false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1181107716m/1114074.jpg 1114074 1 If you believe the children are our future, you're only half right. Photographer Peter Menzel and journalist Faith D'Aluisio traveled around the world interviewing researchers who want to jump-start our evolution by designing and building electrical and mechanical extensions of ourselves--robots. Their book, <I>Robo Sapiens</I>, takes its title from the notion that our species might somehow merge with our creations, either literally or symbiotically. The photography is brilliant, showing the endearing and creepy sides of the robots and roboticists and feeling like stills from unmade science-fiction films. D'Aluisio's interviews are insightful and often very funny, as when she calls MIT superstar Rodney Brooks on his statement that we ought not "overanthropomorphize" people. Brooks is an interesting study. Having shaken up the robotics and artificial-intelligence fields with his elimination of high-level intelligence and dedication to tiny, insectoid, built-from-the-ground-up robots, he now works on large, human-mimicking machines. But hundreds of other researchers, in Japan, Europe, and the United States, are working on various aspects of machine behavior, from the eerily lifelike robotic faces of Fumio Hara and Alvaro Villa to the monkeylike movement of Brachiator III; each of them casts a bit of light on the future of their field in their short interviews. Though it's clear that we shouldn't hold our breath waiting for a robot butler, <I>Robo Sapiens</I> suggests that much cooler--and stranger--events are coming soon. <I>--Rob Lightner</I> 1101071 1 9 2000 Robo sapiens: Evolution of a New Species total:7|5:3|4:2|3:1|2:1| 7 28 16 3 4 0 false false Fri Jun 20 11:07:01 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 20 11:09:17 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Jul 13 00:20:26 -0700 2007 Fri Jul 13 00:21:35 -0700 2007 I wonder if I ever have time to dwell and play around with this subject...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2001 Wed Nov 07 08:38:03 -0800 2007 Wed Nov 07 08:39:50 -0800 2007 0 0 false false Fri Nov 20 02:55:18 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 20 02:55:19 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Wed Nov 04 04:37:52 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 04 04:37:52 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Fri May 01 06:34:17 -0700 2009 Fri May 01 06:34:17 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Tue Mar 24 07:37:18 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 24 07:37:18 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Fri Jan 16 09:49:14 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 16 09:49:14 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sat Jan 10 12:07:56 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 10 12:07:56 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sat Jun 21 21:19:05 -0700 2008 Sat Jun 21 21:19:05 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Wed Feb 27 14:28:56 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 27 14:29:00 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Tue Jan 08 07:54:56 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 08 07:54:56 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Mon Jan 07 14:37:03 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 07 14:37:03 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Fri Aug 24 14:44:59 -0700 2007 Fri Aug 24 14:44:59 -0700 2007 0 0 false false Sat Jun 16 22:36:01 -0700 2007 Sat Jun 16 22:36:01 -0700 2007 2 0 false false Tue Jun 05 22:28:46 -0700 2007 Tue Jun 05 22:28:46 -0700 2007 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=1114074