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.

About the Author
Lee Gutkind is the founder and editor of the literary journal Creative Nonfiction and a pioneer in the field of narrative nonfiction. Gutkind is also the editor of In Fact and Becoming a Doctor, the author of Almost Human, and has written books about baseball, health care, travel, and technology. A Distinguished Writer in Residence at Arizona State University, he lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Tempe, Arizona.

Reviews
"A fascinating look inside a place where sci-fi dreams are being made real. . . . High tech at its most exhilarating." -- Kirkus Reviews
"A compelling account that reveals how far [roboticists] have come, but how far they have yet to travel to create machines with human sensibilities and gumption." -- David Temple - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



Book Information
ISBN 9780393336849
Author Lee Gutkind
Format Paperback
Page Count 300
Imprint WW Norton & Co
Publisher WW Norton & Co
Weight(grams) 374g
Dimensions(mm) 211mm * 140mm * 20mm