Decentralized AI and Robotics Using Blockchain Technology

The Mid-twentieth century sociologist David Reisman was perhaps the first to wonder with unease what people would do with all of their free time once the encroaching machine automation of the 1960s liberated humans from their menial chores and decision-making. His prosperous, if anxious, vision of the future only half came to pass however, as the complexities of life expanded to continually fill the days of both man and machine. Work alleviated by industrious machines, such as robotics systems, in the ensuing decades only freed humans to create increasingly elaborate new tasks to be labored over. Rather than give us more free time, the machines gave us more time to work.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is set to disrupt practically every industry imaginable, and industrial robotics is no different. The powerful combination of robotics and AI or machine learning is opening the door to entirely new automation possibilities.

Currently, artificial intelligence and machine learning are being applied in limited ways and enhancing the capabilities of industrial robotic systems. We have yet to reach the full potential of robotics and machine learning, but current applications are promising.

This course is dedicated to robot enthusiasts and all the others who would like to stay abreast of current technology trends, which change the world and have tremendous impact on human life. This course will give you a state-of-the-art opportunity to familiarize yourself with the general concepts of machine learning and see how the theory is executed in practice. We will discuss the main machine learning techniques and concepts. We will deploy discussed techniques (algorithms) in our domain in order to boost robot performance. Moreover, we are going to play with neural networks and understand this concept from scratch.

This course is an amazing journey and opportunity to capture important knowledge, which accompanies robotics daily performance process, control, and development more and more.

Decentralized artificial intelligence and robotics have the potential to revolutionize many applications, from targeted material delivery, to assisted living and disaster relief. Assisted by technological advancements, such as cloud computing, novel hardware design, and novel manufacturing techniques; nowadays AI (virtual) and robotics (physical) are starting to become an important part of activities such as logistics, autonomous transportation, emergency management and healthcare. However, several of the characteristics that make these systems ideal for certain future applications - autonomy, learning, knowledge sharing, collaboration, cooperation, etc. - can also raise concerns in the evolution of the technology from academic institutions into the public sphere. For instance, controlling the behavior of large teams of agents (either physical or virtual) still presents unique challenges for human operators. In addition, important issues in the fields of data privacy, security, safety, and transparency can become burdens for the future use of AI and robotics in high-sensitive scenarios. Therefore, novel solutions to these issues might be necessary steps towards mainstream adoption.

Blockchain, an emerging technology originated in the time-stamping field in the 1990s and recently in digital currency field, demonstrates that by combining peer-to-peer networks with cryptographic algorithms, agents can reach agreements in a transparent and decentralized manner without the need for a controlling authority. For instance, blockchain-based applications such as "smart contracts" are already showing great potential to make distributed robotics operations more secure, autonomous, flexible, and even profitable. Therefore, blockchain promises a way to bridge the gap between purely scientific domains and real-world applications.