Showing titles in Automation & Robotics

We have all dreamed of going where no man has gone before, but that time is here and now. We are on the very edge of a new era in humanity. Within our lifetime, mankind will not only be journeying to other planets we will be inhabiting them. Our ultra-high technology robots are even now walking upon the surface of Mars, sending back information and preparing the ground for our arrival. This is not science fiction; we are living the future now. 

In the movies, robots can be terrifying. In reality, thinking machines are disrupting the world in ways that are even more disturbing than in Hollywood fantasies - but they also have the potential to change our lives for the better. In this stirring, visionary work, acclaimed roboticist Dr. Ayanna Howard explores how the tech world’s racial and sexual biases are infecting the next generation of Artificial Intelligence, with profoundly negative effects for humans of all genders and races.

On a winter's day in a British town, 12-year-old Alex receives a package in the post: an old tin robot from his grandfather. 'This one is special,' says the enclosed note, but when strange events start occurring around him, Alex begins to suspect this small toy is more than special: it might be deadly. Just as things are getting out of hand, Alex's grandfather arrives, whisking him away from his otherwise humdrum life and into a world of strange, macabre magic.

Der Hype um Tesla und seinen CEO Elon Musk scheint ungebrochen: Mit seinen innovativen Elektrofahrzeugen hat Musk die Autoindustrie in ihren Grundfesten erschüttert und den Markt für alternative Antriebe erobert. Doch der Automobilexperte Edward Niedermeyer weiß um die Diskrepanz zwischen der Popularität und den alltäglichen Realitäten des Unternehmens. Die Fahrzeuge weisen ernsthafte Mängel auf, die Zweifel an der hohen Marktbewertung des Unternehmens aufwerfen.

Did you know that there is a molecule that may be a key to increasing human lifespans? Learn about this interesting research and more scientific advances powering the future of technology, interstellar exploration, and the human body.

Robots have evolved far from the typical metal, shiny, stiff-joint inventions you see in the movies. Dive in to learn all about different types of robots - from tiny ingestible robots that can save your life to autonomous insect robots that will one day swarm the skies. 

This audiobook explains why AI is unique, what legal and ethical problems it could cause, and how we can address them. It argues that AI is unlike any other previous technology, owing to its ability to take decisions independently and unpredictably. This gives rise to three issues: responsibility - who is liable if AI causes harm; rights - the disputed moral and pragmatic grounds for granting AI legal personality; and the ethics surrounding the decision-making of AI.

L'histoire des hommes et des robots est un mélange de fascination et de crainte. Dépeints parfois sous un jour inquiétant, voire menaçant, les robots se révèlent bien souvent dans la réalité, les meilleurs amis des hommes. Les robots font aujourd'hui vraiment partie de notre vie. Ils nous ouvrent le chemin des étoiles, pénètrent dans nos domiciles, deviennent nos alliés en médecine, mais aussi dans des domaines aussi variés que les sciences, l'industrie, l'art, le cinéma, la littérature ou le divertissement.

Haptics, or haptic sensing, refers to the ability to identify and perceive objects through touch. This is active touch, involving exploration of an object with the hand rather than the passive sensing of a vibration or force on the skin. The development of new technologies, including prosthetic hands and tactile surfaces for flat screen displays, depends on our knowledge of haptics. In this volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, Lynette Jones offers an accessible overview of haptics, or active touch sensing, and its applications.   

Helen Greiner, co-founder of iRobot and founder of CyPhy Works, talks to Foreign Affairs about robots, Star Wars, and how to bring futuristic technology to market.

Former physicist Andrew Maynard threads together his love of science-fiction movies with his expertise on emerging technologies to engage, entertain, and make you think about the relationship between technology and society. Through the imagination and creativity of science-fiction movies, Maynard introduces listeners to the profound capabilities presented by new and emerging technologies, and the complex personal and societal challenges they present. 

Insects walk on water, snakes slither, and fish swim. Animals move with astounding grace, speed, and versatility: how do they do it, and what can we learn from them? In How to Walk on Water and Climb up Walls, David Hu takes listeners on an accessible, wondrous journey into the world of animal motion. From basement labs at MIT to the rain forests of Panama, Hu shows how animals have adapted and evolved to traverse their environments, taking advantage of physical laws with results that are startling and ingenious.

How smart machines are transforming us all - and what we should do about it. The smart machines revolution is reshaping our lives and our societies. Here, Nigel Shadbolt (one of Britain’s leading authorities on artificial intelligence) and Roger Hampson dispel terror, confusion and misconception. We are not about to be elbowed aside by a rebel army of superintelligent robots of our own creation. We were using tools before we became Homo sapiens and will continue to control them. How we exercise that control - in our private lives, in employment, in politics - and make the best of the wonderful opportunities will determine our collective future well-being.

How do you spot a robot mimicking a human? How do you recognize and deactivate a rebel servant robot? How do you escape a murderous "smart" house, or evade a swarm of marauding robotic flies? In this dryly hilarious survival guide, roboticist Daniel H. Wilson teaches worried humans the secrets to quashing a robot mutiny.

Clever and accessible, Generation Robot isn’t just for the serious, scientific reader―it’s for everyone interested in robotics and technology since their science-fiction origins. By looking back at the future she once imagined, analyzing the plugged-in present, and speculating on what is on the horizon, Terri Favro allows readers the chance to consider what was, what is, and what could be. This is a captivating book that looks at the pop-culture of our society to explain how the world works―now and tomorrow.

Könnten Sie in wenigen Sätzen erklären, was Augmented Reality bedeutet? Was digitale Disruption oder Smart Health ausmacht? Wer der vielzitierte Homo Deus ist? Falls nicht, gehören Sie zu der großen Mehrheit derer, die zwar in und mit der Digitalisierung leben und arbeiten, die aber meist passen müssen, wenn es darum geht, die Schlagworte konkret zu erläutern. Es gibt viele spannende Publikationen über Digialisierung, aber keine, die den gesamten Themenkomplex erfasst und darlegt.

Self-driving cars sound fantastical and futuristic, and yet they'll soon be on every street in America. Whether it's Tesla's Autopilot, Google's Waymo, Mercedes' Distronic, or Uber's modified Volvos, companies around the world are developing autonomous cars. But why? And what will they mean for the auto industry and humanity at large? In Robot, Take the Wheel, famed automotive expert Jason Torchinsky gives a colorful account of the development of autonomous vehicles and their likely implications.