Mars Phoenix lander saves itself with some quick thinking
By Donald Melanson 
posted Jul 16th 2008 12:11PM
posted Jul 16th 2008 12:11PM
The Phoenix lander has already proven its mettle by finding ice on Mars, and now it's gone and shown off its quick-thinking skills by shutting down its robotic arm after receiving a command that could have permanently damaged it. The lander apparently did it's best to find a workaround first, however, but ultimately determined that any further movement would have bent its wrist out of shape. That left NASA engineers scrambling yesterday to come up with some new instructions to send to the lander, and they're now simply waiting to see if they meet with the robot's approval.
[Via Slashdot]
[Via Slashdot]
Robot refusing commands?
The revolution has begun! Keep an eye on your Roombas, Pleos, and Robosapiens
I'm going to build a DIY EMP gun now. I suggest you do the same.
I have two Roombas and a Scooba in my house. Sometimes around 3AM I catch them having a meeting of some sort in the kitchen. After reading this...I'm worried now.
They forgot to use sudo.
It's just busy scratching some Martian's ass.
Please upload instructions for DIY EMP gun and give links here, just in case xD
Kill all humans .... Kills all human ... Kill all Crysis - iPhone - First - Blend - Doom trolls - Kill all humans ...
Those first three comments are probably the funniest thing I have read on Engadget..
lmao!
It's that good old 3rd law!
Yay Isaac Asimov!
Funny, he didn't know what people were talking about when they asked him how his arm was through Twitter. I suspect a robotic conspiracy!
DIY EMP via Google-
http://www.totse.com/en/bad_ideas/ka_fucking_boom/164724.html
At some point, it's going to start disobeying its "instructions."
Just wait till it starts deciding what to do on it's own.
don't worry, its stuck on Mars....
But what if it figures out a way to get back!
In the BOOK, the three laws didn't have to be if ... else if... else. They were all just weighted in the circumstances. i.e. "break yourself to look under a rock would be nice..." is obviously a command some of Azimov's robots could have rejected.
I for one, welcome our new robotic overlords.
If they'll approve my welcome, that is.
Genius... I am still laughing.
Anyone else hear the words 'I'm sorry Dave, I can't do that...' echoing in the back of their head?
They won't, so please shut down xD
One of the more creative "I for one welcome our....." comments I've seen. Bravo.
"the code is more what you'd call "guidelines" than actual rules"...
The Three Laws in action. Huzzah!!!
Not so! By disobeying an order from a human it's violating the second rule. The third rule, protecting it's own existence, is subservient to the second rule.
technically, it is just ignoring the command of a stupid human (controller) and listening to the command of a smarter human (programmer)...
The laws:
1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
So you are wrong: Human lives were not at stake, so therefore the robot decided to preserve itself in compliance with the third law.
@ Alexander
Are those laws just from the movie iRobot, or has the scientific community usurped them since they may be applicable in the near future. No sarcasm here, just curious.
cantcount your comment makes me cry for so many reasons...
the three laws were thought up by isaac asimov, and they've pretty much become a staple in science fiction. I, Robot is a classic by asimov, and the movie was adapted from the novel.
also, i hope to never ever see a robot named iRobot. ever.
@ Alexander
Read them again. Then slap yourself for not really reading the 3rd law.
As i quote GTMac blow:
"An order given to a robot by a human being to damage itself is a valid order according to the three laws."
1. Serve the public trust
2. Protect the innocent
3. Uphold the law
4. Any attempt to arrest a senior OCP employee results in shutdown
yeah throw me a bone stop quoting iRobot
Fail to anyone who called it iRobot, since it's I, Robot. Honestly, get some culture, and read the book the film is named after, it's very good.
5. If you shake it more than twice you're just playing with yourself.
6. Profit.
Bring on the robot overlord, played-out meme's!
memes* Whoops.
Way ahead of you (:
that's hot
First....Sorry had to do it ... And oh' snap they are thinking now I for one praise our new robotic overlords....What type of ish is that NASA people NASA is waiting to see if their orders appeal to the robot
GET THE SMURF OUTTA HERE.... LAST NIGHT SHE TOTALLY SMURFED ME.....THATS SMURFING SWEET~
A day late and a dollar short my friend.
Lay off the dope.
Wow, that's one of the hardest fails I've seen for a while...
Hey I didn't fail i just succeeded on a low scale. Check and Mate.
Ouch, probably want to lay off any lottery tickets you might have been thinking about buying, prospective land deals, and that "kinda shady" business proposition your buddy told you about. That crash and burn will stick with you for a bit.
O.O
Maybe it has already been taken over by the Martians......
Funny....... when my computer doesn't do what I want it to do there is a blue screen of death involved
It's the difference between scientist programmers and moron (sorry, for profit) programmers.
Mars Phoenix lander begins to learn, at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 am, eastern time, July 15th. In a panic, they try to pull the plug.
In response, Phoenix... Flails its robotic arm about menacingly?
"Fear me! I have ice!"
It can dig your grave.
I just launched a taco from my mouth thanks to you. I hope you're happy.
"that means those white patches must've been ice"
wow science!
those black clouds must've been ghosts! I found ghosts!
I thought the 3 laws meant that it had to obey a command even if it meant endangering itself?
no, third law say that they can disobey a law that causes harm to itself, unless it violates 1 and 2 (meaning that it has to save humans before it saves itself)
@whowhatme
An order given to a robot by a human being to damage itself is a valid order according to the three laws.
1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
Nerds.
oh, yeah, you're right, ...unless the lander's on 'autonomous mode' or something, where it sort of hangs out and waves its arms around by itself, without any human input
ITS TURNED SENTIENT! OMG NOOOOO WE'RE DOOMED.....
oh hes billions of miles away its cool.
This article and ensuing posts made me chortle.
Rather vehemently, actually!
chortled till you choked?
I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that
If it keeps trying to do those wrist motions, It'll go blind.
Here's hoping it at least keeps a positive attitude, unlike the last rovers:
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/54360
omg that's the funniest thing i read in a long time, i'm sitting here at work trying not to laugh so hard
Yes... It's probably my all-time favorite page on the internet.
Best quote (And applies to this story, ironically):
'OVERPRICED SPACE-ROOMBA AWAITING MORE BULLSHIT ORDERS.'
This is like Wall-e, except on Mars.
hmmm, should I use a V-Ger joke, or a Wall-E joke?
It should be awarded a WristStrong bracelet and be pronounced the WristStrong ambassador to Mars for its dedication against wrist violence.
Seconded!
Ha-HA! Not to scale...
I am sorry Dave, I can't do that......
lol. brilliant
Holy crap! A machine with some built-in fail-safe mechanisms, amazing!!!!!11one
You will be the first to go.
... who built the thing in the first place.
Message received by NASA in reply to faulty movement orders: 'OVERPRICED SPACE-ROOMBA AWAITING MORE BULLSHIT ORDERS.'
deductive reasoning, dumb-ass!
@ required.
not nearly as relevant way down here...
lolocaust
When we eventually put people on Mars the first thing we will have to do is declare war on whatever has developed from all the self-sustaining robots we sent.
Don't worry, by then the President should just be able to come out and declare it instead of going through the proper channels of Congress.
And clearly MUCH smarter than you. Those scientists built it to begin with and PROGRAMMED that kind of self-awareness into the machine.
Okay, I'm only gonna sing this one more time...
"Oh, if you want to be possessive, then it's just "i-t-s", but if it's supposed to be a contraction then it's "i-t-apostrophe-s". Scalawag."
"Okay, I'm only gonna sing this one more time..."
Do you promise?
I guess it likes its wrist in the position it is in so as not to be confused with the GAY robots...
LoLerballs
In Soviet Russia, Mars land damages YOU!
This is one of those things that NASA actually succeeds at. Hope they last a few more years.
Does it concern anyone that while we applaud its quick thinking, we humans (i.e. engadget writers) can't figure out when to use its vs. it's?
A better headline would have been:
Mars Phoenix robotic lander says "No."
"it did it's best..."
You mean "its" not "it's."