Eng259_NAO the robot.

NAO The Robot. 

 Sullins, J. P.(2005). Artificial Intelligence. C. Mitcham (Ed.) Encyclopedia of science.(Vol. 1, pp. 110).
       Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA.  Retrieved April 20 ,2013,Gale Virtual reference Library.


Calzada, F. (Youtube user name).(Uploaded February 6, 2013)." NAO Robot Plays Tic Tac Toe with
      human" [Video file].  Accessed April 20,2013/ Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?
      feature=fvwp&v=p1ITwOEZAdA&NR=1

Click Here to see the Video.

      Interaction between the NAO Robot and user is very exiting and I am optimistic for a future with robot companions. At the moment though we are no where near the level of interaction we would like to see. I for one am happy to think that there will be a robot that can help me cook, clean and any other dirty work I would love to be relieved of. This is exactly the long term goal of the creators of the NAO robot revealed at an interview at the The Engadget Show - 016.  What some of us would like to see is a robot capable of making decisions to complete a task on their own, based on the information in front of them, in an agile manner within a reasonable amount of time.  

      

      Here is the link to a video of NAO robot playing a game of  tic tac toe which was uploaded to youtube by Franck Calzada, a NAO developer. The video is optimistic with captions explaining the capabilities of the NAO robot. We observe that NAO is capable of recognizing and associating an item to a specific task. It recognizes the items similar to a human since he recognizes the playing cards used regardless of its position and orientation. NAO understands that tic tac toe is made up of two distinct symbols usually an x and an o. In the video we see that NAO can associates any two distinct shapes as symbols for the game and understands that color differences in the symbols is unimportant. He has the ability to keep track of scores, players turns and which symbols are his as opposed to those of his opponent symbol. He knows when a person has ended his turn and identifies the results of the game, this means he is able to store data and recall that data based on the interaction that take place.

      The video suggest that the robot is autonomous but fails in my opinion. For example we see that the robot only performs "scripts or certain activities without any continuity like a human we see this when resets at the start of a new game. Instead of understanding that he is with a user playing multiple game all linking to one set of interaction that belongs to a bigger scope of interaction; he sees each tic tac toe game as an individual unrelated interaction. This is also evident when he drops his pen after the start of a new game, he fails to conclude that he still has a pen in his hand therefore should not ask for a new one each time he is shown a card or start a new game unless he actually doesn't have a pen. I feel he restarts at the begging of each new game because he treats it as a new instance with no recollection that he has a pen and or because he is still not fully conscience of himself. The NAO should have space in his memory to add his interaction so that he is able to have continuity and have a "self identity" or function outside of his individually programmed scripts. That however might be a whole different story we can discuss later because some may not even want to consider this because of the ethical issues that arise, on who's ethics and ideas would the robot run under? (Sullins, 2005)

         Besides the real goal of the NAO programs as said so in their  interview at the The Engadget Show - 016 and at TEDxNijmegen 2013 and elsewhere is to ease people from the fear of robots by building one that contributes greatly to our society. Their current goal is to have the  NAO robot help both autistic and elderly people. Although resistant at first the elderly benefit from the companion of a NAO robot for a companion who would be able to help, keep them company and take care of them when they are in need (TEDX NIJMEGEN, 2013).  Autistic children would benefit tremendously from them because autistic children usually dont like to interact with other people so a human therapist can only help as long as the child is receptive. With the NAO a child would be more receptive and willing to  learn and continue with his exercises while learning how to interact. This has already been proven at a    a training exercise conducted with "a dozen children ages 2 to 5: half of them were on the autism spectrum and half were not. The researchers found that all the children spent more time watching the robot than they did a human therapist." this means that children with autism have a better chance to learn more easily than with a human therapist (Winter, 2013). 

     So even though the NAO might not be a truly autonomous yet because it is not a program that "can truly operate on its own (autonomously for any significant length of time" (Sullins, 2005).  

     I used many sources two of them are a technical description of the NAO robot and videos of the NAO robot in action. The technical description gave me the specs and an understanding on how the NAO  actually works, I was able to see the programming and software used to help NAO see, talk and interact. It helped me imagine the type of work, time and dedication invested on the NAO. While the videos, helped me see how the robot actually performed although the NAO may not be autonomous it does not discredit the fact that it is one of the best robots I have ever seen. I was most impressed by their "personality", their ability to play tic tac toe, stand up when they fall, stand on one leg and ability to identify different objects. They even draw sketches of what they see when you program them to! Based on this even though the NAO robot may not be autonomous yet they will benefit our society through direct contribution and for the inspiration they evoke, which always helps us take a closer look at ourselves.       

Calzada, F. (Youtube user name).(Uploaded August 18, 2012)."NAO Robot Draws what he sees !
     Drawing my hand" [Video file].  Accessed April 20,2013/ Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.
     com/watch?v=RjSw6xpucnM


Calzada, F. (Youtube user name).(Uploaded February 6, 2013)." NAO Robot Plays Tic Tac Toe with
      human" [Video file].  Accessed April 20,2013/ Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?
      feature=fvwp&v=p1ITwOEZAdA&NR=1




Mumm, C. (Writer), & Mumm, C. (Director). (2010). Mitsubishi's Frank DeMartin, iRobot,
      Aldebaran's NAO robot, Ubisoft Battle Tag, CES '11 preview, and more![Television series
      episode].Mumm, C. (Producer), The Engadget Show. The New York Times.


 Sullins, J. P.(2005). Artificial Intelligence. C. Mitcham (Ed.) Encyclopedia of science.(Vol. 1, pp.   
      110). Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA.  Retrieved April 20 ,2013,Gale Virtual reference Library.



TEDX NIJMEGEN(Youtube user name). (Uploaded April 08, 2013)."Nao Robot at TEDxNijmegen
      2013"[Video file]. Accessed April 20, 2013/ Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
      feature=player_embedded&v=Rt7rN6XMSY8  

Winter, L.(2013). NAO the Humanoid Robot Therapist is Working Wonders With Autistic  

        Children.inhabitots.com: http://www.inhabitots.com/nao-is-a-humanoid-robot-therapist-working- 

        wonders-with-autistic-children/2/  

Eng259_"Blog Assignment #3__ Steps to "Proposals for accident prevention at La Guardia school grounds."

Steps to "Proposals for accident prevention at La Guardia school grounds."

       Rows of crash-resistant bollards protect
                     entrances, glass areas and main building of
                   Yuma Regional Medical Center, Yuma, AZ.
                            Reliance Foundry Co. Ltd. Photo

As a class assignment three scenarios where presented to us so that we could come up with a solution in a professional memo. I chose Scenario #1 _Traffic danger because of the actual car accident which I referenced in my memo, I wanted to be more informed on the proposed and available solutions since this concerns the student body and myself. Here is an excerpt from my memo "… Bollards called K4 weigh about 15,000 lbs are capable of stopping a car traveling at 30 mph. These bollards come in different shapes and sizes and other companies offer bollards capable of stopping a truck at 50 mph. .... However we can choose to place 4 bollards on each lane of the two lanes at the intersections of Thompson Avenue and Skillman Avenue and Thompson Avenue and Van Dyke Street intersections of with a total cost of 10,400 US dollars including the installation. This is a great solution can be built upon by installing the first 16 bollards and continue the addition of more bollards throughout the years as our budget allows. … "

Research included phone calls to the governor’s office, which lead to the discovery of DOT's plan to widen the sidewalks; an interview with Simko J. a former IMSA signal technician who witness to the accident. Phone calls to companies that offer radar speed sign’s, rubber speed cushions, and bollards, after their online look up. Because there are many types of violation I concluded that there is no one solution in the market to solve all violations such as car running on sidewalks, red lights and speeding. I concluded that DOT's plan to enlarge the sidewalk along with some bollards at our most dangerous intersections and changes to the traffic signals offer solutions that offers a wider range of protection for the student body.

To conclude after calling the mayors office I learned that the DOT is the one responsible to approve any plans to improve safety. The DOT proposed a plan to enlarge the sidewalks however the DOT will not implement the plan until it is deemed necessary therefore calling, emailing or mailing the  DOT to push for safety precautions is very important.   

***I would like to give a special thanks to Bill from BOLLARDS, Reliance Foundry CO. LTD. for his help with 

product: pricing, description and specifications.

***James Simko for allowing me to interview him, for his ideas, time, input, and advice.

*** Johanna from TRAFFIC LOGIX, Corporation for product pricing and description.  

*** As well as the staff at ,The Mayors Office, for the information on current plans, obstacles and updates of 

current events .