Robotics And Learning

Isaac Fisch

I101-Dimensions of Technology Paper

Robotics and Learning

A robot is a machine capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. The concept of robots has been around since ancient times as early as tenth century BC and have found their way into the legends of many cultures. Aristotle envisioned the employment of automatons eventually ending the need for human slavery and bringing about human equality (History of robots). However, the field of robotics has come a long way from the days of speculation to our modern day actualizations.

A steam-powered, mechanical bird created by a Greek inventor named Archytas around four 400 BC is accredited to be the first robot to ever be created. The bird was described five centuries later by author, Aulus Gellius, as having been able to fly about two hundred meters (Archytas). While it seems questionable as to whether this robot actually existed, a much later robot created between 1937 and 1937 by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation is very real. Called Elektro, this humanoid robot could walk, speak 700 words, smoke cigarettes, inflate balloons, and move its arms and head. It was displayed the 1939 World Fair and was used mainly as a promotion for Westinghouse (Elektro). It consisted of photo-electric sensors to detect color, motors to operate arms and legs, bellows for the smoking and balloons, and a 78-rpm record player for speech (Weeks).

The idea of the humanoid robot is deeply rooted in history, but until fairly recently, robots (humanoid or not) have lacked the main function that makes humans and animals so different from machines: learning. The principle behind learning robots is a collaboration between rationalism and empiricism. Rationalism is the theo...

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...wer-class members of society really brings up the question of whether learning robots is a good idea at all. People in the field of robotics tend to consider these scenarios mere fantasy and certainly the state of our technology today goes towards backing up their position. Advancements are being made, but robots don’t look like they will be taking over anytime soon.

On a very obvious level, the main connection between computer science and autonomous development robotics is that computer scientists write the code to create these robots and their ability to learn. Another relationship to consider is how robots will affect the job market. While robotics will probably put some people out of work, it will also create new positions, especially in the field of computer science (Hager). As robots become a bigger part of life, IT jobs will grow in number and in importance.