Driverless Cars

Could your next car be a driverless car? Could driverless cars actually be safer than cars driven by humans? How would driverless cars change the legal landscape concerning insurance, speed limits, and driver's licenses? The technology is currently being developed and mass production may not be that far off.

Look, no hands--The Economist takes a look at the benefits of driverless cars.

Driverless Cars for the Road Ahead-The Wall Street Journal examines the future of driverless cars





A look at Google's Driverless Car








Mercedes Benz Driverless Car

 

 Volvo's "Car Train"

Personal Robot Research & Presentation

The field of personal robots is rapidly emerging, however, the design, role, and functionality of personal robots is quite diverse. More time and money is needed to continue the research and development of these futuristics assistants.

Your task:
You will be on a team of 3-4 individuals, assigned to research a particular personal robot. You will conduct research on the development (who, when, how, history, etc.) of the personal robot, its functions or abilities, and proposed use. Also, how far away is it from mass production or how long do you think it will be before these are actually on the market and in people's houses?

After you have conducted your research, create a presentation (GoogleDocs, Prezi, Slideshare, etc) that demonstrates and explains the value of your personal robot. Your presentation should be framed as a "sales pitch" or a justification for continued funding and support for the development of the robot.

You should spend today and Thursday (20 minutes) conducting research and creating the presentation.

Presentations will take place Friday.

Presentations should have a minimum of 6 slides, not including any title pages or citations. Your final slide should contain your citations (minimum of 5 citations). Your presentation should include graphics and at least one video.

Here are the personal robots:

mOBI

PR2

Asimo

QB (Anybots)

VGo

Nao

Friday Forum: Flashback Edition

We have looked at several topics over the course of this semester, but what new developments are there? Today we are going to revisit some of those topics and see what's happening.

ISIS
ISIS pushed back in Iraq
ISIS moves in on Ramadi

Cyberwarfare
Iran is Raising Sophistication of Cyberattacks
Evidence Links China to Cyberattack

Space Travel
Watch SpaceX failed landing
SpaceX brings cargo



KC Passes Ordinance that Could Drive Out Uber
Boko Haram Kidnapped Girls One Year Ago

Personal Robots

How long will it be before households or individuals have personal robots? What will their role be? Is it just a science fiction fantasy? These videos explore the possibilities.








Meet Eddie, the Robot






Personal Robots Moving Closer to Reality



ASIMO Goes to the Big Apple





Romo: The Smartphone Robot




Rezero: The Ballbot



Pepper the Personal Robot

Weaponized Military Robots

The use of robots in the military for non-lethal tasks like carrying equipment and reconnaissance is becoming more common. But what about robots equipped with weapons? Is this really the future of modern warfare? If so, what are the ethical considerations of using weaponized robotics?





As you can see in the video, weaponized robots are a possibility in the not so distant future. How does that change the landscape of war? Will weaponized robots make warfare more likely? How can we be sure that they will be accurate and discern friend from foe? By removing the human element from at least part of the equation, how does that impact warfare? Will countries fight wars in the future with all robot militaries?

Please read this article on the ethics of robots in the military and autonomous killing machines.  As you read, think about the questions raised by the author.

UN Report on Autonomous Weaponized Robots in Combat

Campaign to Stop Killer Robots