Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
institutions, and transportation networks. We live in climate-controlled environments,
and we have an incredible number of choices with respect to where we travel, what we
wear, what we eat, and how we entertain ourselves. The cost of these freedoms and lux-
uries is less leisure time.
Despite our high standard of living, our expectations about what we ought to have
continue to rise. In 1964 the average new American home had 1,470 square feet and one
television set. Only about 20 percent of new homes had air conditioning. In 2001 the size
of the average new home had risen to 2,100 square feet, and nearly 100 percent of new
homes were equipped with air conditioning. The typical family home has two or three
television sets. In order to maintain this lifestyle, people are working harder [11].
While automation has not yet shortened the workweek of the typical American, some
experts maintain that most jobs will eventually be taken over by machines. In fact,
roboticist Hans Moravec predicts that by 2050, robots will have replaced human workers
not just in manufacturing jobs but in decision-making roles, too [15].
The
Encyclopedia of Computer Science
defines
artificial intelligence (AI)
as “a field of
computer science and engineering concerned with the computational understanding of
what is commonly called intelligent behavior, and with the creation of artifacts that ex-
hibit such behavior” [16]. The same source defines
robots
as “programmable machines
that either in performance or appearance imitate human activities” [16]. According to
Moravec, developments in artificial intelligence and robotics were held back for decades
by inadequate computer power. Rapid increases in microprocessor speeds have resulted
in many breakthroughs. Here are a few notable achievements in artificial intelligence and
robotics since 1995.
.
A minivan equipped with a video camera and a portable workstation drove from
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to San Diego, California, in 1995. The computer was in
control of the steering wheel 98.2 percent of the time [17]. (A human operator
controlled the minivan's gas pedal and brakes, maintaining an average speed of
about 60 miles per hour.)
.
The IBM supercomputer called Deep Blue defeated world chess champion Gary
Kasparov in a six-game match in 1997 [18].
.
In 2000 Japanese automaker Honda created ASIMO, the first humanoid robot (an-
droid) capable of ascending and descending stairs. Two years later, engineers gave
ASIMO the ability to interpret and respond to human gestures and postures [19].
Some believe Japan is a hotbed of robotic research because its population is declin-
ing and becoming more elderly, and the Japanese seem to lack the cultural fears of
robots that grip many Westerners [20].
.
Swedish appliance giant Electrolux introduced Trilobite, the world's first domestric
robotic floor vacuum cleaner, in 2001 [21].
.
Stanley, a robotic car developed at Stanford University, and four other autonomous
vehicles successfully completed a rugged, 128-mile course through the Nevada
