Robots can learn the skills
of a termites, who without a leader can build themselves a new home. All a
robot needs are instructions about building and traffic rules.
Building instructions are
pretty simple. Set up the conditions and the actions under all scenarios.
For
example: If current level requires no more bricks begin next layer, otherwise
place brick in section needing brick.
(I’m sure their instructions
are more geeked up with code, but you get the idea. Laying a brick is pretty
much the same on one layer as it is on another.)
They only thing left is
dealing with which robot is going to lay the last one on row one and which
robot will begin row two and how to keep the robots from knocking each other over, getting in
the way of other robots, and starting a brawl…which is the reason why humans
require supervision.
The way to prevent these bad behaviors is called TRAFFIC
RULES and it turns out termites and robots will follow them MUCH BETTER than
humans.
Take the speed limit for
example. I’m pretty sure the sign
Or the law about staying in
the far right lane except when passing. NO ONE follows that rule, possibly
because it’s a stupid rule that would make it impossible for new people to
enter the road if we all ignored the other lanes and kept to the right.
I’m all for the rule don’t
pass on the right, but lots of people ignore that too.
And some, usually after
drinking, enter the freeway going the wrong direction. That never works out
well.
However, as long as we don’t
give robots stupid rules they’ll be fine.
So if we tell them to go in
one direction, they will. After laying their brick, they’ll continue on their
path, climb down, grab another brick and get back into the queue.
They will not
honk horns, fly birds, get out of robot shoes or throw their bricks at one
another. They will patiently wait for their time to come.
They will not fall
asleep while waiting, or step out for a smoke. They will just wait.
They won’t
monkey with each other’s code, or rile the other robots up about their low (as
in no) pay or their inability to vote, despite the fact they are far closer to
being a human than any corporation is.
No they will stand ready,
holding their brick, waiting for their time to lay it and go back to retrieve
another.
The robots could build dams, levees
and ugly warehouses because we could use some new ones.
And as long as the robots
were given good code to begin with, they will build it perfectly. Just like
termites do.
Okay, I’ll admit termites
seem to lack aesthetics, but have you ever tried to kick one of those mounds.
You’ll break your foot.
So while we’ll have ugly dam,
levees and warehouses, it’s better than giving the robots designer rules. That
creative spark could very well give them self-awareness and soon we’ll have a
whole bunch of outraged robots wearing scarves that tangle in their wheels and
catfights over whose brick is prettier.
No it is better we have ugly
but strong dams and levees.
For the sensible (but not nearly as funny) version of
this article go to Scientific
America. You'll also get to see a video of the robots in action.
I'll be letting my writer friend, TermiteWriter, know about this blog. I'll bet she has something to say.
ReplyDeleteLOL. Hopefully, she won't be insulted.
ReplyDeleteI didn't read the SA article, so, as usual, i'm speaking from a place of little knowledge, but it seems to me that these robots require a fair amount of infrastructure to accomplish what is at bottom a pretty simple task... as long as their scarves stay clean! I mean, where do the bricks come from? Not only making them but transporting over long distances? And the foundation: who or what completes that work?
ReplyDeleteKeeping them from the fashionista spark of designng aesthetices, that means they won't ever be able to do the design work needed. Not that I'm advocating replacing Mechanical and Civil Engineers and Architects (some of my best friends...) with robots.
Thanks for keeping us laughing while (hopefully) thinking about these things.
They get the bricks from a pile. That's not their job. Where do termites get the dirt they make houses from. The pick it up, although...in their case, they may actually modify the dirt...not really know. I've never hung around with termites. In fact, I tend to spray them with poison upon sight. Most unfriendly of me.
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