Terminators of the 21st century: combat robots exist not only in Hollywood films. The latest achievements of world robotics were shown in Beijing
Modern technologies are rapidly moving forward, making science fiction film footage a thing of the near future. They enter our lives so imperceptibly and organically that there are already a number of inventions that make us wonder. We present to your attention the list - Top 10 the most interesting inventions of mankind of the 21st century. Perhaps some of them will not be in demand at all, but they have the potential to significantly change our lives. Here are presented as inventions to solve specific problems, and technologies that can find application in many areas.
1. Mind reading devices
On the transmission of complex thoughts directly from the brain to various devices You can't dream about it in the near future. But back in 1998, a gadget went on sale that allowed paralyzed people to turn the light on and off with the power of thought. And in 2008, Japanese scientists led by Junichi Ushiba allowed a paralyzed person to give simple commands to a character in a computer social game. Several large companies today sell telepathic devices that allow you to control applications or toys. They actively cooperate with game manufacturers, which, if events develop well, will give significant results in the future. The use of such devices for medical purposes is also promising. For this reason, a mind reading device could, in the future, become one of the most useful inventions of mankind.
2.
Studies of overweight people who were not helped by dieting showed that most of them secretly ate food, which ruined their efforts. Arrange such observation for each patient in Everyday life impossible. The invention of scientists from Taiwan University is designed to solve this problem, allowing you to monitor the number and frequency of food intake. In the future it is planned to make it more informative and wireless. In addition to nutritionists and psychologists, it may also be useful to doctors of other professions. Of course, if its creators do not abandon work on it and they manage to do everything planned.
3.
Such robots are very useful in performing operations that require special precision and undoubtedly, they can be considered as the most important inventions of mankind made in the 21st century. It may seem that the era of such devices has not yet arrived. But they are already being mass-produced and have become quite widespread. The best known is the daVinci surgical robot, which is a manipulator controlled by a surgeon. Hundreds of thousands of operations are performed on such systems around the world every year. And the American robot “Star” is known for performing intestinal surgery on its own, so it is possible that in the future there will even be competition in this area.
4.
A 3D printer is one of the useful and most unusual inventions of mankind. This device is primarily associated with simple plastic figurines produced at home. But the number of areas in which they are already used or could be useful is enormous. They assist engineers in design, reducing time and costs. You can print useful and small items on them at home. In some industries, especially small-scale ones, producing parts on 3D printers will cost less than on classic lines.
Even in making food, growing organs and creating medicines, this technology could be useful. The US and UK authorities have already had to declare any weapon made on 3D printers illegal. Well, fans of stories about robots taking over the world will be interested to know that there are models that can print more than half of the parts for themselves.
5.
Some believe that this technology has no future because this moment Very few people use it. But these devices give large companies a chance to earn huge profits, so their development will not be long in coming. The gaming industry is the most promising for them. In addition, work is underway to organize live broadcasts from sporting events and significant events using virtual reality devices. With their help, movies and TV series will be able to place a person inside the stories being told; they are already being actively used to train American soldiers. And that's not all: healthcare, education, real estate sales - all these are potential areas of application of virtual reality.
6. Sixth Sense
If previous technology immerses a person in virtual reality, That this device on the contrary, it helps her penetrate into our world. This invention can be included in the list that contains the most interesting inventions of mankind. Sixth Sense allows you to use almost any surface as a display and interact with it using your hands with special marks on your fingers. The prototype, made by MIT students, is assembled from publicly available parts and costs only $350. The system allows you to find information on the Internet about objects simply by looking at them, displaying it on any surface. Or dial a phone number by projecting the numbers onto your hand. At the moment it is at the development stage and is far from mass release.
7.
They are widely used by the military, and even a civilian can buy a model in a store that allows them to take photographs and videos from a great height. Their main difference is that the UAV requires constant exchange of information with the control panel. And drones can perform tasks in offline mode. They are planned to be used for distributing the Internet, delivering medicines, food and other goods. They are also capable of measuring indicators in places that are dangerous to humans. They are already used for advertising purposes and even as waiters.
8. Holograms
Many people remember scenes from science fiction films where a conversation is conducted with a hologram of a person, creating the full effect of his presence in the room. At the moment there are no such technologies. But you can already reproduce enough high quality image on the stage. One of the most famous examples of this is the Tupac hologram. And the Japanese Hatsune Miku is generally a completely artificial star who gave real concerts. The first prototypes are presented, giving 3D images that are not very High Quality. You can even interact with them using your hands.
9.
Caring for seriously ill patients is difficult and exhausting work. It is not surprising that the inventors different countries offer their technical solutions to ease it. In the future, such robots may prove to be one of the most important inventions of mankind. The Japanese have created a robot capable of transferring a person from a bed to a chair and back, moving on long distances. And students at the University of Massachusetts presented an android capable of delivering various subjects and self-learning as it goes. Today, robots are not able to provide normal human care; they can only perform a few actions. The future will tell whether they will be able to replace caregivers in full.
10. Organ cultivation
Growing organs is unusual, incredibly useful and the most interesting invention of mankind, made in the 21st century and opening up prospects for practically eternal life. The shortage of organs suitable for transplantation leads to the fact that many people simply do not wait their turn or cannot afford such an operation. There is also a thriving black market for illegally obtained body parts. But cells have an amazing ability to self-organize into complex tissues, which already allows scientists to conduct successful experiments to obtain new organs.
Using patient cells minimizes the risk of rejection. Growing skin for extensive burns is already being actively used, and a technique for producing artificial tracheas has been developed. Teeth, cartilage, blood vessels, muscles, blood, kidneys, bladder - this is far from full list what scientists managed to obtain in artificial conditions and transplanted into animals. Naturally, these technologies have not been proven and science will have to solve a lot of problems for their widespread implementation.
21st century technologies are everywhere. We shared life with robots. Take, for example, a television studio, if you look at it from a different angle: here they are - robotic cameras, monitoring the news. This is already today. And what it will be like tomorrow is now being shown in Beijing.
A melody for robots with an orchestra – you can’t even say that it turned out soulless. At a robotics exhibition in Beijing, they read poetry, sing and dance.
There is a real boom in robot servants in China. Wash the floors, feed the dog - they have been able to do this for a long time. Now the main thing is to teach robots to be personal assistant to the owner. Order dinner at a restaurant, check the temperature in the house, find out if the nearby library has the book you need, and even teach your child to read!
“The robot is constantly connected to the Internet and can remember the tastes and preferences of the whole family. So you come home, and your robot says: a new episode of your favorite series has been released, do you want to watch?” said Yao Zhi, director of a company producing service robots.
They propose to use the same machines to replace employees in banks and government agencies, and in shops and cafes to get rid of all waiters and salespeople - robots will stand behind the counter in their place.
Here they are sure that this is what the bar of the future looks like: there are no people. On the display you can choose your drink: add ice, lemon. Shake but do not mix. And in a minute you get a glass of drink - quickly and conveniently. It's just a pity that there is no one to talk to.
The robot policeman definitely does not intend to enter into a discussion. Durable tracks, and a night vision camera on top - ready for dangerous business trips, it’s good that at least he’s not armed. In general, drones are everywhere: on the ground, in the air and in the water. For example, a shark is a friend among strangers. She will quietly map the underwater landscape or study marine life. And there are smaller fish.
If you dream of seeing the seabed, but are afraid to dive, then this robot fish is for you. It can descend to a depth of 30 meters and take photos and videos there. It is easily controlled using a smartphone. Here are robots for all occasions: it’s easy to perform brain surgery or “change the shoes” of a car!
“In our auto repair shop, a person will not lift anything heavier than a wrench. And, for example, changing tires will take no more than 15 minutes,” shared the company’s production manager industrial robots Zhang Xuguang.
Robots can do everything. It’s interesting to watch their work, but it’s chilling when you realize: not only are we watching them, but they’re also watching us. Facial recognition has long been a reality. It is used in many cities in China. Robots don't just follow people. They are able to determine height, weight, gender, age. And some also determine the level of intelligence, as they say, by eye. But don't worry, this is just an experiment for now. In addition, there is no lower than 80%, and is intelligence written on the face?
Other robots do not shine with intelligence, but in the factory they have no equal. According to statistics in the world, every third such robot receives registration in China. And soon in plants and factories you won’t even hear a person’s voice - only the quiet hum of engines.
Today, robots are increasingly being introduced into various areas of human activity, helping to explore space, improve medicine, science, production, military equipment, etc. Let's talk about some of them:
1. One of the most irreplaceable helpers During the defusing of explosives, robotic deminers are present. Here is one of them carrying a suspicious backpack, which allegedly contains an improvised explosive device. State of New Mexico, 06/20/2012
2. This is what the camera of the Curiosity rover looks like, which successfully “landed” in Gale Crater on August 6th of this year.
3. Panorama of Mars taken by a “curious” robot.
4. "Rex" - exoskeleton robot. With its help, wheelchair users, including completely paralyzed people, can stand and walk without outside help. The photo shows Sophie, paralyzed after a car accident in which she was involved in 2003. London, England, 09.19.2012
An exoskeleton is a device that allows you to increase a person’s strength due to an external frame, repeating human biomechanics.
5. An American warrant officer launches an unmanned aerial vehicle (also called a drone) in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, June 25, 2012.
6. A robot designed to scuba dive under Antarctic ice. With its help, scientists from eight countries created the world's first three-dimensional map of the subglacial surface of Antarctica, and also measured the thickness of the ice “shell.” All this research will help scientists study the impact of global climate change on Antarctica.
7. This is the LS3 robot, created at the US Department of Defense Research Center. The artiodactyl-like robot is designed for American soldiers to transport heavy equipment and cargo across terrain. Virginia, USA, 09/10/2012
8. A prototype of the Wall-Ye robot, developed for pruning grapevines, under the control of its creator, French engineer Christophe Millot. The automatic device has built-in six web cameras, a GPS navigator, it has two metal claws, and can check the quality of grapes and the soil on which they grow. France, 10/12/2012
9. An almost 2-meter robot tire changer, created from spare parts by a 49-year-old electric bicycle mechanic to work in his workshop in Shenyang. The robot moves independently and inflates the tires. Liaoning Province, China, 06/25/2012
10. Robots are not only for work, but also for recreation and entertainment, such as these dancing robots presented at the CeBIT exhibition in Hannover, Germany, 03/05/2012.
11. Another drone (unmanned aerial vehicle), which was created by a French company to work in fire service: the robot monitors the occurrence of fires in real time. Mont-de-Marsan, France, 07/12/2012
12. Another resting robot. He sits in front of Buddhist monks at a ceremony to mark the 2600th anniversary of Buddha's enlightenment. Bangkok, 06/19/2012
13. The test robot “smokes” cigarettes produced at the Philip Morris factory. Czech Republic, 08/28/2012
14. Robot beetle Kabutom RX-03, created by a Japanese engineer. This 11-meter, 17-ton monster, moving on 6 legs, with smoke eerily pouring out of its nose like a dragon, was presented at the festival in Tokyo on August 26, 2012.
15. Robot mannequin developed at an Estonian university. It is intended for “virtual” fitting for users of online stores that do not have the opportunity to try on purchased clothes. This robot can not only instantly “lose weight” or “get better”, but also “change” gender, imitating completely different types physique and ability to “take on shape” is about 100 thousand various options. 27.03.2012
16. Another type of robot sapper. This one clears munitions in Afghanistan, 08/01/2012.
17. Humanoid humanoid robot. This "girl's" name is MIIM or HRP-4C. She sings and dances well. Tokyo, 09.10.2012
18. Dancing robots at a robot competition in Seoul, South Korea, 17.10.2012.
19. This is a sample of the Boeing Phantom Eye long-range, high-altitude unmanned reconnaissance aircraft powered by hydrogen fuel. The drone is being developed at Phantom Works, a secret division of Boeing, commissioned by the US military. According to some information, the reconnaissance aircraft can fly continuously for 96 hours (four days).
20. This is the Obelix robot, which was tasked with driving independently given route(more than 4 kilometers), overcoming obstacles, turns and avoiding people. The machine completed the task in almost 100 minutes. Freiburg, Germany, 08/21/2012
21. Octopus robots - that’s what developers from the University of Pisa called them. The robots are prototypes of two bionic arms being developed to overcome various complex obstacles. Italy, 07/17/2012
22. A robot firefighter undergoing testing at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, USA.
23. Unmanned civilian helicopter Kaman K-MAX (“flying crane”), designed to transport cargo weighing up to 2.7 tons over a distance of up to 500 km with a maximum speed of up to 185 km/h. Helmand Province, Afghanistan, 10/13/2012
24. The robot tree climber, developed by the Chinese University in Hong Kong, has a camera. Climbing trees almost like a caterpillar, it checks the health of trees instead of people. It weighs only one kilogram. 06/20/2011
25. Robot sapper at work. The photo was taken during a South Korean special forces exercise that took place west of Seoul, in international airport Incheon, 02/29/2012.
26. Humanoid robot Geminoid F gets a makeover ahead of the Robots in Motion 2012 exhibition, which took place in Hong Kong from March 29 to April 15. 03/28/2012
27. Sapper robot developed by a private inventor from Uganda. As the inventor himself says, the robot can detect and defuse an improvised explosive device. 06/06/2012
28. A soft-bodied robot in the shape of a starfish, developed by scientists at Harvard University. Can be used to penetrate narrow spaces. In the photo, the robot crawls through a gap of 19 mm.
29. Unmanned autonomous vessel Common Unmanned Surface Vessel, created by Textron, New Orleans. Designed for patrol, reconnaissance and even some strike operations. 04/12/2012
This week the world was excited by the news of the arrival of Henry, the world's first.... The development belongs to the company Realbotix, specializing in the production of advanced sex dolls. Their range includes: large collection humanoid toys, appearance and the nature of which can be customized at the request of the client.
In addition to a silicone penis, cute appearance and muscular torso, engineers trained artificial intelligence Henry to read poetry and joke.
“He might listen to you, he’ll remember everything you said, but he still won’t be able to take out the trash or fix the faucet,” admits Realbotix CEO Matt McMullen in a comment to The Times.
The cost of a Realbotix smart doll starts from 10 thousand dollars, but depends on the specification. So, for an additional fee, the robotic lover can change the color of his hair and eyes, skin tone or accent. If Henry's silicone abs didn't impress you, Realist has compiled a list of even more amazing devices that are working hard for the benefit of humanity.
Atlas Rescue Robot
While Atlas does not have a torso or an attractive appearance, he can already be called the most mobile humanoid robot in the world. The ease and realism with which he performs complex athletic feats is much more impressive than a talking sex doll.
Boston Dynamics, with funding from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), built the Atlas for search and rescue operations. It can navigate rough terrain and overcome obstacles using range sensors, stereo vision and other sensors.
The updated version of ATLAS Unplugged was released in 2015 and comes with features that the developers claim are almost 75% different from the original ATLAS. Modern version The robot can quickly climb stairs, do backflips and deftly jump from one platform to another.
Pepper Robot Companion
Henry's sex doll may be useful, but it's unlikely to be more responsive or understanding than Pepper, a robotic companion built by Japanese company SoftBank Robotics. The artificial intelligence of the device is trained to recognize primary human emotions (anger, joy or sadness) and respond to them accordingly. So, thanks to computer vision and speech recognition systems, Pepper can interpret facial expressions, tone of voice and other non-verbal signals, responding to people in a coherent and respectful manner.
Numerous sensors allow the robot to quickly recognize the faces of people it encounters, remember their preferences, help place an order or conduct simple consultations. Pepper is currently used as a receptionist in several offices in the UK, works in banks and medical institutions in Japan, and also entertains customers in 400 Hamazushi restaurants in Japan.
In 2017, an international team of scientists set out to modify Pepper to help care for older people in nursing homes. The project received $2.55 million in funding from the European Union and the Japanese government. It is expected that the world will be able to familiarize itself with its results in 2019.
Experimental robotPetman
Petman is another brainchild of Boston Dynamics, funded by the US Department of Defense. The main goal of the development is to serve as an active dummy for testing advanced protective suits that could serve people in the event of chemical or biological warfare.
Under the Petman suit there is a robotic skeleton and many sensors that can detect leaks, monitor the microclimate, and even artificially sweat (after all, a protective suit must be not only reliable, but also comfortable).
Today Petman is the fastest bipedal robot, developing maximum speed walking about 7 km/hour. In addition, he can crawl, squat and perform other dynamic movements.
Boston Dynamics says Petman will also be able to be used to perform other tasks in emergency situations: Conduct search and rescue operations in fire, radiation, or other hazardous conditions.
Robot diver Ocean One
Ocean One was created at the Stanford Robotics Laboratory to operate at depths unattainable to most people. Besides artificial intelligence and stereoscopic vision, it is equipped with a tactile feedback, which allows scientists.
Unlike other large and bulky remote-controlled robots, it has an anthropomorphic design, making it very maneuverable and neat. So, in 20016, in the Mediterranean Sea, Ocean One sank to a depth of 100 m and examined the wreckage of La Lune, the flagship of Louis XIV, which sank off the southern coast of France in 1664.
The archaeological expedition was a first for Ocean One, but its astonishing success suggests the robot might one day be able to perform highly skilled tasks underwater that are too dangerous for divers.
What about the robot Sophia?
This rating would be incomplete without company Hanson Robotics, but not at all because of its technological excellence. In essence, Sofia is not much different from the Henry sex doll, and although she was presented at the UN, received Saudi citizenship and was pleasant to the Prime Minister of Ukraine Vladimir Groysman, her functionality is limited. Being connected to the Internet, Sofia can select answers to questions from cloud storage. So far, she is not doing this very quickly, so at official meetings she works in interview mode, voicing pre-written answers.
However, it would also be wrong to devalue Sofia. From others humanoid robots it is distinguished by developed facial expressions, and today it can reproduce more than 60 facial reactions.