Event Post -- Masha's Pop Up Lecture

Me and Masha

Ishiguro and his Gemanoid

Masha’s presentation was centered on robots – gemanoids, humanoids, and androids. She was explicit in saying robots are here now and developing at a rapid pace. As learned from Vesna’s robotics lecture, the meaning of robot came from Karl Capek, and comes from the word robota, meaning work. Robots are anything that take the place of human work. John Ford portrayed this idea when he introduced the mechanization of assembly lines in the 1900s. But robots take on many shapes and sizes. Masha and Ishiguro create human-like robots must take into account the artistic aspects in order to make the robot look real and move with better harmony. Ishiguro is now onto his gemanoid version 4 (robot copy of himself) where now, the skin looks so real. Rather than having the porcelain look of most robots, the skin has all the pores and flaws of natural human skin. This artistic ability to mask all the complicated wires and computer systems under the mask of a normal human being is what makes these robots so intriguing. It left me questioning what is considered human!

Masha's Favorite Movie

The idea of robots originally came from the arts and was a futuristic idea. First seen in the movies, most notably, Blade Runner and Bicentennial Man, it was a fictional idea that was widely viewed and idealized. However as technology began to expand and the collaboration of artists and engineers began to grow, as did our development in robots. Ishiguro, for example, originally wanted to be an artist, however was drawn to the idea that robots are a tool to help humans understand themselves -- and the android aspect was a mere byproduct of his fascination. This intersection between art and neuroscience as allowed for his aesthetically pleasing yet complex neuroscience.

I definitely want to integrate robots into my final project because they are beginning to become widely used and I want my idea to be at the forefront of this movement. It will soon be sweeping the U.S. like it has been to Japan. I recommend that students go to this event because it makes you realize how advanced and artistic robots truly are and how they are no longer an idea of the future. They are here now and will soon be a common sight.