Humanoid Robot HR-2

Denix writes "The HR-2 humanoid robot was constructed during a period of three months at Chalmers University in Sweden. It has 22 degrees of freedom which enables it to easily move around imitating human motions. The robot is also equipped with stereovision giving it possibilities to perform hand-eye coordination. For that task an artificial neural network is evolved. Furthermore, the artificial brain is capable of tracking faces as well as recognising them. The HR-2 is also able to speak. The website also contains a movie (35.5 MB) of the HR-2 in action."

Comments

Obligatory comment

[Anonymous Coward]

Can it run Linux?

Re:Obligatory comment

[paladin7]

I'm sure it can run under vmware :)

Re:Obligatory comment

[jurt1235]

Is the question not first: Can it run?

torrent test

[Spy Hunter]

Here's a test of the new BitTorrent trackerless torrents, let's see how they hold up. You'll need the latest beta 4.1.3 from BitTorrent.com

alternate link if the first doesn't work

Re:torrent test

[paul248]

Does mine work?

Re:torrent test

[linhux]

Actually, the original server is stilll loading blazingly fast, so there's no reason just yet.

Maybe so, but...

[jpiggot]

"It has 22 degrees of freedom" Yes, but if the Republican controlled Senate passes the legislation it wants, they'll be able to cut it down to just nine degrees of freedom. Take that, you godless humanoid robot !!"

Awesome!

[MindNumbingOblivion]

Now I know where to go to get my armies of mechanical death.

::CACKLE CACKLE LIGHTNING CACKLE BRRZZT COUGH COUGH::

In seriousness, is there a reason for trying to build a bipedal, humanoid, robot? I mean, this looks cool and all, but what are the advantages (or conversely, disadvantages) to such a design (IANSC [I Am Not Susan Calvin])?

Re:Awesome!

[JanneM]

In seriousness, is there a reason for trying to build a bipedal, humanoid, robot? I mean, this looks cool and all, but what are the advantages (or conversely, disadvantages) to such a design (IANSC [I Am Not Susan Calvin])?

We have buit our entire environment for bipedal movement. Just ask anybody with a walker or wheelchair just how inconvenient (and, without help, occasionally impossible) it is to get around when you're no longer bipedal.

Also, the question of just how we manage to walk, run, climb and so on is interesting in itself. And there's no better way to test ideas than to try them out in reality.

Re:Awesome!

[EMIce]

A bipedal robot with stereoscopic vision and so many degrees of freedom could potentially perform some complex tasks that traditional robots have been laughed at for trying.

Robots are often clumsy, and a big reason for this is inadequate sensory ability. Robots are already good at responding very precisely with their limbs, because they have a computer model of how their limbs react and can sense how they are presently positioned, at least with respect to the robot itself. But clumsiness becomes a factor when limbs must be positioned with respect to outside objects - this requires recognition.

The big deal is that processor technology is getting to the point where a robot can analyze high bandwidth sources like video in real-time, for use as feedback for its limbs, or whatever else it may control. With stereoscopic vision the robot could constantly refactor it's movement based on analyses of video, so it could say, go into the garage and roll out the garbage while avoiding obstacles. Or how about the watering plants? Or returning scattered items to their pre-defined places? Wiping down the kitchen counter? Doing laundry? Robots will play a big role in our future, for better or worse. The market will find them hard to resist once they actually become useful.

Fast digital signal processors will play a role in this, not unlike the 7 SPEs found in the Sony/IBM CELL processor. Fast, commoditized (read: cheap) DSPs for this sort of application haven't been available, and that will soon be changing. I suspect PS3 games will use those vector processing units for responding to and learning from high bandwidth inputs like audio, video, or even EEG data to sense states of mind. I mean they called the thing the CELL after all. Likely because of it's seemingly organic response to stimuli.

Re:Awesome!

[CurlyG]

Robots have been used all over the place in industry for 20 or more years.

Your statement that "Real progress will be made only after people stop trying to build a human from machine parts and focus more on usefull applications." is just silly. It's not like huge resources are being poured into making humanoid robots. (Nobody is trying to make a 'human from machine parts' - that's a very odd idea, and I suspect gives an insight into your objection to this sort of work.)

I would also suggest to you that there are very few skateboards, bicycles and rollerblades that aren't designed for bipedal use! Just how do you propel yourself when you're cycling, skating or rollerblading?

Re:Awesome!

[JanneM]

Real progress will be made only after people stop trying to build a human from machine parts and focus more on usefull applications.

Hard to build useful applications before you know how to make it walk safely, consistently and energy efficiently on at least a reasonable subset of human-constructed terrain types.

I'm always astounded by all the backseat drivers of the world who always know so much better what people should do, without ever feeling the need to do it themselves. Since you want useful applications, go to it. Nothing is stopping you. If you're right that applications is the best focus, you'll undoubtedly eclipse these pitiful, wasteful efforts.

Chalmers University

[st0rmshad0w]

Sorry I gotta

SKINNNER!!!! /ob simpsons

When can we buy it?

[j79]

Awww...the thing is so freakin' cute!

Of course, if it was 6ft tall, I'd be saying something along the lines of, "I for one welcome our new robot overlords..."

HR-2, I need you to tell me

[AEton]

What happened to HR-1?
I'm sorry, my responses are limited. You must ask me the right questions. ...plot, "nice shoes", ...

Is HR-1 standing right behind me with a sledgehammer, awaiting your orders to kill me?
Ah. Now you are asking the right questions!

Please Reply

[Anonymous Coward]

Dear Sir,

I read your article about a humanoid robot with interest. I am eagerly downloading your movie now.

Please advise where I can purchase this excellent device. I am seeking a model which is at least 2.5 metres tall. If you have a submachine-gun attachment, that will be even better. Please send details of options and available colours.

I dunno..

[badfrog]

Doesn't look like it has the weight distribution to fetch me a beer.

Re:I dunno..

[stoph ct]

It doesn't look like it could climb over a beer!

I'll take the 30 meters tall version, ala Power Rangers.

Forget the robot....

[d474]

I was more impressed with that hot European chick "playing" with the robot. He's all "show me your move", she moves the object up and down, and then little robot starts a movement closly resembleing masturbation. OMG LOL!!! It was even funnier because that girl is so cute....

Humanoid vs task-specific robots

[Arpie]

Sure, as a geek I love the idea of humanoid robots, but in practice how useful can they be?

Aren't in most situations robots designed specifically for one task (or a small group of tasks) better?

My Roomba robot vacuum broke a few weeks ago and it took 2-3 weeks to be replaced. If that same robot also washed my clothes, did my dishes and cooked my food, I'd have been in bad shape.

[end serious post]

[start joke]
Come to think of it though, I'd definetly spend serious money on a robot that vacuums the floor, washes clothes, does the dishes and cooks... and does not demand attention, new clothes, a wedding... Heck, let's go make these humanoid robots already! And, of course, they'll need some specific, er... anatomic, parts and capabilites. And they absolutely must have an off and mute switches.

Re:Humanoid vs task-specific robots

[Beolach]

Isaac Asimov made several arguments in favor of humanoid robots over task-specific robots. Your "joke" is actually one of them, a humanoid robot would be more versatile, and capable of performing a wider variety of tasks, than a task-specific robot. In theory, a completely humanoid robot would be capable of doing everything a human can do.

However, while that argument does have merit, by itself I don't think it's enough to mean that humanoid robots should be developed rather than task-specific robots. What I think is more important to consider is the cost to develop and produce humanoid robots versus task-specific robots. Asimov started writing about robots before computers really started taking off, and so the AI for his robots comes from a fictional device called a "positronic brain" (which, by the way, Star Trek borrowed for Data). In Asimov's stories, the positronic brain was the most expensive (and important) part of a robot, and so it was cheaper to install the positronic brain in a humanoid form, where it would be most versatile, than in a form specialized for one task. But that aspect of Asimov's stories may not accurately reflect reality. In reality, computers and software would be the source of a robots AI, and in reality it is much simpler (and therefore cheaper) to develop & produce computers and software that is specialized for one task.

Which really, is what I find most impressive about this HR-2. In the video, they show it imitating human behavior, playing a game where the human holds a block and moves it up and down, and then the robot holds a block and moves it up and down. If the robot was simply programmed to move the block up and down, no big deal, that's not tough to do. But my impression is that it wasn't programmed to do that specific task, but rather it was programmed to be capable of analyzing what the human was doing, and then to imitate that. Which is very impressive to me.

Re:Humanoid vs task-specific robots

[lw54]

Especially once it was a orderable as a realdoll upgrade.

Now that would be worth money.

Typical slashdotter!

[piecewise]

Geez. What ROBOT is cute?? What about the woman in the video! SHE'S cute! Get your act together.

Re:Typical slashdotter!

[d474]

"Geez. What ROBOT is cute?? What about the woman in the video! SHE'S cute! Get your act together."

Yeah! What is that guy, some kind of electrosexual? I saw him eyeballin' that little robot's range of motion...sicko.

Re:How nice of you....

[Mad Merlin]

Gotta love first posts that somehow get moderated "Redundant"...

Looks a lot like the Kondo KHR-1

[thzinc]

This looks a lot like the Kondo KHR-1 mentioned a while ago here, but a bit more advanced. Looks like some pretty nice enhancements, though, I do agree with a lot of other /.'ers in that I would like more information.

Quantum Consciousness, Not Size, Counts

[reporter]

The Swedes have done a terrific job. The next step is to construct microtubes that can use quantum states to "perform" consciousness. The Penrose-Hameroff Model explains how quantum states provide the basis of consciousness.

If the Swedes can integrate the microtubes into the neural network controlling this robot, then the Swedes will achieve a sentient cybernetic device. Such an achievement would qualify for a Nobel Prize in physics.

"Impressive. Most Impressive." utters a human-machine hybrid in Star War V.

Re:Quantum Consciousness, Not Size, Counts

[HuguesT]

Please note that the Penrose-Hameroff hypothesis is at this stage only an hypothesis, and it most certainly does not explain what consciousness is or how to reproduce it. In fact no one knows if the brain performs quantum computations of any kind, or if such computations are required for consciousness. Some AI luminaries think consciousness is in fact very simple, nothing more than memory.

At this stage physicists are trying to build very simple quantum computers, which could be used for accelerating some very specific computations. Some other people have proven that even quantum computing would not be the panacea that many think it would be. For a start it doesn't give any new insight on how to perform specific calculations that would lead to consciousness. All computations possible on a QC would also be possible on a classical one, albeit usually much slower (but it wouldnt' matter that much, at least in theory).

In other words the Penrose/Hameroff hypothesis doesn't really help in any significant way. It is just saying that the brain somehow performs some magic quantum thingy, and that thingy would somehow be the basis for consciousness. It doesn't say what this thingy is exactly, and most crucially doesn't say how to reproduce it in any way.

the P/H hypothesis is basically just saying "we can't have true AI with the current batch of computers, something else is required", but doesn't say what.

Needless to says this is not very helpful, and might be false entirely.

This is a little more advanced

[Sheetrock]

Than the one I saw at a Japanese facility, which had no adaptive neural network. However, it was capable of voice- and image-recognition, which helped it perform the following tasks:

• Dispense coffee, refilling when empty
• Pick up and deliver print job from the company printer
• Write simple routines, such as C++ class templates, and fix broken HTML pages
• Greet visitors and direct them to the appropriate department if expected
• Allowed customers to choose from a number of top music artists, expelling a shrink-wrapped disc and playing the most popular song off the album as it danced around
• Stack and unstack a series of boxes by color
• Empty garbage, albeit into a pile that was then shovelled into a dumpster

In a way, I think the 'intelligence' behind these robots is more than enough; now it's time to find practical uses for them.

Re:This is a little more advanced

[RollingThunder]

Hang on, isn't that just an intern?

*ducks*

Re:This is a little more advanced

[swiftstream]

They aren't all ready for prime time, though.

My brother-in-law did an internship at Honda, and they had a semi-humanoid robot running around the building that could run some basic errands and such. Like this one, it had voice and face recognition programs--unfortunately, it didn't recognize my brother-in-law's face, perhaps because it was programmed to recognize japanese/asian faces. It didn't recognize him as a person and wouldn't do anything for him.

HR != Human Resources

[SpikyTux]

As long as HR doesn't mean Human Resources. As if the current HR isn't bad enough.

Re:How nice of you....

[d2ksla]

Actually, it'll be interesting to see how the server holds up. The Chalmers U. network (http://www.cdg.chalmers.se/Natverk/chalmers_bbng. gif) isn't too shabby with Gigabit Ethernet internally, and a 15 GBit/s Internet link (http://www.nordu.net/maps/map_nordunet.png).

Re:Small Size

[Anonymous Coward]

You obviously aren't asian.

A little TOO real?

[dirtsurfer]

http://www.etek.chalmers.se/~almir/Humanoid_3_link .jpg

In this picture the robot is clearly taking a dump.

Re:the girl

[game kid]

Absolutely not. I concur with your perception of hotness.

I'd imitate her anytime.

To make it clear

[JanneM]

To make it clear, when I wrote "go to it", I wasn't being facetious. This is likely an excellent time to get into robotics as a practical product. If you feel you know how to make something with practical utility that can be sold affordably, there is probably no better time to do it. And if you don't have the skills, it's still a great time to start a company and hire people who do. Or, for that matter, just putting money into startups that seem to agree with your ideas on what will be a hit in the market.

The DSP factor

[EMIce]

This is the parent poster. I'll post this anonymous to avoid karma whoring, but I wanted to expand on what I said, because most readers probably won't undestand the significance of DSPs.

DSPs are good at tasks like pattern matching, filtering out noise, finding statistical correlations, inferring probabilities, and simulating neural networks - among other things. These sorts of tasks are can be done by traditional processors, but such processors aren't designed for this. Something a cheap DSP might handle can hog inordinate amounts of CPU time on a pricey general purpose processor, because architectures like x86 and ppc weren't designed for heavy vector processing. It takes lots of clock cycles on these processors to simulate with software what a DSP does in hardware.

This page lists many DSP capabilities to give you a better idea.

Forget about the robot!

[metomynon]

How did they build that giant hand??

ROBOBEER!

[DigiShaman]

Robot...beer....robot....beer....robot....beer.

*thinking*

Hmm, how about we combine the two. How about..."ROBOBEER". Ya, I can see the future now. Just attach some walking legs to each can of beer. Then, sell a master ROBOBEER remote control for mucho grande!

Question: When I start seeing six beer cans walking toward me, how do I know if I'm drunk, high, or perfectly sane? Hmmmmm

Mine would look like this

[Rhinobird]

I want humanoid servant bot to look something like this:

http://sae.cside.com/sae/kat/pc/ern005/ekana.htm

Holy crap!

[5plicer]

That thing is wicked! It's like Kismet with appendages!

mini Sarah Connor

[DanThe1Man]

All we need now is a mini-Sarah Connor to battle it.

Re:I, for one...

[koi88]

Don't miss the next episode here on Slashdot: Read the gruesome story of HR-1, HR-2's evil twin, and their inventor's terrible fate.

Re:She's cute

[dow]

No. She is. and Yes, to be a true /. person you should have made a poor pun about downloading her.

happy slashdotting on you too my dear

[lordmetroid]

Visit o' meter Hope your research goes well in the future as well.

Dynamic equilibrium

[krahd]

What I would like to see (I'm not saying this robot is not cool, it's actually awesome) but, what I'd like to see is a bipedal robot with dynamic equilibrium. You know, the way that we animals walk is by being all the time in a controlled-falling state.

This robot and almost everyone I've seen manages the walking by substituting a stable state with another stable state (static equilibrium)...

tom