Page 26 - Concise Encyclopedia of Robotics

Anthropomorphism
As early as the middle of the nineteenth century, a machine was con-
ceived that was thought to be in some sense animate. This was Charles
Babbage’s analytical engine. At that time, very few people seriously
thought that a contraption made of wheels and gears could have life. How-
ever, today’s massive computers, and the promise of more sophisticated
ones being built every year, have brought the question out of the realm of
science fiction.
Computers can do things that people cannot. For example, even a
simple personal computer (PC) can figure out the value of (pi), the
ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, to millions of decimal
places. Robots can be programmed to do things as complicated as figuring
out how to get through a maze or rescue a person from a burning building.
In recent years, programming has progressed to the point that computers
can learn from their mistakes, so that they do not make any particular
error more than once. This is one of the criteria for intelligence, but few
Western engineers or scientists consider this,by itself,characteristic of life.
ANTHROPOMORPHISM
Sometimes, machines or other objects have characteristics that seem
human-like to us.This is especially true of advanced computers and robots.
We commit anthropomorphism when we think of a computer or robot as
human. Androids, for example, are easy to anthropomorphize. Science-
fiction movies and novels often make use of anthropomorphisms.
An example of anthropomorphism with respect to a computer occurs
in the novel and movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. In this story, a spacecraft is
controlled by “Hal,” a computer that becomes delusional and tries to kill
the human astronauts.
Some engineers believe that sophisticated robots and computers already
have human qualities, because they can optimize problems and/or learn
from their mistakes. Others, however, contend that the criteria for life are
far more strict.
Owners of personal robots sometimes think of the machines as com-
panions. In that sense, such robots actually are like people, because it is
possible to grow fond of them.
See also PERSONAL ROBOT.
ARM
See ROBOT ARM.

ARTICULATED GEOMETRY
Robot arms can move in various different ways. Some can attain only cer-
tain discrete, or definite, positions, and cannot stop at any intermediate

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