Hitachi Unveils Humanoid Robot

HunahpuMonkey writes "BBC reports that Hitachi has unveiled a humanoid robot, named Emiew, to compete with Honda's Asimo and Sony's Qrio robots. The robot has a vocabulary of about 100 words and could be trained for practical office and factory use. In addition, it is the fastest robot to date, moving 3.7 miles per hour on wheel feet which resemble the bottom half of a Segway scooter."

Comments

I've seen something like this.

[Sheetrock]

During a brief sojourn to Japan a couple of years back, there was a music store that had a robotics theme.

Very little stock was on hand, but you would select the music you wanted on one of the robots. It'd burn the audio CD, print up the liner, and assemble a shrink-wrapped product for a couple of yen more than one you'd get off the shelf, then dance around the room playing the biggest hit off the album.

The experience would only have been cooler if it could talk with you, although the sushi-dispensing robots did have a few stock phrases and voice recognition (you had to shout for them to hear you however).

Re:I think the saddest part about this...

[ciroknight]

One of the coolest specialized robots I've seen to date is the robot that's going to be installed here at the University of Louisville as soon as they complete the renovation of the Library building. (Search for Robotic Retrieval System on your favorite search engine).

Basically it's going to be a robot to retrieve books in the library, allowing the books to be packed denser on the shelves, thus boosting the capacity of our Library by 1.2M books. This kind of technology is amazing, and we should be finding ways to push it into our lives for much more general work than that. Robotics research shouldn't have to be done by the car companies of the world.

Why robot research is wasteful

[Tablizer]

Japan is pouring billions into robotic software research in part because they don't allow much immigration and migrant workers, and thus want to develop robots to fill those niches instead.

However, rather than build an artificial brain, it appears more cost effective and closer to improve the bandwidth costs so that such bots can be controlled from low-wage nations. We don't need artificial intelligence because there are billions of idle human brains around the planet.

I suppose one could argue that remote-control servants could end up causing malice, but artificial alternives may do the same either because AI might go bizerk, or more likely because it is not good enough yet and will make stupid mistakes.

In short, remote-controll appears the more reachable goal at this stage. Bandwidth cost reduction does not appear to need the giant breakthrus that AI does.

Re:Why robot research is wasteful

[bar-agent]

Actually, the japanese are more concerned about having the robots as companions then as servents. ... Look at some of the commercials for sony's humanoid. It is being marketed as a companion for the elderly and lonely. Westerners are more concerned with having the robotic domestic slave.

I think there are actually three categories of robots: child-like, adult, and non-humanoid. Real robots are either child-like and Japanese, or non-humanoid and American. I do not know if it was intentional, but your comment seems to be saying that Americans want slavery and the Japanese want companionship. This is not the case. Based on what is out there now, Americans want tools and the Japanese want companions.

If an American company did really come out with an interactive adult humanoid robot, like the NS-1 from the "I, Robot" movie, I think it would not sell too well. Americans, at least me and my friends, are uncomfortable with servants. If someone is getting paid to do a job, that is one thing, but a servant class is bad. We would be compelled to treat an interactive adult humanoid robot like one of a) an equal, b) a friend who helps you out, or c) a tool. And if we treat it as a tool, it had better not look too human or be too personable. Nothing else would be comfortable. Look at the relationship between Luke and C-3PO, or between Picard and Data.

The Japanese seem to be pushing child-like humanoid robots for companionship. I can see this; child-like humanoids are not expected to be equals of anybody. It is okay if they are limited. But these robots will never do well in the States, because they rely on being cute to offset their simplicity, and in the States, cute things are creepy.

Look at the Hitachi robot from the article. Anybody else find the styling a little off-putting? I know I did. It looked like a kid, but wasn't. In Japan, cute or child-like things with special powers, such as Pikachu, Astroboy, or magical children, are okay. But the closest equivalents in the U.S. are things like Gremlins, Children of the Corn, Chuckie, or Barney. Cute things with special powers are creepy over here. It would be difficult to market such a thing for home companionship.

It seems to me, that in Japanese culture, a general-purpose humanoid robot must be harmlessly cute to be accepted, whereas in American culture, a general-purpose humanoid robot must be seen to be satisfied with its duties and treatment.

But maybe I'm biased.

Re:What's the big deal about humanoid robots?

[kid-noodle]

Asimov gives a good argument for humanoid robots in Caves of Steel - namely economy.

Do you buy a robot cooker, microwave, eggbeater etc. etc. Or a robot that can use the tools already?

Re:I think the saddest part about this...

[omahajim]

Allowing the books to be packed denser on the shelves? You mean they're not already stacked side by side? Or, do you mean that they're getting rid of those pesky wide aisles that humans need to navigate among the stacks?

Re:What's the big deal about humanoid robots?

[mikael]

Anything with six or more legs always has a stable centre-of-gravity, and doesn't have to worry about maintaining a stable configuration. With three or four legs, you have unstability as soon as you take one leg off the ground. With only two legs, you always have unstability and need sophisticated real-time circuitry to maintain balance.

Re:I think the saddest part about this...

[indifferent children]

You've highlighted one of the major obstacles to automation (including but not limited to robotics). When the 16yo behind the counter screws-up your order, you will get irritated, and might complain to the manager (unless you went through the drive-through, TFYATDT). We demand an inhuman (literally) level of performance/consistency from automated systems.

About 20,000 Americans are killed every year in automobile accidents. If we introduced automated cars that could get you where you want to go with no human control, and they killed 5,000 people per year, we would be demanding that these things be banned (and the lawsuits would flow like spice). Better isn't good enough; we demand perfect, even in non-mission-critical systems.

Re:Soul?

[e2d2]

This isn't an episode of Ghost in the Shell. I have a soul and robots don't. I'm gonna be the robot biggot 50 years from now oppressing them! Sit down machine and shut up! ;-)

A soul is what made you ask that question in the first place. It's hard to define but you know it when you see it.