Category: Robots

NFA and DFA Equivalence Theorem Proof and Example

Finite state automata (FSA), also known as finite state machines (FSM), are usually classified as being deterministic (DFA) or non-deterministic (NFA). A deterministic finite state automaton has exactly one transition from every state for each possible input. In other words, whatever state the FSA is in, if it encounters a symbol for which a transition …

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Proof of Kleene’s Theorem

Base Regular Language Transition Graphs

In my last post, “Kleene’s Theorem,” I provided some useful background information about strings, regular languages, regular expressions, and finite automata before introducing the eponymously named theorem that has become one of the cornerstones of artificial intelligence and more specifically, natural language processing (NLP).  Kleene’s Theorem tells us that regular expressions and finite state automata …

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The Three Pro-Human Laws of Robotics

Robot holding human skull

From Vienna Bienalle 2017, taking place this week in Austria, comes a new take on Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics.  The head of the project, Christoph Thun-Hohenstein, says the update was necessitated by: …the need for benign intelligent robots and the necessity of cultivating a culture of quality committed to serving the common good! …

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BLADE RUNNER 2049 – Trailer 2

SoftBank Bought Boston Dynamics, Schaft from Google

Boston Dynamics Spot robot

Boston Dynamics, the MIT spin-off and self-proclaimed maker of “nightmare-inducing robots“, has been sold by its parent company Alphabet (aka Google) to the Japanese tech behemoth SoftBank. No specifics regarding the price or the terms of the sale have been announced which is not surprising given we still don’t know how much Google paid for the …

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AI Creates Videos of Future Events

Minority Report

Set 38 years in the future, the plot of 2002’s blockbuster film Minority Report revolves around Washington DC’s PreCrime unit, a police force who able to stop future murders from happening with the aid of three mutant human who are able to predict homicides before they happen.  Minority Report managed to side step the “psychic predicts a murder” …

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Osram Unveils New LIDAR System for Autonomous Vehicles

Osram Scanning LIDAR

LIDAR (LIght Detecting And Ranging) sensors play a critical role in almost all autonomous and semiautonomous vehicles. Using lasers and relatively simple time of flight calculations, LIDAR can very accurately measure distances and generate detailed 3D maps of environments, but traditionally the best performing systems have been large and very expensive. German lighting manufacturer Osram Opto Semiconductors unveiled their new …

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Sharper Image Camera Drone Unboxing

Box front

I visit the local Michaels store at least once a week. Even if I didn’t have a 10 year old daughter with an insatiable appetite for arts and crafts, I imagine that I would still make that 5 minute crosstown trip weekly. The reason is simple: coupons. In their weekly circular, without fail, they always include a …

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Google Refreshes Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics

Ever since their introduction over eighty years ago, Isaac Asimov‘s Three Laws of Robotics have been the de jure rules governing the acceptable behavior of robots. Even the uninitiated and uninterested are likely to say they know of them, even if they can’t recite a single rule verbatim. When conceived, the Three Laws were nothing but a thought …

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Sphero BB-8 App-Enabled Droid Unboxing

BB-8 in its inductive charging station