Robots and Humans (+Video)

Robots Exhibition at the Science Museum, London from Karen Andrews on Vimeo

Cute toys? Job thieves? Creepy threats to mankind? Robots, the Science Museum's latest exhibition, introduces many topical preoccupations.

As you stand in the lobby queue for your timed entry slot, you see two cute, toy-like robot ticket desks. One desk was initially unmanned on my arrival; the other had a long queue. 

You see a 3-tiered bank of robot eyes on your right as you wait. 

No-one paid much attention. 

Then, creepily... the eyeballs moved.



The first exhibit inside the entrance catches everyone by surprise. An animatronic baby raises a mix of emotions in visitors. So life-like. The eyes have the knowing look of an old soul seen in some new-borns. It moves like a baby. And yet, something is missing. 

Visitors stand back from the animatronic baby

The movements have a controlled pattern. No welling maternal instinct rushes to rescue the helpless creature from its stake on the wall. As blue lights change to pink and pink to blue, the urge is to step back and away instead.

Why? What makes a human baby such a unique creation? So utterly helpless at birth and yet a powerful learning machine. So determined without programming, yet some personality traits seem 'built in' from birth - or even before.

Close-up of animatronic baby in Robots Exhibition

The Science Museum's Robots Exhibition takes you on a journey: Man's 500-year quest to make robots human. It leaves you asking questions about the current direction of robotics. It leaves you marvelling at the unique creation that is every single human baby.

Single-shuttle loom

The exhibition is divided into 5 sections representing 5 different periods in the history of automation. 

The first section is called 'Marvel'. It shows Man's early attempts at automation. 

The second section 'Obey' presents the Industrial Revolution. It turned men into robots, servants of the machine.

The first recognisable robots appear in the 'Dream' section. Many are film creations of an imagined future. Some are cute; some are downright scary. Many are mere toys.

...And nothing can possibly go ... worng...

Scientists take over from the film-makers in the 'Build' section. The obsession to recreate ourselves as machines reaches new heights. Researchers' efforts demonstrate the complexity of our bodies and minds. 

Coordinating vision, recognition, reaction & movement - tough for a robot

The sophistication gradually increases. Many robots in this section are not complete. We see an arm or a hand.  They still cannot match smooth, instantaneous human movements. 

Sophisticated robotic hands are no match for human hands

The final section is entitled 'Imagine'. The robots on display are very recent productions for a museum. Robothespian dates from 2016. Science is moving so fast. AI's more recent and advanced developments are not on display. 

As children and adults interact with the robots, many of today's concerns become apparent. The UK's Robothespian is irritating; the Italian robot shows off; the Japanese news-reading robot is unnerving. Pepper, the French companion robot, is so popular that a crowd forms tightly around her.

UK's Robothespian of 2016

There are safety issues. Each robot is sectioned off from other robots and the public. Industrial robots can now work collaboratively with humans. Robots aren't toys any more.

Toyota's Human Support Robot

No single robot seems to combine all human activities and brain power as yet. It would need to be huge to do so. Remember the size of the original mainframe computers? Miniaturisation will come. 

It is proposed that robots should become care-providers for the young and elderly - i.e. the most vulnerable in society. Do we want or need that?

Young children and the elderly with dementia are unpredictable. The mobility, determination and unpredictability of  a news commentator's children went viral on Twitter this week. Are robots a match for this?

I also saw a video of children 'playing' with Alexa this week. They were running rings around her by proposing fake shopping list items. We would call it bullying, if Alexa were human.

How will we prevent artificial intelligence from learning how to bully? Do robots really need to take a human form?

Past Blogs on Robotics:

Robotics in the Media: Science Museum Lates – Part 1

Robotics and Ethics: Science Museum Lates – Part 2

Intelligent Robots: Science Museum Lates – Part 3

Karen Andrews is a freelance French to English translator, transcreator, content writer and editor. She has a strong background in global marketing.

Email Karen for further information via karenanglicityen@gmail.com in French, German or English.

Zaha Hadid's Mathematical Legacy

The stunning design hits you as soon as you walk through the door of the  new Winton Gallery. Unfortunately, its designer was one of the many famous and talented people who passed away in 2016. Zaha Hadid's architectural legacy lives on around the world. In December, the architect's completed design for the new Mathematics gallery opened.

Side-view of Zaha Hadid's design with exhibits in glass cases

Design inspiration
The Imperial War Museum, IWM Duxford and RAF Hendon also suspend airplanes overhead. This was dramatically different. Zaha Hadid was a mathematician before she was an architect. Her knowledge of geometry informed her creativity. The video below shows how she used wind patterns around the plane to create her stunning design.

Modern approach
It's also interesting that the museum approached a woman for its Mathematics gallery. The Science Museum is seeking to inspire a new generation of STEM enthusiasts. The new gallery uses a more modern approach to displaying artefacts. They are more spaced out rather than piled up. I still wondered if a new generation would require more interactivity. My attention was captured by the sheer size of many of the exhibits. Modern technology has downsized so many of them and increased capacity at the same time.

There was a huge model used at the London School of Economics to show students how the Economy works. The Thames Flood Barrier Model also caught my attention. 

Model of London's Thames Flood Barrier in the Winton Gallery

Maths was never my favourite subject at school, although I did love algebra. Something to do with it looking like a foreign language to be decoded perhaps? 

Cash register
One exhibit cast my mind straight back to my early school days. There was a huge, old-fashioned cash register. I had a smaller toy version as a child. I remember telling my teacher that I wanted to be a shopkeeper. She told me that I was too 'clever' for that. I didn't like that 'clever' word if it stopped me from doing what I wanted to do. I just liked counting money at that age. 

I am sure the teacher meant to encourage me to see the greater career opportunities that were opening up for women. Retailing had become a recognised graduate career by the time of my first degree. Maybe my wish should have been interpreted as the sign of an early entrepreneur?

Old cash register with Access credit card sticker

Contactless payments
Today is Boxing Day in the UK. Cash registers are ringing up post-Christmas sale purchases across the country. I smiled when I recognised the old green Access credit symbol. I have just taken delivery of my second contactless card. I love the simplicity. I've stopped carrying cash as much as in the past. My museum experience brought home how much shopping and attitudes have changed in my lifetime.

I wonder ...
... how a contactless card will look in a museum of the future? 
... if will we see more women inspired to take up mathematics as old attitudes change?
... what new unpredicted careers will appear as today's schoolchildren grow up?

Karen Andrews is a freelance French to English translator, transcreator, content writer and editor. She has a strong background in global marketing.

Email Karen for further information via karenanglicityen@gmail.com in French, German or English.

Women in Space

I was the first. My first bore no comparison. I made my way through the vast open space. I headed up into the eerie purple light, before emerging into another vast open space.

It was a strange experience to make my way - on my own - through London's Science Museum. I had just visited the new Cosmonauts Exhibition after normal opening hours.

First woman cosmonaut

A vast photo of the first woman in space looked down on the IMAX auditorium. I had just seen the unbelievably tiny "pod" in which Valentina Tereshkova had bravely ventured into space in 1963.

Even Valentina's mother hadn't known about her space mission. She had believed that her daughter was just on parachute training. Can you imagine finding out that your daughter was the first woman in space from the TV? She was present when Valentina collected a bravery medal afterwards.

Science Museum Talk

Broadcaster Helen Keen hosted a talk at the Science Museum on "Women in Space" on 23rd October. Her guests were the French cosmonaut, Claudie Haigneré and British Flight Director, Libby Jackson. Both women have had extraordinarily inspirational careers. As Valentina Tereshova said:

"A Bird cannot fly with one wing only. 

Human space flight cannot develop any further

 without the active participation of women".

Claudie Haigneré

When Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, Claudie Haigneré was 12 years' old. She was camping on her summer holiday. She marvelled at the moon in the sky. The inaccessible dream had become a reality. In the absence of any European space opportunities, Claudie embarked on a career in medicine.

In 1985, Claudie saw an advertisement for cosmonauts with a scientific background. She jumped at the chance. Only 10 women applied. Only 7 candidates were selected from 1,000 applicants: 3 pilots, 4 scientists.

Claudie became the only female cosmonaut training at Star City. She paved her own way. She didn't dwell on being the only woman in a male-dominated field. The more appreciable difference is between a military and civilian role.

Cosmonauts' Exhibition at the Science Museum

Libby Jackson

Libby Jackson showed a similar go-getting attitude. She had always been interested in space. Her earliest memory was of the Challenger Disaster. At 17, she had the nerve to ask to shadow a NASA flight director in Huston, Texas. If you don't ask, you don't get! She saw NASA's moon rocks and thought "this is me".

There were no Brits employed at NASA back then. She had to forget the idea.

Libby studied Physics at university. She headed for Munich when she first became aware of the space industry there. She always made people aware of what she wanted to do. She is now delighted with her role as Flight Director at the UK's Space Agency in Swindon.

Libby is very excited about her involvement in Tim Peake's Principia mission in the International Space Station (ISS). The launch date is not far away on 15 December 2015.

Left to right: Libby Jackson, Helen Keen and Claudie Haigneré

Women in STEM

The two women debated how there has not generally been enough progress.  Women are not putting themselves forward. There are still not enough women studying STEM subjects.

It is important for women like Claudie and Libby to share both the technical and human adventure of their stories. Claudie found living in a multicultural environment incredibly enriching for her life and career. Libby similarly spreads the message by visiting schools.

There is no need to act like a man. NASA achieves its best results in mixed teams. Libby stressed that the UK Space Agency employs 44 women and 34 men.

Future missions

Only 500 astronauts have ever travelled into space. Yet, there are countless ground support roles. A Mars mission is a very distant prospect with the journey taking 6-9 months. Revisiting the moon is more likely. A mission's success is the focus of the whole team whether male or female.

Claudie would welcome a mission to the moon. Mars is for the next generation of astronauts. Her funniest story was of a phone call from space. Her daughter claimed she was too busy to take the call, as if her mother was just around the corner.

Impatience

A member of the audience asked about fear. Claudie replied that impatience was the greatest emotion after 5 years for her PhD and 10 years of training.

Libby confirmed that the British astronaut, Tim Peake feels the same way. He is more nervous about missing out after all the training and build-up. 

Britons in space

He won't be the first Briton in space. That honour went to a British woman, Helen Sharman in 1991. Six male British citizens followed her.

Inspiring a new generation

You can see the Principia mission's countdown ticking away on the European Space Agency's website. Maybe the mission will inspire a whole new generation of female astronauts and flight directors?

For further information about Anglicity's content writing services, email karen@anglicity.com.