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Suitable Technology's Telepresence Robot Lets You Roll Remotely
DeviceGuru writes "Suitable Technologies today unveiled a telepresence robot based on technology from Willow Garage, a robotics research lab. Beam (as in 'Beam me up, Scotty' — no, really!) implements a video chat function on a computer you can remotely drive around via Internet-based control. Beam, which stands 62 inches tall and weighs 95 pounds, adheres to four operational imperatives, which are intended to mimic human interaction and behavior: reciprocity of vision (if I see you, you must see me); ensuring private communication (no recordings of what goes on); transparency of technology (keeping the interaction natural); and respect social norms (don't push or shove Beam!). But the big question is: Does Beam also adhere to Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics? Let's hope so!"
Wait. Didn't I already see this on an episode of The Big Bang Theory?
I can see the fnords!
We have a robot much like this at work already. It's a vGo, and can be driven around to meet with other people at the office.
How does this new one compare?
Free unix account: freeshell.org
Great! How do you smoke remotely?
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
And I was thinking of a mechanism to let me play Rick Astley clips without anyone being able to fight back.
Seeing as the latest incarnation of Watson is going to advise diagnoses for physicians, I could see and AI administrator managing selections from a library having some kind of Swiss Army Knife selection of medical responses with a human being validating or overriding the selection choices. For instance, the machine arrives on the scene and immediately begins doing a broad spectrum scan to assess the condition and needs of the patient/victim. It takes vitals and identifies potential cause for patient status while attempting to engage the patient. See's if the patient is conscious, responsive, rational, whether patient has contusions, burns, fractures and how severe the injuries are. Exactly the same as a doctor would now, but the machine can look at body heat, pulse rate, respiration, and a wide variety of injuries that would take a physician precious minutes to do. It could apply dressings for wounds, glue severe lacerations shut, cauterize severed arteries and veins, I could administer pain relief, artificial blood replacements, glucose or insulin, even do minor surgeries, tracheotomy, pnuemothorax, etc., in short all the simple life saving measures that would ensure a patient was stabilized until an ambulance arrived or on their way back to the hospital.
As for extreme cases as mentioned above, there would almost have to be some kind of hierarchy of harm and good. Removing a healthy limb is bad, save limb if at all possible, but above saving limbs preserve life. You could actually create a very complex and useful decision tree that physicians might want to employ for their own patients. Because the thing traverses the tree quickly, without hesitation, you save far more patients. Of course, if a person has a virtual certainty of dying, you might want to keep perform life saving actions weighted by not causing pain or further traumatizing the patient, with a doctor making the decisive calls.
The Three Laws are completely irrelevant here.