Japan; the New Birthplace of Robots

From Toys to Tech, Why Japan is a Robot’s Number One

Japan is the country that gave the world giant robots, small robots and human sized robots. From the fictional Mobile Suit Gundam to the small tea-making robot maid, Japan’s robotics technology has been pushing the limits of our minds and imagination. Just this July 2009, Japan has unveiled a giant life sized model of the fictional robot RX-78-2 Gundam at Tokyo’s Odaiba park. This structure is not a robot, but is a model of one. This is a testament to the nation’s dedication and fondness for the field of robotics.

In recent years, automobile manufacturers Honda and Toyota have been in research and developing humanoid robots. Asimo, Honda’s robot, is more popularly known and has become the icon of robotics in this day and age. Asimo is able to carry items, walk, sprint a little and jump all while staying on its two feet. It is also equipped with sensors for detecting and identifying people, and has excellent control of its hands, allowing it to hold both fragile and heavy objects.

Day to Day Japanese Robots

Robots are not limited in shape and form to be similar to humans; many robots in use today are found in industrial factories, performing tasks inappropriate for humans such as doing precision laser welding, carrying heavy loads and even really boring tasks like moving a box from one platform to another.

Recently the utilization of these robotic arms and limbs has been moved outside the factory and into more unconventional locations. One such example is a noodle shop in Japan where the ramen is made by robots. Of course, taking orders and accepting payments are done by humans, the broth or ramen stock is also prepared by humans. The robot limbs ensure the ramen is cooked consistently and accurately, garnishes and toppings are accurately measured and added into the broth. They also prepare the ramen fast, in less than two minutes.

There are also robots being used to make coffee. The mini coffee-making robot maid is a small humanoid robot that stands a little below five inches. She has legs for movement and arms for grabbing objects. When all utensils and ingredients for making coffee are positioned in exact locations, the robot maid will scoop up the proper measurement of coffee, sugar and cream, pour hot water and stir the brew properly.

Of course, this only works if every single item it located at the proper area since the robot cannot easily detect items. Should this technology be perfected, we would eventually be able to enjoy the service of fully automated robot helpers.

Robots in Today’s Japan

Japan also has claim on many robot firsts. They have made a robot that has modeled on the catwalk. They also created a robot teacher who could teach class and recognize students. From tour guides, to receptionists, Japan is slowly creating robots that would perform many service oriented tasks. While robot may gain more and more usage, their presence is not meant to substitute that of humans. Robots are being developed to do our jobs so that we can spend more time focusing on living our lives.

Wave Of The Future: Ubiquitous Personal Robots

January 2, 2008 With the dawning of the new year comes the announcement that the personal robot may soon be doing more for the consumer than just vacuum their floors.

According to a report from ABI Research, by the year 2015, consumers will be likely to spend as much for a multitasking humanoid robot as they would for a new car. Most personal robots of today perform a single specific function, but this, according to Phillip Solis, an analyst at the New York-based research firm, is about to change.

The most popular personal robots currently on the market are the iRobot Corps Roomba vacuum cleaners. IRobot currently dominates this market and is increasingly targeting areas outside the US and expanding its product line, Solis said in a statement. Its disciplined approach to keeping products relatively simple and practical has enabled the company to lead the market for task robots.

In October 2007, the Nissan Motor Co. presented its in-car Robot Agent product at the Tokyo Motor Show. The robot, built into the dashboard of the companys premier Pivo 2 concept car, uses its built-in cameras to analyze the facial queues of the driver in order to determine whether they are tired or stressed. The robot will be able to speak in both English and Japanese to persuade the driver to pull over and rest if it perceives this as being necessary.

The South Korean government has also announced plans to build two robot theme parks , designed to include amusement parks, exhibition halls, and stadiums.

According to British artificial intelligence researcher and author of the book Love and Sex With Robots, robots will become so like humans that in the year 2050, human beings will actually begin to marry robots, since, says Levy, robots will advance to the point where they can carry on intelligent

conversations, respond to human emotions, and even display their own emotions. The jerky movements and artificial sounding voices generally associated with robots will become a thing of the past, and these humanlike machines will become aids, friends, and even spouses.

Over the long term, expectations of what robots should be able to do will rise, said Solis in the ABI Research report. The increasing cost of more complex servos and sensors will be balanced increasing value consumers place on willingness by consumers to spend more on robots that can make their lives easier or more fun.

History of Robots – Joseph Letzelter

Czech writer Karel ?apek introduced the word “Robot” in his play “R.U.R” (Rossum’s Universal Robots) in 1921. “Robot” in Czech comes from the word “robota”, meaning “labor”. The earliest ideas that could be related to the robotics of today was in 350 B.C. by the Greek mathematician Archytas of Tarentum. He created a mechanical bird he called ?The Pigeon.? The bird was propelled by steam.The idea of artificial people dates at least as far back as the ancient legend of Cadmus, who sowed dragon teeth that turned into soldiers; and the myth of Pygmalion, whose statue of Galatea came to life. In classical mythology, the malformed god of metalwork (Vulcan or Hephaestus) created mechanical servants, ranging from intelligent, golden handmaidens to more utilitarian three-legged tables that could move about under their own power. Jewish legend tells of the Golem, an clay statue animated by Kabbalistic magic.

The first recorded design of a humanoid robot was made by Leonardo da Vinci around the 1495. Da Vinci’s notebooks, rediscovered in the 1950s, contained detailed drawings for a mechanical knight that was apparently able to sit up, wave its arms, and move its head and jaw. The design was likely based on his anatomical research recorded in the Vitruvian Man. It is not known whether or not he attempted to build the robot .

The first known working robot was created in the 1738 by Jacques de Vaucanson, who made an android that played the flute, as well as a mechanical duck that reportedly ate and defecated. E.T.A. Hoffmann’s 1817 short story “The Sandman” features a doll-like mechanical woman, and Edward S. Ellis’ 1865 “Steam Man of the Prairies” expresses the American attraction with industrialization. A wave of stories about humanoid automatons culminated with the “Electric Man” by Luis Senarens in 1885.

Once technology advanced to the point where people foresaw mechanical creatures as more than toys, literary responses to the concept of robots reflected fears that humans would be replaced by their own creations. Frankenstein (1818), sometimes called the first science fiction novel, has become synonymous with this theme. When Capek’s play RUR introduced the concept of an assembly line run by robots who try to build still more robots, the theme took on economic and philosophical overtones, further disseminated by the classic movie Metropolis (1927), and the popular Blade Runner (1982) and The Terminator (1984). With robots a actuality and intelligent robots a likely prospect, a better understanding of connections between robots and human is embodied in such modern films as Spielberg’s A.I. (movie) (2001) and Proyas’ I, Robot (2004).

Many consider the first robot in the modern sense to be a teleoperated boat, similar to a modern ROV, devised by Nikola Tesla and demonstrated at an 1898 exhibition in Madison Square Garden. Based on his patent 613,809 for “teleautomation”, Tesla hoped to develop the “wireless torpedo” into an automated weapon system for the US Navy. The first electronic autonomous robots were created by Grey Walter at Bristol University, England in 1948.

Contemporary uses of robots

Robots are being used today to do the tasks that are either too dirty, hazardous, hard, cyclic or tedious for humans. This usually takes the form of industrial robots used in industrialized lines. Other applications include toxic waste cleanup, space exploration, mining, search and rescue, and mine finding. Manufacturing remains the primary market where robots are utilized. In particular, articulated robots, similar in motion capability to the human arm, are the most widely used. Applications include welding, painting and machine loading. The automotive industry has taken full advantage of this new technology where robots have been programmed to replace human labor in many simple repetitive tasks. The wide acceptance of such technologies, however, was delayed by the availability of cheap labour and high capital necessities of robotics.

While robotic machinery has achieved a certain amount of maturity, the social impact of these robots is largely unknown. The field of social robots is now promising and investigates the relationship between robots and humans. A ludobot is an instance of a social robot dedicated to entertainment and companionship. In early 2000s domestic robots have entered the mainstream culture, with the success of Sony’s Aibo and several manufacturers releasing robotic vacuum cleaners. Japanese corporations are infamous for their successes in developing humanoid robots and their plans to use the technology not only in their manufacturing plants, but also in Japanese homes. There is much hope in Japan, that home care for an aging (and long-lived) population can be better achieved through robotics. Robots have also been explored as a form of High-tech Art. Recent military conflicts have seen extensive use of robots in ground and air-based investigation, bomb-disposal, and most recently, remote controlled combat by human operators. The US military recently made to order an updated and revised former bomb-disposal robot as a combat robot, having it armed with a machine gun, but it is also capable of holding an RPG or rocket launcher. Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles have also been extensively used in recent American wars, with them being used to survey insurgents and even target them with smart bombs.<br><br>

Robotic Weight Loss – Can You Lose Weight with a Robot?

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This robotic fitness aid – created by Intuitive Automata – is the latest in the list of robotic softwares that have been produced to help you lose weight.

Dubbed ‘Autom’, this friendly little robot works primarily by tracking your calorie intake and workout routine, whilst offering consistent words of support to keep you striding towards obtaining your dietary losing weight.

And studies of Autom are becoming increasingly positive…

During a study between slimmers who use their iPhones to monitor their eating habiting, to those who tried Autom; Autom users doubled the length of their diet. Essentially the difference between being described as a yo-yo dieter to achieving your perfect size…

How does it work?

Built using a modicum of artificial intelligence, dieters essentially input the quantity of food they consume and how often they workout every day, and Autom monitors their weight loss, supplies helpful techniques and provides consistent phrases of guidance.

Yet, it is not all good news…

Soon to be available to buy across the US at the end of the year; slimmers will have to cough up up to $400 to buy, as well as have to find an additional cost to be able to afford the monthly subscription that will help them to input their weight loss information through other technology or via the Internet.

More notably, whilst this humanoid robot has been witnessed to help slimmers to stick to their weight loss plan for twice the length, there is no long term proof that this weight loss will remain.

Artificial Intelligence and Robotics

To be able to create a synthetic being that could do the mundane chores of our every day lives, has been a goal for us humans for not just the last 20 years, or the last century, but as far back as the ancient Greeks. In 350 BC, the Greek mathematician Archytas built a steam powered mechanical pigeon, that could fly. In 1495, Leonardo Devinci designed what looked like a mechanical Knight. In 1801, Joseph Jacquard built an automated loom, that was controlled by punch cards. The punch cards being likened to a modern day computer program, that told the loom how to work. These are but a few examples of robotics and automata of old. To find more, a simple web search with “history of robots” will bring up a plethora of information for the budding technologist.

When a person is first presented with the term artificial intelligence, they, as long as they have at least a minimal idea of the meaning, immediately conjure up the view of subservient humanoid robots, doing our household chores, policing our streets, or taking on our enemies in a combat zone. These, although being worked on, are quite some way from being a reality. Although, there are robot vacuum cleaners, and automated (robotic) missiles and vehicles to name but a few, but none of any consequence in human form.

There are many hurdles to be crossed before humanoid robots will become common place, not least of all, the mostly negative psychological effect realised by many who our uncomfortable with a visually realistic humanoid automaton.

Walking on two legs, which us humans take for granted, had the problem of balance to solve, and has only recently been mastered, as represented by mechanoids such as sony’s Asimo. And running, although done fairly well by Asimo, still needs a good amount of work before being able take on a human athlete on a running track.

Emulating the human senses has provided computer scientists and engineers with many an obstacle. Mastering sound, vision, touch and taste have been met with varying degrees of success. Sound and visual recognition has come along in leaps and bounds in recent years, and has given us fully automated weaponry that is able to track a target, and hit it with pin point accuracy. Voice recognition has given us voice activated devices such as those used in security systems, and the ability to dictate to a computer and have the computer generate the text from a person’s verbalisation. Special sensors can be used to test (taste,touch) surfaces, chemicals, gasses etc. and analyse them.

The ability to reason with an automated device or robot, is one area that is a long way from being a reality, but an area that has had, and will have many devotees. There are two main branches of research when dealing with artificial intelligence and robotics, the first being the creation of a truly thinking and reasoning artificial life form much like the robots and computers found in fiction, such as Robby from the film The Forbidden Planet, or Data from Star Trek The Next Generation, or the boy from the film Artificial Intelligence. These, for now, are somewhat whimsical, but should never be given up on, and with future advances in technology will at some point become a reality. The other branch is the more realistic approach to making use of the byproducts of the artificial intelligence research, that can be put to use in our day to day lives. This side has brought us the computer and the parts that make up a computer (e.g. integrated circuitry – chips). Automated weaponry and security systems. Automated vehicles and craft, such as spy planes, and trains. Communication systems, such a mobile/cell phones and satellites. In fact, just about every electronic device that is made contains some sort of automation, including cars, vacuum cleaners, gym equipment, buildings, street lighting… to name but a few.

All in all, we would not have the gadget filled electronics eutopia as we do now, if it was not for the people such as Charles Babbage, Alan Turing, and Steve Wozniak, to name but a miniscule number,  who pursued their dreams and as a result positively contributed to the world’s knowledge of artificial intelligence, robotics and computing.