Do You Think a Robot Should Carry the Olympic Torch?
- Posted on September 21, 2011 at 11:30pm by
Liz Klimas
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How would you feel about a humanoid robot 1 meter in height being in the relay to carry the 2012 Olympic torch?
Researchers at Aberystwyth University nominated their iCub, a humanoid robot the size of a in honor of Alan Turing, who is considered the father of modern computer science and would have celebrated his 100th birthday in 2012. iCub was nominated through Lloyds TSB, a U.K. banks that is one of the “presenting partners” of the 2012 Olympics with 800 torchbearer slots available, according to Geek.com.
James Law from the university’s department of computer science said in a release, “A robot torch bearer would be a fitting tribute to Alan Turing, and an inspiration to future generations of scientists and engineers.” According to Law, the iCub learns from real-world experiences like a toddler.
Watch this video about how iCub learns:
New Scientist points out that minimum requirements to be a torchbearer sponsored by Lloyds TSB are that the bearer must be at least 12 years old and live in the United Kingdom. Both requirements that it says iCub fails. It probably could, however, complete the 0.2 mile leg of the journey and carry the slightly more than 1.75 pound torch.
There are no official Olympic requirements for being a torchbearer; requirements vary each Olympic season by country. Following are some general instructions from eHow on how to potentially become a torchbearer:
According to the 2012 Olympics website, nominations will be accepted till the end of this month. Conditional offers will be made by December with the official list set by February 2011. The relay from Greece to London will have 8,000 torchbearers and will take place from May 19 to July 27, 2012.
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Comments (53)
gmoneytx
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 10:25amCan’t wait to see the next article, iCUB is racist, his maker made him white.
Report Post »LadyLibertykicksASS
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 10:17amIn light of everything happening in the World, this is not really a surprise….how sad that we have reached this point !!!
Report Post »mils
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 10:40amif a BPOS can be president of America…why not have a robot carry olympic torch
Report Post »Jack of Hearts
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 10:40amWhat on earth are you whining about? “How sad we have reached this point” – how sad that you see this as something sad! Cheer up and get a life.
Report Post »Stu D. Baker-Hawk
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 9:21amWho cares?… I mean, for me the Olympics lost their relevance years ago when they allowed professional athletes to compete. IMHO, most Olympic competitors are pampered, self-indulgent jocks who should get a REAL job and produce something other for society than their sweat.
Report Post »Cyanide
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 8:57amI didn’t even read the article because I refuse. I say no no no no no no no. The participants in the Olympics are human beings. Why should a robot carry the torch? It is not right and I don’t care. Let someone of worth carry it, not a robot to show off how advanced we are.
Report Post »Jack of Hearts
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 10:02amPerhaps if you‘d read the article you’d understand that‘s it’s in memory of Alan Turing. Google him – and while you’re at it find out who invented the www – think you’ll be surprised. Then again you don’t strike me as a big reader.
Report Post »rdietz7
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 7:45amThe robot is creepy
Report Post »demint.disciple
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 8:15amIs there nothing sacred in this world today ? NO !! Thanks to 45 years of liberalism.. Why stop now ? Go ahead, let the little creepy dope carry the torch..
Report Post »YepImaConservative
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 7:20amHow would you feel about a humanoid robot 1 meter in height being in the relay to carry the 2012 Olympic torch?
Well…. they let 1 meter tall humanoid robots on the internet don’t they? Hey PaulBots!
Report Post »dissentnow
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 6:03pmFor someone who doesn’t like to waste time talking about Ron Paul, you sure like to waste time talking about Ron Paul.
Report Post »YepImaConservative
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 6:48pmRon Paul is my favorite subject. I just don’t waste a lot of time on his cult following and their comments to me. Been there done that. Don’t have enough time in the day to deal with the hive. Plus, when you’ve read one PaulBot… you’ve read them all. Boring.
Report Post »qpwillie
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 7:12amSince I don’t worship the twelve Olympians, or any of the Greek “gods” as far as that goes, I’ll have to leave the question to those who do. It’s of no consequence to me.
Report Post »This_Individual
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 12:45pmBut I’ll bet you have a “Christmas Tree” in your house to celebrate the birth of Jesus (not that I see anything wrong with having something which used to be a symbol to many different “pagan” faiths). In fact we use the tree in celebration of our Saturnalia. My point is, that these Olympic games do not show any devotion to the Greek GODS whatsoever (because it is void of any proper ritual). So, you would not be celebrating anyone elses GOD(s), you would just be enjoying an entertaining dose of sportsmanship.
Report Post »Chris
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 7:06amWhy not? After all the event they are carrying the torch for used to let the East German women compete and you couldn’t always be sure what species they were, much less which sex.
Report Post »cosette
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 7:10am@Chris, I agree, why not? Al Gore has nothing better to do.
Report Post »lel2007
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 7:05amHow would you feel about a bride taking a vibrator along on her honeymoon?
Report Post »poster
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 6:53amOh sure — a WHITE robot. That’s great. What about all of the minority robots?
Report Post »Lone Ranger
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 6:34amRobots and fire. What could possible go wrong?
Report Post »poverty.sucks
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 6:22amRobot included in any Olympic event upon submitting urine and blood samples to prove it‘s performance isn’t chemically enhanced.
Report Post »flamegonesilver
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 6:37amLOLOLOL!
Report Post »Good one Poverty!
Mahalo for the laugh! :D
poverty.sucks
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 8:29amShaka Bradda
Report Post »MOLLYPITCHER
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 4:47amWell, because of abortion, human life is so devalued we might as well. At least the robot wont fart and cause more global warming. (i‘m being sarcastic in case anyone can’t tell)
Report Post »rosie1000
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 3:52amSure why not let a robot carry a torch? Nothing else is real anymore. God knows our president is being run by a ventriloquist or teleprompter; he for sure is not real. Watch his body movements: jerky, head swinging like he’s watching a tennis match, mouth always open, smiling at the most inappropriate times, empty eyes. I used to think he was also severely autistic since his social skills are so poor and he has no empathy, but there is something more than autism wrong with the guy. At least a robot would be KNOWN to be programmed.
Report Post »TH30PH1LUS
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 2:48amThe Olympics is about HUMAN strength, endurance, ability. This is a robot, therefore – NO.
Create a “robot olympics” and let it process 010011000111′s in that.
Report Post »Vickie Dhaene
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 10:35amEveryone that has carries the torch has a Human understanding of the Hard work it takes to compete. A robot has no feeling of pride or accomplishment. I do not believe artificial intellegance is a qualifier to the standard that the Olympic Standard.
Report Post »1791
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 2:43amOnly if it’s allowed to compete, otherwise NO.
Report Post »N37BU6
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 1:19amAww, I was expecting to see a pic of Obama. :(
Report Post »MeteoricLimbo
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 1:06amno
Report Post »Elena2010
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 1:09amDitto — NO!
Report Post »Any_One_But_Obama
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 1:02amThe Olympics even back to the day of athens was a presentation and competition that comes from the human body. They praised the gift that is our body even to the fact of being naked in the first olympics. It was a celebration of the HUMAN body. Why would we want to change the whole purpose of the Olympics.
Then again they changed the meaning of the word marriage so at some point this will probably be overlooked and changed, until then let us celebrate the ‘gift from god’ that is our body.
Then again maybe if we had robots running the olympics than maybe we wouldn’t have problems like we did in the last olympics: http://www.americanparchment.com/video/2010/feb/olympic_malfunction1.html
Report Post »big-jeff
Posted on September 21, 2011 at 11:56pmI didn’t think Greece has any flame left.
Report Post »thepatriotdave
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 12:41amI’m gonna chalk this one up to somebody taking stupid pills.
Report Post »YepImaConservative
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 7:18amActually… Greek men are notorious flamers.
Report Post »commonsenseguy
Posted on September 21, 2011 at 11:53pmcome on blaze, who cares about a robot carrying a torch, i am not sure who is now running the blaze, but they have changed since the start,some stories are great ,and some just suck, please do what you do best, post stories that concern us.
Report Post »KickinBack
Posted on September 21, 2011 at 11:45pmThat robot in the pic looks like Casper the Ghost doing the hibby jibby.
Report Post »wordweaver
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 12:16amBwha-ha-ha-ha!
Report Post »TRONINTHEMORNING
Posted on September 21, 2011 at 11:42pmSure, let a robot do the gig; who cares? The last Olympics that were oool was ‘76 when McDonalds gave away tons of burgers to winners of their scratch tix.
How is that GBTV thing workin by the way? I’ve heard from lots of disappointed folks.
Report Post »whitefield
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 3:34amMine has been working fine. Even on my iPhone. What sort of problems have people been experiencing?
Report Post »Jack of Hearts
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 8:41am@ Whitefield
Report Post »Content I would imagine.
bullcrapbuster
Posted on September 21, 2011 at 11:39pmGBTV just buffers and buffers all afternoon long. What’s up Glenn?
Report Post »LAM2
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 12:49amSorry, can‘t speak to the problem you’re having, since I don’t watch GBTV using my computer. We watch GBTV on the tv using Roku and have no buffering issues. Occasionally there will be a tiny hiccup, causing us to miss a phrase, but otherwise it has been great sitting on the couch watching in HD. If you can afford the one-time expense of the Roku ($60-$100), I highly recommend it.
Report Post »banjarmon
Posted on September 21, 2011 at 11:35pmNO!!!! WHAT PART of NO DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND…The “N” or the “O”????
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