Page 154 - Concise Encyclopedia of Robotics

Hexadecimal Number System
Machine knowledge becomes far more powerful when computers are
given the ability to control mechanical devices, as is the case with auto-
nomous robots.Intelligence and knowledge alone cannot build cars,bridges,
aircraft,and rockets.Perhaps dolphins are as smart as people,but these marine
mammals lack hands and fingers with which to manipulate things. A com-
puterized robot is to a computer as a human being is to a dolphin.
Can computers ever become smarter than, and perhaps more powerful
than, their makers? Some scientists are concerned that AI will be mis-
used, or that it could evolve on its own with unintended, unexpected, and
unpleasant results. Other researchers believe that the potential benefits of
ever-increasing machine knowledge will always outweigh the potential
dangers, and that we can always pull the plug if things get out of control.
HEXADECIMAL NUMBER SYSTEM
See NUMERATION.
HIERARCHICAL PARADIGM
The term hierarchical paradigm refers to the oldest of three major ap-
proaches to robot programming. A robot that employs the hierarchical
paradigm relies largely on advance planning to carry out its assigned
tasks. In the most sophisticated robot systems, there are three basic
functions, known as plan/sense/act. The hierarchical paradigm simplifies
this to plan/act.
The original idea for this paradigm was based on an attempt to get a
smart robot to mimic human thought processes. The robot first senses
the nature of its work environment,plans an action or sequence of actions,
and then carries out those actions. In some systems this process occurs
only once, at the beginning of the task; in other systems the planning step
is repeated at intervals during the execution of the task.
The hierarchical paradigm has also been called the deliberative para-
digm, because of its reliance on creating fixed models of the work environ-
ment. The robot controller functions in a sense as if it is “cogitating” or
“deliberating” a strategy prior to carrying it out. This scheme has proven
too simplistic for many practical scenarios, and around the year 1990,
it was superseded by more advanced programming methods. Compare
HYBRID DELIBERATIVE/REACTIVE PARADIGM and REACTIVE PARADIGM.

HIGH-LEVEL LANGUAGE
The term high-level language refers to programming languages used by
humans in their interactions with computers. The various high-level
languages each have advantages in some types of work, and shortcom-
ings in others.

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