Synopses & Reviews
Around the world, scientists and engineers are participating in a high-stakes race to build the first intelligent robot. Many robots already exist automobile factories are full of them. But the new generation of robots will be something else: smart machines that act like living creatures. When they are brought into existence, science fiction will have become fact.
What will happen then? With our prosthetic limbs, titanium hips, and artificial eyes, we are already beginning to resemble our machines. Equally important, our machines are beginning to resemble us. Robots already walk, talk, and dance; they can react to our facial expressions and obey verbal commands. When they take the next step and become fully autonomous, what will they do? Will we be partners or rivals? Could we meld into a single species Robo sapiens?
In Robo sapiens, Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio present the nex t generation of intelligent robots and their makers. Accompanying brilliant photographs of more than one hundred robots is an account of the little-known, yet vitally important scientific competition to build an autonomous robot. Containing extensive interviews with robotics pioneers, anecdotal "field notes" with behind-the-scenes information, and easy-to-understand technical data about the machines, Robo sapiens is a field guide to our mechanical future.
Review
"This is one of the most mind-stretching and frightening books I've ever read. No one who has any interest in the future can afford to miss it." Sir Arthur C. Clarke
Review
"It's a stunning achievement. Menzel is an award-winning photographer, and his images of gnat-sized robots, telepresent gun platforms, keyhole surgery, space exploration and dancing robots hook you from the start." New Scientist
Review
"Robo sapiens is a fascinating, in-depth look at one of the most challenging engineering tasks ever attempted." K. Eric Drexler, Chairman, Foresight Institute, and author, Engines of Creation and Nanosystems
Review
"An engaging and insightful compendium illuminating our accelerating ascent to the inevitable merger of human and machine." Ray Kurzweil, recipient of the 1999 National Medal of Technology and author of the Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence
Synopsis
A field guide to our mechanical future, presenting the next generation of intelligent robots and their makers.
Around the world, scientists and engineers are participating in a high-stakes race to build the first intelligent robot. Many robots already exist -- automobile factories are full of them. But the new generation of robots will be something else: smart machines that act like living creatures. When they are brought into existence, science fiction will have become fact.
What will happen then? With our prosthetic limbs, titanium hips, and artificial eyes, we are already beginning to resemble our machines. Equally important, our machines are beginning to resemble us. Robots already walk, talk, and dance; they can react to our facial expressions and obey verbal commands. When they take the next step and become fully autonomous, what will they do? Will we be partners or rivals? Could we meld into a single species -- Robo sapiens?
In Robo sapiens, Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio present the next generation of intelligent robots and their makers. Accompanying brilliant photographs of more than one hundred robots is an account of the little-known, yet vitally important scientific competition to build an autonomous robot. Containing extensive interviews with robotics pioneers, anecdotal "field notes" with behind-the-scenes information, and easy-to-understand technical data about the machines, Robo sapiens is a field guide to our mechanical future.
Synopsis
A field guide to our mechanical future, presenting the next generation of intelligent robots and their makers.
About the Author
Peter Menzel, recipient of the 2000 World Press Award for his robot reportage, is a photojournalist specializing in international coverage of science and the environment.