The Evolution of Robots

The eventual result of constantly emerging robot technologies will be self-evolving robots.

        Emerging technologies show the current evolution of robots in many different areas inspired by multiple different designs. Recent headlines have described robot limbs[1] which can move on their own and robotic bees[2] which may be capable of pollinating live flowers. Current practices in 3-D printing have shown that the new ‘printer robots’ capable of creating myriad of items, including organic items such as human body parts and even food.

        A bionic ear has been successfully constructed using a 3D printer, allowing for the integration of biological cells to be layered upon electronic counterparts and create a working implant similar to that of a high tech cochlear implant[3]. While still in the development stage, this integration of man and machine has allowed creators to sidestep of many ethical and legal hurdles in the medical field, by not requiring any major sacrifice from other human patients. The seamless integration of machine parts and human tissue promotes the further evolution of man and machine as a single entity.

        Additionally in the world of 3D printers, robots are even being used to create food. Through funding from NASA, research is currently being used to create food. The food in question is the concept of a 3D printer being filled with base organic matter derived from otherwise inedible (or at least unpalatable) products such as bugs and processed proteins[4]. The printer ‘cartridges’ would be shelf stable and take up far less space than traditional foods, all the while fulfilling the nutritional requirements of the customers.

        It seems that robotics is able to perform so many functions that would normally be considered functions of nature, including creating flesh, food, and pollinating plants. The next step would be to have robots create robots, which is exactly what Nick Cheney at Cornell University has hypothesized[5]. Cheney created computer demonstrations showing the capability of robots to respond to stressors and environmental pressure, and using the same basic algorithms described in natural selection, these robots evolved to create those best suited. While the final products did not necessarily resemble the typical human concept for many of the stages of advancement, the advancement went on at a rate as efficient as or faster than biological evolution.

        The logical conclusion of creating machines to act as biological agents such as bees, limbs, ears, and food is that machines themselves will begin to mimic biological traits. The most efficient creators of technology have been proven to be other technology such as 3D printers, thereby indicating the next level of efficiency will be in and of itself machine led innovation, such as robot evolution.

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[1][1] Robotic Limbs: Moved by the Mind, 60 Minutes, Correspondent Scott Pelley, Originally aired Dec 13^th 2012.

[2] “RoboBees” take first flight, CBS News, Shoshana Davis, May 2^nd 2013.

[3] 3D Printer Churns out Bionic Ear, Chemistry World, John Cartwright, May 13, 2013.

[4] How 3D Printers could Reinvent NASA Space Food, Space.com, Megan Gannon, May 28, 2013.

[5] 3D Printers Demonstrate Rapid robot Evolution, Live Science, Marshall Honorof, May 23, 2013.