Blog Assignment # 4

NAO Next Gen : the new robot of Aldebaran Robotics

Robots have been coming out for quite some time already, some of us remember the star wars movie where the first robots appeared. Now we live in a different time where technology has been climbing at an unstoppable pace.

On this video it can be seen the technical description of the robot NAO Next Gen from Aldebaran Robotics. Some of its capabilities like walking, standing, talking, listening and face recognition. Its amazing how it can talk back to a person and even in eight different languages. Some of its hardware components include the CPU processor which is an Intel atom of 1.6 GHz. Some other components that gave him the ability to perform most of its functions are 4 microphones located on the head at different angles, two loud speakers located on its ears and WIFI abilities. The video clearly states that this model is an updated version and better than its predecessor. As time passes every new NAO seems to get closer to human interactions like in this case, the NAO can communicate with a person and even do some moves within its 25 degrees of movement.  25 degrees of movement!!!  I bet it will be more than that in a few years. Something very nice of this little robot it’s that if it falls, it can stand back by itself.

Artificial intelligence commonly known as AI is the study based on trying to simulate through computers things that humans can do.  According to McGraw-Hill (2005) Artificial Intelligence is a subfield of computation related with understanding the nature of intelligence used through computers build capable to use it. It focuses on creating computers more and more sophisticated to help us in our lives by being able of doing things that only humans were able to do. Some of the activities of this computers are problem solving, store information, learning and even planning. The main purpose of AI is to create an intelligent product capable of simulate the acts of humans and even to outclass them in some fields like speed, memory but, still it won’t be able to think!

The video shows some aspects of NAO to be considered Artificial Intelligence. Since it follows the principle of being a humanoid form acting through a computer software programed in a computer and operated by a computer processor inside the robot. Thinks like listening, learning, remembering are the ideas of engineers to create a humanoid robot that will help the human being in the future. In my opinion I think that NAO is the pure example of Artificial Intelligence since it’s the dream of creating an Artificial human.

References:

"NAO Next Gen: the new robot of Aldebaran Robotics - YouTube. "YouTube. AldebaranRobotics,
         n.d. Web. 2 June 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNbj2G3GmAo>.

"Artificial Intelligence." Mcgraw-Hill Concise Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. 5th ed.
          New York: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2005. 176-177. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web.
          2 June 2013.