Robot-inflicted injuries studied

With robots becoming more technically advanced and more feasible around the house, a future where robots help with the housework, cleaning, chopping vegetables, and tucking children in at night may become a reality sooner than we had previously anticipated.  But as with any new technological device, there is a possibility for human error and machine malfunction.  One research team in Germany is hoping to study just that.

The experiment was simple: a robotic arm holding several blades and sharp tools was programmed to cut through substances that were soft and fleshy.  Vegetables, hot dogs, and human flesh were all possible targets.  Of course for the purpose of the experiment the human flesh was substituted for a simple silicon lump.  The robot used screwdrivers, steak knives, kitchen knives, cleavers, scissors, and a screwdriver.  The results of the experiment, aside from building a terrifying bladed killbot were clear.  Without the proper programming, and fail-safe mechanisms, a robot could easily cause accidental injury or death to a human being by accident.  The experiment also included a prototype safety system designed to reduce the lethality and the amount of damage done by the robot.

The later experiments used the same silicone lump, but added a pork loin and the arm of a live human volunteer.  The researchers concluded that a safety system on robots would have to be mandatory if they were going to be performing kitchen duties such as chopping, stabbing, and/or tenderizing.  The robot with the safety mechanism was significantly less deadly.  The researchers patted themselves on the back as their specially designed kill-bot failed to create injuries quite as bad after their safety switch caused the robot to "realize" when it was cutting, or about to cut something it wasn't supposed to.  Torque sensors within the robot would study the type of substance being hit, and immediately cut power and pull back on a strike when a different substance was detected.  It is the same sort of safety mechanism used to prevent large robots from crushing people when moving quickly down a hallway or road.

Researchers are hopeful that the 2011 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation will be even better than that held in 2010 of this year in Alaska.  With new technology, motion tracking, data gathering, and limb control, it seems there is nowhere in the field of robotics to go than forward.  But will robots one day become a real and dangerous part of our own homes?  Will reprogrammable robots one day be rigged to guard houses in addition to helping to cook and clean?  And how long until the first murder is assisted with the use of a machine?  One can only imagine the horrifying prospect of a 911 call being played over the news in which a machine has clearly gone rogue and is now chasing the occupants of the house it once served.  Is this reason enough to forsake a future with household robots?  As we embrace new technologies we realize it is a double edged sword.