Vigilus™ Autonomous Robot Speaks at TEDxFrontRange

DENVER, July 5, 2012 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Vigilus™, an autonomous robot developed for patrol and report security, may be the first robot to have given a TED talk.  "We're still researching, and there's a lot of data on TED and TEDx talks, so I'm not sure we can conclusively say that our robot Vigilus is the first robot to participate in a TED talk, but we're quite certain that it is a rare event" said Pam Gheysar , Director of Marketing at Gamma Two Robotics.

TEDxFrontRange took place May 10th in Loveland, CO, with the theme "Creative Potential."  Gamma Two Robotics' founders Dr. Louise Gunderson and Dr. Jim Gunderson were asked to participate and assigned the topic of "The Potential".  The Gundersons are entrepreneurs, and are currently in the process of taking their security robot Vigilus from advanced prototype to product.  They spoke about "The Potential of Autonomous Robots".

"People are demanding technology that works for them, that makes their lives better, and robots are a part of that demand.  Robots are coming, and once they're here, we may find ourselves with moral and ethical dilemmas we hadn't considered previously.  Continued Dr. Jim Gunderson , "It may seem far-fetched to talk about that now, but we're already a bit behind the curve; there are no easy answers to some of these questions.

"Robots replacing humans in the workforce has always been a controversial subject.  We know this is a disruptive technology and are sensitive to that. One of the reasons we focused on the security industry for our first product was due to the deficit of people available and applying for certain jobs, and the very real need for businesses to have adequate security.  The bottom line is, autonomous robots are coming, and there are some very important conversations that will take place in the near future.  I don't have the answers, Jim doesn't have the answers, however, we are both acutely aware that the conversations must take place, and through them we as a society will derive the answers we need" said CEO and co-inventor Dr. Louise Gunderson .

Never one to be left out, Vigilus left the audience pondering this: "My brain is really advanced. It runs like clockwork. No, it runs even better than clockwork! So I have an important question to ask: if we do have conscious robots, robots with goals and intentions and desires...if I were a self aware robot, would you have the right to turn me off?

View the video at gamma-two.com/videos.html.

Media Contact: Pam Gheysar , Gamma Two Robotics, 303-778-7400, pgheysar@gamma-two.com

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SOURCE Gamma Two Robotics

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