Science For You

[Perfection]

Dangers and fears

Fears and concerns about robots have been repeatedly expressed in a wide range of books and films. A common theme is the development of a master race of conscious and highly intelligent robots, motivated to take over or destroy the human race.

(See The Terminator, Runaway, Bladerunner, Robocop, the Replicators in Stargate, the Cylons in BattleStar Galactica, The Matrix, and I, Robot). Some fictional robots are programmed to kill and destroy; others gain superhuman intelligence and abilities by upgrading their own software and hardware. Another common theme is the reaction, sometimes called the "uncanny valley", of unease and even revulsion at the sight of robots that mimic humans too closely. Frankenstein (181, often called the first science fiction novel, has become synonymous with the theme of a robot or monster advancing beyond its creator.

Manuel De Landa has noted that "smart missiles" and autonomous bombs equipped with artificial perception can be considered robots, and they make some of their decisions autonomously. He believes this represents an important and dangerous trend in which humans are handing over important decisions to machines.

Marauding robots may have entertainment value, but unsafe use of robots constitutes an actual danger. A heavy industrial robot with powerful actuators and unpredictably complex behavior can cause harm, for instance by stepping on a human's foot or falling on a human. Most industrial robots operate inside a security fence which separates them from human workers, but not all. The first fatality involving a robot was Robert Williams, who was struck by a robotic arm at a casting plant in Flat Rock, Michigan on January 25, 1979. The second was 37 year-old Kenji Urada, a Japanese factory worker, in 1981. Urada was performing routine maintenance on the robot, but neglected to shut it down properly, and was accidentally pushed into a grinding machine.

Robots

[Perfection]

Science Quiz

Name the insect which carries the parasite that causes sleeping sickness.
Tsetse Fly

What are the larvae of house-flies called ?
Maggots

What is the name given to the resin produced by lac insect ?
Shellac

Which animal forms connecting link between Annelid and Arthropoda ?
Peripatus

What are the larvae of butterflies called ?
Caterpillar

What do you call a segment of tape worm ?
Proglottids

What is the function of flame cells ?
Excretion

In Zoology, what kind of animals are called Apivorous ?
Bee-eating animals

What is the name of the larva of sqilla ?
Alima

What is the host of Taenia Saginata ?
Cow and Buffalo

[Perfection]

What is the common name of Dentalium?
Tusk shell

Name the anticoagulant present in leech.
Hirudin

Name an animal that contains chlorophyll.
Euglena

What is the name of insect which is commonly found in our houses behind pictures on walls and amidst books causing damage to them ?
Ctenolepisma species

Which animal is commonly called as Devil fish ?
Octopus

What is the biological name of praying mantis ?
Mantis religiosa

What is the common name of sepia ?
Cuttle fish

Which sea animal is considered as a link between the vertebrates and invertebrates ?
Amphioxus

Flying fish are fish, but flying foxes are not foxes. What kind of creatures are they?
Bats

Which order of mammals reproduce eggs but suckle their young ?
Monotremes