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Justin Tsao
Professor Cunningham
Writing 39B
13 March 2015
RIP Essay
Included in most electronic devices already, data logs make great sources of real time
data from which information about normal operations can be gathered. The process of data
gathering is automated and without the possibility of the Hawthorne effect, which is when the
observed alter their behavior (Guzdial, Santos, Badre, Hudson, & Gray, 1). As the perfect
debugging tool, it does not represent any biases or opinions as it only states concrete facts. For
my Rhetoric-in-Practice (RIP) project, I created a data log of the future. A data log from Google
also gave me the guidelines for formatting the actual data log. The author of my RIP is a house
maid robot called DAISUKE MKII. This idea was inspired by the novel I Am a Cat by Soseki
Natsume which was written from the perspective of a cat. Also, the audience is a software
debugger working at the Japanese Society of Artificial Intelligence. Furthermore, the idea of the
robot thinking by itself is taken from Robots Unlimited: Life in a Virtual Age, a biography that
considers the possibility of robots becoming human-like in relationships and communicating.
By using a data log, the software debugger can see directly into the processes of the robot
and observe what is happening within the robot when it is disobeying the owners or merely
questioning its existence. The purpose of this RIP project is to question whether or not robots
have the ability to question the commands and input in their own system. Using a data log type
of genre along with inferences, DAISUKE MKII proves to the software debugger that he is
capable of thinking and acting independently like a human.

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As with all logs this particular data log keeps a very organized log of the times and dates
with which the operations of the robot took place. It is purely text based and written like a code
and uses acronyms that only the software debugger would understand. It contains four main
sections and the last one contains the date and time and operation. The use of acronyms helps to
shorten the text and they all represent individual programs within the data log. For example
IMMSM stands for Iterative Modification Method using the Master- Slave Manipulator. In other
words, this program is meant to let the robot learn from the master how to act in specific
circumstances not written into the code of the robot by default (Ikeura & Inooka, Manual
Control Approach). Another important command is the 3D-POLY MAPPING which is a robots
system of 3-D objects in cluttered places (Chen & Kak, A Robot Vision System). This program
is used when DAISUKE MKII receives a command to interact with an object since it allows the
robot to detect where the object is. Additionally, there is the Shortlist program which allows the
robot to recognize continuous speech by humans (Norris, Shortlist). This data log is written in
2029 and during that time, robots. Robots are also starting to take over many aspects in the
human life so much that the only work around for humans to do is to build and program the
robots. Thus, these data logs are quite essential for maintaining and debugging robots.
Not only does this data log contain very specific information pertaining to DAISUKE
MKII, a lot of inferences can be made about the cultural context during 2029 within the data log.
During year 2029, robots have become quite a luxury in Japan. However, not everyone likes the
idea of robots as seen in the data log. The elderly see robots as an abomination while there are
still impoverished people who scorn robots since they represent wealth and success. As
DAISUKE MKII is walking around Tokyo, he learns more about the society of 2029 and even
something as ordinary as paying for ones meal is unknown to the robot. In the year 2029, robots

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have become so common place that even Mos Burgers serves Robot Burgers. These burgers are
specifically designed for robots since they can digest organic matter (Waugh, Robo-poo?).
Even as he walks into Tokyo University, DAISUKE MKII gets curious looks as the students in
the robotics department as Tokyo is focused on developing and researching robots. Since robots
are more efficient than humans, there is no longer a need for workers since robots can perform
any job a human can. Thus that explains another reason why only the rich benefit in this scenario
as the robots are not cheap but can replace the whole labor force of the country. Besides, newer
robots, 2029 also has 3D televisions in every room as well as virtual reality gaming. These new
innovations show that, in the future, we will gradually interact with devices and machines more.
The cultural context with which DAISUKE MKII is living in can be inferred using the data log.
DAISUKE MKII is a refurbished robot that a family bought in order to help them with
house keeping tasks. The word daisuke, in Japanese, directly translates to big help and the first
three letters stand for Decentralized Artificial Intelligence. Decentralized Artificial Intelligence
complements artificial intelligence and it is what DAISUKE MKII is (Rouchier, Multi-Agent
Systems). This particular model is version 1.9.79 which refers to the year in which the
American Association for Artificial Intelligence founded. Also, the year in when DAISUKE
MKII produces this data log is the year when two robots from The Terminator came from (The
Terminator). Although this robot is factory refurbished, it still contained a bug that gave it a
human voice to prove that its a capable human to the software debugger.
This genre has a very specific audience since the genre focuses specifically on the data
log from a robot in 2029. The software debugger has no information about the events that are
happening outside the operations of the robot so everything the family does is inferred. However
when the bug manifests itself, the software debugger is able to whether or not this robot is a

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human or not. The asterisk shows the robots internal human-like thoughts. DAISUKE MKII is
confused by the world the humans inhabit in 2029, and so due to this bug in the original code,
the robot asks a lot of questions and makes comments describing what is happening.
Coincidentally, these pieces of data also assist the debugger in comprehending what went wrong.
There are also program acronyms that may be difficult to comprehend if one did not know about
those programs, but the software debugger knows what these programs stand for. Due to the need
to clear out any extra noise from the data log, it is streamlined to be as specific and short as
possible to avoid errors in deducing the log.
Therefore, this data log shows that DAISUKE MKII that he is a capable and able humanlike being. By having a specific audience, the data log can cater towards clear and concise
formatting which helps present the data. DAISUKE MKII is also a robot that had a bug in his
original code which caused him to gain a personality. In conclusion, DAISUKE MKII does, in
fact, demonstrate that he can make his own educated decisions as he learns more about the
human world.

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Annotated Bibliography
Chen, C. H., and A. C. Kak. "A Robot Vision System for Recognizing 3D Objects in Low-order
Polynomial Time." IEEE Xplore. IEEE, Nov.-Dec. 1989. Web. 13 Mar. 2015.

C. H. Chen is an electrical engineering professor of Purdue University, West Lafayette,

and he, along with his colleague, A. C. Kak, write about 3D-POLY which is a working
system where robots can identify objects even in a cluttered background. By running lots
of laboratory tests, Chen shows us how 3D-POLY can aid the robot in identifying objects.
The purpose of this is to show that object identifying can be streamlined also robots can
spend less time processing objects. The intended audience are people who are interested
in creating a robot that can identify objects even in a messy background in order to speed
up tasks.

Elfes, A. "Sonar-based Real-world Mapping and Navigation." IEEE Xplore. IEEE, 6 Jan. 2003.
Web. 13 Mar. 2015.

A. Elfes is a professor at Carnegie Mellon University and writes about sonar based
mapping for robots operating in unknown terrains. Results from the actual experiments
were used as evidence to prove the effectiveness of sonar-based mapping. The purpose is
to show that autonomous robots can recreate the environment they interact with. The
audience are people who are interested in sonar mapping or companies wanting to equip
autonomous robots with these features in order to go to places humans may not be able
to.

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Waugh, Rob. "Robo-poo? Lab Creates Robot That Eats Sugary Food for Fuel - and Uses the
Toilet like a Human." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 10 Feb. 2012. Web. 13 Mar.
2015.

Rob Waugh, a columnist for Dailymail.co writes about research done in Bristol Robotics
Laboratory regarding robots eating food and excreting waste just like humans. Using
scientific research data and interviewing microbiologist like John Greenman, Waugh
explains the process of which Ecobot-III eats food and gets rid of waste. The purpose for
this article is to show that robots can, in fact resemble humans to a degree in the way we
consume food. The intended audience are people who are interested in this topic or even
NASA who might sign a contract to have these robots go to Mars.

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Chen, C. H., and A. C. Kak. "A Robot Vision System for Recognizing 3D Objects in Low-order
Polynomial Time." IEEE Xplore. IEEE, Nov.-Dec. 1989. Web. 13 Mar. 2015.
Elfes, A. "Sonar-based Real-world Mapping and Navigation." IEEE Xplore. IEEE, 6 Jan. 2003.
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