[Art]

I made sure no loose cords or shoes were under the bed as I set my robotic vacuum on its mission to clean our bedroom carpet.

Watching it for a few minutes, it dutifully made it's way along the dresser, closet doors then under the head of the bed. All I could discern was the low whirl of its motors, then it appeared from the other side of the bed.

Convinced that it was working well at its task without incident, I left the bedroom, closing the door behind me.

I got involved catching up on my email and the current news, then fixing myself some lunch.

It dawned on me that I ought to check in on the floorbot to see how it's doing. Looking at my watch I realized that it had been about 1 hour and 20 minutes since I had left it and thought to myself that it must have stopped due to running out of battery power.

Cautiously, I opened the bedroom door, in case it was behind it. As the door opened, I could hear a sound...yes, it was a motor...not motors. The bot employs two motors...one to drive the unit and another to power the onboard vacuum.

This vacuum has the ability to recharge itself when it detects a low power state in it's battery. In doing so, it will shut down vacuuming operations and use it's remaining power to locate and connect itself to it's charger.

Well, it had already shut down it's vacuum and was searching somewhat slowly for it's charger then it dawned on me....

It's charger was in the office NOT in the bedroom! It had no way of "knowing" that and was relentlessly searching the perimeter of my bedroom "Looking" for it's charger.

For a brief moment, I felt sorry for it...knowing that it was on a hopeless mission. Then I actually felt bad for allowing this to happen.

Now there's a point to all of this. This is the discovery period when we stop and do some self evaluation from time to time.

How will we / humans react to more serious events if at all? Did some people feel bad for Asimo when it fell while trying to go up the steps and fell? Did those people fell bad for Asimo or for his owner / developer(s)?

How close a bond can or will or do people allow themselves to form with inanimate objects?

I know we've had some people develop extraordinary attachments to their cars but this is along a different vein as these autonomous objects while not showing an interactive personality do serve a function for us and as such, allow us to become not only dependent upon them but also protective of them.

Just some more fuel for the fires of your mind.


Thoughts....

NOTE: (Rest assured...I did carry my bot to the office and upon sensing the charger, it made a straight line for it and happily plugged itself in as it's blue light blinked)...Then it flipped me off!   Nah...just kidding!

[Sigma X]

I kinda understand art that sreminded me fo my very first robot it was nothing much just a 3 wheeled rover that uses a sound sensor to control it's direction
anyway when I first soldered it i thought cool and when it worked well you know that feeling but in running the bot the front wheel broke I thought oh what ever but a moment watching it squirm like a wounded animal
I felt strange to make a story short I fixed it and it remains on my shelf
which what helped mee find my signature below

[Bragi]

Makes you wonder what will happen when bots start to nurse our children.

[Art]

Although this is somewhat diverging from the gist of my post, suffice it to say that numerous companies are currently in the process of experimenting and developing assistant bots. Similar to a nurse, these bots can provide conversation for the elderly or shut-in, remind them to take medications, assist with walking if required and many other care giving tasks.

I'm sure they are just at the tip of the iceberg in this area. The opportunities in this field are tremendous.

However, I digress...what I was trying to elicit was a response to how humans bond and interact to mechanized helpers. In light of this, I'm sure many people might become attached to their care provider robots in the future!

OK...Think of the movie, A.I. when the angry mob was destroying the mechs. There were several who, after seeing the young boy, could not bring themselves to believe he was a mech, much less, to destroy him.

So, was this segment a glimpse, however intentional, at the alleged "Uncanny Valley"?