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Robotics Technology

Survivor Buddy, a Friendly Robot Rescuer 109

Posted by timothy from the how-about-a-robotic-shovel dept.
Roland Piquepaille writes "The St. Petersburg Times, Florida, reports that a well-known robot designer, Robin Murphy, a professor of computer science and engineering at the University of South Florida (USF), 'plans to add a heart to robot rescuers.' As says USF, the goal is to develop 'a robot that will be a companion to a person who may be trapped after a car crash or in building ruins following an earthquake, or someone pinned down by sniper fire.' As said Murphy, 'robots can provide not only a sense of being a 'buddy' by playing soothing music or providing other entertainment, the robot also can be the audio and video link between survivor and family.' Murphy will develop this robot with some money coming from Microsoft. But read more for additional references and a picture of Murphy with her robot rescuers."
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Survivor Buddy, a Friendly Robot Rescuer More

Survivor Buddy, a Friendly Robot Rescuer

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  • This robot almost saved my life (Score:3, Funny)

    by Drinking Bleach ( 975757 ) on Saturday May 17, 2008 @09:10PM (#23449778)
    But it BSOD'd at the wrong time!

  • Nice Concept, Small Audience (Score:4, Insightful)

    by joocemann ( 1273720 ) on Saturday May 17, 2008 @09:13PM (#23449810)
    While this is an interesting concept it will most definitely fail at this time. Situations that would necessitate this kind of robot are so uncommon. Furthermoroe, the chance that any rescuing authority would purchase such a robot AHEAD of time is so unlikely. Great idea, but if this buys bread and butter, consider a night job.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by CalSolt ( 999365 )
      But it's just what I need to cheer me up when I'm pinned down by sniper fire!

    • Re:Nice Concept, Small Audience (Score:4, Insightful)

      by dotancohen ( 1015143 ) on Sunday May 18, 2008 @03:25AM (#23451388) Homepage
      I don't want a link to my family while I'm dying, thank you. It will be hard enough for them to cope with the knowledge that I died. Imagine them trying to cope with the fact that I am dying and there is nothing they can do about it but hear me scream. No, thanks.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Xeirxes ( 908329 )
        I dunno, I would think it would be kind of encouraging to see your family member accepting their situation, etc.
        • Then you've never seen someone die. It's not all nice and calm, and they don't talk, like in the movies. Rather, they spill and squirt blood, and drag themselves around, and claw at their wounds, and either scream or try to. They shit and piss themselves. They are confused and do not usually accept what is happening to them, if they even understand at all. I've seen it enough times, thank you (or rather, thank Nasrallah), and trust me, you don't want your family to see you like that.

      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by mdfst13 ( 664665 )

        I don't want a link to my family while I'm dying

        I think that this is intended for the times when your survival is in doubt, not when your death is sure. Part of the problem in these situations is that the people can give up and die, whereas if they struggled to live they would. It's about giving people reasons to continue to fight to survive at a time when they might decide that it is impossible.

        Example: a person falls into a well and has to kick her or his feet to stay above water and breathe. After some time of this, the person is tired and may d

        • This kind of robot would act to find ways to encourage the person to continue kicking.

          Why doesn't it, you know, give her a hand? The robot is either holding onto something, and can therefore help her support herself in the water, or attached to the woman in the well, in which case it's more weight and dragging her down.

          The sniper fire example also indicates this. Assume that you are in a location where the sniper can't reach you. So long as you stay there, you are safe. One danger is that you might get frustrated with waiting and leave safety. A robot like this could make the waiting more bearable by providing things that you can do other than stare at the walls.

          No joke, some soldiers carry gameboys and other things just to pass by the dull moments. There are lots of dull moments.

    • 8) ..."furthermoroe,"(?), the only rescue needed here, is ispell! I'm sure the bot can git'er done!

  • Oooh, soothing music! (Score:5, Funny)

    by peccary ( 161168 ) on Saturday May 17, 2008 @09:16PM (#23449824)
    Just what I want when I'm pinned down by sniper fire. How about some lemon-scented napkins?
    • He's your plastic pal who's fun to be with.

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by Leuf ( 918654 )
      Do not taunt Survivor Buddy.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by HexRei ( 515117 )
      In this case he transforms into Decoy and Bullet Sponge Buddy.

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by mrbluze ( 1034940 )

      or providing other entertainment,
      Robots providing 'other' entertainment might find themselves a hot item in more than just rescue operations!

    • Re:Oooh, soothing music! (Score:4, Funny)

      by jamesh ( 87723 ) on Sunday May 18, 2008 @02:01AM (#23451094)
      Pinned down by sniper fire? You need the 'Cannon Fodder Bot' or 'Decoy Bot' model.

      Robot: Sir, I can't help but notice that this sniper fire is making you miserable. Is there anything I can do to cheer you up? I can hum a few soothing songs for you?

      Me: You know what would really cheer me up? Put this shirt on and walk out into the middle of that street, turn around, pull down your pants, and point your bum in the direction of that window up there.
    • 1: "Shoot High, Aim Low" by Yes
      2: "A View to a Kill" by Duran Duran
      3: "Shoot Me Again" by Metallica
      4: "Here I Am" by Emmylou Harris
      5: "Contrecoup" by They Might Be Giants

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by hey! ( 33014 )

      Just what I want when I'm pinned down by sniper fire. How about some lemon-scented napkins?

      Which turns out to be just the thing MyGyver needs; he shreds the napkins into fine paper dust, stuffs some steel tubing ripped from the robot's chassis with it, banging each end shut with debris. A pair of wires from the robot's power harness leads into the tubing.

      He then touches the wires to the robot's battery, and the homemade bomb fizzles. Fortunately, the robot's Li-ion battery is constructed from Chinese made

  • Remind you of anything? (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Reminds me of the Weighted Companion Cube in Portal.

    Sadly, after successfully rescuing you, it cannot accompany you, and must be euthanized...

  • Predicts the future. (Score:3, Funny)

    by www.sorehands.com ( 142825 ) on Saturday May 17, 2008 @09:22PM (#23449872) Homepage
    Yes, when it displays the BSOD, it tells you your future.
  • ... Dr. Murphy has announced she is leaving USF. The brain drain continues [tampabay.com]. Our new state slogan: "Florida: spend your tax dollars on not education!"

  • There is money coming from Microsoft (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    So obviously this is bad. No need to RTFA.

  • Of course... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Darkness404 ( 1287218 ) on Saturday May 17, 2008 @09:26PM (#23449904)
    It looks like are screaming for your mom, would you like some help?

    Get help screaming for your mom

    Just scream like a little girl without help

  • Please hold, your life is important to us ... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by geophile ( 16995 ) <jao.geophile@com> on Saturday May 17, 2008 @09:27PM (#23449912) Homepage
    "robots can provide not only a sense of being a 'buddy' by playing soothing music or providing other entertainment."

    Yes, if I'm pinned in a car wreck and bleeding to death, I would like nothing more than to listen to muzak and hear a recorded voice urging me to be patient.

  • GPP (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 17, 2008 @09:28PM (#23449918)
    Here I am, brain the size of a planet, and I'm trapped inside an upside-down car in a ditch with someone who wants to hear soothing music...

    • Re: (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Here I am, brain the size of a planet, and I'm trapped inside an upside-down car in a ditch with someone who wants to hear soothing music...
      Well then by all means crack up the Disaster Area.

  • Uncanny vally (Score:5, Insightful)

    by mdmkolbe ( 944892 ) on Saturday May 17, 2008 @09:34PM (#23449948)

    I think this robot could easily be a victim of the uncanny valley. If it were too friendly, it would come across as making light of a serious situation and would potentially feel patronizing.

    I mean seriously, if I'm trapped under a building, I'm really not going to be in the mood for emotionally bonding with a robot.

    To avoid the uncanny valley, the robot needs to be be friendly but not like a dog or person. Instead it should be like a friendly car or other reliable tool that we feel safe using.

    • Re:Uncanny vally (Score:5, Insightful)

      by MichaelSmith ( 789609 ) on Saturday May 17, 2008 @09:41PM (#23449980) Homepage Journal

      I mean seriously, if I'm trapped under a building, I'm really not going to be in the mood for emotionally bonding with a robot.
      Perhaps a child would.
    • a) I think you didn't look at the pictures. It's currently a breadbox on tank treads- no uncanny valley issues there.

      b) Surely it could just beep and boop, if it wasn't directly transmitting human voices? Everyone's seen Star Wars- if you made it sound like R2 I don't think anyone would interpret it as patronizing.

      • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

        by cavePrisoner ( 1184997 )
        You always hear about people in life and death situations finding the sound of approaching helicopters (or whatever is rescuing them) to be the most pleasing sound they ever heard. Having it sound like r2 would be perfect. I don't think being patronized is your biggest worry if you're trapped under a building. Any sound at all that could mean that more help is on the way will be best thing they ever heard given that people sometimes spend days trapped under rubble after natural disasters.
        • Well, I know an R2-sounding robot would make ME happy... but then I played waaaay too much X-Wing back in the day. Now if he'd only tie down that stabiliser...
    • Definitely. Imagine being trapped under rubble and being stuck with Clippy to keep you company. "I see you are trapped under a pile of rubble. Do not worry; help is one the way."

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by hey! ( 33014 )
      The uncanny valley works both ways though. The closer to human you get, the more the person perceiving looks back towards the robotic edge of the valley. A few steps into the valley from the robotic side keeps the person focused on the far edge.

      The trick is not to try to make the robot human like; the trick is to give the robot behaviors that are purposeful and reassuring, and let human imagination bridge the gap.

      How many military personnel have developed almost human feelings towards machines who they ha

  • I am not a child (Score:5, Funny)

    by Junior J. Junior III ( 192702 ) on Saturday May 17, 2008 @09:55PM (#23450040) Homepage
    I think about the last thing I'd need if I were trapped in a situation where I needed rescue would be some fucking robot to come along and try to cheer me up.

    The idea of this seems like MS Office's Clippy, only a hundred times worse. "Looks like you're fucked! Would you like help? I can sing you a song!"

    Fuck off and die, Clippy. I don't need a robot to act as a homing beacon or communications device when a simple cell phone or radio is capable of performing the same role. So, unless you can dig me out of here, or actually do something to provide life support, I'm kinda busy right now.
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by stuffeh ( 1108283 )
      Well, I don't see a cellphone being very reliable under much rubble, and radios usually don't get up and walk to where you call them.

      If you're trapped in a cave where the entrance is blocked off by a 5 ton boulder, I don't see much for you to do, so talking/playing with a robot doesn't seem so bad to me. Especially since I would be hoping that the entire rescue crew is too busy to be digging me out of the situation rather than talking to my lonely self.

      Seems like the parent poster just wants to snipe
      • Frankly, if I'm trapped in a cave by a 5 ton boulder, the only robot I want is one that can lift 5 1/2 tons. Just because the rescue team (if any) is busy doesn't mean I want to converse with a glorified tin can.

  • Roomba. iPod. Duct tape. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by jpellino ( 202698 ) on Saturday May 17, 2008 @09:58PM (#23450050)
    We're done here.

    Erm, they *do* have Mantovani on iTMS, right?

  • Just one question..... (Score:3, Funny)

    by chinaguy ( 1022547 ) on Saturday May 17, 2008 @10:03PM (#23450080)
    Is it self-inflating or do we have to blow it up ourself?

  • A friendly robot buddy? I hope they name it Floyd.
  • Murphy was shot down by a bunch of thugs in an abandoned warehouse. Later she was reconstructed into RoboCop, and became the robot rescuer!

  • What is the point of sending robots with hearts? It's not like trapped victims is going to be able to replace their own heart if they have a heart attack...

    And before you protest, sure, they can eat the heart and get some nutrients and liquid from it but why not send them robots with cookies and lemonade instead? They taste much better and are a lot cheaper.

    note: I didn't read the summary as I'm posting late and every second counts.

  • More than just an iPod (Score:3, Insightful)

    by ezratrumpet ( 937206 ) on Saturday May 17, 2008 @10:59PM (#23450336) Journal
    What's coming will be much, much more important than the article indicates. A robot could take structural measurements that would help rescuers tunnel to the victims, possibly conduct remote engineering (e.g. deploy an airbag as a temporary shoring device), deliver food/water to the hungry/thirsty, monitor vital signs, and even act as a remote defibrulator (sp?).

    This intervention will be bigger and bigger as nanotechnology improves and evolves into self-constructing robots that can crawl through virtually any crevice.

    Privacy issues related to this are a whole other story.
    • All those capabilities sound great in theory, but how's the robot going to get into the wreckage of a collapsed building (just as an example). I think nanotechnology would have to improve quite a bit before we're capable of building a robot that is both small enough (I imagine it would have to be quite small) to efficiently navigate something like that, in addition to having all of the measurement/monitoring/video capabilities that would make it useful in practice. Possibly on the horizon...
      • I was even thinking of nanobots that would crawl to a point and reconstruct themselves into a larger robot. We're not there yet, but we might be someday.
  • Some nice music and some entertainment to distract me, say a nice game of checkers or a rerun of 'The Lion King'....

    Maybe if it was designed to go out and draw some fire, it would be both useful and entertaining!
    Who thinks up this shite?
  • I for one welcome our friendly robot overlords.

  • Sirius Cybernetics marketing department at work? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Steve1952 ( 651150 ) on Sunday May 18, 2008 @12:01AM (#23450622)
    From wikipedia:

    "Other examples of Sirius Cybernetics Corporation's record with sentient technology include an armada of neurotic elevators, hyperactive ships' computers and perhaps most famously of all, Marvin the Paranoid Android. Marvin is a prototype for the GPP feature, and his depression and "terrible pain in all the diodes down his left side" are due to unresolved flaws in his programming. Ironically, the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation defines a robot as "your plastic pal who's fun to be with".

    The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy electronic guidebook defined the Marketing Division of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation as "a bunch of mindless jerks who'll be the first up against the wall when the revolution comes" with "a footnote to the effect that the editors would welcome applications from anyone interested in taking over the part of robotics correspondent." The story notes that a version of the Encyclopaedia Galactica that "had the good fortune to fall through a time warp from a thousand years in the future" defined the Marketing Division of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation as "a bunch of mindless jerks who were the first against the wall when the revolution came."

  • It strikes me how brave they use definitions like "sense of being a 'buddy'", "soothing music" or "friendly" in this article! Especially together with other definitions like "a person who may be trapped after a car crash or in building ruins following an earthquake, or someone pinned down by sniper fire". I will not be surprised if someday we will have news about a well-known robot designer who is getting sued for crating a machine that annoys the hell out the victims while they are helplessly trapped... Ma

  • A more useful robot (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Simonetta ( 207550 ) on Sunday May 18, 2008 @01:34AM (#23450988)
    A more useful robot would be one that kills the sniper, or snakes its way out of the rubble (who said that the robot must be humanoid?) in order to lead rescuers to your exact location.

      But (duh) people who live in places where snipers are a problem, or places where buildings don't have to be constructed to 100-year earthquake codes, tend not to have the disposable income to spend on personal robots.

      Is a vibrator a 'personal robot'? Maybe, if it tells you that it loves you.

      Is this Slashdot story a joke? Did I miss April First again? I thought that it was May, maybe I'm just ahead of my time.
  • Why don't they design the robot so it could dig you out? I think if we're going to be building machines we should make them pretty strong. Am I right? Am I write?

  • Survivor Buddy, A Friendly Robot Rescuer

    I would prefer if the robot designers dedicated more research to more necessary functions, like checking a pulse/breathing, providing food/water etc. This seems way too gimmicky, and if you're trapped at the bottom of a mine, a singing, friendly robot won't be as useful as say, a robot that fires lasers. Wait, that wouldn't help much either. Maybe if the miners were bored and wanted some entertainment. Nothing is more fun than playing with lasers, until somebody goes blind. Then it's a lawsuit.

  • plans to add a heart to robot rescuers
    IRON MAN

  • Great (Score:1, Funny)

    by bash_finger ( 244737 )
    Just wait till the advertisers get onto this. There will be no escape, you can't even turn it off.
  • ...a Nintendo DS and Super Mario Cart.
  • The Suburban Auto Group already came up with a better idea: Trunk Monkey [youtube.com] Emotional Support [youtube.com]!
  • Oh great! Now GM will implement a "robot companion" with their "On-Star", when you purchase a new auto.

    What if the robot decides to turn into a nazi ss death head, when you wreck and the operator on the On Star system hears you ....._______.....
  • I think I just saw this in a webcomic [blogspot.com].
  • "As said Murphy, 'robots can provide not only a sense of being a 'buddy' by playing soothing music or providing other entertainment, the robot also can be the audio and video link between survivor and family."

    -Yeah. Like I relly want to listen to a robot sing "Feelngs" why my family watches me spend the day getting shot at. Real good.

  • Make it able to RECORD a message (Score:3, Interesting)

    by ofcourseyouare ( 965770 ) on Sunday May 18, 2008 @07:10AM (#23452190)
    Don't have the robot SAY a message (which will of course almost certainly be absurdly inappropriate) let it RECORD a message. There are many examples of situations where people who knew they were trapped and going to die have left a message for their family. Such messages are of course disturbing for the loved ones, but also treasured. And by reminding a severely wounded person of the world outside, and of what they have to live for, making the recording might perhaps boost the person's will to remain conscious and survive. And even if they don't survive, making the message and feeling it would get to your family might help make the end less bitter.

  • While I don't doubt the idea has been around long before, this reminds me of the "autoremotes" from the Elite novella "The Dark Wheel" [clara.net];

    "Blinking through its solitary monitor, it hovered over his face like a squat, legless dachsund hound and pumped adrenalin, oxygen and glucose into his bloodstream. Alex opened his eyes and panicked slightly. The autoremote calmed him down with a quick pumpsurge of tetval.

    The robot's voice whispered in his ears, 'Brandy? Scotch? Vodka? I am equipped with a full range

  • We will come to encounter robots that interact with us in more ways than we can imagine. That interaction will be subject to the rule of law. One method for ruling robots will be legal contracts [blogspot.com]. --Ben
  • F*** that - I want a Culture drone as my robot buddy!

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Culture#Drones [wikipedia.org]

  • If these things go into mass production, there will be a robot social disbalance, which is why I'm applying for a grant to build the first Robot Bully. "Making the bad times just a little bit worse!"
  • Please, dear God! Take me now!
  • "Oh Fry, I love you more than the moon and the stars and the POETIC IMAGE #37 NOT FOUND"
  • I was expecting one of the robots to be named after 'Wilson' of the movie Castaway. :)

    Neat idea though. A lot of the effort of surviving is keeping motivated and staying positive.
  • Victim: Where am I?
    RB: You're stuck under a building with a Rescue Buddy!
    Victim: I mean, what am I doing here?
    RB: I'm sorry. Would you please rephrase the question?
    Victim: How did I get stuck under a building?
    RB: The building fell over; you got stuck!
  • This seems absurd. Some people are very creative but they try to make up uses for something that isn't wanted or needed. Certainly one of these people. Robots are cool. I want a robot. But to clean my house, maybe walk the dog when I can't be there, that sort of stuff. I don't want a robot to play me my "Top 10 songs to listen to before you die" playlist on my iPod. I'd much rather be found by a rescue dog. Its real, and would cheer me up much better than a machine "buddy".
  • Tom Hanks found a solution for this situation a few years back: Wiiillllson!!!
  • Have yourself a merry christmas this season by buying your loved one a state of the art RoboRescue dog. Asking price only 125,000 dollars. No Nigerian money orders please.
  • It's an honor to be slashdotted- thanks! Given the interest in our project I'd thought I break out of lurker mode and try to address some of the questions/concerns, since it's hard to judge technology from descriptions in the popular press. The robot isn't fully autonomous-- it's serving as a medium between humans "behind" the robot with humans "in front" of the robot and the rest of the world. As it stands now, had we found survivors at one of our responses, the operator would have spoken over the 2 way a
  • It looks like you're writing your last farewell.

    Would you like help with that?

    a) Write a quick goodbye to mom and dad before you bleed out.
    b) Write a long sorrowful goodbye blaming the world.
    c) Write an apology to all your EXs
    d) Write a letter admitting to all that you have done wrong - warning low on disk space.
  • 8) Bot, will do whatever it takes, as long as you can tell it what's going on... I had a dog, like that...once....

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