The physical autonomy of robots is well understood both theoretically and practically. By contrast, there is almost no research exploring their potential economic autonomy. In this paper, we present the first economically autonomous robot -- a robot able to produce marketable goods while having full control over the use of its generated income. Gaka-chu ("painter" in Japanese) is a 6-axis robot arm that creates paintings of Japanese characters from an autoselected keyword. By using a blockchain-based smart contract, Gaka-chu can autonomously list a painting it made for sale in an online auction. In this transaction, the robot interacts with the human bidders as a peer not as a tool. Using the blockchain-based smart contract, Gaka-chu can then use its income from selling paintings to replenish its resources by autonomously ordering materials from an online art shop. We built the Gaka-chu prototype with an Ethereum-based smart contract and ran a 6-month long experiment, during which the robot created and sold four paintings, simultaneously using its income to purchase supplies and repay initial investors. In this work, we present the results of the experiments conducted and discuss the implications of economically autonomous robots.
翻译:机器人的实际自主性在理论上和实际上都得到了很好的理解。 相反,几乎没有任何研究探索机器人的潜在经济自主性。 在本文中,我们展示了第一个经济自主机器人 -- -- 一个既能生产可销售的商品,又能充分控制其创收使用情况的机器人。日本的Gaka-chu(“巴泰尔”)是一个6轴机器人臂,它从自动选择的关键字中绘制日本字符的绘画。Gaka-chu通过使用基于链式的智能合同,可以自主地列出在网上拍卖中出售的一幅画。在这个交易中,机器人与人类投标人作为同行而不是作为工具进行互动。然后利用基于链式的智能合同,Gaka-chu可以利用其销售绘画的收入,通过自主地从网上艺术店订购材料来补充其资源。我们用基于Etheeum的智能合同建造了Gakaka-chu原型机器人,并进行了为期6个月的试验,在此期间,机器人创造和出售了四幅画,同时利用其收入购买用品和偿还初始投资者。 在这项工作中,我们介绍了实验的结果,并讨论了经济自主机器人的影响。</s>