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Honda Updates ASIMO
kosmicki writes "Honda Motor Co. today announced the development of new technologies for the next-generation ASIMO humanoid robot, targeting a new level of mobility that will better enable ASIMO to function and interact with people by quickly processing information and acting more nimbly in real-world environments."
Noooo, now its possible for galatic humanoid robot wars.
Can it to my homework and clean my room for me yet?
sensors in the wrists to give people objects seems a bit like cheeting.
if they want to make it seem more 'human' then get it to track the person it's interacting withs face with its head. that would up the realism heaps.
that's all I've got...
Key technologies include:
1) "Posture Control" technology* making it possible to run in a natural human-like way
2) "Autonomous Continuous Movement" technology enabling flexible route to destination
3) Enhanced visual and force sensor technologies enabling smoother interaction with people
These are all things I need too...maybe I can get an upgrade.
Give a hand, not a hand-out.
I don't know about you, but I for one do NOT welcome our humanoid robotic 3 kph overlords.
Does the ASIMO actually advance the field of robotics? Does it come out with revolutionary advances, or just build on those of others?
I don't mean to take anything away from the ASIMO, it's pretty slick, but is it a beacon or a distraction for "real" robotics?
of course a site called japancorp would never die to /. effect but just in case:
Tokyo, Japan, Dec 15, 2004 - (JCN Newswire) - Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (TSE: 7267) today announced the development of new technologies for the next-generation ASIMO humanoid robot, targeting a new level of mobility that will better enable ASIMO to function and interact with people by quickly processing information and acting more nimbly in real-world environments.
Key technologies include:
1) "Posture Control" technology* making it possible to run in a natural human-like way
2) "Autonomous Continuous Movement" technology enabling flexible route to destination
3) Enhanced visual and force sensor technologies enabling smoother interaction with people
1.Posture Control technology:
The combination of newly developed high-response hardware and the new Posture Control technology enables ASIMO to proactively bend or twist its torso to maintain its balance and prevent the problems of foot slippage and spinning in the air, which accompany movement at higher speeds. ASIMO is now capable of running at a speed of 3km/hour. In addition, walking speed has been increased from the previous 1.6 km/hour to 2.5 km/hour.
2.Autonomous Continuous Movement technology:
The next-generation ASIMO can maneuver toward its destination without stopping by comparing any deviation between the input map information and the information obtained about the surrounding area from its floor surface sensor. Moreover, ASIMO can now autonomously change its path when its floor surface sensor and visual sensors located in its head detect obstacles.
3.Enhanced visual sensor and force sensor technologies allow for smoother interaction with people:
By detecting people's movements through visual sensors in its head and force (kinesthetic) sensors which have been newly added to its wrists, ASIMO can now move in sync with people allowing it to give or receive an object, shake hands in concert with a person's movement and step forward or backward in response to the direction its hand is pulled or pushed.
By continuing to advance these new technologies, Honda will pursue development of an ASIMO that will be useful to people.
--Key specifications of the new model:
1. Running speed: 3km/hour (airborne time: 0.05 second)
2. Normal walking speed: current model 1.6km/hour --- new model 2.5km/hour
3. Height: 130cm (current model: 120cm)
4. Weight: 54kg (current model 52kg)
5. Continuous operating time: 1hour (current model 30 min)
6. Operating degrees of freedom: Total 34 degrees of freedom (current model: Total 26)
--Hip rotational joint: Increased walking speed was achieved by the proactive rotation of the hips in addition to swinging of the arms, which cancel the reaction force generated when the legs swing forward during running or walking.
--Wrist bending joint: Due to two additional axes in each wrist, the movement of the wrist area is more flexible.
--Thumb joint: Previously, one motor operated all five fingers. With addition of a motor that operates the thumb independently, ASIMO can now hold objects of various shapes.
--Neck joint: With an additional axis added to its neck joint, ASIMO's expressiveness has been enhanced.
*More about the new Posture Control technology:
In order to realize "running," two major obstacles had to be overcome. One was an accurate leap and the absorption of the landing impact, and the second was prevention of the slipping and spinning which accompany movement at higher speeds.
1. Accurate leap and absorption of landing impact:
In order to run, a robot has to be able to repeat the movements of pushing off the ground, swinging its legs forward, landing within a very short time cycle and without any delay, absorbing the instantaneous impact shock of landing. With a newly developed high-speed processing circuit, highly-responsive and high-power motor drive unit, in addition to light-weight and highly rigid leg structure, Ho
Looks like they are slowly getting better..
Should be interesting once the robots start looking like Robin Williams or (gasp!) Haley Joel Osment.
Hmm..
Friends don't let Friends use Internet Explorer.
You can see videos of Asimo in action (including his new "tricks") at the Honda site.
I for one welcome our robot overloards with great posture and a firm grip.
Anybody else find it amusing that a car company is the world leader in huminoid robotics?
To be like the company in I-ROBOT ? Probably not, but kind of a scary thought.
If the dollar is an "I owe you nothing", then the Euro is a "Who owes you nothing." - Doug Casey
Please correct me if I am wrong, but...
I was under the impression that Asimo is remote-controlled. I suppose it is a pretty slick remote-controlled toy, but I think a large part of the Asimo scheme is just conning the world into believing they have something really amazing: AI that advanced.
--- "End Of Line" - MCP
where and how do I get one?
It's just Cartman in that robot. Butters befriends it, takes it to Hollywood, and it comes up with all the latest and greatest movie ideas.
I've got a dishwasher. Maybe it's old or something but it really doesn't get the dishes 50% as clean as when I do the washing up myself (and my g/f says I don't do it 25% as well as she does).. but we still use it, cause if you've got a dishwasher who wants to do dishes? Now stacking the dishwasher, that's a freakin' chore. You can't just put the dishes into the dishwasher as you make them either, cause you're only ever get four or five dishes into there before you run out of space. It's a bin packing problem isn't it? Or napsack or something.
You wouldn't expect ASIMO to be able to do the dishes manually, it wouldn't have the dexterity and I'm sure all that polished metal would rust if you got it wet, but maybe it could stack the dishwasher for you. If it could go around the lounge room and pick up all the dirty plates that would be better.
Oh, and it could take the trash out, and do vacuuming. You know those hocky puck lookin' vaccumin' robots? Damn those things are loud. Supposedly people turn them on when they go out of the house (or it turns itself on when no-one is around or something) but that's not exactly a lot of good for people who don't go out much. Maybe ASIMO could do a little more user friendly vacuuming. It could pick stuff up and dust under it for example.
That's it.
How we know is more important than what we know.
in your ability to destroy dogs in a humane and efficient manner. There are just too many of them, so something needs to be done. When there are too many deer that they overpopulate themselves, we hunt them. We should do the same for dogs. Euthanasia is expensive... we have no cheap way of humanely destroying a larger animal in mass.
I want my robot to have machine guns!!!
Overall, it just seems a bit smoother.
movement of new asimo looks very fluid. check out him running and chasing a Japanese chick. it is incredible. this made me wonder if someone would begin using robots in the medical field in the next decade or so.
I think you're right...
"Once we've identified and embraced our sickness, we'll have strength...and that's when we get dangerous." - John Waters
Are we one step closer to having Mechs' ala MechWarrior? After all, Honda's a vehicle manufacturer and getting bipedal propulasion seems to be the missing technology to fulfil it.
see here although It may just be a name now.
There is also a time line for ASIMO at Honda.co.jp(japanese) but you can see a graphical history of it here
Japan has a government sponsored humanoid robot devellopment project. And it seems that rivalry between the major corporation also fuels the R&D.
Honda's Asimo is the best of the bunch, but Sony has a doll sized little "entertainment" robot, and Toyota has a trumpet playing robot, not to mention all the universities working on various robotic sub-projects, like facial expression and whatnot (I thought disney's animatronics had the expressiveness thing figured out, maybe my memory has embelished them somewhat).
Asimov expected the U.S. to be the leader in humanoid robots, he couldn't have foreseen this shift in technological leadership, but at least Honda named their creation after him : )
You can't take the sky from me...
Click Does it make you feel like a BIG MAN to bold your links like that??
The routine was preprogrammed and triggered remotely from backstage over a broadband wireless connection. Everything was scripted - the floor was plastered in tape to help the human actors perform correctly. A few of the markers were triggers for ASIMO to orient itself with before demonstrating an action. It was explained to the crowd that some half-dozen technicians were working backstage, keeping the thing going the whole time.
Now, many of the feats (climbing stairs, walking across a see saw, walking in circles, bracing for a fall) were calculated on the fly by ASIMO. You have to give Honda credit for succeeding in that, but overall ASIMO is just an overblown animatronic puppet.
At least half a year ago, I saw a video of ASIMO jogging. Although the jogging was a joke as a mode of locomotion, it was an interesting demonstration of balance. My question is, how much has ASIMO changed since then? The video of the new ASIMO running looks suspiciously similar to the old one. I have the feeling that this "next-generation" ASIMO is far more capable than these new video demonstrations convey.
For those unfamiler with the A.W.E.S.O.M.-O 4000, a picture of it undergoing stress testing by the U.S. military can be found here.
Lawrence Person (lawrencepersonh@gmailh.com (remove all "h"s to mail)
http://www.lawrenceperson.com/
Homage to the author of the 3 laws?
Is Asimo short for Isaac Asimov? You see robots in civilian settings MUST obey the 3 laws to be useful
--= Isn't it surprising how badly I spell ?
After reading the article I have a question probably best suited to someone in the robotics industry. Other than the obvious marketing advantages, and perhaps the psychological benefits of using a human form, are there ny good reasons to pursue this train of thought , if "Useful" is the goal?
My first impression is that the human form is not necessarily the most efficient or stable, but does this outweigh our need to see another human form?
It's funny and kind of cute that we humans have this continual tendency to try and imitate ourselves in other forms: in fiction, advertising, spiritualism and now, robotics.
I think what we will find with respect to robots is that, once we work out what we REALLY want them for, that their form will follow their function, and as such, they need not necessarily be bipedal humanoid-like.
I hope I live long enough to see intelligent robots in any potential number of forms serving a myriad of functions, for themselves or others.
There's some big, beautiful potential in this regard, just waiting to manifest itself.
Well they DO build LOADS of robots to automate their production lines, so I'm not that surprised.
Butlers have a big advantage over robots. When you send them out on an errand, they don't typically get kidnapped and sold to pawn stores.
Personally I'm waiting until robots start defending themselves against this sort of thing. Otherwise there's no point sending one on an errand, which I would have expected to be a primary use case (other than cleaning the house, which these things are also incapable of.)
Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
I'm sure ASIMO is homage to Asimov, but it's also an acronym for Advanced Step in Innovative MObility (Here's the link). I wonder how long they took to come up with that one...
My Favourite Meme
They should use modern artificial muscles (Electroactive Polymer Actuators) instead of motors. Faster response times, less bulkiness, and less noise .. not to mention reduced electricity consumption.
.. so i dont expect them to change.
.. they do have important innovations in balance control systems that they deserve credit for. When someone makes an EAP based robot Honda will be forgotten. Hope someone at Honda realizes this and they adapt.
Unfortunately, I understand ASIMO has been in development since 1983 and they've used motors throughout in each of the prior generations
Guess we'll be waiting for someone else to do it. That said
I think this is a very exciting development. I can't wait to see videos of this thing in action! (Also my first story posted. Woohoo!)
I would be interested a robot similar to the female one in Terminator 3 - forgot her model number ...how about Terminatrix?
I'm waiting for the ASIMOV This ASIMOII is simply to primative for me...
Episode 804
Butters: Woah what a Huge package!
Butters: Ko-ni-chi-wa
Butters: To Butters Stotch! Oh boy it's for me-it's for me!
Butters: Who is it from? Sent from japan. WOW! A Package for me FROM JAPAN!
Butters: What could it be? My birthday's not till September Eleventh!
Butters: Oh boy, I've never had a package this big!
Butters: I've always wanted to have a huge package!
*SLAM*
*Robot Noises+Blinky Lights*
Cartman: Greetings. I am the awesomo 4000.
--Highpoints:
Carman: LAME!
--
Carman: Weak.
--
Carman: LAME!
Karma to burn, mod me lame
Asimo is semi-autonimous, but not because it's got an _optional_ remote control. Asimo has to be 'ordered' or 'programmed' to perform tasks, like any robot butler would... it's not an 'artifical thinking machine' if you tell it to 'go wash the car' it can only perform that taks if it understands what you mean by 'car' where the car 'is' and what you mean by 'wash' They could easily program asimo to work on purely voice commands or hand gestures, but the remote control is for convenience and to make the 'demonstartions' go off without a hitch in recognition software, which is far from being able to perfectly handle human speech or gestures.
https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html
when there will be a "female" version, and what new "tricks" it will be able to do.
A lot of Asimov stories were written to show that the Three Laws weren't correct, that they would ultimatley lead to problems. The various short stories revolve around detectives trying to figure out why a robot did something it wasn't supposed to do, apparently violating one of the Three Laws.
.sig error: carrier signal lost.
Is Asimo short for Isaac Asimov?
Kinda, most Japanese can't end words in consonants other than "n" and "s", and they're cheating with the "s".
So they dropped the "v".
You can't take the sky from me...
Or rather, backwards.
Instead of building a robot body which has all the degrees of movement that a human has, and then making that walk, they started out with a robot body that did not have all the degrees of motion neccessary to achieve their ultimate goal.
And instead of working out how to create a robot that can learn on it's own how to move about using a neural net, they are creating basic mathematical algorithms for walking about... But this will never lead them to their goal of a robot that can navigate any onbstacle, because such a system is totally inflexible. Even if they can make their robot run at 20km an hour, will it be able to climb over boulders, or up mesh netting, or go hand over hand up a rope using it's feet to grip?
Animals easily know how to do these things, even the least intelligent ones, because neural nets are designed for learning, not designed to accomplish specific tasks.
I read once that someone created a genetic algorithm that used a fitness test to allow a virtual character with virtual muscles goverened by physics to make a character capable of walking form one side of the screen to the other. They succeeded and were suprised when some of the characters the system came up with ran, while others walked, crawled, or somersaulted across the screen.
You will never get this range of behaviors out of this backwards style of robot design, and I think if Honda had spent their billions on first designing a more flexible body and then on neural net research it would have been money better spent.
Toyota has it's own robot, but it it's only a pair of legs. May be it can't do your homework but it can carry you from home to school.
You can try to make your own walker your self in two easy steps 1 2.
My city: Barcelona.
The fictional United States Robotics corporation was a fairly responsible entity which bent over backwards at every step to ensure that its robots were reliable and protected its custmoers every step of the way.
Generally when one of its customers had the slightest problem with a robot the company sent out its top research scientist to deal with the problem.
So does it scare you that a company might actually try to act like a mythical 1940s vision of a benevolent corporation, or did you just see the mangled movie and freak out about killer robots?
Note... the modem manufacturer is a completely different entity.
So here we see the beginings of the Butlertarian Jihad. Where is Will Smith when we need him?
MadOgre.com
If not, what's he good for?
Well, considering that the last one was used to sell cars (poorly), I doubt we're going to war yet.
This one will probably sell cars and help you get a loan.
"Things are more moderner than before- bigger, and yet smaller- it's computers-- San Dimas High School football RULES!"
In my book, when a human is running (or an animal is galloping) there are moments in each step where all feet have left the ground. The video shows clearly that one or the other foot is touching the ground at all times. So this is technically not running. Just power-walking. Impressive, though.
Anyone know if the name is anything to do with Dr. Asimov? What with his three laws and all, it seems possible..
I never said that ASIMO exhibited artificially intelligent behavior. The system of remote control, as I described it in the parent post, consists of a prewritten macro. The act is monitored by a team of technicians. Steps are triggered by both active (button push) and passive (detection of object in FOV, physical contact,etc. ) stimuli. The distinction that should be made is that all of the processing is done by ASIMO. Also, there are subroutines running the entire time that keep ASIMO balanced in spite of ambient conditions (that guy who has to touch everything in the museum, mild earthquakes, flash photography, rifts in space time, etc.)
However - in most foreign words, they will simply pronounce a 'v' sound in English as 'bu'. [/ot]
Re:xconslash
No - like in the movie - the laws stood, but the laws were interpreted in a particular way, allowing the robots to act in a way that did not violate the laws, but from the human perspective was not wanted and therefore perceived as a violation of a law (not following a human's order).
Okay, lemme rethink, the laws weren't wrong, but they weren't right - but you can't write enough laws to cover your all bases, can you?
(no reference to 'all you base')
Remember children, all generalizations are wrong.
The step cycle of ASIMO is 0.36 seconds with an airborne time of 0.05 seconds, which are equivalent to that of a person jogging.
It can already catch a sprinting slashdotter!?
Lets see. At the peak hight half of the total in-air time will have expired and Y velocity is 0. So d = 1/2(9.8)(0.05/2)^2)= 0.0030625m = ~3mm. So its not surprizing if you can't see that with the naked eye.
A lot of Asimov stories were written to show that the Three Laws weren't correct, that they would ultimatley lead to problems. The various short stories revolve around detectives trying to figure out why a robot did something it wasn't supposed to do, apparently violating one of the Three Laws.
Nooooo, but that is what the hype machine for Hardwir...er..."Will Smith's I, Robot" (*groan*) claimed, in order to pass off their hackery as legitimate Asimov.
Those detectives were actually trying to figure out how following the laws was making the robots act that way (like "why is Speedy running around in circles when he was ordered to go to a location inside that circle?"). The laws were correct, and it was impossible for positronic robots to disobey them, but they were simple laws applied to complex situations, and therefore Isaac wrote about how they could be circumvented, or how they could lead to robots getting stuck in infinite loops, etc.
Then again, you used the word "apparently", so maybe you understand that, but didn't express it as eloquently as you intended. : )
Speedy was indeed apparently disobeing the order to go to the specified coordinates...
You can't take the sky from me...
What does this mean?
6. Operating degrees of freedom: Total 34 degrees of freedom (current model: Total 26)
Is "degree of freedom" one of the pre-programmed macros you mention? Or is it something prosaic, like how far it can bend its knees?
The name begins with "Asi" in japanese foot or feet. That was to set the image of the first bipedal walking robot.
But I have no doubts that they use the name because is related to Asimov too.
Force feedback sensors in the wrists aren't cheeting (sic) at all. I'd like to see you negotiate the task of handing someone an object or shaking hands without the ability to distinguish forces acting upon your wrist...
SIERRA TANGO FOXTROT UNIFORM
Actualy many of the robuts in "I-Robot" simply didn't obay the laws at all. They did so acting as part of a super robut trying to live by "law 0".
--= Isn't it surprising how badly I spell ?
All I want to know is when will they have a "fully functional" model? http://www.allscifi.com/aridor/Iboard.asp?celebrit y=Lieutenant%20Commander%20Data&msg=2938
much more amusing URL: http://www.allscifi.com/aridor/Iboard.asp?celebrit y=Lieutenant%20Commander%20Data&msg=9176
This may be totally off topic but one thing which helps get your dishes sqeaky clean is rinsing them properly (and brushing off the stuff which won't go with a rinse) before putting stuff in the dishwasher.
I know of no dishwashers except industrial ones which don't have problems with food which has dried stuck to a plate. A simple rinse can make a world of difference.
.: Max Romantschuk
Is "degree of freedom" one of the pre-programmed macros you mention? Or is it something prosaic, like how far it can bend its knees?
Generally with robots a "degree of freedom" is a bendable joint, i.e. prosaic hardware. But you could have looked that up yourself, lazybones.
Who gave mod points to the guys with munchies?
--- "End Of Line" - MCP
.. the robot was also heard to say "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass" when asked to turn its self off.
I bet I am not the only person here that, when Honda announced the ASIMO, automatically started to wonder if they were trying to fit a "V" at the end of the acronym...
And then started to wonder where Honda is planning to take this project. "Robots of Dawn" anyone?
3 degrees of separation from Vladimir Putin
In the near future (5-10 years) ASIMO and other "humanoid" robots will probably not be very useful. Beyond that time, as long as corporations continue to develop this type of robot, they could become very useful, for one simple reason: the human world is built for human beings. If you want a robot that can perform a variety of tasks normally performed by human beings, the robot will have to have a more-or-less human shape and will need to move in a human-like manner. Of course there will always be a need for "specialized" robots (dishwashers, automobile construction robots, etc.) but a humanoid robot could come in very handy.
Disclaimer: BSc(CS). No industry experience in robotics other than packing what they produce! Self confessed (not obssesed) fan of ASIMO, I have been interested in robots since the space missions in the late 60's and early 70's, particularly Voyagers 1&2. When I grew up I was disappointed to find that the "lost in space robot" was a fake.
ASIMO has been around since the '80 and is definitely a persistent beacon for huminoid robotics. Every major upgade demonstrates practical advances over the last. Some of those advances have been "jawdroppers". I would put "the ability to run" in that category. I don't know if Honda is the first to get a huminoid to run but you can't "take anything away from the ASIMO" now that it has an independent thumb.
Someone(?) in the '90s worked out the general maths to "walking" using equations based on pressure mesurements and lots of clever animal & bug experiments. I think Honda's biggest "revolution" is the "slick package". It's one thing to impress a general audience, but to impress a sceptical and qualified audience takes more than hype. You get that by combining the best boffins (from all fields) with a broad goal, such as "make me a practical huminoid maid". Of course with a goal along those lines you are also going to need truckloads of money & patience. As another poster pointed out not much gets spent directly on "marketing", mainly funding demos. Edison is credited with discovering this form of reseach, some say it was his "greatest invention". I had a Honda 750-K3 and it's wiring sucked. I have travelled in the back seat of a Honda Civic (183cm-90kg or 6'-200lbs for the metric imparied) that really sucked. ASIMO is the opposite and to future robot geeks comparing Honda to Bell Labs may not be that much of a stretch.
Philosophical: I was a high school drop out who went "back to school" in 1989 at age 30. Up until then I had quite a few boring as dog shit jobs like packing, steel presses, jack hammer anyone? NOBODY on the planet should have to do them unless it be community service punishment or as a get fit class.
Are humanoids a justifyable slave class? What if they were capable of more complex (but still boring as dog shit) tasks, such as roadside cleanup and minor road repairs. In otherwords where is the line between "human" and "oid"? Will we eventually forget how to maintain our cities without compliant "oid's", similar to how many people know little to nothing about where food comes from or where waste goes? How long until we have humanoid "body" transplants for quadreplegics? Is it just me or does the name ASIMO make you immediately think of a particular SF authour? How would humanity cope with the obvious military and "police state" nightmares of humanoid maids?
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
No, not true Mechs(tm!), but tiny working versions (er, I assume):
o ot -and-iunit-026866.php
Yesterday I'd just been looking in wftv.com's photo-whatever, and saw Toyota's i-Foot and i-Unit AP photo. The page has this caption:
TOKYO -- Toyota Motor Corp.'s new concept vehicles, i-foot, left, and one-seater i-units line up during their unveiling ceremony. The two-legged i-foot, operated by a rider mounted on a seat with a joystick, and the i-unit that resembled a wheelchair, both designed to help people get around, will be displayed at an exposition in Aichi, central Japan, next year. (12/03/04 AP photo)
Google for
Toyota +"i-Foot"
and you get a page with even better photos - lLooks like scaled-up housings from the Honda pictures (or earlier generation?):
http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/robots/toyoto-if
8-PP
I am fasinated by Honda's commitment to bring this technology to it's logic end without any potential for a profit in the near future. I am more fasinated with Honda's project than I am with anything that NASA is doing here in the USA. I think our president has lost touch with what makes Americans hearts and minds swoon and what they envision as necessary technologies to progress into the future. Honda has that vision. Honda has my attention. I wish that our country had something as wonderful as ASIMO is to showcase as a result of our hard work. I would rather see all of those billions that are earmarked for the Mars project(s) go to something like this instead. That would be a real thing to admire in my eyes.
I would say it's on the wrong track. It seems to have at least one foot on the ground at all times, and thus displays a "stable" and not a "dynamic" gait. Also, notice how it seems to walk with its knees bent all the time. For an in-depth look at more natural-like (and potentially more useful) approaches to walking, see http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/users/inmanh/HART2004_H arvey_etal.pdf
For some amazing movies of evolved dynamic walking, see http://www.droidlogic.com/
I noticed that, when jogging, the ASIMO lifts its arms up in a manner similar to what humans will do when hustling. Does anyone know if this was purely aesthetic, or if it served some purpose?
That green slime had it coming.
Just f---ing great. I finally get up the gumption to start jogging and losing some of this computer ass of mine, and Honda invents a f---ing robot that can jog -- as fast, if not faster, than me.
This is bigger than advancing movement technologies.
When thousands of ASIMOs at the Honda plant f---ing become sentient and decide to take over the world, poke-ass "joggers" like me are going to die. We won't be able to get away from them.
Damn you, Honda. Damn you. Where do I sign up to be a human battery?
IronChefMorimoto
lame
Martini Glasses
A hit to their home page shows that they have quite a few products outside the car market. It's a forward thinking thing. They expect some day robots will be as common as a lawn mower.
Sleep is for the Weak
I didn't rtfa, does it give a timeframe on when Cartman will be updating Awesome0?
It's starting to look pretty realistic, in the way it walks and moves. They should put clothes on it, and a hat and some dark sun glasses. Then it would really freek people out.
Offtopic, Inflammatory, Inappropriate, Illegal, or Offensive comments might be moderated up.
This would be a great project for HW hackers, if they could open source the HW or if it could be retrofitted with an off the shelf MIPS or power PC controller PC. Using this as the platform for an open source robotics project would really advance the state of the art in this field. Grad students could experiment with all sorts of advanced goal seeking and pattern recognition algorithms, and contribute them to the back to the project. In a short time with enough experts contributing, I expect we could have a real GPL AI project up and running.
My rights don't need management.
If this is true, this is actually more impressive than it seems. Think of it this way, which is more technically difficult:
Technician presses start button, robot executes program: Walk x steps, turn left 90 degrees, walk y steps...
or
Technician presses start button, robot executes program: Walk until you get out onto the stage, turn toward the taped area on the floor. Walk toward it. Turn down the break in the taped area.
Either will get the same end result, but with the later, the robot has to see the tape, figure out when to turn by the tape placement, etc. This means that from show to show, the tape placement could change without having to rewrite the program.
Be glad life is unfair, otherwise we'd deserve all this.
Combine how the japanese government is slowly ratifying changes in their military structure to allow for offensive capability and the manufacturing abilities of one of the world's largest automotive company + android robotics...
Payback for hiroshima and nagasaki would be a real bitch.
I for one welcome our new samurai overlords
-and that IS how it works. They tour with the robot, so it has to be able to deal with new environments.
Although they only seemed to use the tape to line ASIMO up with a staircase, it is a promising step (pun intended). There is one problem, though. ASIMO looks for the tape when it is already very near where it needs to be. ASIMO has an easy time seeing a high-contrast mark directly in front of itself - especially if it knows when to look for it. Note that the tape is on the floor - when ASIMO looks down anywhere within a foot of the tape, there is no ambiguity that it is the trigger. I doubt that ASIMO can even locate a piece of tape on a wall more than a few feet away. Locating and approaching a trigger on the ground without "practice" is also unlikely. Maybe, as you suggest, ASIMO could adapt its path through trial and error, implemented by the technicians pre-show, and guided with the same triggers.
Yeah. Sure you are, buddy.
Is an acronym in English.
English acronym is a reference to Asimov.
Japanese pronunciation is like "ashi mo" (legs too!).
Some may disagree, but I think that's cooler than the recursive acronyms used in free software.
My other first post is car post.