The Coming Robot Revolution Yoseph Bar-Cohen l David Hanson Adi Marom, Graphic Artist The Coming Robot Revolution Expectations and Fears About Emerging Intelligent, Humanlike Machines 13 Yoseph Bar-Cohen David Hanson Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Hanson Robotics California Institute of Technology Richardson, TX Pasadena, CA
[email protected] [email protected] ISBN 978-0-387-85348-2 e-ISBN 978-0-387-85349-9 DOI 10.1007/978-0-387-85349-9 Library of Congress Control Number: 2008942430 # Springer ScienceþBusiness Media, LLC 2009 All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer ScienceþBusiness Media, LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights. Printed on acid-free paper springer.com Preface Making a robot that looks and behaves like a human being has been the subject of many popular science fiction movies and books. Although the development of such a robot faces many challenges, the making of a virtual human has long been potentially possible. With recent advances in various key technologies related to hardware and software, the making of humanlike robots is increasingly becoming an engineering reality.