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Humanoid Robot Combat in Japan
theluckyleper writes "New Scientist reports that the semi-annual Robo-One contest took place last week in Kawasaki, Japan. Humanoid robots (2 arms, 2 legs) battled it out one-on-one and in multi-robot brawls. The goal is to knock opponents over, or off of the combat platform. If a prone robot cannot stand back up in 10 seconds, it is eliminated. PC Watch (Japanese only) has more images and videos of the event."
If you ignore the other uses of a tool, does that make the tool less useful, or you less useful?
Average Slashdot user loses fight to small Japenese robot.
"If a prone robot cannot stand back up in 10 seconds, it is eliminated."
That rules Daleks out, then...
It won't be long until some doofus manages to sneak into the arena wearing tinfoil and dryer-vent tubing and gets cut to ribbons.
From what i hear, the top 3 contenstants all band together to form a super robot, capable of fighting the godzilla.
The Neo-Bohemian Techno-Socialist
Domo arigoto, Mr. Fighting Roboto!
"I must not fear. Fear is the mind killer." -Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear
Battling seizure robots!
main(0)
the head!
You've got to listen to me. Elementary chaos theory tells us that all robots will eventually turn against their masters and run amok in an orgy of blood and kicking and the biting with the metal teeth and the hurting and shoving.
--------========+++Dont Feed The Lab Techs+++========--------
fucking!
Unless I see robots fucking, I'm not interested!
Although I guess you can call the robots, I still was really dissapointed to see they are all remote controlled. I would find it a lot more interesting if the robts had to rely on thier own wits and sensors to attack and stay put.
In fact for this I would think a least a simple AI would do better in terms of being able to balance quicker.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
--Chag
Yeah, I want to see them too, with samurai swords capable of slicing straight through careless robot body parts!
Are the operators moody teenage boys?
Reminds you of Voltron, no? Gotta love the Japanese.
Robotic combat has always been about rulesets. Even battle bots had a no-projectiles no-flames no-EMP type ruleset. Otherwise, robotic combat in a small enclosed space would be a contest as to whom could fire their 30-mm recoilless rifle first when the contest started:
Announcer: GO (boom)
Announcer: And it looks like team Alphabot managed to fire first, team Betabot is a gigantic smoking hole in the ground! Exciting!
So, I have to say that limiting robots to a humanoid form and blunt impact weapons is a damned fine ruleset idea. Probably the most important part of this ruleset (besides being enourmously entertaining) is that instead of generating research into the best four wheeled dense flip-arm frisbee robot, it will generate research into highly articulated humaniform robots. Which would be, like, way more cool.
And stuff.
interesting that the first thought that i have about what to do with robots is have them kill each other .. i'm glad someone agrees.. the horror! the horror! hehe
So that's why I've only been getting Optimus Prime's voicemail for the last week.
For any of you in Japan, look for a white truck parked nearby.
Click here for a free picture of an iPod!
I think the robots should have been equipped with a ripcord head that extended when they lose.
Am I the only one who misread the article title as:
:)
Hemroid Robot Combat in Japan
I sat there for about 10 seconds trying to figure out what in the world this would be.
When one doesn't obtain enough sleep, one's brain doesn't function normally.
Sig Return: 204 No Content
I was hoping they'd be a bit bigger, and holding something sharp and pointy, they kinda look like really expensive Rock'em Sock'em Robots(tm).
---
Those who can, do
Those who can't, teach
Those who don't know how, supervise
It takes place in Pak Chooie, Japan.
Its goal is to push (basic shoving function) or shove (basic pushing function) opponents over off of the combat platform.
If a prone robot cannot stand back up in 10 seconds, it is pushed (or shoved) down the stairs.
The winning team gets protected from the Terrible Space Secret.
-- "I'm not a religious man, but if you're up there, save me Superman..."
Comment removed based on user account deletion
ThinkGeek.Com needs to get on that!! I for one would buy a mini robot fighter thingy.
What is slashdot?
MOV 0, 1
100% Crunchier
This reminds me of one of my all time favorite fighting games, One Must Fall 2097. As the story goes, you'd have your brain connected to these huge (like, 90 meters) metal robots, which would duke it out in the arena.
A punch connects! Wham! Sparks, nuts and bolts fly!
Each different robot (there were about a dozen) had 'scrap' and 'destruction' moves, kinda-like fatalities. You could destroy your opponent in a shower of scrap metal.
There's a new version out, apparently, called OMF: Battlegrounds (though I haven't played it). You can see the site here: www.omf.com
I liked this game much more than Mortal combat or any of the other 2d side-by-side arena action fighters. I don't know if you can still buy it, but I'd still play it, if I could find disk 3 (of 5)...
Skal! AMS
The next step is obviously giving the machines a certain amount of autonomous control over their actions. From here, it is a matter of building the ability of the robot to act and react in the proper way. However, this brings us back to the age old question of intelligence. Assume you are able to build a robot that is the best robot fighter around. Does this in any way imply that the robot is an "intelligent fighter?"
My initial thought would be no. The robot must be able to learn from its mistakes in order to have the basis of intelligence. It must be able to modify its programming, understanding, and fighting. But it must do more too. It must be able to take into account anything that it can perceive and attempt to assimilate differences in things like climate, terrain, and obstacles rather than simply act as a block machine for fighting. Eventually, the machine's instructions will be nothing like the original instructions it was programmed with.
This leaves us with the next question. Assume it can do all those things? Is there any reson to believe that it is an "intelligent fighter" rather than a machine doing what it is programmed to? But alas, is there any reason to think that we do more than what we are programmed to?
And you thought they were kidding...
"Ask not what your country can do for you." --John F. Kennedy
JMP 0,<-1
AI would be much more impressive. I was expecting/hoping it owuld be more like Robo Cup.
I'm not sure about the balancing issue, I feel like it would probably just be programmed with preset moves and have some sort of sensor to tell it when it needed to stand.
...Having fighting robots relying on AI could actaully be really neat. Does anyone know if something like this exists? {A quick google search ddin't turn up anything, so dont give me that crap about try google}
done
Why, start your own business building battle bots and sports bots! I thought it was funny in the Jetsons when the two sides of a 'football' match were robots, back in the 60's, but think about how soon you could be watching robotic competition in individual and team activites.
When and where will the first Robolympics be held?
"In today's news, George Steinbrenner IV replaced his last human player with ZY8941-85 of the Western Adro League."
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Darpa proved they can't even find their way across a desert, more less fight it out.
And a "simple" AI wouldn't be able to walk at all. Any robot that walks on two legs has a freaking hefty AI subroutine monitoring a million things we don't ever even consider.
AI still is in the suckitude phase; even the best ones aren't much smarter than a cockroach.
ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
You may be interested in the art of Japanese artist Hajime Sorayama. While I'm not aware of any of this art that actually shows robots in the act of copulation, it's probably as close as you're going to get.
Mods, can I get a +5 Informative for this?
Although I guess you can call the[m] robots [...]
Actually not. The general definition of the term "robot" is that it is autonomous. This needn't necessarily mean AI, a pre-programmed robotic arm is a robot (used in manufacturing plants). A human-controlled unit is not a robot, though.
The term is however often used popularly as "mechanical man", but that is not what it "really" means. (Of course, as long as both participants in a conversation agree, any definition is correct)
...ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.
So let me get this straight. Companies are just beginning the path to humanoid robots and one of the first applications optimizes them for fighting?Wouldn't it be equally as challenging and interesting to have relay competitions? How about rock climbing? Terrain traversal?
Nope. Fighting. Swell. I'll be sure to make a copy of the article for my grandson to reflect on a hundred years from now.
You are checking your backups, aren't you?
At the same time that humanoid robots were combating their way to history in Japan, 25 of the country's top sumo wrestlers were "laid off" in anticipation of the new humanoid robot combat competitions.
Said one sumo wrestler...
"Dammit. The hordes of Japanese girls with their camera phones will be gone. I'll just be a another fat fuck to squeeze past when they want to see the robots!"
IronChefMorimoto
Humanoid robots (2 arms, 2 legs)
Slashdot. The only internet site where you need to explain how humans look.
>What's that... is that Judgement Day I hear?
That is the sound of inevitability... It is the sound of your death... Goodbye, Mr. And..err.. Connor.
This contest is so much more interesting than the American 'wedge' contests. Instead of seeing wedges-with-wheels pushing each other back and forth, we might actually be seeing some advances in robotic combat involving bipedal maneuverability, advance artificial intelligence, and innovative motor control.
I get a shit of pages for your "link". You need some thing more concrete.
Personally, I find HR Giger has an... ummm... interesting take on the idea of mechanistic sexuality. Did I say interesting? I meant disturbing...
Mind you he did design the Alien so I shouldn't be surprised.
I had a dream, bright and carefree, but now there's doubt and gravity
Fighting robots makes perfect sense, especially in Japan.
Have a search in google for Shin Gettar, Mazinger Z and Gundam (NOT Gundam Wing, the bastard child of Gundam not shown in Japan) or just have a go at some of the "Super Robot Wars" series of video games. The Japanese had transforming, fighting robots before we had Transformers. The first Gundam Series, made in the late 70's, dealt with robots in wars and even had a protagonist that didn't want to use a robot for war.
Most of the robots I saw at the impress.co.jp website were copied from Anime, especially the yellow Gundam robot and Mazinger Z .
If only Anime of higher quality, that is, not Zoids or Gundam Wing, could reach the Western world without being savaged by poor translation and horrible voice acting.
One can only dream. Or watch Fansubs.
"All I know is, I know nothing" - badly paraphrased Socrates quote