Preventing Aggressive Behavior, Robotically!

In my last blog post, I introduced readers to William Grey Walter (1910 – 1977), a renowned neurophysiologist, cybernetician, and robotician. His futuristic aim was to construct mechanical models--robots--that were capable of realistically simulating the behavior of living beings. Grey Walter's most famous robotic creations were his Cybernetic Tortoises. Elmer and Elsie, his first two robots, were constructed between 1948 and 1949. They appeared to exhibit intelligent action: they were goal-directed (they moved toward light and stopped doing so when they reached the light) and they avoided obstacles that blocked their way to the goal. In a truly remarkable coincidence, robotic tortoises have very recently made the news!