Slashdot Mirror
Service Robots in Service by 2010
Igor Birman writes "Reuters reports that Toyota aims to sell service robots by 2010. Meanwhile, the most advanced consumer robot produced in the US appears to be the iRobot Roomba, now available in pink.
More information is available at
Robotics Trends and
NewsTarget.com"
From TFA:
Reading this, I can't help but think of this excerpt from The Terribe Secret of Space:
^_^
____
~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey
Yoshimi should be able to take care of those Roombas with no problem...
I'll turn into a supernova and burn up everything. Well I'll turn into a black little hole and you'll turn into string.
Date line May 31, 2005:
Toyota Motor Corp. aims to start selling robots that can help look after elderly people or serve tea to guests by 2010.
Date line April 1, 2011:
A Japanese pensioner was found dead today beneath a mountain of tea cups and saucers. A relative claims a Toyota robot given to the man a year before continued to carry out it's tea serving prerogative for months after the victim had expired.
Lurking at the bottom of the gravity well, getting old
Better patent the pink color before Japan steals it away...
We're going to have a /. story everytime a robot appears in a new colour
Japan's top automaker sees a declining birthrate and aging population leading to growing demand for robots that can help in tasks such as child care and nursing care
What? I don't know where these companies determine the demands that people have. People have been trying to make machines that could automatically mow a lawn for over 50 years now. I would think there would be a really high demand for robots that could do lawn care, take out the trash and clean the house. At least those tasks I could trust a robot to do properly and shouldn't be all that difficult if they are also "really" capable of caring for a child. Personally, it would be a long time before I would trust robotic technology and AI to care for a human being's health and safety.
Won't be posting on /. because of the captchas.
You failed to confirm you are a human. Please double-check the 7-letter image and make sure you typed in what it says.
There's everything from robotic lawnmowers to the upcoming Scooba mopbot.
Aeris Died For Your Sins.
For years I've been watching Honda pimp Asimo and you're telling me Toyota is the company to first bring us robots. Surprising. So where's Nissan in all this hubbub, or do they need not even apply.
"Plans are for fools! Oglethorpe, the plutonian (Aqua Teen Hunger Force)
...the streets and public spaces are now devoid of men as they no longer have cause to go out.
in AI voice processing so we start having those cool robotic butlers and dishwashers (Who actually pick up your plates and sweep the floor).
I find it amazing that hardware is advancing WAY beyond software.
I love these types of executive decision.
Yes, we're planning on regular scheduled trips to the moon next year, I'll just crack the whip on the R&D slaves to get them to work a bit harder.
Deleted
This post was submitted by
iRobot Slash-Postba
Serial NO : AR-3214324-ERE43
Activation date : May 31 2005
Do not try to read the dupe, thats impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth
What truth?
There is no dupe
Is the Illegal Mexican Immegrant.
You can rent it for less then $5 an hour and it will do whatever you tell it.
From TFA :... growing demand for robots that can help in tasks such as child care
We already have mindeless mechanical devices to raise our kids, it's call "TV" and it is much cheaper than robots.
...I can get an alcohol drinking loudmouth robot, preferably one who is proficient at bending?
cuz this sounds like more vaporware, considering the American sociopolitical landscape
Corporations go for the low-hanging fruit. Therefore, I doubt we will see any real funding for really useful robots so long as 3rd world "neoslaves"...oops! I mean "illegal aliens"....oops! I mean "undocumented workers" are allowed to move to the USA as cheap and desperate scab labor to fatten the wallets of investors and business owners and management.
eat shiat and bark at the moon
A Roomba is so simple it might not even make a good Senior Project. Bump and Reverse is not quite artificial Intelegence.
Here's the video feed of the robots in motion http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/special/robot/
Free Flat Screen
http://www.robotcombat.com/video_oldglory_hi.html/
Long ago Robert Heinlein envisoned household robots (see Flexible Frank in "The Door into Summer",) as the 'killer app' in robotics, as opposed to the 'killer bots' the military is developing.
You can't talk about Wikipedia's flaws on Wikipedia
...and the fact that they're technologically way ahead of just about everyone else in that department (see their Prius and the Lexus Rx400h) I wouldn't put it past them. They have the right combination of good management, solid financials, and technical know how that this shouldn't seem far fetched to anyone. (They also have a fair amount of experience working with Denso, as that's the company that they work with on the hybrids.)
DBA? Software Engineer? My company is hiring! Click
I already wanted to buy hard-cover copies of I, Robot to throw at Will Smith when the movie went out, to avenge Azimov's memory, but really, that pink roomba thing is too much. Poor Isaac must be spinning in his grave...
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
Bill Gates was heard to comment that he hoped the open source community would rise to the challenge of writing open Operating Systems for both the cars and robots.
My 3D Texturing Skinning work (under construction)
We're already here. Aren't you?
--
make install -not war
Personally I aim to start selling nuclear fusion plants by 2010. Which of course will accomodate growing demand for clean, efficient supplies of power.
I could have sworn I saw this exact same article five years ago, aiming for a target of 2000 as the first year for mass-market helper robots.
The The roomba is a great robot. It does well as a vacuum cleaner too. Not much of a time saver if you follow it around the whole time attempting to derive its inner workings and movement patters. But of course I wouldn't do that.
Can't wait until there are more functional robots out there. Then I can save time by watching them do menial tasks for me.
--
Did you hear? Robots eat old people's medicine for fuel!
There is an alternative: Liberty Robot Insurance. It protects against any and all robot attacks.
Thank God for Liberty Robot Insurance. Thank God for Sam Waterston.
Ride the skies
...yet scientists keep building the damned things! Are you prepared for the inevitable?
"Ask not what your country can do for you." --John F. Kennedy
I confess that I don't have much deep knowledge of advancements in AI and machine vision. Anytime we've had robot articles posted on slashdot lately they've been about advancements in the physical attributes of humanoid robots. Perhaps someone out there can fill me in on what I've been missing.
Anyhow, on a lighter note, as I was reading the "trends" article, I could not help noticing this paragraph:
The statement goes on to say that Toyota will make partner robots that "have human characteristics, such as being agile, warm and kind and also intelligent enough to skillfully operate a variety of devices in the area of personal assistance, care for the elderly, manufacturing and mobility." The statement continues, "since each area requires a special set of skills, Toyota is promoting the development of three different types of partner robots - walking, rolling and mountable - each with its own areas of expertise."
WARNING: BAD JOKE AHEAD
I like "agile, warm and kind", and the article stressed the advancements in the lips on certain robots such that they can play the trumpet, but if it's going to be "mountable", shouldn't there be some work on robots that are "moist" in addition to being "agile, warm and kind"? I mean, can you imagine the chafing?
IT WAS A BAD JOKE, BUT YOU -=WERE=- WARNED, AFTER ALL
.. pa-ra-bo-la, pa-ra-bo-la, 2 pi R, 2 pi R, where's your latus rectum, where's your latus rectum, 2 pi R
"Toyota Eldery Care Technology support, how can I help you?"
"I've fallen, and I can't get up."
"Is your ElderCare 5000 series nearby?"
"I forgot to recharge Willy last night."
"Willy? Who is Willy?"
"Well -- that's my robot's name. After my first husband, before he died in the Vietnam War. He was such a loveable man...kind to his children...and..."
"Uh -- ma'am -- does 'Willy' have a base charge?"
"What? I can't hear ya real good. Willy has my Miracle Ear stored in his chest compartment."
"I SAID -- DOES 'WILLY' HAVE A BASE CHARGE?"
"Base charge? What's that? I only know the green lights and the one with the blinking red light."
"Can you reach Willy from where you're lying?"
"Can I touch my willy so you can spy on me? You whippersnapper pervert! I'll have you fired! How digusting..."
"Ma'am -- please hold."
[technician initiates kill mode on ElderCare 5000 via GPS and remote activation protocols]
"Ma'am -- are you still there?"
"Yes -- Willy is moving around now. What did you do?"
"It'll all be over soon."
"What? A tall rover's moon? Hey! Willy?! What are you doin'? Willy?! Put that TV down! He's gone amock! What's going on?! Willy?! WILLY?!"
[slam - click - dial-tone - ring]
"Toyota Eldery Care Technology support, how can I help you?"
IronChefMorimoto
Where robots of all shapes and sizes approach you asking one universal question. "How may I service you?" Too bad these robots aren't hot chicks!
Sigs are for Terrorists.
Nothing would give a greater boost to the robot industry than a RoboGirl...
--
http://unk1911.blogspot.com/
We already have a culture that puts the elderly away into nursing homes or retirement communities rather than having families take care of them. This is in sharp contrast to the way elderly members of most cultures have traditionally been cared for. A few generations back in the U.S., most elderly lived with their families as they aged.
Now we're in the process of developing technology so that we won't even need to use precious human labor in taking care of the aged among us. This sounds like a sad development to me.
Make one that will open a jar, my wife will keep me around....
Am I the only one disturbed by the idea of a pink Roomba after seeing SNL's Woomba commercial?
If Toyota is going to sell robots, I want one that fixes my car. Why should I pay for labor that eventually exceeds the car's purchase price? Why should I spend weekends waiting for for a mechanic to "rest"? Why should I even have to go to a garage, even my own, when my mechanic could ride in the trunk, and race under its own power to get a part when I'm disabled roadside? If they pull this off, I should be able to replace all those mysterious red dashboard lights and weird pings with a mechanical mechanic.
--
make install -not war
So there.
We will grease the treads of our robots with the bodies of their infidel children! The Arab street will run red with blood as American's invincible armies of killer robots crush the life out of tomorrow's terrorists! God Bless America and President George W. Bush!
Two words.
Built-in vibrator.
I mean, who *wouldn't* want an iHump?
Hokey statistics and ancient misconceptions are no match for a good thought in your head, kid!
From the robotics trends link...
In a manner similar to humans, the 77 pound as yet unnamed robot has artificial lips which can alter their position subtly....
While in the US there is not shortage of lowskilled/low paid workers since they can just import them...
Japan has very strict immigration laws and the fact that is an Island makes it a bit harder to immigrate to.
From what I understand to become a Japanese citizen you either need to have a family member put your name in the town registry (strange old tradition and in fact being born in Japan doesn't count as being a citizen. You have to hae a pre-existing member in the town registry register you or something) or get married to a Japanese citizen or somehow make it through the extremely rough immigration process in which you get to live there but not be a citizen.
Seeing that in 10 years there will be more old people than young in Japan they will need some way to replace the labor shortarge, robots would be an optimal solution.
That and they can finally build that giant robot they've always wanted to take over the US with.
"I am the king of the Romans, and am superior to rules of grammar!"
-Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)
put illegal immigrants out of work?
----- If communism is a system where the government owns business, what do you call a system where business owns govern
I, for one, welcome our new service robot overlords.
I am seriously impressed by what they've done with bipedal robotics and can see that we may end up with having walking armored robots in the future. Very cool.
Personally, I just want something for personal use that fits one or maybe two in a cockpit, runs like an ostrich, but with the commensurately higher overland speed of something twenty feet tall. Now that would make traffic jams a thing of the past.
If my grammar and spelling are off, I am [distracted/tired/careless] (take your pick)
yeah, I actually know all about it. I've actually BEEN to Japan. See, I am an educated person, as opposed to all these blockheads who read Ayn Rand and the Wall St Journal, and thus believe they have received access to the Hidden Wisdom of the Ages.....
eat shiat and bark at the moon
That rear strut has come loose again, see if you can lock it down!
You managed to take an article from a London-based news agency, written in Tokyo, based on an outrageous claim from a Japanese company and referencing only other Japanese companies... and use it to bash the US.
This place is getting more and more pathetic by the hour.
will welcome our new robot overlords.
with the new google translator, they'll be able to serve your foreign visitors too.
----- If communism is a system where the government owns business, what do you call a system where business owns govern
"Service Robots in Service"
Thesaurus meet Cmd Taco. Taco this is Thesaurus...
Time to start up my robot insurance business. ...cause robots are strong, and they like to eat old people's medicine
The age of the boomers begins in 2010. :)
"hey, could you pass me a paper towel? er.. I mean... DEPLOY ABSORBTION PANEL!"
Hasn't seen RoboCleaner. It is by far more expensive, but I believe it is a superior product. Roomba can now recharge itself (the more advanced models anyway), however the RC 3000 can also empty it's load. http://www.karcher.com/RoboCleaner/robo/english/en glish.html
Max: "You mind if I drive?" Sam: "Not if you don't mind me clawing at the dash and screeching like a cheerleader."
I thought that nowadays all the elderly were cared for by the slashdotters in their basements...
Yeah, I'll be there in a second, Mom. Keep your depends on.
Many illegal aliens are paid minimum wage for their jobs. I remember a recent NPR interview where a farmer in the desert Southwest had no choice but to hire illegal immigrants to pick the crops; Americans would not apply for the job.
Plus we are in a global economy now. If you wont do the work, don't blame the "desperate scab labor" or the "investors and business owners and managment" for taking away jobs.
Supply and demand still apply. If the cheepest, most efficient means of labor is robots, then robots will be "employed."
The Trilobite by Electrolux is a much smarter machine. The Roomba works by guesswork. It uses probability to make sure that it'll cover most of the floor at least once during its random turns. The Trilobite uses Sonar and mapping software, so it *knows* where it is. If it doesn't finish the whole floor, it'll return back to the base station, charge, and then finish the remainder of the floor, saving time and power. Here's a link to the product page http://www.electroluxusa.com/node142.asp and here's a nice article explaining how the Trilobite is so much more advanced http://www.i4u.com/article1634.html
Certainly the question of their capability is important, but I think that will be solved over time. Certainly the intelligence put into the Roomba is pretty primitive, but over time, as we understand more about artificial intelligence, more complex robots would be possible.
But here's an important question that's often avoided: should we do this even if it's possible? I mean, what do health care and day care workers do if a robot becomes capable of replacing them. We've already seen the impact of cheap labor through overseas manufacturing and automation on blue collar jobs. What happens as the robotics gets more sophisticated and is capable of replacing higher skilled inviduals.
A thought I've always had is this: what would happen in a capitalist system where there was no job for humans? Capitalism is entirely based on the notion of people earning money by productive input into the economy. But if all production could be handled by automated systems, how could people earn money?
It's unrealistic that all human labor will ever be replaced, but if the human population increases expontentially, and the demand for human labor decreases, there is an obvious problem that we run into. How does one earn a living in that economy if you're job is one that can be automated?
This sig has been temporarily disconnected or is no longer in service
HA! Good thing I had anti-virus software on! Don't go to this guy's link. There is a trojan!
I fear the robot will be hard to get out its bedroom and will consume vast amounts of Cheetos if it does.
if you could get a robot as part of your community, you could all buy in. Now you have a robot that just mows everyones lawn.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
"Sam Waterson: I'm Sam Waterston, of the popular TV series "Law & Order". As a senior citizen, you're probably aware of the threat robots pose. Robots are everywhere, and they eat old people's medicine for fuel. Well, now there's a company that offers coverage against the unfortunate event of robot attack, with Old Glory Insurance. Old Glory will cover you with no health check-up or age consideration. [ SUPER: Limitied Benefits First Two Years ] You need to feel safe. And that's harder and harder to do nowadays, because robots may strike at any time."
robots that would work on your car. Then woundering if they would get paid $18.00 an hour, which would be added to my bill as "labor"....
M$ it's whats for diner!!!!!
...Do you have Robot Insurance?
Because robots eat old people's medicine for food. And robots are strong.
"Progress comes from the intelligent use of experience."
Roomba is a nice little vacuum cleaner, and not too expensive. But it is not the technically most advanced household robot. Roomba operates roughly like a pool cleaner, moving around in some (probably carefully tuned) random patterns.
You can actually get vacuum cleaner robots with a lot more, and more advanced, technology: sensors, cameras, indoor room mapping, WiFi, etc.
Thus appear the first signs of Isaac Asimov's "I, Robot" (made into a movie starring Will Smith).
It's only a matter of time until the 3 laws robots must follow need to be implemented into their AI, and then they will evolve as predicted, and we're doomed.
There's a reason so many science-fiction books have become non-fiction, anything a human can imagine, will eventually happen, through the laws of probability and advancements in technology.
If human ego or greed doesn't deplete/destroy the planet, what happened in "I, Robots" will happen to us.
Prime example: I forgot what the book was, but when Dolly the sheep was first cloned, there was a whole horde of books written years or even decades earlier (maybe even more in some cases), dealing with Cloning, that have since been recategorized into non-fiction.
how is babby formed?
...joints in the right hand.... Sounds like these things could handle a firearm. "There is no spoon."
Just what kind of "service" are we talking about? Some kinds of "service" will be more popular than others.
my lady business
I won't believe it till I see some biomechanically-genetically enhanced NBA baller on Cribs with a Bot that is supposed to serve Crytall but playa never figured out how to power it up so it sits in the corner with a hat on sideways.
The Japanese KNOW what I want in a robot! They've had TV shows about them for years! I don't want a goddamn kinder, gentler robot! I want a heavily armed robot that can easily destroy the SUV in front of me that has to slow down to 5 miles an hour to take a right turn! Why won't the Japanese build the robot I want?!
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
I'm sure there is room for some other joke about a beowolf cluster of these in Soviet Russia, but it escapes me.
Helper robots are only good at making their human masters look lazy. A hedonismbot, on the other hand, would make even the laziest homosapian look industrious.
... because I'm going to need a service robot in 2010 to fix my flying car!
For the tin foil hat crowd, heres an interesting essay about robots taking over,...and how it starts with general services:
http://marshallbrain.com/robotic-nation.htm
Until major breakthroughs happen in AI, robots like these are just toys and no more useful than the gimmicky ASIMO. Personally I think the first major advance will be in natural language processing and help us better corral all the documents out there in cyberspace; intelligent (i.e. useful) robots will probably happen much later. Sad to see the Japanese keep wasting resources on creating simulacra of their anime cartoons instead of doing useful research and development.
think there's any chance of Isaac Asimov's "Three Laws of Robotics" being used in the firmware programming of robots?
1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
Don't be so mean to the pink roombas, you big meanie!
Someone had to say it.
It is an application of robotics technology to a household problem. It's a smart appliance.
OK, technically, it is a robot, but it falls far short of what people are thinking when the speak of a domestic robot. It partially fulfills the expectation that the robot will have autonomous mobility, but it lacks the flexible programming and multi-purpose appendages that would make it suitable to a wide variety of tasks. On a scale that starts with the fuzzy logic washing machine and goes up to the first generation robots of the Asimov story, it may be an important historical landmark, but it is still nearly indistinguishable from the washing machine.
Of course, what people think of when they talk about domestic robots may be a solution in search of a problem. Maybe your house becomes the robot, and the Roomba type devices become its appendages. But it's challenging, becuase it's probably not just a matter of networking all your devices to a central controller. Look at how hard it is to come up with a car instrument panel that is simple and convenient to use, and I think it's obvious that the smart house is an order of magnitude harder.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
I've heard this promise every year since 1974. And I've believed it every time. Now, I'm off to the Moonbase on my personal jetpack. -Eric
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
Fry: ...Then when I feel so stuffed I can't eat anymore, I just use the restroom, and then I can eat more.
LiuBot: You should write a book, Fry. People need to know about the- CAN EAT MORE.
Fry: You're cute!
LiuBot: You're cute!
Fry: You!
LiuBot: You!
Fry: You!
(This goes on for a while)
Farnsworth: Oh, dear! She's stuck in an infinite loop, and he's an idiot. Well, that's love for you.
Good thing we have the technology to get them in pink.
I was worried about the advancement of these robots for a while.. but then I heard about pink.
Thank fucking god.
We have secretly replaced these Slashdot mods' sense of humor with a rusty nail. Let's see if they notice!!
Too many uses for this new robot around the house. Who needs liquid air anymore!
it could burst into flames at any moment
If you need a flying car to get to the jetpack gas station, hertz is renting them for $59 a day.
That's supposed to happen in 2010 too, just like it was supposed to happen in 2000, 1990, 1980, and before that 1970 I think (but I was a baby in 60, so I don't know that one for sure).
I'll believe it when:
a. They work;
b. They keep working;
c. They perform as promised;
d. They are mass produced in sufficient quality;
e. They can be repaired and maintained when Stuff Happens - which it always does.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
My Roomba rear-ended my Ford Crown Victoria crime fighting robot, which then burst into flames.
Ford: bringing you new ways to explode. And you thought Microsoft was bad!
OT, let me join the chorus of folks who hates typing in "xebjnwe" only to find that "you are only allowed to make a post every two minutes. You last posted 3 hours, 9 minutes ago..."
Just don't confuse your new pink Roomba with the look-alike pink Woomba of Saturday Night Live fame.
Note to the technical gods:
I got this error when I tried to post this:
Slashdot requires you to wait 2 minutes between each successful posting of a comment to allow everyone a fair chance at posting a comment.
It's been 3 minutes since you last successfully posted a comment
So when we in America can afford to employ robots en masse and 300 million Chinese are suddenly left unemployed by "cheap overseas labor" do they have a right to cry foul about and uneven economic playing field?
What if Digg added local news and a Slashdot inspired comment karma system? ---
http://houndwire.com
we see a robot playing some instrument in this video, which is considered a serious technological advance, but the clip is silent: "*Music is unavailable in accordance with copyright protection."
Yeah, I wonder how much revenue the artist lost on this one....
What is it about Japanese society that can be so male dominated and still not produce any children. Maybe if there men stopped spending 80 hours a week trying to make a middle manager at Toyota happy or otherwise face suicide, they would actually be able to have families instead of trying to have robots take their place.
This is my sig.
I'm sorry, but figuring out how to use a server robot is going to be beyond the average octogenarian's understanding. Market technology toys to men in their 30s, not the elderly.
I'm pretty sure there is actually a trojan at work here. It is attempting to download an exe to my computer. Even if it's not a trojan, I don't want anyone attempting to download executables to my computer. Consider the link questionable.
Sidenote: It may be the SWF? Don't know if that's even possible.
MOD PARENT UP!!!
brought to you by the Department of Redundancy Department
Newflash for you Randroids: I bash the elite: politicians, CEOs, plutocrats. I don't bash "America."
WTF is "America" People do bad things, so I bash people, But I will bash the constitution, if you like. That is something that needs to go. Or to be revised out of existence, rather....
eat shiat and bark at the moon
... can be found here.
...a cross between Storm Troopers and Battle Tech!
Really cool!
But kinda creepy at the same time.
If only Rod Serling were alive....
http://augustwestproducts.i8.com
Now, when there's news of robots that can perform, let's say, more intimate services, then the legions on slashdot will become interested.
Well, fortunately the software has had a bit of time to catch up. The Reuters article, whilst current, is describing news from over one year ago, if you RTOFA.
{fake quote} sometime near 2013, "dell announces today they're downsizing all their product assembly staff's world wide and replacing them with Toyota robots. While admitting that the present generation robot can't quite get ahold of the indepth tasks involved in assembly of machines, they have no problem running forlifts and other associated support equipment in the compnies warehouses. (think this is funny, wait till someone actually pulls off the darpa grand challenge, then we'll see who's laughing) by the way robot forklifts have been around for 15 years already!