Robots have been defined as machines that can carry out certain activities or actions without direct contact with them. However, this definition has been referred to as an old definition of robots because the definition actually made drones and other remotely controlled devices be referred to as robots. Many books consulted before writing this post, defined the robots as programmable machines that can carry out complex actions without any external control. This last definition can be attributed to the modern robots as compared to the earlier definition which included drones and early robots. Details obtained from the history of robots show that robots were initially referred to as any mechanized device that can make moves or perform a certain action when activated from a distance with rope or any linking mechanism and such is the belief of early centuries of human history.

Today, Robots are evolving fast and are getting far smarter than we had ever imagined. However, there is a big role that which Machine Learning and machine perception together play, in the overall advancement of this technology. Developments in machine perception, which is the next stage of Machine Learning, could be very fascinating for the entire field of intelligent robotics. If you compare the modern robots with their predecessors from just a decade ago, the modern robots are extremely adaptable and intelligent. The biggest factor that has differentiated robots from humans throughout the dawn of technology, is the fact that humans can learn from their experiences.

In this episode, Lauren Klein interviews Michal Luria, a PhD candidate in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, about research that explores the boundaries of Human-Robot Interaction. Michal draws inspiration from the Medieval Times for her project to test how historical automata can inform modern robotics. She also discusses her work with cathartic objects to support emotional release. Michal Luria is a PhD candidate in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, advised by Professors Jodi Forlizzi and John Zimmerman. Prior to her PhD, Michal studied Interactive Communication at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya in Israel.

A Bedford company is introducing the Scooba 230, a robot that can clean bathrooms -- it's a cousin of the Roomba (and made by the same company), but smaller and therefore able to get at tighter spots. While the Scooba 230 may be a useful addition to certain households, it's also a depressing reflection of just how far from where we need to be, robotics-wise. It's 2011, after all, and we're still decades from the sorts of robots we have been promised by science fiction, whether they be of the sass-talking or psychotic killing varieties. It turns out that it's very hard to get robots to act and move like humans, but easy to give them simple instructions based on navigation and physics. So, in a somewhat strange twist the sci-fi authors of the past couldn't have anticipated, we've relegated robots to cleaning floors and bombing distant countries -- but not much in between.