January 20, 2007
You have twenty seconds to comply.
Not content with making consumer electronics, Samsung has teamed up with the University of South Korea to produce a sentry gun.
Completely autonomous. No human required (except as targets). Apparently the system will interrogate the target, who must provide the passphrase. The system will then determine the response from 4 options: No action, Alarm, Fire rubber bullets or fire the 5.56mm machine gun.
ED-209, welcome to the world.
Robot: HALT STATE PASS: YOU HAVE TWENTY SECONDS TO COMPLY.
Human: NoKos are teh suX0r.
Robot: PASS INCORRECT STATE PASS: YOU HAVE TEN SECONDS TO COMPLY.
Human: Err... All NoKo base are belong to us?
Robot: YOU ARE IN DIRECT VIOLATION OF CODE SECTION 5 A 12. I AM NOW AUTHORIZED TO USE PHYSICAL FORCE
Or it could have a bridge keeper personality...
Robot: STOP. WHO WOULD CROSS THE DMZ MUST ANSWER ME THESE QUESTIONS THREE, ERE THE OTHER SIDE HE SEE. WHAT IS NAME?
Human: Blue!
Robot: WHAT IS QUEST?
Human: To patrol the DMZ!
Robot: WHAT IS AIRSPEED VELOCITY OF SWALLOW?
Scrawled illegibly by Meathe at 12:23 PM
January 17, 2007
Things I have learnt today
Yes, robots.
Of course, I'm starting small. Blinking lights. Little electric beasts that scurry towards the light, things like that.
I briefly considered making them scurry from the light, but that would mean they would be active only when its dark, and that probably isn't a good thing.
On to the short list:
I'm sure as soon as the lights start blinking, I'll be a lot happier.
Scrawled illegibly by Meathe at 08:55 PM
April 26, 2006
A fine day for Japanese robotics
Necoro in Japan has just produced a 'nearly lifelike' robot cat (video at linked page).
They somehow haven't figured out that 'very nearly lifelike' things are just plain creepy.
Scrawled illegibly by Meathe at 04:37 PM