Almost Human

In the High Bay at the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon Segways scoot across the floor chasing soccer balls while other robots hunt for treasure. Nursebots developed to care for hospital patients mingle with a robotic Lara Croft lookalike. Lee Gutkind immersed himself in this frenzied subculture and in Almost Human introduces us to Zoe Groundhog Grace and Sandstorm robots designed to help or in some cases replace humans as well as to the colorful cast of researchers attempting to create language to talk not only to machines but also to one another across their disciplines.