ASIMO The robot
"Honda began developing humanoid robots in the 1980s, including several prototypes that preceded ASIMO. It was the company's goal to create a walking robot which could not only adapt and interact in human situations, but also improve the quality of life. The E0 was the first bipedal (two-legged) model produced as part of the Honda E series, which was an early experimental line of humanoid robots created between 1986 and 1993. This was followed by the Honda P series of robots produced from 1993 through 1997, which included the first self-regulating, humanoid walking robot with wireless movements.[6][7]"
This page summarizes Chapter 3 (Future of the Medicine).
"Kaku discusses robotic body parts, modular robots, unemployment caused by robots, surrogates and avatars (like their respective movies), and reverse engineering the brain. Kaku goes over the three laws of robotics and their contradictions. He endorses a "chip in robot brains to automatically shut them off if they have murderous thoughts", and believes that the most likely scenario is "friendly AI", in which robots are free to wreak havoc and destruction, but are designed to desire benevolence.[1]"
"Kaku discusses how Moore's law robotics will affect the future capitalism, which nations will survive and grow, how the United States is "brain-draining" off of immigrants to fuel their economy"
"Future of the Computer: Mind over Matter[edit]
Kaku begins with Moore's law, and compares a chip that sings "Happy Birthday" with the Allied forces in 1945, stating that the chip contains much more power,[1][6] and that "Hitler, Churchill, or Roosevelt might have killed to get that chip." He predicts that computer power will increase to the point where computers, like electricity, paper, and water, "disappear into the fabric of our lives, and computer chips will be planted in the walls of buildings."
He also predicts that glasses and contact lenses will be connected to the internet, using similar technology to virtual retinal displays. Cars will become driverless due to the power of the GPS system. This prediction is supported by the results of the Urban Challenge. The Pentagon hopes to make 1⁄3 of the United States ground forces automated by 2015.[1] Technology similar to BrainGate will eventually allow humans to control computers with tiny brain sensors, and "like a magician, move objects around with the power of our minds.""
"Future of Humanity: Planetary Civilization[edit]
Kaku ranks the civilization of the future, with classifications based on energy consumption, entropy, and information processing.
Reception[edit]
"
Overview of chapter 6 on the Chemical Rockets
"Future of Space Travel: To the Stars
Unlike conventional chemical rockets which use Newton's third law of motion, solar sails take advantage of radiation pressure from stars. Kaku believes that after sending a gigantic solar sail into orbit, one could install lasers on the moon, which would hit the sail and give it extra momentum.
Another alternative is to send thousands of nanoships, of which only a few would reach their destination. "Once arriving on a nearby moon, they could create a factory to make unlimited copies of themselves," says Kaku. Nanoships would require very little fuel to accelerate. They could visit the stellar neighborhood by floating on the magnetic fields of other planets."
Chapter two summary
"Kaku discusses robotic body parts, modular robots, unemployment caused by robots, surrogates and avatars (like their respective movies), and reverse engineering the brain. "
"Unlike conventional chemical rockets which use Newton's third law of motion, solar sails take advantage of radiation pressure from stars. Kaku believes that after sending a gigantic solar sail into orbit, one could install lasers on the moon, which would hit the sail and give it extra momentum.
Another alternative is to send thousands of nanoships, of which only a few would reach their destination. "Once arriving on a nearby moon, they could create a factory to make unlimited copies of themselves," says Kaku. Nanoships would require very little fuel to accelerate. They could visit the stellar neighborhood by floating on the magnetic fields of other planets."
"Over the last five years, technology has been rapidly changing and expanding in every field imaginable. Smart phones are now capable of acting as standalone computer devices that can take pictures, search the Internet, send emails and text messages and yes, they even make phone calls. While it might seem that the technology of today has reached its limits, it is still actually spreading its proverbial wings. Only twenty or so years ago, personal computers were becoming small enough and affordable enough for families to buy them for home use. Since then, the world of technology has shown no signs of slowing down and practically every device available today is somehow tied to computer technology.
It seems hard these days to fathom the original size of computers and how small they have become in the last ten years, but within the last five years they have become even smaller and somehow more powerful and faster than ever before! The Internet allows people to connect with family, friends, and work colleagues from across the globe in the push of a button. Communication options have literally exploded in the instant avenues of text and video based chat as well as the near instantaneous method of email. Gone are the days where one had to post a letter and wait a week or more for a response and long distance phone calls are unnecessary for anyone with a computer, a webcam, and a speedy Internet connection.
Automobiles are now being manufactured with standard GPS and emergency call features for the convenience and safety of drivers and their passengers, making the days of carrying a map completely unnecessary and improving the peace of mind of anyone who must travel the roads alone or at night. Computerized cars are now potentially at risk in much the same fashion as a personal computer as a moderately skilled hacker can theoretically take over basic functions of a vehicle - including its engine.
Yes, technological advancement has changed our lives completely, and not al
"In recent years the mushrooming power, functionality and ubiquity of computers and the Internet have outstripped early forecasts about technology's rate of advancement and usefulness in everyday life. Alert pundits now foresee a world saturated with powerful computer chips, which will increasingly insinuate themselves into our gadgets, dwellings, apparel and even our bodies."
This summarizes the trends in the chapter of medicine.
"Future of Medicine
Near Future: Genomic Medicine, Medical Scanners, Stem Cells,
Midcentury: Gene Therapy, Designer Children
Far Future: Reversing Aging, Immortality, Bringing Back Dinosaurs & Neanderthals, Germ Warfare"
Here are the trends in the Space chapter
"Future of Space Travel
Near Future: Landing on an Asteroid, Landing on a Moon of Mars, Return to the Moon, Permanent Moon Base
Midcentury: Mission to Mars, Space Tourism
Far Future: Space Elevator, Starships, Nanoships"
Chapter one summary
"Future of the Computer
Near Future: Internet Glasses, Driverless Cars, Flexible Electronic Paper, Virtual Worlds
Midcentury: Augmented Reality, Universal Translators, Holograms & 3-D
Far Future: Direct Mind-Computer Interface, Tricorders"
nanotechnology is a branch off of nanotechnology. they are small machines that can be used for anything.
"Nanorobotics is the emerging technology field creating machines or robots whose components are at or close to the scale of a nanometer (10−9 meters).[1][2][3] More specifically, nanorobotics refers to the nanotechnology engineering discipline of designing and building nanorobots, with devices ranging in size from 0.1-10 micrometers and constructed of nanoscale or molecular components.[4][5] The names nanobots, nanoids, nanites, nanomachines or nanomites have also been used to describe these devices currently under research and development"
"The growing power of computer vision is a crucial first step for the next generation of computing, robotic and artificial intelligence systems. Once machines can identify objects and understand their environments, they can be freed to move around in the world. And once robots become mobile they will be increasingly capable of extending the reach of humans or replacing them."
This source is useful because it give some good background information on artificial intelligence and also an idea of what it will be like in the near future. The information from this article will be used in our project when we present what AI is like today and how it is quickly expanding. The facts and knowledge from this article are credible because it is from an official news source, the New York Times. This article is also reliable because it contains real quotes from real scientists studying AI.
"By imitating humans in ways both poignant and disorienting, Kazemi's bots focus our attention on the power and the limits of automated technology, as well as reminding us of our own tendency to speak and act in ways that are essentially robotic."