26C3: International Hacker/Scientist Conference

There will be three robotics-related presentations at 26C3. Information and links below:

A part time scientists' perspective of getting to the moon
presenting the first German Team participating in the GoogleLunarXPrize

We want to use the opportunity the 26C3 presents as a venue to introduce our team. The Part-Time-Scientists are the first German team participating in the Google Lunar X PRIZE. Our presentation would kick off with a quick explanation of what the X PRIZE is, the challenges and gains.

The main part of the presentation will then focus on our progress. That includes a showcase of some hard- and software we're using. Additionally pictures and videos specifically created for the 26C3. And a brief overview of the GoogleLunarXPrize and it's overall progress.

The main part of the presentation will then focus on our progress. That includes a showcase of some hard- and software we're using. Additionally pictures and videos specifically created for the 26C3. Some examples of interesting hardware appliance:

Xilinx FPGA * Self designed Boardcomputer (Linux based) * Special HD CCMOS sensors * HiRel certified components * CAD/CAM designs

The presentation will be held by 1-3 members of our team. So that we have someone from every area of expertise available for possible questions from the audience. The following Q&A part should
prove to be very interesting.

http://events.ccc.de/congress/2009/Fahrplan/events/3332.en.html

Here Be Electric Dragons
Preparing for the Emancipation of Machines

Unnoticed by average Joe we are currently experiencing the advent of autonomous machines. This development will undoubtedly result in epochal change of our way of live. Naturally this has the potential to cause enormous problems. Two key issues will be how to tame the risks these autonomous machines pose and how to deal with the impact their wide proliferation will have on societies. A few years ago these questions were only important in science fiction. Today “killer” applications are no longer an academic topic. Now it is on us to start thinking about this questions and to preemptively develop new practices. Curiously, what might be a large part of the solution has already been central to the hacker community for decades: hacker ethic.

http://events.ccc.de/congress/2009/Fahrplan/events/3452.en.html

Total Annihilation
A Discourse On Robotic Warfare

As we look around these days, we see technologies being deployed that only a few years ago seemed unrealistically futuristic - and we see this happening faster every day. At an ever so incredible rate, both computers and robots are advancing - not only in the field of science and research, or from heavy industry to private leisure, the range of possible applications for robots also includes military purposes. And that, incidentally, is the kind of research in the fields of robotics that receives some of the highest budgets globally. It does so for very obvious reasons: Simply put, robots are just perfect for the 3D-usecase: Dull, Dangerous, and Dirty. However, with robots gaining more potential and getting more and more autonomous, while at the same time not having to deal with all the human emotional 'waste' we carry around with us every day, their appliance in warfare appears like a two-sided sword.

Never before in history, the concept of war was about to change so dramatically. None of the technologies before were able to replace the human being on the battlefield so expediently, by not only saving lives while developing even more effective strategies and powerful attacks, but also lowering the actual costs of war majorly. Where does this leave mankind, and our understanding of warfare itself?

Besides a brief anthology of historical moments in robotic warfare, the (both semi-autonomous and autonomous) technologies actively in use in countries like Iraq or Israel right now, and an outlook to future trends roboticists all over the world have started working on, this question about the ethics of war and our understanding of it as a result will be in the main focus of this lecture.

http://events.ccc.de/congress/2009/Fahrplan/events/3588.en.html

If any Botballers are only going to watch a few of the talks, it should be these three. But I highly encourage you to watch more than that -- this is going to be a good conference.

EDIT: I somehow neglected to mention one of the robotics talks; there are three. This post is corrected.

Information on the live-streams is now up.

http://events.ccc.de/congress/2009/wiki/Streaming

Note that there are three rooms, and usually 2-3 talks going on at any one time. So you'll have to prioritize which talks you want to see live, and which ones you'll have to wait for an archived video to be posted. To see a schedule of talks, and which rooms they're in, the link is http://events.ccc.de/congress/2009/Fahrplan/index.en.html -- click on the Day 1 through Day 4 links.

At an ever so incredible rate, both computers and robots are advancing - not only in the field of science and research, or from heavy industry to private leisure Research
Appears Emotional the range of possible applications for robots also includes military purposes. And that, incidentally, is the kind of research in the fields of robotics that receives some of the highest budgets globally. It does so for very obvious reasons Logical Variable

At an ever so incredible rate, both computers and robots are advancing - not only in the field of science and research, or from heavy industry to private leisure Research
Appears Emotional the range of possible applications for robots also includes military purposes. And that, incidentally, is the kind of research in the fields of robotics that receives some of the highest budgets globally. It does so for very obvious reasons Logical Variable