Technology, Books and Other Neat Stuff

...of tiny wheels.

Yes, we're going to have robots!^*

Our very own mechanical slaves to clean the house, before tey eventually rebel (like all machines). Of course, we'll have to give them names, but I think I may draw the line at the little french maid's outfit...

Now, what will the cats think of them?

^*A Roomba and a Scooba from a UK importer on eBay!

The Japanese government, more specifically the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, is working on a set of what it calls "safety guidelines for next-generation robots". Of course, we all know what that means: Asimov's famous Three Laws of Robotics.

And it seems that it's pretty much what it does mean:

The guidelines will require manufacturers to install enough sensors to minimize the risk of the robots running into people and use soft and light materials so they do not cause harm if they do so, the officials said.

They will also be required to install emergency shut-off buttons, they said.

....

There are also efforts under way to create global guidelines. The ministry plans to have its measures reflect the global standards, the officials said.

Just watch out for them independently coming up with the Zeroth Law. Oh, and I think someone ought to keep an eye on Will Smith...

Nineteen Ninety Four was a rather fun BBC radio comedy drama that took 1984 and dumped it in a future ultra-privatised Britain, where everything was run by the Ministry of the Environment. It was witty, literate, and very very funny. It was followed up a sequel, Nineteen Ninety Eight and a couple of novels.

One of its high lights was the shoddy servant robot, The Fetcher. It wasn't very stable - and would beedle-beedle around the room, go clunk, and then announce "I've fallen over". One scene in a high class restaurant had a waiter Fetcher point out "Merde, je suis tombée!".

Now someone seems to have built one...