robot simulations with Python

4.9: web.adds/robotics/robot simulations with python:

pyro does 3d robotics
pyrobot-latest.tgz            01-Apr-2008
-- this was NSF-funded for 3years until 2006 .
. but here at the source the most recent update was 2 weeks ago .
. the forum traffic ends by 2011.11 .
4.10: intro:
"( Pyro can provide a smooth transition for the student
from symbolic agents to real-world robots,
which significantly reduces the cost of learning to use robots.  )
. you can see the 3d in this white paper: AImag'05

4.10: well, pyro seems unpopular?:
. I know mit.edu is getting into Python,
so they must have the advances in pythonic robotics:

4.10: MIT's 6.01 Intro to EECS [electrical eng and comp'sci]:
. uses python to explore robotics .
. there's an opencourseware version of the same class:
. some other opencoursewares do python without robotics:
prog 6.00 2008, prog 6.00sc 2011 .

. studentrobotics.org has a highschool competition
they're showing an interest in python .
now in it's third year, and the autonomous
robots are programmed by the student participants in python.

2d is very limited for robotics simulation:
2d gaming that supports pyqt4
more 2d python .

-- other langs:
4.10: EU's c++ project:
. across the pond, the EU is funding some robotics,
-- www.robotcub.org and italkproject.org
open cognitive robotics platform --
(see Cognitive Systems and Robotics)
and they also funded pypy, a python project,
but this openware is coded in C++ .

. Simbad is a Java 3d robot simulator
with a Neural Network library (PicoNode)
and an Evolutionary Algorithms library (PicoEvo).

[5.1: robotics is naturally concurrent:

. the following was found because it includes
a 2d robotics simulation using Python;
but, it's real contribution is concurrency,
the use of multiple computers in coordinated ways;
that will be the key intelligent robotics .]
4.10: PyRO ( Python Remote Objects):

. PyRO ( Python Remote Objects ) is a library
that enables building applications in which
objects can talk to each other over the network,
with minimal programming effort.
. normal Python method calls can be used,
with almost every possible parameter and return value type,
and Pyro takes care of locating the right (object, computer)
to execute the method.
It is designed to be very easy to use,
and to generally stay out of your way.
But it also provides a set of powerful features
that enables you to build distributed applications
rapidly and effortlessly.
Pyro is written in 100% pure Python
and therefore runs on many platforms and Python versions,
including Python 3.x.

4.10: mu.adds/robotics/funniest joke teller is not a robot!:

A few years ago, Dr Graham Ritchie and Dr Kim Binsted
created a computer programme that could produce jokes.
We were keen to discover if computers were funnier than humans,
so we entered five of the computer's best jokes into LaughLab.
Three of them received some of the 

lowest Joke Scores in the entire database.
However, two examples of computer comedy
were surprisingly successful
and beat about 250 human jokes:
#  What do you call a ferocious nude?
 A grizzly bare.
#  What kind of murderer has fibre?
  A cereal killer.

. the funniest joke, from a human, was also about murder:
(submitted by Gurpal Gosall,
a 31 year old psychiatrist from Manchester in the UK):

Two hunters are out in the woods
when one of them collapses.
He doesn’t seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed.
The other guy whips out his phone and calls the emergency services.
He gasps, “My friend is dead! What can I do?”.
The operator says “Calm down. I can help.
First, let’s make sure he’s dead.”
There is a silence, then a shot is heard.
Back on the phone, the guy says “OK, now what?”