Looking for Robots That Will Cooperate, Not Terminate - NYTimes.com

A robot that evoked a human form paused in front of a door leading to a simulated nuclear power plant accident and inexplicably stood motionless. Suddenly, from the grandstands overlooking the scene, a group of schoolchildren began to chant: "Go Robot! What has long been thought of as a brave new world in which mobile robots freely move about in factories, towns and cities is now approaching. Robots will advance from the dull, dirty and dangerous work that they do today to take on a range of tasks, from rescue work to elder care in close contact with humans. Just as software robots such as Apple's Siri and Microsoft's Cortana have rapidly become useful personal assistants, physical robots will occupy a place in the near future. That is the world imagined by government officials and technologists at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the American military organization that is charged with the mission of avoiding a Sputnik-style technology threat to national security. Last weekend at the sprawling Los Angeles County Fairgrounds, Darpa concluded the Robotics Challenge, a two-year-long effort to jump start this next generation of smart and presumably helpful robots by offering a cash prize for the designers of a machine that could work in concert with human controllers in a hazardous environment. The $3.5 million competition was won by a South Korean team from the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. The technology may still seem far-fetched, but betting against the agency that has had a remarkably far-reaching effect on the modern world -- from funding the work that led to both the personal computer and the Internet, to setting expectations that self-driving vehicles are only a matter of years away -- might be a mistake. Darpa officials have taken pains to assure anyone who would listen that it was not primarily interested in designing Terminators, or killer robots. The agency is an arm of the Pentagon, and its futuristic robots are an example of what is described as a "dual use" technology that will have both military and civilian uses. Darpa, which is also known for pioneering the Internet surveillance system that was exposed last year by Edward J. Snowden, has, under its current director, Arati Prabhakar, expanded its watchfulness over the potential effect of the technologies it helps foster. In introducing a workshop for discussion on the effect of robotics held at the end of the challenge competition on Sunday, Dr. Prabhakar described the agency as being committed to a broader mission: "We work together to build the future of robots that can help extend the capabilities that we have and build the technologies that will aid humanity in the future.