Category Archives: Robotics

By Pamela Constable, The Washington Post

KABUL, Afghanistan When six Afghan teenage girls were denied U.S. visas to enter an international robotics contest in Washington set for later this month, the unexplained decision seemed to be punishing the very ambitions U.S. agencies have long advocated for girls in Afghanistan, where many are denied educational opportunities.

But the story is more complicated than that.

Afghanistan, beset by insurgent violence and economic uncertainty, is suffering from a massive brain drain, according to Afghan and U.S. officials. Scholarship students, academic fellows and teachers who receive temporary visas to visit the United States often vanish into immigrant communities instead of returning home.

The growing phenomenon has made U.S. officials especially wary of approving visa requests even for applicants like the robotics students who may otherwise deserve them if they decide there is a risk the person will fail to return home.

It is sad to say, but some of them do not come back, said Elham Shaheen, a senior official at the Ministry of Higher Education who manages foreign-study policies. He said 10 percent of all Afghans who are awarded temporary visas for academic purposes in the United States or Europe defy immigration rules to remain there permanently.

Female students and faculty members, facing extra frustrations at home, are no exception. Several years ago, Shaheen said, 12 female university lecturers won scholarships to obtain MA degrees in economics in Germany. Of the 12, he said, 11 of them escaped.

American officials here and in Washington have refused to discuss the case of the robotics team, but several pointed out that U.S. law presumes all temporary visa seekers intend to remain in the United States unless they are able to prove they have compellingly strong ties to their country.

Two members of the team, interviewed Thursday from their home city of Herat, said U.S. consular officers had asked about their ties to Afghanistan, whether they had relatives in the United States and whether they intended to return home after the competition.

Youth teams from about 150 countries will face off next week in the FIRST Global Challenge contest, created to promote international student interest in science, technology and math. Only one other team, from Gambia, was turned down.

Each of us gave them written guarantees from two government employees vouching for our return, said Rodaba Noori, 16, a member of the Afghan team that built a ball-sorting robot. This is our country. We have our life and family here, she said. How could we abandon them and not return after the competition?

Obtaining a visa, though, is just the last of many daunting hurdles the female students face in their efforts to advance academically long before they can even dream of traveling abroad.

Afghan families often oppose their daughters attending universities in Kabul or other cities, fearing for their safety and exposure to young men. Agencies that offer domestic scholarships, such as the nonprofit Asia Foundation, often have to negotiate with families or agree to support a male relative who can accompany the girl each semester.

Girls are also at a disadvantage in English and math, because Afghan families are more willing to pay for boys to take private classes. As a result, more girls fail college-entrance exams. To help even the balance, USAID sponsors exam-prep classes for girls, and education officials have established a 30 percent female quota for all in-country scholarships.

There is a chain of barriers for Afghan girls that requires a network of support to overcome, said Razia Stanikzai of the Asia Foundation in Kabul, whose job is to promote Afghan female students participation in science and technology.

Many Afghans, however, view these as male fields, and families may try to steer daughters into nursing or teaching instead. To overcome such stereotypes, Stanikzais program sponsors science fairs at provincial schools, where girls demonstrate projects to fathers and male community elders. We dont want girls sitting at home and being told that science and technology are for boys, she said.

Even students at such elite institutions as the American University in Afghanistan, where the U.S. Embassy has funded more than 400 scholarships for women, face prejudice. Two female information technology students said that in most of their classes, all of the other students were male and that some of their friends and relatives had no idea what they were studying or why.

Some of them tell us to change majors, to do something more acceptable like nursing or arts, said Shamim Ali, 26, whose dream is to start her own IT company. This is a traditional society, and even the concept of IT is strange. People think we are going to become mechanics or electricians and climb up on ladders.

When it comes to studying abroad, there are many opportunities, such as the Fulbright program, which has sent 535 Afghan students among them, 102 women to the United States since 2002. There are also closer international universities in countries such as India, Iran and Bangladesh, which Afghan officials are promoting as cheaper, more comfortable places to study at a time of growing anti-Muslim sentiment in the West.

Yet even accomplished female students can be thwarted by family resistance and competing cultural priorities. Education officials described cases in which applicants for foreign scholarships turned out to be married, pregnant and unable to accept by the time their tickets and visas came through.

One woman in Kabul named Raihana, 27, who obtained a scholarship to study economics in Bangladesh, said her older brother, the senior male in the family, at first refused to let her to go, but her younger and more liberal brother finally persuaded him.

Since my father was dead, he felt he had to take responsibility for me and my safety, the woman said, but the real reason was that he was married and he did not want his wife to study or travel. If I went, she would be jealous and complain.

The members of the robotics team said they, too, encountered initial resistance from their parents not only to travel to the United States for the robotics contest, but also to fly cross-country to Kabul, with its constant news of insurgent bombings, to apply for their visas.

We finally convinced them, and in the end they were very happy, but it was a difficult path, said Yasamin Yasinzada, 16, who said her dream is to be a pioneer in robotics and set an example for other girls. She said it was much easier for boys, because they are allowed to travel, but it helped that our coach was going with us.

Despite her disappointment at being turned down to visit the United States, where the robot will now appear at the competition without its creators, Yasinzada said she still hopes to study abroad.

The specific place doesnt matter, she said. I just want to learn, interact, see other ways of life, come back home and put it all into practice.

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For Afghan girls' robotics team, US visa denial was last of many hurdles - The Denver Post

When six Afghan teenage girls were denied U.S. visas to enter an international robotics contest in Washington set for later this month, the unexplained decision seemed to be punishing the very ambitions U.S. agencies have long advocated for girls in Afghanistan, where many are denied educational opportunities.

But the story is more complicated than that.

Afghanistan, beset by insurgent violence and economic uncertainty, is suffering from a massive brain drain, according to Afghan and U.S. officials. Scholarship students, academic fellows and teachers who receive temporary visas to visit the United States often vanish into immigrant communities instead of returning home.

The growing phenomenon has made U.S. officials especially wary of approving visa requests - even for applicants like the robotics students who may otherwise deserve them - if they decide there is a risk the person will fail to return home.

"It is sad to say, but some of them do not come back," said Elham Shaheen, a senior official at the Ministry of Higher Education who manages foreign-study policies. He said 10 percent of all Afghans who are awarded temporary visas for academic purposes in the United States or Europe defy immigration rules to remain there permanently.

Female students and faculty members, facing extra frustrations at home, are no exception. Several years ago, Shaheen said, 12 female university lecturers won scholarships to obtain MA degrees in economics in Germany. Of the 12, he said, "11 of them escaped."

American officials here and in Washington have refused to discuss the case of the robotics team, but several pointed out that U.S. law "presumes" all temporary visa seekers intend to remain in the United States unless they are able to prove they have compellingly strong ties to their country.

Two members of the team, interviewed Thursday from their home city of Herat, said U.S. consular officers had asked about their ties to Afghanistan, whether they had relatives in the United States and whether they intended to return home after the competition.

Youth teams from about 150 countries will face off next week in the FIRST Global Challenge contest, created to promote international student interest in science, technology and math. Only one other team, from Gambia, was turned down.

"Each of us gave them written guarantees from two government employees vouching for our return," said Rodaba Noori, 16, a member of the Afghan team that built a ball-sorting robot. "This is our country. We have our life and family here," she said. "How could we abandon them and not return after the competition?"

Obtaining a visa, though, is just the last of many daunting hurdles the female students face in their efforts to advance academically - long before they can even dream of traveling abroad.

Afghan families often oppose their daughters attending universities in Kabul or other cities, fearing for their safety and exposure to young men. Agencies that offer domestic scholarships, such as the nonprofit Asia Foundation, often have to negotiate with families or agree to support a male relative who can accompany the girl each semester.

Girls are also at a disadvantage in English and math, because Afghan families are more willing to pay for boys to take private classes. As a result, more girls fail college-entrance exams. To help even the balance, USAID sponsors exam-prep classes for girls, and education officials have established a 30 percent female quota for all in-country scholarships.

"There is a chain of barriers for Afghan girls that requires a network of support to overcome," said Razia Stanikzai of the Asia Foundation in Kabul, whose job is to promote Afghan female students' participation in science and technology.

Many Afghans, however, view these as "male" fields, and families may try to steer daughters into nursing or teaching instead. To overcome such stereotypes, Stanikzai's program sponsors science fairs at provincial schools, where girls demonstrate projects to fathers and male community elders. "We don't want girls sitting at home and being told that science and technology are for boys," she said.

Even students at such elite institutions as the American University in Afghanistan, where the U.S. Embassy has funded more than 400 scholarships for women, face prejudice. Two female information technology students said that in most of their classes, all of the other students were male and that some of their friends and relatives had no idea what they were studying - or why.

"Some of them tell us to change majors, to do something more acceptable like nursing or arts," said Shamim Ali, 26, whose dream is to start her own IT company. "This is a traditional society, and even the concept of IT is strange. People think we are going to become mechanics or electricians and climb up on ladders."

When it comes to studying abroad, there are many opportunities, such as the Fulbright program, which has sent 535 Afghan students - among them, 102 women - to the United States since 2002. There are also closer international universities in countries such as India, Iran and Bangladesh, which Afghan officials are promoting as cheaper, more comfortable places to study at a time of growing anti-Muslim sentiment in the West.

Yet even accomplished female students can be thwarted by family resistance and competing cultural priorities. Education officials described cases in which applicants for foreign scholarships turned out to be married, pregnant and unable to accept by the time their tickets and visas came through.

One woman in Kabul named Raihana, 27, who obtained a scholarship to study economics in Bangladesh, said her older brother, the senior male in the family, at first refused to let her to go, but her younger and more liberal brother finally persuaded him.

"Since my father was dead, he felt he had to take responsibility for me and my safety," the woman said, "but the real reason was that he was married and he did not want his wife to study or travel. If I went, she would be jealous and complain."

The members of the robotics team said they, too, encountered initial resistance from their parents - not only to travel to the United States for the robotics contest, but also to fly cross-country to Kabul, with its constant news of insurgent bombings, to apply for their visas.

"We finally convinced them, and in the end they were very happy, but it was a difficult path," said Yasamin Yasinzada, 16, who said her dream is to "be a pioneer in robotics and set an example for other girls." She said it was "much easier for boys, because they are allowed to travel, but it helped that our coach was going with us."

Read the original post:

For Afghan girls' robotics team, US visa denial was last of many hurdles - Chicago Tribune

BLACKSBURG Youre probably going to be nervous the first time you pull out of a parking lot in a self-driving car, TORC Robotics CEO Michael Fleming said from his 10 years of experience testing vehicles around the town and beyond.

Next comes the realization that all the humans on the road arent such great drivers after all.

Because this self-driving car is incredibly smooth, its not veering to the right or veering to the left, Fleming said. Its in the center of the lane.

The third sensation hes seen from passengers over and over again may be the most important: boredom.

Thats what happens when technology that appears so impossible and futuristic suddenly comes together in a seamless, safe and reliable way.

Eventually, it just fades into the background.

TORC has been working toward that feeling of comfortable boredom for a decade. Up until now, the 80-person company has worked almost exclusively in the military and mining industries, which Fleming called early adopters of autonomous technology.

But this week the company came out for the first time, thumping its chest as the newest contender in the self-driving consumer vehicle market.

TORC recently drove one of its cars from Blacksburg to the birthplace of the Ford Model T in Detroit, just to show off what the company can do.

We think the automotive industry is at an inflection point, Fleming said. You see a lot of folks making comments about how this technology will be commercially available in the next three to five years. Were working with a lot of big players to make that happen.

TORCs technology is designed to be integrated into automobiles already being produced by major manufacturers. The company would partner with brand name vehicle makers and then find a way to make everything fit together so TORCs technology could be baked in off the assembly lines.

Fleming didnt announce any of these partnerships as he showed off the technology during a recent visit, but he did hint at many more announcements to come later this year.

TORCs two newest self-driving cars, which it uses for its own experiments, are converted Lexus RXs. They hit public roads for the first time in February.

The most noticeable modification is the large, spinning lidar (light detection and ranging) system mounted to the roof. This is one of the main ways the car is able to see the world. Below the lidar is an array of radar, video cameras and two GPS antennas. Additional radar systems are hidden inside the bumpers.

All these sensors feed data to a computer tucked away in a compartment below the trunk.

Inside the vehicle, the only noticeable modification TORC made to the Lexus was the addition of a tablet mounted on the center console.

The car is able to navigate roads on its own by collecting imaging data with the sensors. The computer in the trunk then analyzes the environment, detecting things like road markings, other cars and traffic hazards.

That information is displayed on the tablet so the driver knows if something is going wrong, such as if the car is having a hard time finding markings on the road.

The dashboard has three indicator lights: green to let the driver know all is going well, yellow for when the car detects a minor obstacle that the driver should be aware of, and red for when its time to hand controls back over to a human.

TORC was founded in 2005 and began developing the technology in partnership with Virginia Tech in 2007. The two collaborated to compete in the Urban Challenge hosted by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

TORC was a startup, competing against teams sponsored by General Motors and Google. But the Blacksburg team took third place, a moment Fleming called TORCs first breakthrough.

Fleming said the challenge was a little ahead of its time, as regular car owners back then werent ready to hand the steering wheel over to a robot.

Some of the scientists who competed in the Urban Challenge went to work for Google, which has long been a leader in self-driving technologies. Others went into other fields since there wasnt a market yet for what they were building.

But TORC decided to keep its team together to begin going after different industries that were more ready for change.

Thats why the company began targeting mining companies, where TORC worked with Caterpillar to develop increasingly autonomous equipment. TORC also began working on military applications.

TORC was able to keep growing and learning for 10 years, and it was during that time the consumer market started to change.

I think this was really viewed as science fiction and a research project. But we didnt see it that way 10 years ago, Fleming said.

We were really completely committed to the commercialization of this technology and fulfilling our purpose of impacting the world. Weve held to that for the last decade. To be honest with you, weve been waiting for the automotive industry to catch up.

Fleming said he believes self-driving cars are now just a few years away from regular consumers.

If he had to predict the future, he said he thinks the transition will be similar to those of the past.

A long time ago, he said, people relied on horses for transportation. But then technology advanced and more people began using automobiles.

Today, many people still choose to ride horses. But its mostly for recreation, not to get from point A to point B.

The same, Fleming said, could one day be true of driving.

Not only do we believe this technology will make the world a safer place, but we also believe it will free up a tremendous amount of time in our lives, Fleming said. There are other folks that are maybe viewing this as a sprint. Were convinced its a marathon.

See the article here:

Blacksburg's TORC Robotics debuts self-driving cars, looks to make ... - Martinsville Bulletin

As President Donald Trump seeks to reinvigorate U.S. manufacturing, many industry leaders are looking to robots as the most efficient way for American factories to compete with cheap labor overseas.

We think robotics has had a positive impact on U.S. manufacturing by creating better, safer and higher paying jobs for American workers, said Jeff Burnstein, president of the Association for Advancing Automation (A3), a trade group. Most importantly (robotics is) making American companies more competitive so that they can expand their business and ultimately, in many cases, add more workers than they did before they started automating.

AUTOMATION CAN REVITALIZE THE U.S. WORKFORCE

According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data compiled by A3, U.S. companies added a record 136,748 robots to factory floors over the past seven years, while creating 894,000 new manufacturing jobs.

Robots assemble a Toyota Motor Corp. Yaris at the company's plant in Onnaing, near Valenciennes, France, May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier - RTX369IX

Instead of doing away with a job, we still have to have someone to be able to operate that robot. We have to have someone to be able to program that robot and someone to be able to work on it, said Rick Maroney, director of the Alabama Robotics Technology Park.

The $80 million research and development facility provides free technical training for workers in the state.

Our job is to make sure that all Alabama companies have the best skilled workforce possible, Maroney said.

ROBOTS BRING APPLE PICKING INTO THE 21ST CENTURY

According to A3, 80 percent of manufacturers say theyre having a hard time finding qualified applicants for skilled production positions. The Alabama program and similar investments in worker training are intended to help American manufacturers adapt to an industry that is becoming increasingly high-skilled and high-tech.

In addition to cross-training existing workers, some industry experts say robotics and coding (computer programming) should become staples in grade school shop classes.

Like a blue collar job, its something that you learn over time, said Scott Blanck, who founded Start Code, an Atlanta-based computer programming lab for children. You start with it. But then you get better at your craft as you go along. Because really this field is constantly changing. Youve always got something new to learn.

Industry leaders are looking to robots as the most efficient way for American factories to compete with cheap labor overseas. (AP)

Blanck, who grew up in a blue collar family, tries to dispel popular stereotypes of coding as an activity reserved for Silicon Valley entrepreneurs or lone office nerds. In fact, Blanck sees parallels between the computer networks hes managed and the pumps and compressors his father maintained in the mine in northern Michigan where he worked.

At one point I realized, wow, Im doing my dads job, Blanck said. Were a generation later and the technology is different. But the ideas are still there. The ideas still matter.

Fox News Chip Bell contributed to this report.

Jonathan Serrie joined Fox News Channel (FNC) in April 1999 and currently serves as a correspondent based in the Atlanta bureau.

See the original post here:

Can robots create jobs for humans? - Fox News

BLACKSBURG Youre probably going to be nervous the first time you pull out of a parking lot in a self-driving car, TORC Robotics CEO Michael Fleming said from his 10 years of experience testing vehicles around the town and beyond.

Next comes the realization that all the humans on the road arent such great drivers after all.

Because this self-driving car is incredibly smooth, its not veering to the right or veering to the left, Fleming said. Its in the center of the lane.

The third sensation hes seen from passengers over and over again may be the most important: boredom.

Thats what happens when technology that appears so impossible and futuristic suddenly comes together in a seamless, safe and reliable way.

Eventually, it just fades into the background.

TORC has been working toward that feeling of comfortable boredom for a decade. Up until now, the 80-person company has worked almost exclusively in the military and mining industries, which Fleming called early adopters of autonomous technology.

But this week the company came out for the first time, thumping its chest as the newest contender in the self-driving consumer vehicle market.

TORC recently drove one of its cars from Blacksburg to the birthplace of the Ford Model T in Detroit, just to show off what the company can do.

We think the automotive industry is at an inflection point, Fleming said. You see a lot of folks making comments about how this technology will be commercially available in the next three to five years. Were working with a lot of big players to make that happen.

TORCs technology is designed to be integrated into automobiles already being produced by major manufacturers. The company would partner with brand name vehicle makers and then find a way to make everything fit together so TORCs technology could be baked in off the assembly lines.

Fleming didnt announce any of these partnerships as he showed off the technology during a recent visit, but he did hint at many more announcements to come later this year.

TORCs two newest self-driving cars, which it uses for its own experiments, are converted Lexus RXs. They hit public roads for the first time in February.

The most noticeable modification is the large, spinning lidar (light detection and ranging) system mounted to the roof. This is one of the main ways the car is able to see the world. Below the lidar is an array of radar, video cameras and two GPS antennas. Additional radar systems are hidden inside the bumpers.

All these sensors feed data to a computer tucked away in a compartment below the trunk.

Inside the vehicle, the only noticeable modification TORC made to the Lexus was the addition of a tablet mounted on the center console.

The car is able to navigate roads on its own by collecting imaging data with the sensors. The computer in the trunk then analyzes the environment, detecting things like road markings, other cars and traffic hazards.

That information is displayed on the tablet so the driver knows if something is going wrong, such as if the car is having a hard time finding markings on the road.

The dashboard has three indicator lights: green to let the driver know all is going well, yellow for when the car detects a minor obstacle that the driver should be aware of, and red for when its time to hand controls back over to a human.

TORC was founded in 2005 and began developing the technology in partnership with Virginia Tech in 2007. The two collaborated to compete in the Urban Challenge hosted by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

TORC was a startup, competing against teams sponsored by General Motors and Google. But the Blacksburg team took third place, a moment Fleming called TORCs first breakthrough.

Fleming said the challenge was a little ahead of its time, as regular car owners back then werent ready to hand the steering wheel over to a robot.

Some of the scientists who competed in the Urban Challenge went to work for Google, which has long been a leader in self-driving technologies. Others went into other fields since there wasnt a market yet for what they were building.

But TORC decided to keep its team together to begin going after different industries that were more ready for change.

Thats why the company began targeting mining companies, where TORC worked with Caterpillar to develop increasingly autonomous equipment. TORC also began working on military applications.

TORC was able to keep growing and learning for 10 years, and it was during that time the consumer market started to change.

I think this was really viewed as science fiction and a research project. But we didnt see it that way 10 years ago, Fleming said.

We were really completely committed to the commercialization of this technology and fulfilling our purpose of impacting the world. Weve held to that for the last decade. To be honest with you, weve been waiting for the automotive industry to catch up.

Fleming said he believes self-driving cars are now just a few years away from regular consumers.

If he had to predict the future, he said he thinks the transition will be similar to those of the past.

A long time ago, he said, people relied on horses for transportation. But then technology advanced and more people began using automobiles.

Today, many people still choose to ride horses. But its mostly for recreation, not to get from point A to point B.

The same, Fleming said, could one day be true of driving.

Not only do we believe this technology will make the world a safer place, but we also believe it will free up a tremendous amount of time in our lives, Fleming said. There are other folks that are maybe viewing this as a sprint. Were convinced its a marathon.

More:

Blacksburg's TORC Robotics debuts self-driving cars | Blacksburg ... - Roanoke Times

Kevin Knoedlers robot had a mission: After a Martian habitat was damaged by a dust storm, the robot had to align an antenna, deploy a solar panel, walk up stairs to the habitat, and find and repair a leak.

Not only did the 1990 North Platte High School graduates robot took home the top prize in a virtual-reality competition it completed its mission on the first run. In addition to a $50,000 bonus for the clean run, Knoedler won $125,000 for first place in the late June competition.

But tinkering with robots isnt Knoedlers profession. Knoedler is a stay-at-home father. He moved to Newbury Park, California, after graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with his bachelors degree in engineering. He worked in programming before taking on his role as a stay-at-home dad 10 years ago, while his wife, a chemical engineer, works in the semiconductor industry. His children are 8 and 11.

Knoedler said his interest in the robotics competition was somewhere between a hobby and based on my previous work.

The Global Space Robotics Challenge aimed to engage citizen solvers, according to a NASA press release. NASA officials hope that someday, robots can arrive on missions ahead of astronauts and set up habitats and life support systems. Eventually, robots may even begin preliminary scientific research, according to the release.

When the competition was announced last August, 400 teams from 55 countries pre-registered. Ninety-two competed in the qualification round, and the top 20 advanced, each earning $15,000.

Knoedler said that as a high school student in North Platte, he didnt jump into programming.

It was more just learning the basics, he said. Math. Science. How to study, how to learn.

Regardless, Knoedler gives credit to his teachers in North Platte for igniting the spark.

Knoedler said a big chunk of his prize money will go to taxes. Hell use the rest of it for future robotics projects and for his childrens college savings fund.

Knoedler has seen his kids show a little interest in robotics already.

Its hard to say at this point, he said.

Read the original post:

Stay-at-home dad takes top prize in robotics contest - North Platte Telegraph

The Waccamaw Neck Branch Library hosted a new camp this summer for students to gain hands-on experience in robotics and programming.

Sixteen students ages 9 to 16 signed up for LEGO Robotics Camp and were split into pairs to build and program their own robots.

Children's librarian Amy King said she tried to keep the numbers down so students could have the chance to program on their own.

"This is a more advanced program," King said. "We wanted students to be able to get their hands on a robot."

Students at the camp included newbie programmers and seasoned pros, including two-year library robotics team veteran Ellie Keesee.

"My favorite part of the camp is programming," Keesee said. "The camp teaches us a lot about it."

King and computer programmer Amanda Blair assisted the students throughout the camp. King and Blair also both volunteer to coach robotics during the school year; King at the library and Blair at Socastee Elementary School.

The library received the camp's robots through an eco literacy grant, and King said she hopes to use this new technology to help build robotics programs at schools in the area.

The library has been home to its own robotics team for two years, but is now looking to play more of a supporting role for Georgetown County schools.

"There's a huge learning curve when you start a team," King said. "New programs can be difficult to learn. We want to reach out and help coaches and students with robotics."

The Georgetown and Carvers Bay branch libraries will also be hosting robotics camps in the coming weeks to expose students to computer programming.

View post:

Camp sparks kids' interest in robotics - South Strand news

From delivery drones to automated cars, robots are on the rise -- and that includes bots you can have sex with, thanks to the growing number of companies working to bring artificially intelligent sex dolls to the masses.

The Foundation for Responsible Robotics, which calls for "accountable innovation for the humans behind the robots," sees sexualized robots creeping up on the horizon, so it put together a comprehensive report on the subject. It's a fascinating read, covering evolving societal attitudes, ethical implications and sociological concerns.

Theentire report's worth a look, but here are seven key takeaways.

The report cites a number of studies on whether people would have sex with a robot, and points to a wide range of responses. For instance, 9 percent of respondents to a Huffington Post survey expressed interest in the idea; another survey found 66 percent of men and about half as many women would want to give sexbots a go. Still another poll found that 86 percent of respondents believed a robot would be able to satisfy their sexual desires, suggesting potential for the market to grow as attitudes toward sex robots evolve.

The report also examines what future relationships with sex robots might look like, and draws comparisons to professional sex workers, many of whom say, according to the report, that high-paying clients often want to drink, socialize and do drugs together to form the pretense of a relationship in addition to having sex.

While the technology needed to make sex robots into drinking buddies is likely a long way off, the report points to men who say they've formed emotional connections with inanimate dolls. These sorts of "fictive relationships" are a little like imaginative play, the report says, and social acceptance of these kinds of relationships will be needed for more people to feel comfortable entering into them.

In another of the many surveys cited in the report, respondents were asked if sex robots were an acceptable substitute for prostitutes. On a scale of one to seven, with one being unacceptable and seven being acceptable, the survey results averaged out to a perhaps surprisingly high six. This, coupled with the fact that bordellos of inanimate sex dolls are already on the rise in Asia, leads the authors of the report to conclude that sex robot brothels might be a logical next step.

The report points out that there's no question creating humanoid sex robots based on pornographic representations of female anatomy objectifies women. Still, it asserts much of sexual societies already feed off of that sort of objectification, and goes on to suggest sex robots could ultimately serve more to reinforce existing mindsets than to create new ones. There's not a lot of research here, though, especially with regard to under-represented communities.

The authors of the report and the scholars they cite are fairly unified in the belief that the advent of sex robots could lead to greater social isolation. One big factor: Sex robots are easy to have sex with, and people who use them could be put off by the additional communication and social interaction that goes into a traditional sexual experience. They also express concern that sex robots could desensitize users to intimacy and empathy.

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RealDoll wants to build you a sexbot

The report goes on to discuss the potential therapeutic value of sex robots for people with social disorders or physical disabilities or even the elderly. There's some history to draw from here -- namely nursing homes that use semi-robotic dolls to provide companionship for their residents, including patients suffering from Alzheimer's Disease. Still, there are ethical questions with regard to dolls like these, even before you bring sex into picture. Some authors argue they infantilize the elderly, and others question whether those suffering from mental disabilities can truly provide informed consent.

The report cites controversial suggestions that sex robots could ultimately be used to stem the rise of sexual assault, rape and pedophilia by providing people predisposed to those acts with a non-human outlet. In addition to questioning the legality of such dolls (specifically those that depict children), the report's authors express skepticism about the proposed benefits, and even question whether they could actuallyencourage harmful behavior.

It's Complicated: This is dating in the age of apps. Having fun yet? These stories get to the heart of the matter.

Tech Enabled: CNET chronicles tech's role in providing new kinds of accessibility.

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Sexbot brothels? What we might see in an era of sex robots - CNET

Dive Brief:

School leaders and administrators must be careful that the introduction of new technology is not a burden to teachers, as it could have detrimental effects for both educators and students. In a recent survey, educators expressed pessimism on how ed tech is used in their schools, with only 13% reporting that new tech would help advance learning experiences for students. Many teachers felt there was a likelihood that the introduction of such tech to classrooms would include extensive out-of-pocket costs for teachers.

Therefore, it is important for administrators to consider applying tech that can help, rather than hinder, educators. Robotics and AI technology offer a unique ability to proffer some form of classroom instruction, which could be of great assistance to educators managing classrooms with a high number of students. For example, students making great strides in a given subject may be able to challenge themselves through the use of AI-assisted tech. This would free educators to offer more extensive human interaction to students who are struggling with the given subject matter.

Utilizing robotics tech in K-12 classrooms to assist early learners in math can pay off in dividends later in their educational career. Recent news from California indicates that many students must take remedial math courses to qualify for community college. While there are successful models of remedial instruction, it can still be a strain on institutions and students, often causing enrollees to drop out before receiving a diploma. With research showing that early childhood education generally offers robust returns on investment, and specifically that early mathematics learning can be essential for students future understand and proficiency in mathematics, robotics and AI offer an additional tool for educators to utilize one that can be particularly immersive and engaging for younger students.

More:

Robotics and AI tech can revolutionize classroom ed - Education Dive

Finding value in the technology space looks incredibly hard at the moment and the tech heavy Nasdaq sits on its all-time high. In such an environment and with the bull market entering its 9th year after the Global Financial Crisis, it becomes harder and harder to find value. What I would search right now is structural growth stories with very strong market positions. I believe Teradyne (TER) fits my criteria. Structural growth is coming predominantly from exposure to robotics and to the increasing use of sophisticated microchips in many applications (automotive and assisted driving above all). At the same time, the market position appears very solid: in testing equipment, Teradyne holds approximately 50% of the market, with small market share gains over the past few years. In robotics, the company holds a 60% share of the cobots market.

Company description

First, let me give you a brief description of the markets in which the company operates: testing equipment and robotics.

On the first front, the focus is on semiconductor testing, but it also includes wireless and computer storage testing. In a nutshell, we are talking about large machines that test the functionality of hardware components for laptops and smartphones and also semiconductors for a wide variety of other applications (including the automotive sector). This explainer video from the company may help in understanding what we are talking about:

On the robotics side, the company bought Universal Robots (UR) of Denmark in 2015. Unlike traditional automation robots, UR offers collaborative robots (also known as cobots). These are much smaller than traditional robots, have force-limited joints that allow them to be operated alongside humans, are extremely flexible in performing different tasks, and can be programmed by a shop floor operator with a few easy moves. These characteristics make them affordable for small enterprises (a cobot can have a cost of around $100,000 or less rather than millions for a typical high-end robotic machine), and the payback is generally less than 12 months.

Stock performance in the last few years

I believe that looking at the chart of Teradyne shares since the financial crisis provides some very interesting information on the different growth stages:

TER data by YCharts

The first phase (20092011) coincided with the launch and extraordinary growth in the high-end smartphone market, coupled with a still decent computer equipment market. The stock quadrupled during this period. Between 2011 and 2016, shares stopped growing altogether in the context of a flat underlying market. Even though the number of smartphones and semiconductors in general increased, so did the testing capacity of the machines. This increase in equipment productivity, coupled with some in-house, cheap testing solutions developed by low-end smartphone manufacturers, led to an overall stagnant market. The third phase started in late 2016, with shares finally breaking out of the range and the company beating earnings and raising guidance more than once. This may just be the beginning, and several growth drivers seem to be supporting the trend.

The growth drivers

First of all, we have some rapidly expanding markets. Automotive is a very interesting growth story. Microchips used in the auto industry need to go through very extensive testing due to the high performance and extended lifespan required. At the same time, cars are becoming more and more connected (think assisted/autonomous driving and electric vehicles), with many high-end electronic and computer-based options now becoming widely available on low cost/high volume models. The slide below, from a recent Infineon (OTCQX:IFNNF) presentation, shows the range of sensors that are currently marketed in the automotive division and how their presence will dramatically increase over the next few years:

Source: Infineon investor presentation June 2017

Another factor to take into consideration is the ever-increasing complexity of app processors. Added complexity means extended testing times and a reduction in the productivity gains that prevented the testing equipment market from growing over the past few years (more limited parallel testing potential).

The third growth driver can be found in robotics and the increasing range of applications for cobots. This market is currently very small (around $200 mln worldwide) but growing at around 50% per annum and expected to grow at similar levels over the next few years. I am always skeptical about these very high growth markets as I remember the disaster in 3D printing stocks. Here is what I like about this sector: there is a much broader range of applications for all sorts of industries, a simple setup process but, most importantly, a very clear and easy to measure payback period, as cobots substitute manual work. I also like Universal Robots dominant market share in cobots (around 60%), a market that they effectively invented. But more importantly, UR is aggressively working on the creation of a broad ecosystem of third party hardware and software to adapt cobots to perform more and more industry specific tasks and is rapidly expanding its global distribution network. I believe these efforts will help the company maintain a solid position in a rapidly expanding market.

The financials and valuation

In the most recent quarter, Teradyne announced results that beat guidance and expectations and provided guidance for the second quarter that was higher than consensus. The company also increased its view on the size of the overall market for testing equipment even from its recent January estimate. What I find particularly encouraging is the breadth of the revenue/orders beat with automotive, mobility, image sensor, and memory all driving orders higher in the quarter and Universal Robots increasing sales 117% yoy. Surely, Universal Robots still represents a small part of the business (around 8% of total sales in Q1), but with sales growth of 117% yoy in the quarter and new orders up 150% yoy, we can expect this division to become sizable and soon capable of moving the needle.

The company has plenty of liquidity, with net cash of more than $1 bn (17% of the market cap) on the balance sheet and a plan to distribute more than $250 mln during 2017 through dividends and buybacks. From a valuation perspective, the stock is trading on 15.7x consensus 2017 earnings. This is not significantly above the average forward P/E of the past few years even though growth expectations have increased over the last 12 months.

Conclusions

Over the past 12 months, the stock appreciated significantly and is up roughly 50%. I generally find it very difficult to recommend an investment in a stock that has already seen such a significant growth, and, to be honest, I wish I discovered Teradyne earlier. That said, Teradyne still trades at a significant discount to Nasdaq on consensus P/E (15.7x vs. 19.5x) despite clear signs that we may be close to a shift in growth expectations in the industry. Risks are those typical of high growth technology industries, with price deflation and an increasing competition in robotics being the most significant. However, I believe the solid level of market share in both semi test equipment (50%) and cobots (60%) will certainly help Teradyne reap the benefits of a re-acceleration in growth that doesn't seem to be fully appreciated by investors.

Disclosure: I am/we are long TER.

I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Link:

Teradyne: Robotics And Assisted Driving Will Drive Growth - Seeking Alpha