The Nao Robot

There is a new robot in town and his name is Nao! This video shows us that the new technology known as the Nao Robot can be programmed to interact with its surroundings. It can also adapt to the many different changes in the environment around them. For example, if it falls down it knows how to stand back up. It also has a speech function that can help interact and keep up small conversations with the people and/or robots around him. However, the video is an advertisement by the company whom created it and it isn't stated how the robots do these commands, so many of these abilities could be limited to simple programming  of an arificial intelligence that makes its own commands. This video does show us that robotics is slowely but surely moving forward and is making a ton of progress.

The enclyopedia article states that Artificial Intelligence in robots is as if the robots themselves have a mind of their own. Robots with this type of intelligence do not need to be programmed and can do commands on their own without human assistance. The Nao robot may be able to do some things on its own like interact with its environment but it cannot complete all objectives without some programming. The Nao does have some emotion but most of this emotion is not artificial intelligence and has been programmed before hand for the specific task. Therefore, the Nao robot may not be Artificially intelligent and can only compute as a robot, not a human.

While the video itself may be more appealing, a technical description for the Nao robot provides us with more information regarding specs and capabilities. The video was most likely used as an advertisement to get the word out to the public showing off the new robotic technology. The advantage of writing a technical description however, is to show off the hardware to technical people who are interested in the Nao robot. This brand new technology should definitely not be ignored.

References

Lallee, S., Jouen, A., & Petit, M. (2007). Cooperative Human Robot Interaction with the Nao  Humanoid: Technical Description Paper for the Radical  Dudes . Florida: University of Florida.

Mitcham, C. (2005). Artificiakl Intelligence. Encyclopedia of science, technology, and ethics (pp. 110-113). Detroit, MI: Macmillan Reference USA.

Nao Robot - YouTube. (2008, October 30). YouTube. Retrieved April 29, 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2STTNYNF4lk

My Traffic Memo

I wrote a memo to College Administators explaining traffic problems outside of LaGuardia Community College and other high schools on Thompson Avenue. I addressed that if we do not take care of these traffic problem then there will be even more accidents like the one that led to the death of a young teenage high school student. One of the methods I explained was placing speed cameras along Thompson avenue to catch any cars speeding or running red lights without slowing down traffic with things such as a speed bump or extra traffic light: I learned about these speed cameras from my parents whom have encountered them on their normal routes to and from work: 

 "Security cameras can be placed to catch people that run red lights and the thought of them being present will cause most drivers to slow down at a yellow light to avoid passing through a red. A police cruiser can be placed on each active corner near traffic lights and the sight of these officers alone will cause most drivers to slow down and obey traffic regulations. These two methods alone can reduce traffic but it may still not be enough. A new traffic technology has been invented and it may be extremely useful to our cause. Speed cameras that check the speed of every car that passes and takes pictures of the cars that violate speed regulations have been invented to help regulate traffic."

I greatly enjoyed writing this memo since it reflects my own ideas and I was able to share them with others as well. The writing I do in this English class is extremely similar to the journal writing I do in my spare time.This engineering writing class has influenced me enough to actually enjoy my writing and enjoy English as a whole. I hope to continue blogging even after I have finished taking this class.

Responding to another Engineering Blogsite

E, M. (2008, December 1). Autonomous Robots | The Mechanical Engineer's Blog.The Mechanical Engineer's Blog | -For By and Of the Mechanical Engineering Professionals,Students and Aspirants!. Retrieved March 17, 2013, from http://engineermechanical.wordpress.com/2008/12/01/autonomous-robots/#comments

This blog post by an engineer that goes by the name of MechE, describes a technology known as Autonomous robots. He describes this technology as: "intelligent machines capable of performing tasks in unstructured environments without explicit or continuous human control over their movements" (MechE, 2008). Even though this is old news, it is still rather astounding that there is technology that can work itself. These robots are also being used in all fields of science including biology and neuroscience: " The overall goals of the activity are to develop high-performance, human-centered robotic systems to serve as physical platforms for validating biological models" (MechE, 2008). They are working on more advanced robotics to replace most people in a workplace which is can be both a positive and negative thing. Positively, having more robots can mean more efficient work without human error in less amounts of time. However, this also means many people will be out of a job due to the decrease of jobs in the workplace. 

      I find it very interesting that engineers still have to time to blog and share various information to the public. They probably blog and take time out of their busy day so that they reflect on different things they find out during the day and so they can reflax from their busy day. This can also benefit many other engineers, helping them find out about new technology and reading up on different subjects that can help them in their career.

Welcome to my Blog

Hey how you doin, this is my blog (atamburello259.blogspot.com)
This blog is soley for the purpose of class and for sharing knowledge and ideas in the fields of civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering. Feel free to share your opinions and ideas!