"The Robot in the Garden" initiates a critical theory of telerobotics and introduces "telepistemology", the study of knowledge acquired at a distance. Many of our most influential technologies, the telescope, telephone and television, were developed to provide knowledge at a distance. Telerobots, remotely controlled robots, facilitate action at a distance. Specialists use telerobots to explore actively environments such as Mars, the "Titanic" and Chernobyl. Military personnel increasingly employ reconnaissance drone and telerobotic missiles. At home, we have remote controls for the garage doors, car alarm, and television (the latter a remote for the remote). The Internet dramatically extends our scope and reach. Thousands of cameras and robots are now accessible online. Although the role of technical mediation has been of interest to philosophers since the 17th century, the Internet forces a reconsideration. As the public gains access to telerobotic instruments previously restricted to scientists and soldiers, questions of mediation, knowledge and trust take on new significance for everyday life. Telerobotics is a mode of representation. But representations can misrepresent.
If Orson Welles's "War of the Worlds" was the defining moment for radio, what will be the defining moment for the Internet? As artists have always been concerned with how representations provide us with knowledge, the book also looks at telerobotics' potential as an artistic medium. The 17 essays, by leading figures in philosophy, art history and engineering, are organized into three sections: Philosophy; Art, History and Critical Theory; and Engineering, Interface and System Design.