Sublime Dreams of Living Machines: The Automaton in the European Imagination

Due out late in February of 2011 is a most intriguing book by Minsoo Kang entitled Sublime Dreams of Living Machines: The Automaton in the European Imagination. The book explores the Western world's fascination with automata in order to better understand ourselves as humans.

From the book's press release:

Kang tracks the first appearance of the automaton in ancient myths through the medieval and Renaissance periods, marks the proliferation of the automaton as a central intellectual concept in the Scientific Revolution and the subsequent backlash during the Enlightenment, and details appearances in Romantic literature and the introduction of the living machine in the Industrial Age. He concludes with a reflection on the destructive confrontation between humanity and machinery in the modern era and the reverberations of the humanity-machinery theme today.

That is an impressive scope of inquiry! This book is sure to be a fascinating read for anyone interested in automata.

Here is where you can get the book: Sublime Dreams of Living Machines: The Automaton in the European Imagination.

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'AUTÓMATA' movie explores what life might be like in the not-too-distant future

With a name like AUTÓMATA I am almost obligated to post news of this upcoming movie. Clearly, it's borrowing some of its major themes from Asimov's classic novel titled I, Robot. One also catches the scent of Blade Runner. Still, the trailer does look exciting.

A synopsis from the film's official web site:

Fast forward fifty years into the future, planet earth is in the midst of gradual desertification. Mankind struggles to survive as the environment deteriorates and the slow regression of the human race begins in AUTÓMATA. On the brink of life and the reality of death, technology combats the prevailing uncertainty and fear with the creation of the first quantum android, the Automata Pilgrim 7000. Designed to bring support to society's plight, man and robot reveal what it means to co-exist in a culture defined by human nature.

The descent of civilization is juxtaposed by the rise of ROC, the corporation at the helm of robotic intelligence. Despite the demise of humanity, the company has set forth security protocols to ensure mankind always maintains control over the manufactured population.As ROC insurance agent, Jacq Vaucan (Antonio Banderas) routinely investigates cases and complaints surrounding defective androids, he begins to uncover the secrets behind who is really manipulating the Automata Pilgrim 7000. Jacq's own suspicions propel the mystery — uncovering a truth that is far more complex than the make or model of any machine.

Here is where you can learn more about the upcoming film, AUTÓMATA.

[ Thanks Glenn! ]

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Robotic pack animal can carry a 400 pound load and follow a human through the woods

The folks at Boston Dynamics are still working on semi-autonomous walking robots. You may recall my post about their BigDog robot back in 2008. The pack-robot shown here is known as the "LS3". The idea was to create a semi-autonomous legged robot to carry heavy loads -- gear for soldiers in this case. This robot is able to carry 400 lbs of a equipment, follow a human through some pretty rugged terrain, and accept voice commands. The most remarkable section comes at the end of the video when the robot takes a fall down a steep bank. It rolls over and eventually stands back up!

You can read more in this article from The Daily Mail published a few days ago.

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