A robot could be defined as an agent or system that can move through a space, be programmed to make decisions and do work without your direct intervention. When these agents are software systems, they are generally called bots. These bots move through regions of cyberspace (global information systems) and retrieve data and information. Is a Google search a robot at work? No, a Google web page only works when you are there to direct it. But you can set up a bot to watch for new information and send a link of the web page or a copy of the data to an email address. Many web sites including Google enable users to set up information seeking bots. What are the web addresses of some online bots that you can put into a comment on this posting?
Our Lego robots had to have a special area like a flat floor before they could successfully move around. The web is similar. The web is not a friendly easy place in which bots can operate either. A global movement that is emerging is sometimes called Web 3.0. The first major concept of the web, Web 1.0, was a place where a few publishers could easily send much information to global audiences with less work and cost. The next major concept, Web 2.0, was a place where people had easy tools for global publishing. In Web 3.0, the web is being made easier for "autonomous agents" or bots. For more see Web 3.0 at PC Magazine. This suggests that our physical robots will someday be able to login to the Internet, run a search seeking information or get the information from an online bot, and then move to carry out decisions in the real world based on what it "read". What would be a bot way to track news of Web 3.0?
Given that the Lego robot has Bluetooth capacity and can "talk" with a desktop computer that is connected to the Internet, is that not a project that someone could demonstrate now? What would it read and what would it do? Could the Lego robot also find information in the world and post it to a blog site automatically or to some other Internet place? Please post comments as you begin to get some concept possibilities.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
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