Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Robot Librarians In The Stacks
In his 1962 story The Robot Who Wanted to Know, Harry Harrison wrote about robot librarian Filer 13B-445-K, a very curious 'bot:
Several projects are underway to make robot librarians a reality. At University Jaume I in Spain, a prototype robot is trying to get a better grip on books.
A Filer is an amazingly intelligent robot and there aren't many being manufactured. You'll find them only in the greatest libraries, dealing with only the largest and most complex collections... The cataloging of human information has always been an incredibly complex task.
(Find out more about the robot librarian)
(University Jaume robot librarian)
Professor Angel del Pobil sees one of the most difficult tasks ahead for robot librarians is the challenge of mixing with humans - that is, if those pesky bipeds are to be allowed in the stacks at all.
"A library is a semi-structured environment... You can meet other humans, but it is not like an airport or somewhere like that. "So we think it is a good environment in which service robots are out there, working in a human environment, but it is still a controlled one.
The robot is a mobile manipulator with three wheels; its arm has seven joints, a two-fingered gripper and two micro cameras on its wrist. Optical character recognition software is used to read the labels on the books.
(Robot librarian at the University of British Columbia)
The Automatic Storage and Retrieval System at the University of British Columbia is a more structured robotic librarian. Once a student has filled out a request, an ASRS robot librarian trundles through 36,000 meters of climate-controlled stacks to find any of a million and a half volumes stored in 20,000 bins. The robots scan for the barcode that corresponds to the requested book.
Interestingly, the robot Filer from Harry Harrison's story also includes a capacity to suggest related books:
If it was asked for books on one subject, he could think of related books in other subjects that might be referred to.Google Scholar can also help students and researchers find books that are related to the subject at hand.
(Find out more about the robot librarian)
Read more about the Robot librarian at University Jaume, the UBC robot librarian and Google Scholar.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 7/5/2007)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")
SnapBot Robots - You Choose Their Legs And They Choose Their Gaits
It's not really polite to tear the limbs off robots.
Humanoid Robots Building Humanoid Robots
''Pardon me, Struthers,' he broke in suddenly... 'haven't you a section of the factory where only robot labor is employed?'' - Isaac Asimov (1940)
What's The Best Way To Ship And Unpack Humanoid Robots?
'I opened the oblong box, where lay the automatons side by side...' - Elizabeth Bellamy, 1899.
SpiRobs Soft Spiral Robotic Arm
'Beware the 'long, flexible, glittering tentacles...' - HG Wells, 1898
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
TRANSFORM Dynamic Furniture Concept Becomes What You Need
'An adjustment panel outside the door would cause it to extrude various appurtenances in memory plastic...'
Harvard Metamaterials Change Structure Instantly
'Annealed in any shape for a time, and codified, the structure of that shape is retained down to the molecules.'
SnapBot Robots - You Choose Their Legs And They Choose Their Gaits
It's not really polite to tear the limbs off robots.
Dino From Magical Toys An AI Companion To Children
'...the imaginary companions discovered by needful children.'
Humanoid Robots Building Humanoid Robots
''Pardon me, Struthers,' he broke in suddenly... 'haven't you a section of the factory where only robot labor is employed?''
Darpa 'Defiant' Unmanned Autonomous Ship
'There was no wheel, and no steersman!'
What's The Best Way To Ship And Unpack Humanoid Robots?
'I opened the oblong box, where lay the automatons side by side...'
DNA Printed Book By Isaac Asimov Now Available
'They tied the memory to the bloodline and that was their record!'
AI Computer Chip Designs Passeth Human Understanding
'It seems that at one time computers were designed directly by human beings.'
Space Traffic Management (STM) Needed Now
'...the spot was a lonely one in an uncharted region, far from the normal lanes of space traffic.'
Fine-Tune Your Infinite Book The Way You Want It
'I squatted down beside the roller and tried to make some sense out of the knobs. There were thirty-nine of them...'
SpiRobs Soft Spiral Robotic Arm
'Beware the long, flexible, glittering tentacles...'
Holland Factory 3D Printing 500 Tons Of Steak Per Month
'...I don’t understand technical things — tell me, does it ever feel anything?"
Stratospheric Solar Geoengineering From Harvard
'Pina2bo would have to operate full blast for many years to put as much SO2 into the stratosphere as its namesake had done in a few minutes.'
ErythroMer Artificial Blood
'My chemists are all working on the preparation of the artificial blood.'
Vesuvius Challenge Accepted - Ancient Burnt Scroll Read!
'The image on the Trimagniscope tube was an enlarged view of one of the pocket-size books found on the body...'
