Robots are coming

RoboCup tournament headed to Brazil

The York Daily Record is the paper I used to find this interesting article in the Sports section (c1- c3). The article that I read was about a group of college students and professors from the University of Pennsylvania who are trying to accomplish their ultimate goal of creating a robotic soccer team that will eventually defeat the human World Cup by 2050.  Although this sounds like something new to most of us it has been going on for several years. Both students and professors have been trying to achieve their goal for a long time now and the real problem that the students and professors are facing is to be able to make the robots fully autonomous, and to be able to make quick and rash decisions. Much like humans there is a learning curve that the robots have to understand as well in order to play soccer successfully and people who play the sport know that a lot of it comes from making good judgment. Director and coach of the project Dan Lee states that “Back in the early stages of the project the games resembles humans playing soccer at 5-years of age. All clustered together kicking the ball and not really having a sense of where to kick the ball too.” Today, they are able to perform basic athletic skills and strategies much like those who play at 10-years of age. As the 2014 World Cup in Brazil begins to close another chapter, it begins another one for the RoboCup, which is to be held on July 19-25 in Brazil.

            I found this article to be interesting because I my self am an avid soccer player and find it interesting how this kind of thing has been going on for so long. Its interesting to see how they have taken gradual steps in trying to make these robots autonomous and to think quickly. I know first hand how difficult that can be, when coming face to face with a defender, and you have to make that quick decision as to whether you can get around him or if you should pass to your teammate. I also found it interesting how in the beginning stages of this program professor Dan Lee explains, how their robots resembled those who play when they are 5-years of age. The reason I find this interesting is that much like humans learning the sport at a young age the robots are learning at a young age too. Looking back I remember those days of not knowing what to do with the ball, and remember all of us crowded together kicking the ball and getting no where, but after many years of playing and being taught different athletic skills and techniques I, including others were able to work together. It will be very interesting to see whether there goal of beating humans in the 2050 World Cup will pan out. I think that if humans were to play against robots in the World Cup that these robotic scientists will have much more to look at than just being able to make them autonomous. Such as, how heavy they are and the fact that they could potentially can harm to the human players if they were to come in contact with one another.

Reflection of Professor Massie's Blog

After reading the part about being hesitant to joining the whole social media gamut. I can see how you might become hesitant at first in joining such sources of social media because in a sense I can see where you are coming from when you say "friends" are no longer people but words or, at best, pixels of still or moving images." It is also similar to Text Messaging people; you do not get a real sense of emotion from reading someone’s text versus actually talking to them in person or one the phone. It becomes more difficult to tell whether someone is angry or upset over a text then it is if they were to talk to them in person or on the phone. Therefore, in this case I can see a resemblance with your statement.

On the other hand, I believe that because social media has now become so popular it has help peoples emotions as well. In a sense that social media has made it possible to stay in touch friends and family who you might not see for a very long time and still be able to communicate with them even though you are not physically there with them. Social media has also made it easier to communicate your emotions with your friends and family not only by text but by being able to post videos and images as well.

Introdution

An example of photography that I do

My name is Collin Siebener, I have been known for being a perfectionist when it comes to working with anything art related as well as work out side of art. I have been drawing and painting ever since I was three and have not stopped since. After telling people that I go to school for art and hope to pursue a career in they tell me that it is a very completive field to get into. However, thats what I like about it the harder you work for what you want the more gratitude you feel once you accomplish it. Which is why I am currently majoring in Fine Arts, but am looking to broaden my education to the field of Communication Design which is now becoming more and more popular. Which is why I am in the process of changing my major to Communication Design. I have found that there are so many different fields of Communication Design that I would not be stuck in one specific area if I were still looking to continue with Fine Arts. My goals in life are to: "stay positive, be confident, be motivated, help those who need it the most, giving it your all, and to do the best that I am capable of". I feel that by asking my self these questions I will be able to find a job that I enjoy going to everyday in life after college. When I am not in school or working I enjoy many things. One being Soccer, I have played soccer since I was in kindergarten up until my senior year in High school. Soccer became one important part of my life, not only because it was fun but also the amount of friends I made along the way and learning what it meant to have a commitment to something in life. Another thing I often like to do in when I am not busy is to take pictures. After recently taking an Intro to photography class my sophomore year I instantly was hooked, and wanted to continue learning more and more about photography. Most of my photos are of landscapes and things of that nature but I also enjoy doing portrait photography as well.