Thursday, May 6, 1999
The University Daily Kansan
Section A·Page 5
Robotic arm to lend a hand at KU
By Matt Cox
Special to the Kansan
A breakthrough in robotic technology is coming soon to the KU computer science department.
The Mitsubishi PA-10, a multisensory robotic arm, has the ability to perform many applications better than the scope and range of the robots currently used for the University of Kansas' computer science programs.
The PA-10 features a robotic arm with seven degrees of movement consisting of four rotation cups and three pivot joints, exactly like a human arm. It will be a major part of the robotic project financed by the National Science foundation.
The robot, which will be constructed by members of the EECS department, will have the capacity for vision, using normal sonar similar to a bat, and voice recognition.
While the hardware may intrigue computer science students, the professors' plans for
the robot lie in its program.
"Our real interest is to study the software," said Frank Brown, computer science professor.
Programming robots to do certain tasks is the main focus in Brown's Artificial Intelligence class.
The students now work with a robot called "Scout" from Nomadic Technologies. They program it to perform tasks that are responsive to movement and distance.
Brown said that the new robot would bring many new possibilities to students and professors far beyond that of "Scout."
"It will introduce much more advanced AI," Brown said, referring to the new robot's effect on the Artificial Intelligence students.
This advanced system would allow for more complicated programming and a more complicated output from the robot, he said.
For example, the "Scout" might learn to turn right when it sees an
ashtray 100 centimeters away. In contrast, the PA-10 could, for example, learn to pick up a soda can when it sees a person three feet away wearing a red shirt and saying, "Joe is cool."
Brown said that the robot's potential would extend beyond the classroom. He said that 40 percent of his job was research. One of the biggest attractions to the new technology is the attraction to the KU faculty. They would be give the opportunity to study the concept of "ambiguity resolution."
Brown said using this program, the robot would attempt to understand what was "behind a statement." Not only would the robot hear a sentence from a person, but it also would take into account the person's appearance, vocal emphasis and surroundings to determine what the person was really saving.
This level of technology is something that can't be programmed in a semester. He predicted that developing this sort of program would take at least 10 years to
develop the mixture of vision, syntax and linguistic program. But, Brown said, it would be worth the time and research.
Another professor is looking forward to his part in the project.
He said that studying and advancing image analysis for the new robot would be fun.
"It's a fascinating idea and methodology for studying intelligence," Brown said.
The programs and concepts not only help them enjoy the work, but also help them study it.
"My job is to make the robot have eyes," said John Gauch, assistant professor for the EECS department.
The program would also bring the science world one step closer to creating a machine that could think independently like a human. While many philosophers and scientists said that this would be impossible, Brown disagreed.
"Our job is not to figure out what we can't do, but rather what we can." he said.
Edited by Liz Wristen
New sculptures popping up downtown
By Derek Prater
Special to the Kansan
Spring brings new leaves and new life on Lawrence streets. Downtown, spring means a new crop of outdoor sculptures.
Ten new sculptures from across the country have popped up downtown, replacing work from last year's Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition.
Lawrence Arts Commissioner Dan Sabatini said that from the feedback he'd had so far, this year's group was one of the best.
"This collection really holds together well with both diversity and a common theme," said Sabatini, who heads the architectural firm Sabatini and Associates.
The sculptures range in style from Anne Wienholt's "3/4 Length Figure," a bronze female nude, to Jason Lumetta's "Endless Toilets," a 12-foot tall ceramic work depicting toilers stacked bowl to bowl. "Organization of Profanity," a metal amalgamation of painted geometric forms by Joseph Kinnebrew, is the most massive work, weighing in at 900 pounds.
The 12th-annual Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition is the brainchild of Jim Patti who, with the heap of the Parks and Forestry
NEW SCULPTURES
- "Santa Fe Thunder" by Bob Clore, of Manhatan.
- "Catch the Unseen" by Donald Dynneson, of Seward, Ebert.
- "Organization of Profinity" by Joseph Kinebnew, of Sunville, Idaho.
- "Introductions" by Joseph Kinnebrew, Sunvalley, Idaho.
- ■ "Endless Toilets" by Jason Lumetta, of Kansas City, Mo.
- "Sepulchre" by Robert McDermott, of Glen Ellen, Ill.*
- "Soliloquy" by Ardys Ramberg, of Lawrence
- "Dura-Membriane Series #10" by John Richardson, son of Hamtamkich, MH
- ■ "Element" by Cordell Taylor, of Salt Lake City,
Ulah
- "3/4 Length Figure" by Anne Wienholt, of Larksville, Calif.
Department and the Facility Maintenance Department, is in the laborious process of installing the new sculptures.
Most of the works arrived in Lawrence two weeks ago, but Patti said that it would take awhile before they were all settled on the sidewalks of Massachusetts Street and around downtown public buildings.
The exhibition is financed by the Lawrence Arts Commission.
Artists submitted their works to the Commission, which selected a juror, who chose the works that would make it into the exhibit. Selected artists receive $500 honorariums for their works, which are loaned to the city for a year. Patti said.
George Neubert, director of the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery and Sculpture Garden at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, chose this year's sculptures. Sabatini said that the Arts Commission was fortunate to have had Neubert's participation in the event and that he was a man whose credentials included selecting artwork for the White House.
Ramberg described her work as an abstractly figurative rusted metal piece that resembled a "Hamlet-like" figure making a speech. Hamlet was a tragic hero who descended into madness in a play called "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare.
Local flavor is represented in the exhibit by Lawrence artist Ardys Ramberg's "Sollouqu."
— Edited Keith Burner
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