Search:

Results 41 to 50 of 309 | « previous |

What to expect when you're expecting robots : the future of human-robot collaboration / by Major, Laura,author.(CARDINAL)837764; Shah, Julie,author.(CARDINAL)837765;
Includes bibliographical references and index."For however smart your Roomba or Alexa might seem, historically, robots have been fairly dumb. They are only able to do their jobs when given a narrow set of tasks, confined in a controlled environment, and overseen by a human operator. But things are changing. A new breed of robots is in development that will operate largely on their own. They'll drive on roads and sidewalks, ferry deliveries within buildings, stock shelves in stores, and coordinate teams of doctors and nurses. These autonomous systems will find their way into busy, often unpredictable public spaces. They could be truly collaborative, augmenting human work by attending to the parts of tasks we don't do as well, without our having to stop and direct them. But consider, for a moment, the sorcerer's apprentice. The broom he set to work was also supposed to be collaborative, too, and should have made his life much easier. But the broom didn't know how to behave, and the apprentice no longer understood the thing he had made. The challenge of this next generation of robots is that, like the apprentice's broom, they will wreak complete havoc, inadvertently hurting or even killing people, unless we can recognize a simple truth: collaborative robots will be the first truly social creatures that technology has created. They will need to know how to behave in unfamiliar spaces and around untrained users and bystanders. Robot experts Julie Shah and Laura Major are among those engineers leading the development of collaborative robots, and in this book, they will offer their vision for how to make it in the new era of human-robot collaboration. They set out the blueprint for what they call working robots, which in many ways resemble service animals, and take readers through the many fascinating and surprising challenges that both engineers and the public will need to address in figuring out these machines can be responsibly integrated into society: what they will have to look like, how they will have to talk to strangers and what robot etiquette will be, whether we will have to "robot-proof" public spaces and infrastructure, and how the safety-critical work of human-robot collaboration will force a sea change in how the tech industry is regulated. Today, we still gawk at a car that drives by without a driver. Tomorrow, you might find yourself driving next to five of them. We can debate whether the singularity will ever come, but robots need not be superintelligent in order to revolutionize our relationship to technology. Read this book to find out how"--
Subjects: Human-machine systems; Robotics; Robots; Technological forecasting.;
Available copies: 5 / Total copies: 5
unAPI

Essential robots collection [videorecording] / by Discovery Channel (Firm)(CARDINAL)217781; Image Entertainment (Firm)(CARDINAL)328010;
The body, the city, the world (aka 2057). The city -- NextWorld. Future intelligence -- Extreme machines. Incredible robots -- Junkyard mega wars. At the movies.Narrators: Mike New (2057), Mason Petit (Future car and Next world), William Hootkins (Extreme machines), Robert Llewellyn, Bobbie Sue Luther, Rossi Moreale (Junkyard mega wars).Portrays a futuristic scenario in which robots perform key functions in daily life; explores robotics technology and the design of robots for both practical use and motion-picture-related special effects.Not rated.DVD, Dolby Digital stereo.
Subjects: DVD-Video discs.; DVDs for the hearing impaired.; Documentary television programs.; Nonfiction television programs.; Science television programs.; Robotics.; Robots.; Technological forecasting.; Twenty-first century;
For private home use only.
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

The future, declassified : megatrends that will undo the world unless we take action / by Burrows, Mathew.(CARDINAL)606888;
Includes bibliographical references (pages 255-270) and index.Introduction : Don't Kill the Messenger -- The Power of One -- A Splintered World -- Playing God -- An Era of Scarcity or Abundance? -- A Revolutionary China? -- Will Technology be a Boon or a Curse? -- A Return to World at War? -- The last Days of Pax Americana? -- The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend -- East is East and West is West -- With Friends Like This... -- Making the System Work -- Conclusion : Are We Prepared for the Future?
Subjects: Twenty-first century; International relations; World politics; Technological forecasting.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

The fourth age : smart robots, conscious computers, and the future of humanity / by Reese, Byron,author.(CARDINAL)605559;
An assessment of the revolutionary potential of artificial intelligence and robotics traces how technology arrived at this point and how artificial life, machine consciousness, extreme prosperity, and technological warfare will be hotly debated issues of the near future."A great turning point in the history of our species is at hand. AI and robotics are poised to redefine what it means to be human. So ... what exactly does that mean for you? In [this book], Byron Reese suggests that technology has fundamentally reshaped humanity just three times in history: 100,000 years ago, we harnessed fire, which led to language; 10,000 years ago, we developed agriculture, which led to cities and warfare; and 5,000 years ago, we invented the wheel and writing, which led to the nation-state. Now, we are on the doorstep of a fourth great change brought about by two technologies: artificial intelligence and robotics. The Fourth Age provides extraordinary background and context on how we got to this point, and how-- rather than what--we should think about the complex web of topics we'll soon all be facing: machine consciousness, automation, drastic shifts in employment and the workforce, creative computers, radical life extension, artificial life, the ethics of AI, autonomous warfare, superintelligence, and extreme prosperity, to name only a few. By asking questions like "Are you a machine?" and "Could a computer feel anything?" Reese leads the reader through a fascinating discussion along the cutting edge of robotics and AI. He provides a framework in which we can all understand, discuss, and act on the issues of the Fourth Age, and grasp how they will transform humanity. This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to move beyond the warring viewpoints of techno pundits, as we rocket toward this next species-changing rendezvous with technology."--Jacket.
Subjects: Artificial intelligence; Artificial intelligence; Robotics; Robotics; Technological forecasting.;
Available copies: 5 / Total copies: 5
unAPI

Darwin's devices : what evolving robots can teach us about the history of life and the future of technology / by Long, John,1964 January 12-(CARDINAL)399629;
Includes bibliographical references and index.Why robots? -- The game of life -- Engineering evolvabots -- Tadros play the game of life -- The life of the embodied mind -- Predator, prey, and vertebrae -- Evolutionary trekkers -- So long, and thanks for all the robotic fish."What happens when we let robots play the game of life? The challenge of studying evolution is that the history of life is buried in the past--we can't witness the dramatic events that shaped the adaptations we see today. But biorobotics expert John Long has found an ingenious way to overcome this problem: he creates robots that look and behave like extinct animals, subjects them to evolutionary pressures, lets them compete for mates and resources, and mutates their 'genes'. In short, he lets robots play the game of life. In Darwin's Devices, Long tells the story of these evolving biorobots--how they came to be, and what they can teach us about the biology of living and extinct species. Evolving biorobots can replicate creatures that disappeared from the Earth long ago, showing us in real time what happens in the face of unexpected environmental challenges. Biomechanically correct models of backbones functioning as part of an autonomous robot, for example, can help us understand why the first vertebrates evolved them. But the most impressive feature of these robots, as Long shows, is their ability to illustrate the power of evolution to solve difficult technological challenges autonomously--without human input regarding what a workable solution might be. Even a simple robot can create complex behavior, often learning or evolving greater intelligence than humans could possibly program. This remarkable idea could forever alter the face of engineering, design, and even warfare. An amazing tour through the workings of a fertile mind, Darwin's Devices will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about evolution, robot intelligence, and life itself"--
Subjects: Evolutionary robotics.; Evolution (Biology); Technological forecasting.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

Hello from 2030 : the science of the future and you / by Schutten, Jan Paul,1970-author.(CARDINAL)610897;
Includes bibliographical references (pages 181-218) and index.Why should you bother reading this book? -- Technology everywhere -- A tour of your new home -- Spaceship Earth -- From dirty human to "green" as an ant -- How do you predict the future? -- Bread and water -- Sick days in the future? Goodbye! -- The age of the robot? -- Last thing."Would you like to know the future? And, will it be what we think it will be, or will today's predictions be laughably wrong? In Hello from 2030, middle graders get a peek at what's coming just around the corner. In the year 2030, today's kids will be grappling with issues adults are just starting to address now. No, not flying cars: real world conundrums like, what will 8 billion people eat? How can humans produce less trash? Which cool technologies will be used to figure all this out? And, how do people predict the future anyway? This book gives kids not only plenty to dream, argue, and think about, but also a first-hand look at futurology, the science of predicting the future."--Ages 8-12.Grades 3 to 7.890L
Subjects: Science; Social prediction; Technological forecasting;
Available copies: 7 / Total copies: 7
unAPI

The future of work and death [videorecording] / by Blacknell, Sean,film director.; Walsh, Wayne,film director.; Istvan, Zoltan,1973-; Self, Will.(CARDINAL)353952; Tanzi, Rudolph E.(CARDINAL)351926; First-Run Features (Firm),publisher.(CARDINAL)356877;
DVD.A provocative documentary, where worldwide experts in the fields of futurology, anthropology, neuroscience and philosophy consider the impact of technological advances on the two certainties of human life: work and death.
Subjects: Documentary films.; Video recordings for the hearing impaired.; Technology; Technology and civilization.; Forecasting.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

Nine shift: work, life and education in the 21st century /William A. Draves and Julie Coates by Coates, Julie.(CARDINAL)820635; Draves, William A.(William August),1949-(CARDINAL)818796;
Subjects: Civilization, Modern; Education; Organizational change, social prediction; Technological forecasting.; Twenty-first century;
Available copies: 3 / Total copies: 3
unAPI

2030 / by Zuckerman, Amy.(CARDINAL)385761; Daly, James.; Manders, John,illustrator.(CARDINAL)390631;
Includes bibliographical references.NC990LAccelerated Reader AR
Subjects: Technological forecasting; Technological innovations; Twenty-first century;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

The skeptics' guide to the future : what yesterday's science and science fiction tell us about the world of tomorrow / by Novella, Steven,author.(CARDINAL)596584; Novella, Bob,author.(CARDINAL)418110; Novella, Jay,author.(CARDINAL)817405;
Includes bibliographical references (pages 383-395) and index."Our predictions of the future are a wild fantasy, inextricably linked to our present hopes and fears, biases and ignorance. Whether they be the outlandish leaps predicted in the 1920s, like multi-purpose utility belts with climate control capabilities and planes the size of luxury cruise ships, or the forecasts of the '60s, which didn't anticipate the sexual revolution or women's liberation, the path to the present is littered with failed predictions and incorrect estimations. The best we can do is try to absorb the lessons from futurism's checkered past, perhaps learning to do a little better. In THE SKEPTICS' GUIDE TO THE FUTURE, Steven Novella and his co-authors build upon the work of futurists of the past by examining what they got right, what they got wrong, and how they came to those conclusions. By exploring the pitfalls of each era, they give their own speculations about the distant future, transformed by unbelievable technology ranging from genetic manipulation to artificial intelligence and quantum computing. Applying their trademark skepticism, they carefully extrapolate upon each scientific development, leaving no stone unturned as they lay out a vision for the future"--
Subjects: Science; Science; Technological forecasting;
Available copies: 9 / Total copies: 9
unAPI

Results 41 to 50 of 309 | « previous |