FIRA RoboWorld Congress 2009 has proven to be the focal point of the robotics masters. Here, every master was on fire. A speaker gave an engaging speech, some asked questions, some added comments, and soon enough, this sparked a whole new discussion.

"Two of the FIRA 09 plenaries dealt with what can be proven, and two, with what can be dreamt," Donald Wunsch, Finley Professor at Missouri Science & Technology, commented.

The kindling was set down by Okyay Kaynak's plenary on the first day of the congress (Aug. 16), which looked at the essence of the past to look into the future. "Today's innovation becomes tomorrow's commodity," said Professor Okyay Kaynak from Bogazici University in Turkey.

Under the topic of intelligent systems and its applications in robotics, he portrayed the erosion of boundaries in mechatronics. Professor Kaynak covered the broad range of computational intelligence technologies and the opportunities generated by the growth of computing capabilities and advances in algorithm development. How far will robotics go as the driving force behind the development of intelligent systems

According to his assertion, Moore's Law will have to reach an end due to financial difficulties. Quantum and molecular computing are offered as possible alternatives.

During Okyay Kaynak's plenary, there was also a discussion of superintelligence.  ”We might say that this has existed for many years, in the form of the collective intelligence of groups of humans,” Professor Wunsch stated, “But some popular technology forecasts that predict intelligent computers soon (say by 2030) are very misguided.  They confuse faster processing with intelligence.  Faster processing will transform computation and will change the world as we know it.  Many things will be done by computers that we can't imagine today.  But these steps forward will just more clearly illuminate how many aspects of human intelligence are subtle, and very difficult to understand, much less replicate.”

Professor Wunsch questioned, “Which levels do you automate and which levels should humans be the loop in the decision-making process”

"When we have a human in the loop, the system is slower and more expensive but also more flexible and robust.  A human has the potential, if things are happening slowly enough, to learn from observations and recognize unusual, even unique, situations, and change decisions accordingly.  One goal in computational intelligence is to mimic this capability," he clarified.

"The most natural place to implement computational intelligence in a complex system is at the lowest levels.  Here is where things are usually simplest, yet happening most quickly - exactly where we expect computers to have an advantage.  As we rise to higher levels of such systems, automation is still very valuable, but much more difficult. Eventually we will be forced to have a human in the loop, but the higher we can push this point, the better.

"A great example of this is control of automobiles.  We really need to turn this over to computers.  Humans are lousy drivers.  They get tired, angry, rushed, or drunk.  Most accidents are caused by human error.  It wouldn't be too difficult to have all cars controlled by computers.  It is much more challenging to have both humans and computers together on the road.  But even if we got all cars controlled by computers, humans would still command them where to go.  That's the kind of high-level task for which humans are well-suited," Professor Wunsch stated.

Soon after Donald Wunsch’s added commentary and a questionnaire, the session developed into a full-blown bonfire. Dr. Igor Verner, associate professor of Technological, Engineering and Mathematics Education from Technion-Israel Institute of Technology had a different point of view as the professor of education. He added his comment by saying, “That was a great technical point of view, but we must also think in human’s point of view. Or else, how can we complete a picture When thinking about the future, we should focus on some point. The point is not just technical or just social, but what is the interaction between the human and robotics. That is the main point of the future. If a computer is just a calculator, this is just a one stage in history. After that, a computer is an instrument.  We must think what will be the fuction of robots and how humans will be involved in the process."

Anna Friesel, Head of Electronics and Electric Power at Copenhagen University College of Engineering also shared her view of Professor Kaynak’s plenary. “The current issue in Europe is that the number of students who desire to learn natural science, engineering, and technology are decreasing.” Professor Friesel’s field of study in Denmark is Automatic Control and Robotics. “If you would like to influence future technology, you need to work with it. That means young people need to study technology.”