A Standardized OS For Robots 184
Hugh Pickens writes "The New Scientist reports that at present, all robot software is designed uniquely, even for parts common to all robots but that could be about to change as roboticists have begun to think about what robots have in common and what aspects of their construction can be standardized, resulting in a basic operating system everyone can use. 'It's easier to build everything from the ground up right now because each team's requirements are so different,' says Anne-Marie Bourcier of Aldebaran Robotics but Bourcier sees this changing if robotics advances in a manner similar to personal computing where a common operating system allowed programmers without detailed knowledge of the underlying hardware and file systems to build new applications and build on the work of others. 'Robotics is at the stage where personal computing was about 30 years ago,' says Chad Jenkins of Brown University. 'But at some point we have to come together to use the same resources.' This desire has its roots in frustration, says Brian Gerkey of the robotics research firm Willow Garage. If someone is studying object recognition, they want to design better object-recognition algorithms, not write code to control the robot's wheels. "You know that those things have been done before, probably better," says Gerkey, who hopes to one day see a robot "app store" where a person could download a program for their robot and have it work as easily as an iPhone app."
Sorry, but it has to be said... (Score:5, Funny)
So, you want an iRobot so you can have access to the AppStore
The line to kill me for the bad pun starts at the door, people.
Re:Sorry, but it has to be said... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Robot Virii (Score:1, Funny)
That won't happen until we have Windows RE. (Yep, Robot Edition!)
Finished... (Score:5, Funny)
10 PRINT "Destroy all humans!"
20 GOTO 10
30 years ago there wasn't much 'personal' about it (Score:5, Funny)
Robotics is at the stage where personal computing was about 30 years ago,' says Chad Jenkins of Brown University.
So, completely free of AOLers, women, and social skills? Ah, the halcyon days.
Re:Android (Score:1, Funny)
And watch out for his evil brother.
Bender?
Re:Finished... (Score:2, Funny)
First few lines better look something like this: (Score:1, Funny)
function firstLaw(myNextAction:Directive):Boolean {
var retVal:Boolean = true;
If(causeHumanHarm(myNextAction)) {
if (causeHumanHarm(cancelAction(myNextAction)) {
interceptHumanHarm();
}
retVal = false;
}
return retVal;
}
function secondLaw():Boolean {
var requestedAction:Directive = checkForHumanCommand();
var retVal:Boolean = firstLaw(requestedAction);
if (retVal) {
retVal = overrideNextAction(requestedAction);
}
return retVal;
}
function thirdLaw(myNextAction:Directive):Boolean {
var retVal:Boolean = (secondLaw())?(firstLaw(myNextAction)):(false);
if(retVal) {
if (causeSelfHarm(myNextAction)) {
if(causeSelfHarm(cancelAction(myNextAction)) {
avoidSelfHarm();
}
retVal = false;
}
return retVal;
}
Re:Robot Virii (Score:3, Funny)
How is that different from every Windows Edition?
OS name (Score:1, Funny)
Lets name this OS Skynet !!! :P
Well, at least THIS SkyNet will be retarded (Score:4, Funny)
I, for one, welcome our Visual Basic robot overlords.
Either some really dense guy is trolling for venture capital, or the New Scientist editor got majorly trolled. Since every single robot is completely different, there is little sense in having a common operating system. All it would do is "boot" and give you an API to talk to all your serial devices, and that API would inevitably be tailored to certain uses and wholly inadequate for others.
Re:Android (Score:1, Funny)
And watch out for his evil brother.
Bender?
Those aren't the droids you're looking for. You can go about your business. Move along.
Re:Can't wait (Score:3, Funny)
Different OS's (Score:5, Funny)
INPUT: Make me an omelet.
--Are you sure you would like an omelet? {YES / NO}
---MSROBOT is trying to access your refrigerator. {DENY / ALLOW}
----MSROBOT is trying to access your eggs. {DENY / ALLOW}
----MSROBOT has broken an egg and must be shut down. {Send Error Report / Exit}
Macintosh Robot A.I.:
INPUT: Make me an omelet.
-chord-
-outputs an eggwhite omelet made with organic cheese, soymeat, and fresh tomatoes.
INPUT: Add some sausage.
iROBOT: DID YOU KNOW? Sausage contains cholesterol and transfats, so iRobot does not support Sausage!
Linux Robot A.I.:
$ Make me an omelet.
make: *** No rule to make target 'me'. Stop.
$
Usage: createOmelet [omelet-options]
where omelet-options are -s (sausage), -c (cheese), etc.
$
roboTux:
roboTux: Cutting Sausage..
roboTux:
roboTux:
roboTux:
roboTux:
roboTux:
roboTux:
roboTux:
roboTux: Cutting Sausage... DONE!
roboTux: Shredding Cheese...
roboTux:
roboTux:
roboTux:
roboTux:
roboTux: ERROR: Unable to find CHEDDAR.CHEESE. Please consult your refrigerator administrator.
Re:Different OS's (Score:3, Funny)
BeOS Robot A.I.:
INPUT: Make me an omelet.
BeBot: *POOF* You're an omelet!