words for different types of robots are now used in literature. Robot has come to mean mechanical humans, while android is a generic term for artificial humans. Cyborg or "bionic man" is used for a human form that is a mixture of organic and mechanical parts. Organic artificial humans have also been referred to as "constructs" (or "biological constructs").
In science fiction, the Three Laws of Robotics are a set of three rules written by Isaac Asimov, which almost all positronic robots appearing in his fiction must obey. Introduced in his 1942 short story "Runaround", although foreshadowed in a few earlier stories, the Laws state the following:
1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
Later, Asimov added the Zeroth Law: "A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm"; the rest of the laws are modified sequentially to acknowledge this.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first passage in Asimov's short story "Liar!" (1941) that mentions the First Law is the earliest recorded use of the word robotics. Asimov was not initially aware of this; he assumed the word already existed by analogy with mechanics, hydraulics, and other similar terms denoting branches of applied knowledge.
-en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robot
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