MONDAY 5th NOVEMBER SESSION - CHAT WITH MIKE BLOW

I had quite a confusing weekend as I am stuck between two ideas, these being the I-Paper (interactive newspaper) and the Origam-E (see last post).
Coming into class today and talking with Mike Blow gave me a lot more confidence with my idea of the Orgiam-E.

Knowing that Mike is skilled in a variety of software and technology we discussed various ways the orgiam-e could work:

1) Muscle Wires - contractable wires which act like muscles and contract when hot, however if they get too hot they will melt.

http://www.robotstore.com/store/product.asp?pid=12&catid=1569 - Link to buying muscle wires online - Already available in present today, what will the future bring?

- (Right) Image of robotic ant with muscle wires.











2) Stephen Thaler's "Creativity Machine"

http://www.mindfully.org/Technology/2004/Creativity-Machine-Thaler24jan04.htm - Useful link to Stephen Thaler's idea

Basically Thaler created a robotic cockroach which learnt how to walk through trial and error. It had no real software and began to stumble around trying to "find its feet", eventually developing a walking action which is reminiscent of a child learning how to walk.

This inspired me to create a software for my product (Origam-E) which allows you to control different forms of creatures e.g. 2 legged, 4 legged, 6 legged etc.

Combining Muscle Wires with the "Creativity Machine" idea has really opened my eyes and made me believe this idea is even more possible.

In 10 or so years, will muscle wires become more resistant to heat and will robots appear to teach themselves how to walk and move!?