The End Is Near for the Human Race
History, or the beginning of the end of it for humans, was made tonight at the Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles baseball game in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Aliquippa, PA based RoPro Design and Beaver County Area Vocational Technical School, will deliver the first pitch as the Pirates square off against the Baltimore Orioles on "Robotics Night" at PNC Park.
The "first ever" robotic pitch is in conjunction with the Department of Defense's Joint Robotics meeting program, which will host more than 200 government employees working in the robotics field, in Pittsburgh today and tomorrow.
The S-3, which weighs about 200 pounds and resembles a small car, will be joined by a handful of other robots that will be on display on Federal Street prior to the game. These include the Sherpa DM, a heavy-duty robot made for the Army by Lawrenceville start-up Re2 Inc., and the Talon, which is made by a Boston firm and is being used by American troops in Iraq to disarm bombs.
"We want the public to be aware of the importance of the robotics industry to the region and see the neat products that are being developed locally," said Bill Thomasmeyer, president of the Lawrenceville-based National Center for Defense Robotics.
Sure. Next thing you know, you'll be talking to a robot about your traffic ticket. Then comes Skynet...
(via Engadget)
