| | April 20158CIOReviewThe Robots are coming! The Robots are coming! The Robots are already here. In recent months, there has been an upsurge in the attention given to robots and artificial intelligence (AI) and their inevitable destruction of the human race if we are not watchful. Whether your opinion sits on one side or the other, the fact remains; robots have already become a part of our society and, in some cases, an integral part. No longer is a robot chauffer, i.e. an autonomous robot car that can drive an individual to work, a whimsical thought of a science-fiction movie director. No longer is a robot suit, i.e. a robot exoskeleton that can assist a paraplegic to walk, a fantasy story of a writer. Not to argue against being vigilant (because ethical considerations concerning the inclusion of new technology in society should always be a part of the discussion), but coupled with the doom-and-gloom messages of robots and AI, robots, with intelligence, are also being seen as beneficial, life-saving, machines for assisting us in our everyday lives. Telepresence robots, such as the RP-VITA, are transforming health care delivery in the hospital setting and are being used in medical applications ranging from newborn care to stroke treatment. Wearable robotic exoskeletons, such as the ReWalk exoskeleton, are helping paralyzed patients stand up and walk in the home environment. And a host of startup companies, such as Zyrobotics, are working on the next generation of therapy robots for children. So, what's the next step? How do these robots continue to grow as our personal helpers, assistants, and workers? How do we ensure that robots, personalized robots, understands our every needs­whether it's to avoid certain roads because driving on the freeway unnerves a person or to increase the support provided by a exoskeleton because the user wants to directly interact with her young, active, children. A surprising answer to this is the rising utilization of Big Bata and Cloud computing technologies. Even today, there are numerous efforts focused on integrating Cloud services with robots. From smart robot toys powered by IBM's Watson artificial intelligence system to robots that use YouTube to learn how to cook, robots are capitalizing on the availability of Cloud-based resources. Through the use of services such as WikiHow, YouTube, and Google maps, robots are learning and will one-day share back the information they have learned. For an autonomous robot car, it's an easy sell to consumers that Cloud-based technologies are useful­we are used to having our GPS location stored and sharing information about traffic accidents via our smartphones. Even for a future robot exercise coach, it would seem reasonable for us to freely have our robot coach upload our activity data to the Cloud­we're used to having wearable fitness trackers such as Jawbone and Fitbit personalize our By Ayanna Howard, CTO, Zyrobotics, LLCBig Data and Cloud Computing ­ The Next Step for Robot Intelligenceopinionin myAyanna Howard
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