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Do You Think a Robot Should Carry the Olympic Torch?

Do You Think a Robot Should Carry the Olympic Torch?

"...an inspiration to future generations of scientists and engineers."

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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