Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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“No offense; but your robots are ugly”

Robots today (especially for home and care giver usage) will need to improve drastically. We’re still designing robots like the are a CPU for homes which frankly freaks some kids out, scares some of the elderly population that it’s too fragile to operate, and my own cat will not come near one. If robotics for home use is ever going to be adopted by the large mass of the population they will need to look less like they are a robot part of a manufacturers’s assembly line, will need a softer/ low noise sound with volume controls for those with hard of hearing, will need modifications for the deaf and blind, will all need to be a multi purpose robot that can do 2 or more types of work inside the home vacumn/ dust/ cook/ wash dishes/ wash clothes, etc., not complicated to set up and operate, reliable (not needing repairs all the time & not over heat), less bulky, better sensors to determine stairs and can climb stairs, etc.

From mowing the lawn to cooking dinner, experts say automatons are set to take over some of our most tedious tasks.

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Unfortunately, much of this (teaching morals, developing a defense plan in case of a preemptive strike, etc,) is not going to work and key reason is simple. Robots are and will always be a machine at it’s core foundation. And, as a result, criminals and terrorists will be able to pay enough money to someone to over ride the technology; therefore, enabling criminals and others to do whatever they wish with the technology.

Instead of trying to promote book reading as a means to preventing an up rising; let’s be a little more realistic in this by stating we’re teaching the machine to have more of an interpersonal approach in its communications and interactions with people. Also, I highly encourage robotic companies need to include a well diverse engineering team especially where robotics is being developed for domestic usage and caregiver usage; otherwise, you will be only as good as the next competitor’s product that did include a right mix of engineers and deliver a better product that meets both male and female needs as well as cultural needs.

In other words, it will be hard for a robot designed & created with a dominate male (20 to 30 something year olds) minded to relate how a female 50 yr old thinks about her house. Again, I would love to see more females get into this space especially female owned companies because they could truly own this market.
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This is going to require a few good books. But choose them carefully.

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Where robotic companies are really messing up

The domesticated robot market is a hot market; could be dominated by female owned and operated robotic companies. When we look at the companies building robots today for home use; it is very male dominated meaning a woman that is in her 30’s, 40’s, 50’s and 60’s is stuck with robotics for her home designed and developed by 20 & 30 year old males.

Now, how does a 20 or 30 something year old understands how a female in her 30’s, 40’s, … thinks and “feels” about her house? They don’t so this is a huge gap and a problem in this space.

Ttp://www.digitaltrends.com/home/sidd-srinivasa-home-robots-5-years/

Sidd Srinivasa has been working on a robotic butler for the past 11 years. He tells Digital Trends where he hopes home robots will be in the near future.

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Smartphone meet the Smartcouch.

http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwgeeks/article/Is-Your-COUCH-Smart-Enough-Enter-the-Immersit-20160220#

I’m reporting this news now from my couch and I must admit that after months of immersion in the Smart Home world, I’ve never once considered if my sofa was on the list of home products needing to be upgraded. Until, I suppose…today. Welcome to the Immersit, the new device which might have you never looking at your La-Z-Boy the same way again. Or, if you’re like me … wondering if the product will work, destroy your sofa, or frighten the heck out of your pet.

Let’s go to the Kickstarter which is fully funded with more than $100,000 dollars pledged and still weeks to go. Here’s how they describe themselves: “Immersit, a plug & play device installed under your couch, can generate a very high amount of movement patterns and vibrations ranging from explosive to subtle: pitches, rolls & heaves, moving users back & forth, from side to side and up & down. All these, combined with intelligent vibrations and an adjustable intensity, result in the ultimate movie and gaming experience in which each explosion, wave & sharp turn is felt directly by the user from his own furniture.”

The genesis.

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However, one also must look at the past for insights and guidance on things that were done wrong to ensure bad history is not repeated.

Therefore, let me share with you a part of history that we need to be aware of and protect our future from ever repeating again.

Many folks have never heard of Poor Farms in the South and Poor Houses in some parts of the Midwest. Before soc. Security and Welfare we had poor farms/ houses. They date from the late 1800s until 1930s.

Poor farms/ houses were often filled with the elderly and others that had no money or anyone to take care them. People often worked the land for 16+ hours days, dressed in rags, and had very little to eat. Once you were there you could not leave ever until you died.

My grandfather always taught us that if Social Security and Welfare were ever eliminated, that a model of Poor Farms/ houses would return.

Poorhouses promised to be a much more efficient and cheaper way to provide relief to paupers.

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This is wonderful program for students wanting to learn robotics. I do believe for real AI/ traditional Robotics (not referring to nanobots or microbots) to truly accelerate in capabilities; it will require technology like Quantum.

Two young engineering students are making robotics more accessible to enthusiasts across the country

A spartan apartment at a nondescript housing society in Pashan is filled with robots of all shapes and sizes. Among the curious looking machines are two robotic hands that mimic the movement of a human body and a large quadcopter that looks as if it’s ready to fly. This is the working space of College of Engineering, Pune (CoEP) alumni Amol Gulhane and Pratik Pravin Deshmukh — the 20-something founders of Robolab, a venture that’s making robotics accessible to the masses by building robotics labs across the country.

“We were inspired to start Robolab because of two reasons. Being members of the Robot Study Circle, a college group dedicated to robotics at CoEP, we were passionate about building robots. Although we were specialising in electronics and telecommunications, robotics brought out the best in us. When the time approached for graduation in 2013, the thought of having to give up our hobby was depressing. So, the idea to start Robolab in November 2013 was born out of the desire to stay true to our calling,” said Deshmukh. The second reason, revealed the youngsters, was more idealistic. In the course of launching Robolab, the duo conducted a survey to find out the number of colleges in India having labs dedicated to robotics. “We found out there were just a handful of colleges like the IITs who had such labs. Since not many people can make it to the IITs, we decided to take robotics to the masses with Robolab.”

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More Intel Concerns

James Clapper tells senators the vulnerabilities in connected devices that hackers exploit can also be used for surveillance by foreign countries.

As the Internet of things has grown, so has the debate about security around it.

Much of the focus has been around the fact that with billions of new systems, devices and sensors connecting each year, the attack surface for hackers continues to widen. Add in a lack of security in many of these connected devices and their growing popularity in homes and businesses, and the issue becomes even more concerning.

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As much as this article wants to promote that by 2020 that we will have terminator style robots acting as an in home nurse with patients (at least in the US) will be very hard to see. Most elderly as well as young children need more of human or personable interaction in their lives. I do highly suggest researchers (especially those that have studied children in orphanages where limited human interaction was available) to share your own insights of what happens to children who are without human contact at long periods as well as the elderly. I believe folks will rethink somethings and be more pragmatic in what these robots can and can do.

Published on Feb 3, 2016

A new generation of humanoid robots are coming in the 2020s, says innovation and industry expert Alec Ross. They will care for our aging populations and revolutionize manufacturing. Ross’ book is “The Industries of the Future The Industries of the Future.

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