Stories from the future of intelligent machines--from rescue drones to robot spouses--and accounts of cutting-edge research that could make it all possible. Tech prognosticators promised us robots--autonomous humanoids that could carry out any number of tasks. Instead, we have robot vacuum cleaners. But, as Dario Floreano and Nicola Nosengo report, advances in robotics could bring those rosy predictions closer to reality. A new generation of robots, directly inspired by the intelligence and bodies of living organisms, will be able not only to process data but to interact physically with humans and the environment. In this book, Floreano, a roboticist, and Nosengo, a science writer, bring us tales from the future of intelligent machines--from rescue drones to robot spouses--along with accounts of the cutting-edge research that could make it all possible.
These stories from the not-so-distant future show us robots that can be used for mitigating effects of climate change, providing healthcare, working with humans on the factory floor, and more. Floreano and Nosengo tell us how an application of swarm robotics could protect Venice from flooding, how drones could reduce traffic on the congested streets of mega-cities like Hong Kong, and how a "long-term relationship model" robot could supply sex, love, and companionship. After each fictional scenario, they explain the technologies that underlie it, describing advances in such areas as soft robotics, swarm robotics, aerial and mobile robotics, humanoid robots, wearable robots, and even biohybrid robots based on living cells. Robotics technology is no silver bullet for all the world's problems--but it can help us tackle some of the most pressing challenges we face.
未來智能機器的故事——從救援無人機到機器人配偶，以及可能使這一切成為現實的尖端研究報告。
科技預測者曾承諾我們會有機器人——能夠執行各種任務的自主類人機器人。然而，我們目前擁有的只是機器人吸塵器。但正如達里奧·弗洛雷諾（Dario Floreano）和尼科拉·諾森戈（Nicola Nosengo）所報導的，機器人技術的進步可能使這些美好的預測更接近現實。一代新型機器人，直接受到生物體的智慧和形態的啟發，不僅能夠處理數據，還能與人類和環境進行實體互動。在這本書中，機器人專家弗洛雷諾和科學作家諾森戈為我們帶來了來自未來智能機器的故事——從救援無人機到機器人配偶，以及可能使這一切成為現實的尖端研究報告。
這些來自不遠未來的故事展示了機器人如何用於減輕氣候變化的影響、提供醫療保健、與人類在工廠生產線上合作等。弗洛雷諾和諾森戈告訴我們，群體機器人技術的應用如何能保護威尼斯免受洪水侵襲，無人機如何能減少像香港這樣的超大城市擁擠街道上的交通，以及一種“長期關係模型”機器人如何能提供性、愛和陪伴。在每個虛構場景之後，他們解釋了其背後的技術，描述了在柔性機器人、群體機器人、空中和移動機器人、類人機器人、可穿戴機器人，甚至基於活細胞的生物混合機器人等領域的進展。機器人技術並不是解決世界所有問題的靈丹妙藥——但它可以幫助我們應對一些最緊迫的挑戰。
Dario Floreano is Director of the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL). He is the coauthor of Evolutionary Robotics and Bio-Inspired Artificial Intelligence (both published by the MIT Press). Nicola Nosengo is a science writer and science communicator at EPFL. His work has appeared in Nature, the Economist, Wired, and other publications, and he is the Chief Editor of Nature Italy.
