Peacebots Picket Robotic Violence What do robots do in the real
world? They vacuum floors, work on assembly lines, assist with
laparoscopic surgery and, as of last Saturday, march for peace.
The peacebots that demonstrated at the Franklin Institute on
Oct. 20 were programmed by four students from Associate
Professor of Computer Science Doug Blank's introductory course
in computer science, which uses robotics to introduce the basic
principles of the discipline. Calling themselves People for the
Ethical Treatment of Robots, they were a comical counterbalance
to an event titled "Robot Conflict," in which pairs of robots
faced off against each other in a glass-walled arena to "smash,
toss or cut their opponents to bits," as the Institute's Web
site said. Robot Conflict, organized by the Northeast Robotics
Club (NERC), was part of Robot Day, an exhibition designed to
foster local kids' interest in robotics technology. Robot Day
was hosted by the Institute's Partnerships for Achieving Careers
in Technology and Scie