Intel is known for having world-class R&D labs, rivaled only by IBM's labs. Intel spends US$4 billion per year on R&D, and funds countless university projects. But it now appears that Intel is attempting to apply integrated circuits to a new set of problems. In particular, Intel is expanding research into the fields of robotics and biology. One of Intel's employees, Andrew Berlin, is leading a team to identify individual molecules in a blood sample. Apparently Intel wants to use computing power to “make sense out of what might be 100,000 molecules in a given sample.” Berlin described this as an “intersection of biology, medicine, and nanotechnology.” Intel is also pushing the development of robotics by trying to create software standards for robotics, an attempt to grow the market for robots. But the question of how much robotics development relies on computing power is open to debate. Hans Moravec argues that computing power is the main limiter of robotics development. Other robotics researchers disagree, and argue that vision and manipulation are the keys to a successful robotics industry.
USER COMMENTS 12 comment(s)
|1st!!!!! (3:30pm EST Thu Mar 20 2003)
GOod idea, make some Robots for warfare so we dont need to sacrifice lives. Make sure those robots are overclock friendly thou. - by BB king
|robotic (4:23pm EST Thu Mar 20 2003)
Robots are really the coming together of all modern technology. Everything from recording sound, to basic electric motors. Things like nanotechnology create the needed electronics and materials. Throw genetics, biology, and A.I. into the mix and you have everything you need.
We usually think of robots as humaniod, but really it would be easier to make current remote controllable machines into robots, controlled by a centralized intellegance or a simple laptop on top.
I'm amazed that we don't have more things like the Mars probes in mainstream use or at least research.
We need a basic programable robot with a basic C++ or Java API so that you average open source smoe can get there hands at it.
A simple robot with arms, cameras, mic, speakers, etc. All with USB that could just be plugged into a laptop that sat on top could acclerate robot development quite a bit. Once we get arms down we can go for legs to get up stairs and stuff.
The hard part is that we never think to make this stuff high level before we go mainstream. Look at current web baseds scripting for example.
If we start dealing with video as arrays of pixel, and not as MPEG this or AVI that, that is what moves things along. Sound is the same way, the Hz, and the samples. With the arm, a basic way to control each motor and joint.
robot.getAppendage( “left arm”).getMotor( “elbow”).move ( -10 )
At that point people can start including recogniztion and other APIs that other people can actually start to use to pull real world problems off. If I could write one to feed my dog on a schedule I'd be happy :)
If we can get the cost to around a 1000 dollars without laptop people would start to buy them. Then companies could use the programs that get written to sell self contained versions.
- by et
|re: et (4:41pm EST Thu Mar 20 2003)
Thats something like open-source. Companies generally hate that. - by penguin_knight
|Re: penguin_knight (5:40pm EST Thu Mar 20 2003)
Check out NASA Robots. Most of them are running Linux. Even the research robots from iRobot are running Linux. Does anyone know if Roomba from iRobot is running Linux? - by Linux rulez
|lego mindstorms (6:32pm EST Thu Mar 20 2003)
something like lego mindstorms would be cool, but like better and more articulated. - by crabby guitar
|et (6:37pm EST Thu Mar 20 2003)
Uh, Sony and Honda already have extreemely advanced robots capable of ascending stairs and arm movement almost superior in range of motion to ours. - by Xunil
|Cool (7:14am EST Fri Mar 21 2003)
Robots with blood flowing through them. Intel should call this new project Cyberdine Systems. - by Navy Tech Guy
|Open Source (11:02am EST Fri Mar 21 2003)
Intel has no problem with open source. Obviously they have an interest in Microsoft's success. But that is hardly in doubt.
But that hasn't kept them from supporting Java, Linux, P2P, & other technologies. - by BlueGuy
|thats good (12:56am EST Sat Mar 22 2003)
if a powerful company like intel can cross biology and robotics, then there's no telling how advanced America will become in the medical field. The only way America can solve its shortages of doctors is by converting to robots. we will also become highly advanced in bionic medical technology (i.e. bionic body parts). Bionic body parts should also take peoples' minds off of the whole cloned body parts controverse. - by Wildwargreymon
|Cool! (12:08am EST Mon Mar 24 2003)
Intel should just open the vaults and show the world all the wonderful things they are doing. They totaly suck in getting crazy neat stuff out of the labs.
Forth is still my choice for an easy robotic language. With the government involved in making the standards for robotic software, we will wind up with some crap like ADA.
- by diddly
|toys (5:52pm EST Thu Feb 24 2005)
actually i think intel should make handheld robots to customize and battel for kids im a kid myself but i think that would be cool you guys would think its an immature idea but i think its a idea that will make a better world for kids and adults - by zelda
|making simple robots (7:00pm EST Wed Mar 16 2005)
Hey, im looking all over to fined instructions on how to bild a simple wind-up robot. And I cant fined the right web site! Can you help?
alie - by alie buba