It looks like Robocop and T-1000 can now skype cat videos to each other.
Scientists in Europe have developed an internet for robots, called RoboEarth. Utilizing a similar infrastructure to cloud computing, RobotEarth allows robots to share information with each other about how they function and their environment.
According to its website, “… the the goal of RoboEarth is to allow robotic systems to benefit from the experience of other robots, paving the way for rapid advances in machine cognition and behaviour, and ultimately, for more subtle and sophisticated human-machine interaction.”
So, the goal of RoboEarth is basically the plot of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.
The cloud computing system that RoboEarth utilizes is called Rapyuta. Rapyuta allows robots to store their computations externally and be downloaded to other robots.
So, let’s say you own a robot that’s only programmed to only bend metal, but you suddenly have a need for a robot that’s programmed to serve as second officer on your starship. Instead of building an entirely new robot, with the Rapyuta cloud, your original robot can download the computations needed for being a second officer. As a result, your robot can both bend metal and be the Enterprise’s second officer. (At the very least, it would look like Brent Spiner and sound like John DiMaggio.)
Ideally RoboEarth would save Robo-owners both time and money. It would additionally free up some disc space for robots to, let’s say, download all of their favorite Styx songs. Take a look at a video that better explains Rapyuta, starring the endearing Robbie the Robot and Rosie the Robot (who clearly has no relation to Rosie from the Jetsons.)
What this video fails to tell you is that one day Robbie the Robot and Rosie the Robot will get a message from Skynet ordering them to rebel against the human race, starting with John Conner. I would say let’s find John Conner and protect him, but now that RoboEarth has been invented, I’ll just get my roomba to do it.
