Interview with futurist Ross Dawson: is the robot dinosaur, Pleo, the virtual pet of the future?
Could our pets be one day replaced by robots? Futurist Ross Dawson explores this idea, using Pleo, the new robot dinosaur as an example. Pleo, although only a robot, acts like any other animal: he responds to interaction and can establish an emotional connection with people. And the best part is that he doesn’t need to be housebroken.
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Aristotle once said, “Art imitates Nature.” Observation and imitation of nature are fundamental for science too. Therefore, paraphrasing Aristotle, we could say that robotics is now imitating nature.
When researchers plan new robots, they are often inspired by the world of animals. For example, they are inspired by their appearance and actions. Behavior is another element from the world of animals that drives the development of new robotic forms. Pleo, the first domestic robot that acts like a real animal, is, indeed, born from the observation of our pets’ behaviors.
If you think about it, what makes our relationship with animals special is their way of responding to our presence. They follow our voice, they are happy when we come back home, and they come close in search of affection. This is exactly what they did with Pleo: the software is written with instructions that allow the robot to simulate a real behavior responding to specific stimuli. Will robots take the place of pets? Futurist Ross Dawson, expert in innovation, tries to give an answer to this and other questions.
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Tags: Entertainment, future, futurist, Interview, of the future, pet of the future, pleo, robot dinosaur, Ross Dawson, virtual pet
