Bomb squads from around New Mexico got a chance to sharpen their skills by using a remote-Controlled robot -- Not to blow things up, but to make pancakes.
The Robot Rodeo was held in June at a tech site at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
The three-day event offered hours of handson training at the controls of $225,000 robots used for bomb and hazardous waste detection and disposal.
Six teams guided robots through 10 challenges, including an obstacle course, simulated attacks, cooperation exercises and activities to test their ability to minutely control the robot, said Chris Ory, a member of Los Alamos lab's hazardous devices team.
Controlling the robot was where pancakemaking came into play.
Teams from the state police and Santa Fe Police Department controlled robots while watching video monitors from vehicles parked outside a small building where two judges sat, ready with syrup and butter to taste their pancakes.
Tables on either side of the room held griddles, pancake mix in a pitcher and a spatula. Each team had to mix the batter, then cook four pancakes and bring two plates to the table.
Judges Valine Griego and Erica DeSmett, coordinators from Sandia National Laboratory, rejected the state police robot's creation.
"It's only cooked on one side," Griego said.
Jose Salazar, the state police bomb squad assistant commander controlling the robot, also sampled the pancake.
"I'm glad it's pancakes and not public safety," he said.
On the Santa Fe team, Officer Scott Waite painstakingly maneuvered the robot through the pour and flip.
Waite scooped the pancake from the side for the flip. He lucked out when his second pancake broke in half during the flip, so he created two pancakes out of one.
The robot delivered the first plate perfectly. Griego, DeSmett and honorary judge Mary Salazar, a Los Alamos lab intern, poured syrup and took their bites.
Salazar pronounced the pancakes "pretty good."
Source: The Santa Fe New Mexican, http:// www.sfnewmexican.com
Could this possibly be a glimpse into our near or distant future? One early science-fiction speculation was that by the year 2000 everyone would have a personal robot to help assist them with everyday chores. We thought we would be living like "The Jetsons" by the time the 21st century rolled around. So are we half-way there or just scratching the surface?
Hundreds of movies and novels have portrayed the concept of a robotic world making life as we know it much more convenient. There are machines in the stone industry already that fit that category, turning out some pretty flawless and intricate kitchens. At the other end of the spectrum, "Roomba" household vacuums have been around a few years.
In science fiction, however, the robots tend to have more of a "human" form and can react and communicate more on our level. They can take commands or offer advise, and possibly make and serve us pancakes.
We already have computers and devices that keep us informed and connected to the world in ways that were inconceivable over 40 years ago. Perhaps the first steps to that "brave new world" is learning to control animated robots, not just for defusing bombs or handling hazardous materials, but for planting gardens and painting houses as well. Man, the possibilities!
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