Two years ago, as part of a marketing stunt by a Durban IT company, messenger pigeon Winston was pitted against Telkom's ADSL line in transferring 4GB of data from Howick to Hillcrest, 60km away. Winston emerged victorious, completing delivery and download of the flash stick strapped to his leg in just over two hours, while the ADSL transfer was only 4% complete.
It may have been a humorous stunt, but it serves as a reminder of the way humans have relied on animals to do their grunt work for years, using them as messengers, freight vehicles, tractors, security systems and power generators. Their sensory abilities have also been harnessed in the form of sniffer and guide dogs, pigs used to find prized truffles, and even dolphins trained to mark underwater mines.
But a new league of robots is being developed that could not only mimic many of these abilities, but free animals from being recruited for hazardous activities such as search and rescue, bomb detection and military missions.
Nicole Caunter, a Masters student at the University of Johannesburg specialising in environmental philosophy, notes that co-evolving with so many species has led humans to rely on animals for many things: “the sustenance their bodies can provide, their strength, their intellect, their companionship and their abilities to learn and adapt to the situations that we (often unfairly) place them in”.
She adds that dogs, elephants and even aquatic mammals, such as whales and dolphins, have highly sensitive and accurate olfactory and hearing capacities, and are thus useful for detecting hidden, lost or disguised material.
“In addition to working canines, the possibility of detecting diseases does not seem impossible, given how sensitive some species' sense of smell actually is.”
How would humans feel if they were sent to war for their ability to sniff out TNT?
Nicole Caunter
But Caunter adds there are philosophical concerns attached to the use of animals for their sensory strengths. “One would have to consider how we, as humans, would feel if we were used as test specimens in a laboratory, or if we were sent to war for our ability to sniff out TNT.
“We may want to ask whether any of the animals that contribute towards human ends benefit in any way from being included in various procedures; where their unique and advanced capacities are called to duty and relied on.”
Using robots for the above tasks would leave animals free to live their own lives, rather than serve as helpmates for ours.
Riaan Stopforth, who heads up the search and rescue division and bio-engineering unit within the Mechatronics and Robotics Research Group, at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, says nature can serve as a starting point for researchers to learn and evolve from.
“Animals have been created in a specific way so they can perform specific tasks required to survive. There are animals that don't necessarily have the optimal functions, like an ostrich, for example. These birds cannot fly as their body weight is too heavy for their wing span. But they don't really need to fly. At the same time, they have the ability to run really fast (not to mention kick).
“So, keeping this in mind, if we are able to develop systems that can mimic nature, these systems might only be able to solve certain tasks, but those tasks will be solved in an effective way,” Stopforth explains.
Other capabilities that need to be mastered could use different models and algorithms, so they are more efficient than current systems, he adds.
Copying animals' behavior or abilities generally falls into the field of biomimcry. In such instances, human beings observe the workings of the natural world, mimicking what they see to efficiently and effectively achieve what so many of nature's beings seem to manage effortlessly, explains Caunter.
“Take, for example, the construction of a termite mound - air conditioning perfection at no foreseeable cost to the environment. So some engineers have started to design buildings based on the termites' design in order to save costs on cooling and heating systems.”
The list goes on, from the shape of birds' wings, the bumps on the backs of beetles, the curve of a whale's fin, or the efficiently overlapped scales on a shark. “We can learn so much from what we see in the natural world,” she says.
Anet Potgieter, head of the Robotics and Agents Research Lab at the University of Cape Town, says bio-inspired robots could be used for inspection and search purposes, such as examining narrow tubes and pipes in medical and industrial applications.
Micro-robots could assist in clinical diagnosis and repair; distributed robots in search and rescue; and highly agile autonomous robots in environmental monitoring, notes Potgieter.
We're trying to achieve the human motion of the exoskeleton system to be controlled by the person's mind.
Riaan Stopforth, UKZN
Another advantage of using robots is that they don't require the time or effort of training, notes Stopforth. They've become capable of assisting people in cases of disability or danger, and can be used immediately. Once a system is developed and the information is loaded onto the robotic system, it's ready to go, he says.
Johannes de Vries, from the French South African Institute of Technology at TUT, adds that when a service animal dies, all its training is lost. “When training robots, on the other hand, everything that has been learned can be used to improve future training.”
De Vries points out that robots can easily be duplicated with the same training features, whereas animals cannot. “Robots can also be used in areas that animals are sensitive to, like radioactive environments, mine fields, and sites of chemical contamination.”
Healing touch
Any pet-owner can attest to the calming effects of a canine cuddle or reassuring purr, but science is out to quantify the exact mechanism of this healing power - and then to try and recreate it.
One research paper by the University of Missouri-Columbia Centre for the Study of Animal Wellness shows petting a dog can bring on a massive release of hormones associated with feelings of wellbeing. Apart from making people happy, the flood of feel-good chemicals also decreases the stress hormone cortisol, a finding that could impact the treatment of clinically depressed patients.
Another study on a group of New York stockbrokers taking medication for high blood pressure found that bringing a pet into their home decreased their stress levels dramatically. Nearly half of them were able to go off of their medication entirely. Various other studies show animals can help dull pain, aid recovery and have a therapeutic effect on children, the elderly and people with neurological disorders.
Dr Quixi Sonntag, a lecturer in the department of companion animal clinical studies at the University of Pretoria, says the fact that research has proven many of the benefits of human-animal interaction has led to the increased use of animals for therapeutic purposes.
According to Caunter, the emotional intelligence of animals is only now starting to get the credit it deserves.
“We have begun to see evidence of how the loyalty, protection and friendship of an animal can treat and heal human beings. We seem to have gone from relying on elephants to pull heavy logs to testing to see whether they can pick up on the scent of a landmine, a poacher on the run, or detect diseased cells in the human body.”
This raises the question of whether these therapeutic effects are a function of the animals themselves, or simply the nurturing environment or feelings they create. Could these same benefits be achieved by a non-live animal, for example?
That's in part what therapeutic robot Paro aims to find out. The affectionate robotic baby seal is a creation of the Japanese company Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST). It's designed to serve as a companion to those who are elderly, ill, or suffer from behavioural or cognitive problems, and is said to have a soothing effect on people. Paro can also prove helpful in settings where pets aren't allowed, such as hospitals, clinics and old age homes.
A 2005 study by AIST, Kimura Clinic, and the Brain Functions Lab looked at whether Paro could help improve brain function in patients with Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive disorders. Researchers measured the brain waves of patients as they petted and played with Paro, whose set of sensory monitors enables it to squeal, paddle and blink in response. After analysing the readings, the team found that interacting with Paro did improve the patients' brain activity.
So is the therapeutic effect of animals based at all on their being alive? “l don't believe you could infer that robots couldn't possibly do the job, because it may be that the perfect robot has not been invented yet,” says Caunter. “However, I am not aware of any robots that are currently as effective as sentient animals can be within the parameters of animal therapy.”
Sonntag adds that the act of stroking an animal is relaxing, and the fact that the animal is alive is part of the therapy. “I would imagine (and I suppose research is needed to prove it one way or another) that the tactile experience of a robot would not be as pleasant as that of a live animal.
“Living animals provide a substitute for a human relationship - I doubt that a robot could do the same.”
Transhumanism
In instances where animals are deployed for ability rather than affection, however, robots could make for highly effective replacements. Introducing robotic birds or mules in warfare, for example, could see stealth military devices being deployed without risking human or animal lives. Projects are under way to create robust but nimble robots to carry troops in and out of danger.
But while humans wait for robots to take their place in hazardous settings, injuries - on the battlefield and elsewhere - continue to occur. This is where another area of robotics could play a key role, as the field of robotic prosthetics breaks new ground.
Stopforth's team, for example, is working on exoskeleton arms and legs, which will allow disabled people to continue carrying out daily tasks.
“We are trying to achieve the human motion of the exoskeleton system to be controlled by the person's mind. Once this has been achieved, we will be able to build on this research and perform more advanced tasks,” explains Stopforth.
“This is the integration of a mechatronics system with the biological mind.”
His team also hopes to develop advanced prosthetics which will allow disabled people, especially those in the lower income range, to perform everyday activities.
Stopforth believes this field will continually evolve and improve as the size and efficiency of various devices are minimised. “Nano-technology will also allow nano-bots (very small robots) to perform tasks that microscopic organisms are capable of performing. Obviously a lot more research and funds will be needed to achieve this, but it will allow people's lives to be changed and saved.”
A major challenge, however, is implementing the algorithms needed to function at the same optimal and efficient level as a human would, he adds.
High on the list for emulating living systems is providing a machine with some elements of consciousness, notes Potgieter. “We know how to design a machine endowed with error-correcting feedback and, within limits, with something analogous to a reasoned error-correction ability.
“But to provide a machine with some elements of true consciousness (something that we cannot even define with certainty) is a far more ambitious enterprise. Yet, one could see the advantages that engineering even rudimentary levels of consciousness could give to robots and other devices.”
Potgieter says the ability to engineer biomimetic machines with some of the capabilities of living systems will add new dimensions to our technological know-how, and open up the possibilities of evolving interfaces between humans and machines - from artificial organs to automation to ergonomics.
“More fundamentally, it will enhance our understanding of what life is - of what is exclusively human or biological - bringing the engineer squarely into the dialogue on the future of our species."
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