This Science Museum exhibition charts the last 500 years’ evolution of robots
From primitive clock mechanics through to speaking, walking, human-like bots.
From surgery and social care to natural disasters and war, robots have a growing role in the world.
Their influence is only becoming more powerful, and they could steal your job, so now is a good time to learn about the latest in this slightly terrifying technology.
That’s where UK Robotics Week, which runs between June 24 and June 30, comes in.
The flagship exhibit, at the Science Museum in Kensington, charts the evolution of robots from primitive clock mechanics through to speaking, walking, human-like bots.
There are some well-known faces – if that’s the right word – on display, such as the endoskeleton from the first Terminator film and the little droid Asimo from the Honda adverts.
“From a simple machine that can adapt into something that you will see as a humanoid – can run, can change, you know, (make) decisions, can make reasoning and so on.”
Leading experts will talk about the coming robotics revolution and speculate about what it may bring – both good and bad.
They will chew over foggy ethical and legal implications, the potential tidal wave of mass unemployment, and how to treat emotionally sentient bots.
— Science Museum (@sciencemuseum) June 26, 2017
And, if the technology can only advance, doesn’t that mean it will inevitably get away from us at some point?
Prof Yang added: “I think it will accelerate – whether that is exponential or not remains to be seen.
“Certainly the computational power is a lot more sophisticated and we’re now using new materials… the sciences are converging and you really see an explosion of new ideas, new embodiments of robots…”
For more information on UK Robotics Week, visit www.roboticsweek.uk.
