One Small Step for Nao, One Giant Leap for Humanoid Kind

Science Daily reports that the world's most revered football players may soon have to step up their game if they want to retain their positions on premier league teams (Blackwell, 2010). The competition? A humanoid robot called Nao.

The latest era of relentless progression in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) has dawned in the form of 'Nao' - a football playing robot series set to dominate a sport sacrosanct across Europe. Move over Beckham, Pele and Cruyff. Nao is equipped with dribbling and manoeuvring skills, speed and game tactics to rival the greats... with one significant advantage: Nao's abilities will never be diminished by physical or psychological fatigue. Relative newcomer to the robotic technology/AI scene, French company Aldebaran has stunned audiences with demonstrations and operating specifications that reveal the abilities of their ball-bending prototype to the general public. At this stage, the Nao Robot series is able to complete a range of rudimentary tasks reminiscent of George Lucas' C-3PO: running, crouching, grasping, environmental perception, basic programmable communication, WiFi connection and Nao to Nao cooperation (Blackwell, 2010).

Many technology-enthusiasts will be chortling with glee over the scientific and computing progress the Nao series represents. Science fiction afficionados and football fans, however, may be more cautious with their praise. As the ability of Nao to orientate within and negotiate complex environments; to react to and interact with humans and other digital devices and artifical intelligentsia improves, the observable differences between Nao and man will slowly diminish. Claude Summut from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Autonomous Systems in Sydney reviewed the technology demonstrated at this year's RoboCup international robot soccer competition in Singapore (Blackwell, 2010). Sammut observed that the interaction between robots on the football pitch required and exhibited advanced perception, reasoning and movement capabilities that would see the development of a team of fully autonomous robots fit to down any world football championship team by 2050 (Blackwell, 2010).

These latest developments in robotic AI are rapidly approaching the long-imagined goal of a physiologically flawless blend of human and computer that would make differentiation between the two next to impossible. Aldebaran and its fellow AI pioneers would do well to consider the possible future ramifications of unrestrained continued development of this astounding technology.

In 50 years our world-class athletes may be out of a job. How long before other careers, and the value of humankind in general, become obsolete?

Reference List

Wiley Blackwell. (2010, September 13). How football playing robots have the future of artificial intelligence at their feet. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 4, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2010/09/100913080952.htm