As a participant in four large European projects, Stramigioli confesses that time is not his only issue. Frustrated about the financial situation in academia, he says, `I am continuously looking for money. It's a big worry. There is no possibility to finance things from the university, the money comes from outside. Right now there is a lot of interest in Robotics, so money is still being invested. But how long will that last? We need to be careful we don't end up in an AI winter effect.'
According to Stramigioli, an Artificial Intelligence winter effect is a phenomenon of disinterest and reduced funding that occurs after a period of hype. `When there are incredible expectations in fields of research, huge amounts of money get pumped into the system and if the output is slow, the enthusiasm disappears and the money dries up.' Stramigioli also warns of the perils of uninformed opinions. `People who are not in the Robotics field often have views based on movies,' he says. `That's very dangerous. Robotics is a broad field and people shouldn't expect to see a butler like the one in Bicentennial Man. That was science fiction.'
In his vision of the future 25 years from now, Stramigioli predicts that Robotics will be standard technology in homes across the world. He anticipates a boom in the game industry, and miniature robots that can be steered inside the body. `We are already working on a project called NOTES to develop something that will assist in endoscopic operations, making some difficult surgical procedures more precise.'
Although manufacturing began the era of Robotics, Stramigioli is of the opinion that the real business is now in the cure and care sector. `If a person needs monitoring 24 hours a day, a robot could be employed to measure things like heart rate and blood pressure, and if they register something anomalous, it can be automatically communicated to a hospital. A robot should never substitute a person, certainly where social interaction is concerned. But why not use them in situations like this.'
Telemanipulated robots, he claims, are being developed to inspect high structures like bridges, and to enter small areas like gas pipes to check for leaks. Robots are already being deployed in security situations, and to monitor the oceans. `Environmental monitoring is a big issue,' he says. `We have sensor networks collecting data in our oceans. The problem is not the technology, it's the politicians. It is well known in what kind of hell we are going to end up. Everything in our economy is based on oil. Not long from now there will be no oil whatsoever. We will go into a black hole, and there is not much time to do the necessary research. Our IMPACT institute has many activities in this direction.'
Next year Stramigioli will be performing experiments on the effects of grasping at zero gravity during a series of parabolic flights as part of a project with the European Space Agency. `I'm very fortunate,' he says. `I tried to become an astronaut recently, but I'm on the old side.'
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| Stramigioli believes that with Route 14, the UT takes an informed position on the ethics of Robotics. He says, `We deal with issues like the social and psychological aspects of Robotics. I believe that human beings have the gift of intellect and there are simply some jobs they should not do.' Photo: Gijs van Ouwerkerk |
