Mark Tilden on “If you had a EUR 100M investment fund, into which robotics...
Well if it was for fun, I’d invest in autonomous paving mothers (APMs). A self-driving solar-powered mobile furnace robot that eats sand and dirt and spits out interlocking solar-panel paving stones...
View ArticleHerman Bruyninckx on “If you had a EUR 100M investment fund, into which...
A project that would: represent human knowledge about manufacturing in an ontology server; focus on system integration software and hardware issues; develop affordance-driven system and component...
View ArticleMark Tilden on “What funding scheme is the most conducive to creating a...
Funding schemes aren’t viable until we can make more innovative roboticists, and over the years I’ve tried several methods of engendering the Divine Frankenstein Complex in others. Teaching at a...
View ArticleRaffaello D’Andrea on “What funding scheme is the most conducive to creating...
The best way to commercialize robotics research is to make better connections between academics and entrepreneurs. Academics venturing out into the business world tend to have a “hammer looking for a...
View ArticleHenrik Christensen on “What funding scheme is the most conducive to creating...
The public should in most cases not subsidize companies. Tax payers should not be venture capitalists. The new wave of Lean Startup going around the world is a great model to ensure that companies are...
View ArticleFrank Tobe on “What funding scheme is the most conducive to creating a...
Funding new robotic projects in America is mostly done two different ways: (1) strategic funding from NASA, DARPA, DoD, NSF and other government organizations to do the pure science involved in solving...
View ArticleNicola Tomatis on “What funding scheme is the most conducive to creating a...
I would like to start from the other side: “Why is robotics great in creating new technologies and poor in creating new businesses?”. Well, someone may disagree, but I really think that robotics is...
View ArticleRaffaello D’Andrea on “How will robots shape the future of warfare?”
How will robots shape the future of war? I don’t know. I think that the more important question, however, is: what role should robots have in warfare? In my answer I have tried (as much as is humanly...
View ArticleMark Tilden on “How will robots shape the future of warfare?”
Robot machines have been shaping the future of war since the first siege engines appeared in ancient times (I like to think the Trojan Horse was motorized). Now with technology significantly extending...
View ArticleDaniel H. Wilson on “How will robots shape the future of warfare?”
Robots have already changed the face of modern warfare, particularly through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly called “drones.” Currently, armed drone aircraft are in widespread use...
View ArticleMark Tilden on “Do robots kill jobs?”
Robots do kill jobs but they’re crappy jobs, so good riddance. If you’ve ever had a job you were desperate for the money, but immediately regretted after you got it, then you know what I mean. This...
View ArticleRaffaello D’Andrea on “Do robots kill jobs?”
There is no doubt that robots, and automation in general, replace humans in the work-force: all productivity-enhancing tools, by definition, result in a decrease in the number of man-hours required to...
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The great equalizer: How robotics frees manufacturers from consolidating in...
These days it is hard to read an article about the future of robots that does not include a reference to jobs. As a pure roboticist I object to the constant connection between the two, but as a...
View ArticleMark Tilden on “What is the single biggest obstacle preventing robotics from...
From experience, the single biggest obstacle to personal robotic markets is cost, both in money and time. Robots have the disadvantage of being over-promoted in fictional media while over-priced on the...
View ArticleBrian Gerkey on “What is the single biggest obstacle preventing robotics from...
The biggest obstacle to broader adoption of robotics is that only experienced roboticists can develop robotics applications. To make a robot reliably and robustly do something useful, you need a deep...
View ArticleAlan Winfield on “What is the single biggest obstacle preventing robotics...
Well it depends on what you mean by mainstream. For a number of major industry sectors robotics is already mainstream. In assembly-line automation, for instance; or undersea oil well maintenance and...
View ArticleIllah Nourbakhsh on “What would you research if you did not have to worry...
Community empowerment through massive robotic sensing. There is no question we live in a world that is changing. Pollutants are changing the dynamics of the air we breathe, the water we drink and even...
View ArticleMark Tilden on “What would you research if you did not have to worry about...
Well, I’m lucky enough to be a gentleman scientist, so I concurrently study problems on minimal dynamical control systems (optimizing performance to silicon ratios), power regeneration and efficiency,...
View ArticleFrank Tobe on “What do policy-makers need to do to keep pace with economic...
[RBI Editors] As an active robotics investor, a leading authority on the business of robotics, and the author of The Robot Report and Everything Robotic, you are at the pulse of the field’s economic...
View ArticleRich Mahoney on “What do policy-makers need to do to keep pace with economic...
I am not sure how to describe the specifics of what policy makers should do, but I think there are two gaps that policy makers should think about that are associated with the economic development...
View ArticleLong view required to keep economic policy in step with developments in robotics
Policy is really about long-term thinking — a process we should do but don’t do for various reasons. Though China is a notable exception, very few governments make long-term planning a priority....
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Travis Deyle on “Do robots need heads?”
The obvious answer to this question is “No: there are lots of robots without heads.” It’s not even clear that social robots necessarily require a head, as even mundane robots like the Roomba are...
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Mark Stephen Meadows on “Do robots need heads?”
I don’t know about you, but if something has a head I assume it has thoughts. When watching a movie I stare at the character’s face because I want to know what they feel. So for me a head’s a pretty...
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AJung Moon on “Do robots need heads?”
Are you curious about what your future robotic assistants will look like? My bet is that by the time you buy your very first robotic butler, it will have a friendly head on it that moves. In fact, it...
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David Robert on “Do robots need heads?”
As a robot animator I can attest to the fact that robots don’t “need” heads to be treated as social entities. Research has shown that people will befriend a stick as long as it moves properly [1]. We...
View ArticleNicola Tomatis on “What do you look for when hiring a roboticist?”
When hiring at BlueBotics, we first assess the personal profile, soft competencies, and team compatibility. After that, we go into a deep technical assessment. Today, the product sales with the ANT...
View ArticleJonathan Roberts on “What do you look for when hiring a roboticist?”
We are looking for researchers who are highly motivated, and who are passionate about seeing the results of their research come to fruition and be used by industry or the public. They should have a...
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Theresa Richards on “What’s the best way to get a robotics education today?”
At the high school or middle school level there is no single best way for students to get a robotics education: there are many ways, and each way reaches the students differently. The easiest way is...
View ArticleMark Tilden on “What is the best way to get a robotics education today?”
In the past, a robotics education started with any inspiration that filtered through the sparse media of the time. Imagine a dull illness during a bland winter, black and white TV on a fuzzy channel,...
View ArticleTerry Fong on “What do you look for when hiring a roboticist?”
We look for good people from all over the world who have had some formal education in robotics theory, particularly in the basics of kinematics, perception, and cognition. Many universities offer...
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Matthew Schroyer on “What is the best way to get a robotics education today?”
A quality learning experience centered on robotics is hard to find for many students who lack STEM resources through their own schools. Although new science standards hope to improve the situation,...
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Frank Tobe on “Is open source a good business model for robotics?”
To be able to choose between proprietary software packages is to be able to choose your master. Freedom means not having a master. Freedom means not using proprietary software. – Richard Stallman, open...
View ArticleBrian Gerkey on “Is open source a good business model for robotics?”
The IT economy has powerfully demonstrated what happens when companies can leverage open source infrastructure when they build new products and services. A company like Google would never have come...
View ArticleRobert Morris on “Is open source a good business model for robotics?”
The premise of this question is that robotics companies are manufacturers and that there is choice between an open source and closed source business model. Robotics companies are best thought of as...
View ArticleAndra Keay on “What were the highlights at IROS/iREX this year?”
For me, the highlight of IROS was the Uncanny Valley special session, although the sheer size of the IROS conference and the parallel iRex industrial and service robot expo also gave much food for...
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Frank Tobe on “What were the highlights at IROS/iREX this year?”
Two images remain in my mind from IROS 2013 last week in Tokyo. The respect for Professor Emeritus Mori and his charting of the uncanny valley in relation to robotics, and the need for a Watson-type...
View ArticleLynne Parker on “What were the highlights at IROS/iREX this year?”
I found the plenary speeches at IROS to be especially interesting. Marc Raibert gave an entertaining talk on the robots being developed at Boston Dynamics. It’s encouraging to see that robots are...
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AJung Moon on “What were the top stories in robotics from 2013?”
2013 was a year filled with talk of drones. I’m not saying this just because I’m biased by the recent news reporting on how large companies (Amazon, DHL, and UPS to be exact) are exploring the use of...
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Frank Tobe on “What were the top stories in robotics from 2013?”
As Editor and Publisher of the Robot Report, I follow robotics news closely, especially in business and finance. Here are my top picks for 2013: Google sets up Robot Division; acquires 7 startups to...
View ArticleAndra Keay on “What were the top stories in robotics from 2013?”
‘David and Goliath’ was the most exciting story in robotics this year. 2013 has seen huge companies showing an interest in robotics, starting with Apple launching Anki live on stage at their global...
View ArticleDaniel H. Wilson on “If you could enhance yourself by some robotic accessory...
The potential of robotic implants is limitless, but I am not interested in super-human powers. Instead, I’d be happy with human powers, and in particular the ability to remember. Growing up, I would...
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AJung Moon on “If you could enhance yourself by some robotic accessory or...
As a researcher in robotics, I tend to cringe whenever someone asks how long it will take until people start to see terminator-like robots on the streets. It’s a fun question to think about, but it is...
View ArticleMark Stephen Meadows on “If you could enhance yourself with some robotic...
There are two kinds of cyborgs – those that have broken the skin, and those that have not. Iron Man comes to mind as a cyborg of the second category, in that he can remove his enhancement (save for...
View ArticleAJung Moon on “What does it mean to have giants like Google, Apple and Amazon...
We have reasons to feel both excited and uneasy about giant corporations’ investment in robotics. It’s exciting for the robotics community that the giants (Google, Apple, and Amazon) are actively...
View ArticleMark Stephen Meadows on “What does it mean to have giants like Google, Apple...
Google, is the wild card for me. With more acquisitions (DeepMind, Boston Dynamics, Redwood Robotics, Industrial Perception, Meka, Schaft, and others) than Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Microsoft...
View ArticleAlan Winfield on “What does it mean to have giants like Google, Apple and...
Judging by the levels of media coverage and frenzied speculation that has followed each acquisition, the short answer to what does it mean is: endless press exposure. I almost wrote ‘priceless...
View ArticleMark Stephen Meadows on “What does it take to get from imagination to market?”
There are two parts to this process: the invisible and visible. Rodin once said that sculpture is an art dedicated to holes. What he meant is that great work is invisible: if you are building a...
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Andra Keay on “What does it take to get from imagination to market?”
The rise of online crowdfunding platforms over the last decade has created a whole new pathway for some robot startups. In the process, crowdfunding campaigns have helped to catapult hardware and...
View ArticleRobert Morris on “What does it take to get from imagination to market?”
This is a really important question, and one that our community should focus on more. That said, the answer is not truly profound or particularly obscure. It takes three things: doing something people...
View ArticleNicola Tomatis on “What does it take to get from imagination to market?”
RBI Update The short answer is: a lot of patience and perseverance! More seriously, this is one of the most frustrating aspects of entrepreneurship. High-tech entrepreneurs are supposed to be...
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