Wi-Fi Security Robots?
John Hering writes "It was bound to happen.... Security Robots that are "Wi-Fi" enabled and capable of enterprise-grade tasks. Details have emerged about a robotics platform that combines cutting edge security and wireless technologies and is capable of integration with buildings' central heating and cooling systems, security systems, air quality controls, wi-fi networks, and even lighting and power systems to provide valuable building services and emergency back-up. It can even greet guests, guide them to their destinations or lead building tours! Similar projects in the past have pushed these robotics technologies forward and spawned numerous new projects , especially amongst the linux community."
Has anybody thought about the security flaws/exploits that would obviously be a problem with such a device? Im not so sure Id want such an extensive robot so open to potential attacks/interference.
Its secure enough to not let this happen:
Some one hacks one of these things and it opens the front door for them.
...do these security robots run? I just know I'm going to get modded Troll for this, but with all due respect, I wouldn't feel terribily comfortable with a company whose security bots run Windows. I'll feel especially freaked out when the security bots advance to the point where they are actually armed. Can you imagine Windows BSoDing on one of these things, and causing a gun to fire? Gives me the shivers. And I'm sure it's only a matter of time before it happens... (shit, if the Navy can base an entire warship around Windows...)
Honey, I shrunk the Cygwin
A walking, talking robot? Is his name Johnny-5?
Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!
I hope you all have seen Sony's QRIO ROBOT. It's that humanoid robot. More like an AIBO in the human form.
Can do all that the AIBO can, and can do it all a lot better cause it can carry a lot more equipment. It has Wi-Fi, and a customizable software that lets you control all cameras / motion / etc. It can be used as an autonomous creature, or be remote controlled.
A customized version could easily do security robot tasks.
Read more about it here.
Not wi-fi yet - but can that be far off?
Loss of robot in Iraq from iRobot
Futuristic-looking? Check.
Create enough hype to get VC, DARPA and NIH funding? Check.
In reality though, these are a far cry from being practical, cost-effective replacements for human security or maintenance personell. Well, maybe HP R&D does use them but that's about it as far as practical applications go (at least at this point). It just doesn't make sense to employ these outside of a tradeshow or R&D environment from a business point of view.
What happens, for instance, if an intruder does decide to jam the WiFi network (not really that hard to do)? Do the robots have the AI required to perform their scheduled tasks autonomously? Or will they require human supervision and internvetion (in that case, they aren't really anything more than cool, mobile surveillance cameras).
I'm sorry but I just don't see any practical applications (aside from, maybe, logistics) for these robots at this point.
Kind of ironic that Assimov's "I,Robot" trailer just hit theaters this weekend. Anyone who hasn't, by the way, needs to read Bill Joy's "Why The Future Doesn't Need Us."
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... there is a company here (de) which has a product out since ~2001.
...(with product videos).
See
Disclaimer: I am not an affiliate.
CC.
TaijiQuan (Huang, 5 loosenings)
security systems, air quality controls, I can see it now.. someone logs in trying to use an unencrypted signal. HAL: "What are you doing Dave? How do you feel?" Moron: -gasping for breath-
"We're breaking out the ramen noodles. . . "
"Really? Is it someone's birthday?"
"enterprise-grade tasks" Would that be NCC-1701/A/B/C or D? What a load of marketing crapspeak.
The idea was of a micro air vehicle with a CCD camera and an intercom that I could control via the campus Wi-Fi network. I could sit at home in my underwear eating Cheerios and literally "land" my little robot on my desk at the 8AM antenna theory class and "attend" lectures :-)
:-)
My biggest concern would be lag that would cause me to lose control and crash into a door or the professor's head. Then again, imagine this: You're happily strolling to class and right as you get to the closed door, this tiny robot aircraft hovering there starts talking to you "Hey, little help with the door, please?"
Awesome
Now all I need is a Death Star so I can have these running around the corridors.
"Please put down your weapon! - You have 20 seconds to comply!
You now have 15 seconds to comply!
You now have 5 seconds to comply! 4...3...2...1..."
Did anyone thought of the social impacts these "wifi robots" can bring? i mena, here at Portugal this kind of job is usually done by retired men and young people that couldn't find another job. If these robots substitute humans, more unemployed people will appear. Social-unfriendly technology isn't the way to go, IMHO.
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...do these security robots run? I just know I'm going to get modded Troll for this, but with all due respect, I wouldn't feel terribily comfortable with a company whose security bots run OS/2. I'll feel especially freaked out when the security bots advance to the point where they are actually armed. Can you imagine OS/2's poor drivers acting up on one of these things, and causing a gun to fire? Gives me the shivers. And I'm sure it's only a matter of time before it happens... (shit, if banks can base entire ATM networks around OS/2...)
One of these PatrolBots was modeled after my dad. He walks up and down the halls in his blue flannel robe shutting off the lights; turning down the heat; mumbling that the company is NOT made out of money.
Harpo Tunnel Syndrome--my wrist feels funny.
...a girl robot. It'll be the best p0rm ever. [sic]
(tv commercial)
Dave: Let me out, HAL! I have to get to work!
HAL: I'm sorry, I can't do that, Dave. A fatal exception 0E has occured at 0428:C000A313 in VXD VMM(01) 00009313. The current occupant will be terminated.
Dave: Oh, crap.
~UP
Eat the Path.
Robocop? I am pretty sure he had Wi-Fi parts. :)
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
I'm not sure how well Windows XP runs on positronic brains.
Never attribute to malice that which can be explained by mere idiocy.
I always wanted one of those robots that combine the coolness of Bender (without the killing me/stealing part) and the small form factor of a Farscape DRD.
;-)
Cleanup job, repair functions, companion and all the extra gizmos we get on our mobile
"It was bound to happen.... Security Robots that are "Wi-Fi" enabled and capable of enterprise-grade tasks.
You mean, as seen in video games like HalfLife, DeusEx, Quake, and who knows what else? And probably numerous SciFi movies and TV shows as well...
Colin is more likely
Someone just used "wireless," "security," and "lighting and power systems" in the same sentence.
I hope theres a list of places that end up using these...so I can avoid them.
Though our continued progress towards a world where people can move around without any disibility stoping them from doing so, we allow not only these robots to access anywhere, but the Dalics can invade without problem! *goes into a deep paranoid psychosis*
Or we will raise the temperature of your building 1 million degrees for 5 days!
This thing is begging to be hacked.
Can you imaginge wardrivers for these robots. Oh look mom, our robot is attacking our dog! Why is it trying to weed from our neighbor again! So where do I buy one?! Come on JOHN HERING! GOCHNAUER - Grant Gochnauer
--==--Grant Gochnauer--==-- http://www.gochnauer.org
This is Old News
I ROBOT "CRUSH KILL DESTROY",
;O) ROTL
No one will ever suspect the toaster
I guess the engineers gave up trying to make robots that were actually helpful.
Perfect Security + Humans == Perfect Crime
Now I can make the fem-bot that I have always wanted, a Wi-fi pleasure bot, think of the possiblities!!!
Ohh my spleen
Can they go to meetings for me and just smile and nod? If so, where do I sign up? :)
It is not only about vulnerabilities and exploiting the robot's software, even simpler things could be a great issue in such cases..
For example, a jammer. Operate a jammer in the 11 wifi bands and you got it isolated.
Simple?
Here's the link to the Wired article about it
I think it's a valid concern, because you know they will keep developing these things all the way, I have expected it.
There's already enough trouble dealing with human guards and police in the civilian sector if they get incensed or follow illegal orders and go mad dog on you. In strict military terms it's alwas been thus because the objective is to "kill the other guys" basically and any accidents are classed off as "collateral damage". We barely have any sort of reasonable expectation anymore of arguing a differing point of view in the civilian world, exploring what might be a mistake in intent or circumstances, before getting maced, beat or shot, but not with a robot, you won't get that. Binary. Won't really matter which OS it's running because even when it's running "well" it will still be dumb as a rock, they aren't even close to having the intelligence a good guard dog has, let alone a human. But, they are well past "close enough" to make them mobile and armed, a pretty dangerous situation, IMO. They won't wait for AI to equal just the mundane functionality, not when "collateral damage is almost always acceptable" is their over all mindset on achieving objectives. These sorts of robots won't be able to do the critical reasoning necessary to be effective in all cases, and you can bet that there will be a lot of cases of "collateral damage" with them once they are armed and programmed for aggression.
In the military it's a no brainer for them,of course, it's just a smart tank sort of logical progression, various sizes. And predator is getting closer to the concept on the aerial platform, and cruise missiles I think could be classed as almost fully robotic in nature, and are in widespread use now, as are all the other complex "fire and forget" type munitions.
I for one welcome out new wi-fi enabled robot overlords.
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If anyone wonders why nerds go to such extreme lengths to avoid early classes, they simply have to realize that most nerds work until 3 or 4am on their projects. It's really just a shifted lifecycle.
Now if only engineering schools could be more understanding of their primary audience. BTW, I really like your idea. What would be awesome if there was a built in laser pointer so the "flying bee robot" could point at the white/blackboard while asking questions.
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These robots will continue to provide valuable security services for your enterprise until a small bank of people from a competing company you're about to crush manage to destroy your droid control ship, right?
http://www.activrobots.com/PICTURES/P3AT.mpg Wow! I need one of these!
Microsoft Windows runs on stress and frustration.
AITree Cognitive Architecture -- AI Has Been Solved for Wi-Fi Robots
The mind-modules below are ordered in such a way that you may comprehend the internal structure of the AI4U Mind-1.1 software at a glance. Notice for instance how many subroutines are nested beneath the Sensorium module. You may click on any mind-module listed here to read its documentation and to inspect its source code in Forth or JavaScript. This primitive AI-has-been-solved implementation is an invitation for you to build upon the current cognitive architecture by enlarging it or by specializing in your own favorite mind-module.
--- Listen (necesary for event-driven hearing and for detecting verbal input)
--- --- audSTM (auditory Short Term Memory with associative tags for recognition)
--- --- --- audRecog (auditory Recognition of sounds and phonemes done by pattern recognition)
--- oldConcept (for the recognition of words already known to the AI)
--- --- Parser (for the identification of parts of speech in word-recognition)
--- --- --- Instantiate (to create an instance or concept-node on a concept-fiber)
--- --- Activate (to reactivate known concepts)
--- --- --- spreadAct (spreading Activation for thinking by association)
--- newConcept (contributes to machine learning of new words)
--- --- enVocab (English Vocabulary, and potentially others)
--- --- Parser (for determining the part of speech of any input word)
--- --- --- Instantiate (for creating new concept-nodes or instances)
--- spreadAct (spreading Activation so that thoughts may form)
Robot: PRESENT HALL PASS
Little girl: Right here *shows hall pass*
Robot: SECOND REQUEST PRESENT HALL PASS
Little girl: uhhh Right here... *shows hall pass again*
Robot: SECURITY BREACH! SECURITY BREACH! *ZAP ZAP ZAP*
-Family Guy
All misspellings and grammatical errors in the above post are intentional and part of my artistic expression.
ED-209: Please put down your weapon. You have 20 seconds to comply.
now we just need multitools to bypass these 'bots.
where are my biomods!
Maybe we could get one of these things to keep the light on in the restroom at work. Stupid think turns off after 5 minutes!
More than once I've been sitting there and the light goes off! Behind the stall door stuck in the dark what a 'bummer' LOL! Nothing like being in total darkness with your pants down!
No job is finished until the 'paper work' is done!
You beat them with the wrench a couple of times and they break, usually dropping a battery which you can use for your flashlight or stun gun.
Can do a lot of these tasks and its $299 (supply your own laptop).
Info here
Dragan Flyer... Its not wi-fi controlled, but you could probably replace the camera with the guts of a wi-fi camera or something.
"Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
A walking, talking, Wi-Fi, SECURITY robot.
ED 209
"You have 30 seconds to comply...."
Hack one robot wirelessly, take over the entire building.
Real smart.
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Wardriving - It's not just a euphemism anymore...
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