Carnegie Mellon Inducts Four Robots Into Newly Established Robot Hall of Fame
Ron Baalke
Carnegie Mellon University Press Release
Carnegie Mellon Inducts Four Robots Into Newly Established Robot Hall of Fame(TM)
November 10, 2003
PITTSBURGH -- Carnegie Mellon University will induct four famous robots into
its newly established Robot Hall of Fame(TM) at 8 p.m., this evening, at
Pittsburgh's Carnegie Science Center. Two of the robots represent scientific
breakthroughs, while the other two come from the realm of science fiction.
The robots to be honored in this first annual Hall of Fame event include
NASA's Mars Pathfinder Microrover Flight Experiment (MFEX), better known as
"Sojourner"; Unimate, the first industrial robot; R2-D2, the unforgettable
droid from the Star Wars movie trilogy; and the evil HAL-9000 computer,
featured in the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey," created by science fiction
writer and futurist Sir Arthur C. Clarke and director Stanley Kubrick.
The robots' creators or others close to them will accept a certificate in
their honor. Jacob R. Matijevic of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory will
accept for the Sojourner rover. Matijevic was responsible for the
implementation, integration, delivery and eventual operation of Sojourner
on Mars. Joseph F. Engelberger, described as "the father of robotics,"
whose company Unimation installed the first robots on a General Motors
assembly line in 1961, will accept for Unimate.
Kathleen Holliday, director of special programs at Lucasfilm, will accept
for R2-D2, and finally there will be a message on behalf of "HAL" from
Arthur C. Clarke, who lives in Sri Lanka.
Two key actors from the original Star Wars trilogy will also be on hand
for the celebration -- David Prowse, who played Darth Vader in the original
Star Wars Trilogy, and Kenny Baker who played R2-D2 in the first Star Wars
episode.
A Robot Hall of Fame Web site -- www.robothalloffame.org -- developed by
Wall-to-Wall Studios of Pittsburgh, will be unveiled at the ceremony.
The Robot Hall of Fame was established earlier this year to honor noteworthy
robots, both real and fictional, along with their creators in recognition of
the increasing benefits robots are bringing to society. "Our goal is to
create a permanent, interactive exhibition involving robots that will
educate and entertain a wide variety of audiences," said James H. Morris,
dean of Carnegie Mellon's School of Computer Science who conceived the Hall of
Fame concept. Morris put together a panel of 13 experts, drawn from
organizations around the world, to choose the robots to be enshrined in the
Hall of Fame. Each of them will serve a two-year term.
Anyone may suggest a robot for the Hall of Fame. This time, the jury made its
final selections from a field of 32 nominees via an international Web
conference last September. The robots that received the highest number of
votes will be inducted tonight.
The criteria for choosing the robots depend on whether they are scientific,
fictional or entertainment-oriented. Scientific robots must have served an
actual or potentially useful function and demonstrated real skills in
accomplishing the purpose for which they were created. Robots created to
entertain must be functioning autonomous devices and have achieved a
significant audience. Fictional robots should have achieved worldwide fame as
fictional characters and helped to form our opinions about the function and
value of all robots.
"It's fitting that the Robot Hall of Fame is located here in Pittsburgh at
the home of Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute," said Chuck Thorpe, the
institute's director. "We have been doing research in many areas of robotics
for nearly 25 years and have helped to focus attention on this field that has
so much potential to help people. Next year the Robotics Institute will
celebrate its 25th anniversary. We will hold the next induction ceremony at
that celebration, which takes place from Oct. 13-16, 2004."
Steve...@rightbehindyou.com
> The robots to be honored in this first annual Hall of Fame event include
> NASA's Mars Pathfinder Microrover Flight Experiment (MFEX), better known
> as "Sojourner"; Unimate, the first industrial robot; R2-D2, the
> unforgettable droid from the Star Wars movie trilogy; and the evil
> HAL-9000 computer, featured in the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey," created
> by science fiction writer and futurist Sir Arthur C. Clarke and director
> Stanley Kubrick.
Does HAL really qualify as a) evil, and b) a robot?
Steve Tilson
--
"How many more, Harry?" said Dumbledore, eyes puddling with tears. "How
many more have to be buried before your thirst for vengeance is satisfied?"
- www.pointlesswasteoftime.com
Greg Neill
news:20031110133812.347$f...@newsreader.com...
> baa...@zagami.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke) wrote:
> > The robots to be honored in this first annual Hall of Fame event include
> > NASA's Mars Pathfinder Microrover Flight Experiment (MFEX), better known
> > as "Sojourner"; Unimate, the first industrial robot; R2-D2, the
> > unforgettable droid from the Star Wars movie trilogy; and the evil
> > HAL-9000 computer, featured in the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey,"
created
> > by science fiction writer and futurist Sir Arthur C. Clarke and director
> > Stanley Kubrick.
>
> Does HAL really qualify as a) evil, and b) a robot?
Decidedly not. Another bit of nonsense from the NASA P.R.
machine.
Joe Pfeiffer
> >
> > Does HAL really qualify as a) evil, and b) a robot?
>
> Decidedly not. Another bit of nonsense from the NASA P.R.
> machine.
As evil as any other insane slasher, and it did have actuators...
--
Joseph J. Pfeiffer, Jr., Ph.D. Phone -- (505) 646-1605
Department of Computer Science FAX -- (505) 646-1002
New Mexico State University http://www.cs.nmsu.edu/~pfeiffer
Southwestern NM Regional Science and Engr Fair: http://www.nmsu.edu/~scifair
Greg Neill
> "Greg Neill" <gnei...@OVE.netcom.ca> writes:
> > >
> > > Does HAL really qualify as a) evil, and b) a robot?
> >
> > Decidedly not. Another bit of nonsense from the NASA P.R.
> > machine.
>
> As evil as any other insane slasher, and it did have actuators...
The HAL 9000 was a stationary computer. And it wasn't
evil, just misunderstood...
Jerry Petrey
Greg Neill wrote:
But HAL had control of just about everything on Discovery, including the Pods (except when
they were switched to manual). So it had mobile agents. And it did murder 4 people so if
you could ascribe human attributes to a machine, I would think you would have to consider it
evil. Misunderstood sounds like what every lawyer calls his slasher clients. The
implications in the movie were, of course, that due to imperfections in his programming, he
put the mission success above all else and when faced with disconnection due to his lack of
perfect performance (which shouldn't have been expected); he reacted in a way to try to save
the mission.
Now whether a fictitious computer should be included in this hall of fame is another
question, but I don't see any harm. Hopefully there are some lessons to learn from it.
Jerry
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Jerry Petrey
-- Senior Principal Systems Engineer - Navigation (GPS/INS), Guidance, & Control
-- Raytheon Missile Systems - Member Team Ada & Team Forth
-- NOTE: please remove <NOSPAM> in email address to reply
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lefty Skywalker
> baa...@zagami.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke) wrote:
>
>>The robots to be honored in this first annual Hall of Fame event include
>>NASA's Mars Pathfinder Microrover Flight Experiment (MFEX), better known
>>as "Sojourner"; Unimate, the first industrial robot; R2-D2, the
>>unforgettable droid from the Star Wars movie trilogy; and the evil
>>HAL-9000 computer, featured in the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey," created
>>by science fiction writer and futurist Sir Arthur C. Clarke and director
>>Stanley Kubrick.
>
>
> Does HAL really qualify as a) evil, and b) a robot?
He qualifies as a) amoral and b) yes, if you count the ship under his
control.
--
Daniel O. Miller
"The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the
fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true
science. Whosoever does not know it and can no longer marvel, is as good
as dead, and his eyes are dimmed." - Albert Einstein
WWYD?
(hotmail addy is a red herring; I'm at em see aych ess aye)
R. Steven Rainwater
Not all robots have wheels. Some have more advanced means of locomotion.
My memory is that HAL 9000 had three nuclear-powered motors that carried
it all the way to Jupiter. That's a long trip for a stationary object! :-)
-Steve
Ron Baalke
>Decidedly not. Another bit of nonsense from the NASA P.R.
>machine.
This is clearly marked as a Carnegie Mellon University Press Release.
Dr. Rev. Chuck, M.D. P.A.
>
> baa...@zagami.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke) wrote:
> > The robots to be honored in this first annual Hall of Fame event include
> > NASA's Mars Pathfinder Microrover Flight Experiment (MFEX), better known
> > as "Sojourner"; Unimate, the first industrial robot; R2-D2, the
> > unforgettable droid from the Star Wars movie trilogy; and the evil
> > HAL-9000 computer, featured in the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey," created
> > by science fiction writer and futurist Sir Arthur C. Clarke and director
> > Stanley Kubrick.
>
> Does HAL really qualify as a) evil,
self-centered
> and b) a robot?
The ship was comparable to a robot. HAL was the ship's conscience.
Blueeyedpop
> Not all robots have wheels. Some have more advanced means of locomotion.
> My memory is that HAL 9000 had three nuclear-powered motors that carried
> it all the way to Jupiter. That's a long trip for a stationary object! :-)
>
> -Steve
>
damn,
beat me too it.
didn't it also have the remote pods too?
Jeff Root
>> baa...@zagami.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke) wrote:
>>> The robots to be honored in this first annual Hall of Fame event
>>> include NASA's Mars Pathfinder Microrover Flight Experiment (MFEX),
>>> better known as "Sojourner"; Unimate, the first industrial robot;
>>> R2-D2, the unforgettable droid from the Star Wars movie trilogy;
>>> and the evil HAL-9000 computer, featured in the movie "2001: A
>>> Space Odyssey," created by science fiction writer and futurist
>>> Sir Arthur C. Clarke and director Stanley Kubrick.
>>
>
> Decidedly not. Another bit of nonsense from the NASA P.R. machine.
HAL did evil when he killed people uneccessarily. Does doing
evil make one evil? I'm not sure, but since you seem to argue
that it does not, I will argue that it does. Although I really
sympathize with HAL too much to call him "evil".
HAL controlled most of the functions on Discovery. Including
the three EVA pods, and all sorts of other mechanical things.
That made him a robot. A highly autonomous robot, at that.
-- Jeff, in Minneapolis
.
C'Pi
> Greg Neill replied to Steve Tilson:
>
>>> baa...@zagami.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke) wrote:
>>>> The robots to be honored in this first annual Hall of Fame event
>>>> include NASA's Mars Pathfinder Microrover Flight Experiment (MFEX),
>>>> better known as "Sojourner"; Unimate, the first industrial robot;
>>>> R2-D2, the unforgettable droid from the Star Wars movie trilogy;
>>>> and the evil HAL-9000 computer, featured in the movie "2001: A
>>>> Space Odyssey," created by science fiction writer and futurist
>>>> Sir Arthur C. Clarke and director Stanley Kubrick.
>>>
>>> Does HAL really qualify as a) evil, and b) a robot?
>>
>> Decidedly not. Another bit of nonsense from the NASA P.R. machine.
>
> I see no obvious evidence that NASA had a hand in it.
>
> HAL did evil when he killed people uneccessarily. Does doing
> evil make one evil? I'm not sure, but since you seem to argue
> that it does not, I will argue that it does. Although I really
> sympathize with HAL too much to call him "evil".
At least you're not wishy-washy about it.
--
C'Pi
Political power grows out of a barrel of monkeys.
Steve Campbell
> and the evil HAL-9000 computer,
> featured in the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey,"
I object to this characterisation of HAL as "evil", he acted acording to
conflicting programming from humans, Like the old saying goes, "garbage, in
homicidal mania out"
CLEAR THE NAME OF THE DISCOVERY 1 !!!!!!!
davyd
news:boogrt$8rn$1...@nntp1.jpl.nasa.gov...
Anyone know what he said?
> Two key actors from the original Star Wars trilogy will also be on hand
> for the celebration -- David Prowse, who played Darth Vader in the
original
> Star Wars Trilogy, and Kenny Baker who played R2-D2 in the first Star Wars
> episode.
In what way did an actor portray R2D2? Was he huddled inside of it, steering
by remote control?
Hopefully, that will recognize Asimov's contributions to robotics. Too bad
none of his robot characters have become as popularly well known as HAL and
R2D2.
Carl Burke
>
> "Ron Baalke" <baa...@zagami.jpl.nasa.gov> wrote in message
> news:boogrt$8rn$1...@nntp1.jpl.nasa.gov...
> >
> > Carnegie Mellon University Press Release
> > Star Wars Trilogy, and Kenny Baker who played R2-D2 in the first Star Wars
> > episode.
>
> In what way did an actor portray R2D2? Was he huddled inside of it, steering
> by remote control?
Inside it, operating what few controls there were, yes;
not steering by remote control. He's googleable.
--
Carl Burke
cbu...@mitre.org
Jeff Root
>> Two key actors from the original Star Wars trilogy will also be on
>> hand for the celebration -- David Prowse, who played Darth Vader in
>> the original Star Wars Trilogy, and Kenny Baker who played R2-D2 in
>> the first Star Wars episode.
>
> In what way did an actor portray R2D2? Was he huddled inside of it,
> steering by remote control?
where R2D2 walked. Baker's arms were inside R2D2's legs.
Anthony Daniels had a lot more work as C-3PO, though, since he
probably did all the scenes and did the voice, too-- twice, in
fact: first during filming then again in the recording studio.
C'Pi
> "davyd" asked:
>
>>> Two key actors from the original Star Wars trilogy will also be on
>>> hand for the celebration -- David Prowse, who played Darth Vader in
>>> the original Star Wars Trilogy, and Kenny Baker who played R2-D2 in
>>> the first Star Wars episode.
>>
>> In what way did an actor portray R2D2? Was he huddled inside of it,
>> steering by remote control?
>
> I think Kenny Baker is the legless actor who did the scenes
> where R2D2 walked. Baker's arms were inside R2D2's legs.
Kenny Baker is not legless. He controlled all the movements of R2 from
inside.
Jeff Root
>>>> Two key actors from the original Star Wars trilogy will also be on
>>>> hand for the celebration -- David Prowse, who played Darth Vader in
>>>> the original Star Wars Trilogy, and Kenny Baker who played R2-D2 in
>>>> the first Star Wars episode.
>>>
>>> In what way did an actor portray R2D2? Was he huddled inside of it,
>>> steering by remote control?
>>
>> I think Kenny Baker is the legless actor who did the scenes
>> where R2D2 walked. Baker's arms were inside R2D2's legs.
>
> Kenny Baker is not legless. He controlled all the movements of R2
> from inside.
walking R2D2, and I assumed it was the same actor who was at
the induction.
Maybe I was thinking of the three robots Huey, Dewy, and Louie
in 'Silent Running'. I know they were done by legless actors.
George Dishman
"Jeff Root" <je...@freemars.org> wrote in message
news:964c68dd.03112...@posting.google.com...
> "davyd" asked:
>
> >> Two key actors from the original Star Wars trilogy will also be on
> >> hand for the celebration -- David Prowse, who played Darth Vader in
> >> the original Star Wars Trilogy, and Kenny Baker who played R2-D2 in
> >> the first Star Wars episode.
> >
> > In what way did an actor portray R2D2? Was he huddled inside of it,
> > steering by remote control?
>
> I think Kenny Baker is the legless actor who did the scenes
> where R2D2 walked. Baker's arms were inside R2D2's legs.
You could also see Kenny in Time Bandits, Labyrinth and
many other films.
http://www.starwars.com/bio/kennybaker.html
http://www.kennybaker.co.uk/filmandtv.html
George
Alan Kilian
Jeff Root <je...@freemars.org> wrote:
>
> -- Jeff, in Minneapolis
Hey Jeff, you've got to come to a Twin Cities Robotics Group meeting.
tcrobots.org.
Or at least a Kilian's Robot Shop Of Horrors meeting
http://www.infinetivity.com/~jsampson/rsoh/
Give me a shout. We've already got TWO Jeffs, so you'll feel right
at home.
-Alan Kilian
--
- Alan Kilian <alank(at)timelogic.com>
Director of Bioinformatics, TimeLogic Corporation 763-449-7622