Science ASIMO - Robotics of the future, today.

[PennyBlack]

I've alway's been interested in robotics. I think my first sight of a robot was in "Lost in Space" the old American tv series when they aired it. I was completely hooked when I saw a pack of Cylons shooting holes in Colonials on the original series of Battlestar Galactica in the seventies and I've watched many videos and followed the course of robotic development since being on the internet.
Honda, normally known to me for making motorbikes and cars have been working in the field of advanced robotics. Their creations along with others who work in the field provide an insight into the world to come. But honda's little robot called Asimo, which seems less threatning than our childhood visions which where often tall, cluncky, loud and often depicted as a replacement to man in future wars have advanced a model they have been working on for some time.
I remember first seeing this model a few years ago and it only managed to walk at a slow pace, taking a while to climb a single step but as they've developed the model, it's really quite amazing the advancement they have made in that short time.

You can visit Honda's main web site HERE which demonstrates Asimos abilities via a selection of videos. I was amazed. And in this video (MSN), Asimo opens a screw lid jar and pours a drink. How long will it be before it's shaken and not stirred.

Do you know any other companies that are produceing robotics with the same abilities as Honda's Asimo model. If so, post a link or video that demonstrates it.

How do you think Asimo will used in the future? Already the Japanese are interested in useing such models at for example, the Fukushima disaster site, for opening valves where it would be to dangerous for humans. I personally need one to carry my rucksack over Ben Nevis this year.
Will those doomsday predictions as shown in the film Terminator come to pass or could we have that utopian society the majority of us dream of where they serve our needs?

 

[T.Neo]

Oh wow. A fancy robot that looks a bit like a human, walks a bit like a human, and unscrews jar lids.

Clearly it is far more useful than the myriad of machines that construct cars, explore planets and perform a whole number of other useful tasks, because it looks vaguely like a human... :dry:

The scenario presented in the Terminator movies is nonsense... it doesn't even make sense within the narrative of the movies. It's like you have to suspend your disbelief, within your suspension of disbelief. Anyhow, the "cybernetic revolt" in that film is staged not by humanoid robots, but by a defence-related computer network (which would probably be best portrayed as a room full of server racks).

The new ASIMO model looks very impressive though. It looks like it is getting to the point where it could be a useful system for applications such as assisting the elderly, performing housework or other demanding, reptitive or unwanted jobs that best accomodate a humanoid form.

But the other issue is cost. I don't know if they've revealed the cost of these robots. The capability level might be enough to make them practical, but the cost level might be enough to make them impractical.

But it is a pretty good example of how this stuff gets developed. It isn't randomly built by some mad inventor in his shed. It goes through a long development process, where it starts out atrociously bad and gets slightly less atrociously bad as time goes on.

The Honda robot development line apparently started out with this striking piece of technology:

Amazing! :lol:

 

[Ark]

Those things will never be as cheap as humans. You can build a multimillion dollar machine that can do a few of the tasks humans can do, or you can hire an Indonesian guy for $.45 an hour.

 

[Quick_Nick]

The machines here are interesting: http://www.cs.stanford.edu/people/ang/research.html
STAIR ought to be more practical than a humanoid helper.

 

[T.Neo]

You can build a multimillion dollar machine that can do a few of the tasks humans can do, or you can hire an Indonesian guy for $.45 an hour.

If this thing cost a million USD, and you had it working 10 hours a day, 350 days a year, for 20 years, it would cost under $15 an hour. Ok, so that is likely more than comparable human labour, and it also does not include electricity and maintainance and repair, but it isn't that much. Make it work for 20 hours a day (as long as it is charged and in working condition, it could do this, it will not complain or need to stop to eat or sleep or spend time with children), and you slash the cost down to $7.50 an hour.

But, I seriously doubt that this thing would cost over a million dollars when built for production and mass-produced. A million dollars for a 48 kilogram robot is approaching the cost per kilogram of a space shuttle orbiter!

If it had a cost of $100 000, still over 15 times the cost per weight of a high-end production automobile, its "hourly rate" using the previous assumptions would be only around $1.40 an hour at 10 hours a day, and $0.70 an hour at 20 hours a day, approaching your supposed wage in a third world nation.

The difference of course, is that while this thing can only get cheaper, "some guy from Indonesia" will demand higher and higher wages as the standard of living in his country increases.

And there are some jobs that have to be done in a certain place, and in certain places you can't just manipulate the minimum wage to your choosing.

 

[jedidia]

I always thought that one of the biggest advantage of robots is that they DON'T have to look like humans, and can therefore be specialised for tasks a human can't do.

The problem is, of course, that a household 'bot (and let's face it, it's the only kind of robot that would ever have a really wide mass apeal) has to be a monster of versatility, so I guess pursuing the concept might pay of one day.

Still, they should work task-oriented: It's not the aim that the robot looks human or gives a human impression (I don't think we'll get out of the uncanny valey anytime soon), but that he can do the simple boring tasks a human can do. But the easiest way to make that happen would be to adapt our architecture to the robot, not the other way round. If you don't have stairs or thersholds in your house, the robot doesn't need legs. That's one big problem solved.

 

[T.Neo]

If you don't have stairs or thersholds in your house, the robot doesn't need legs. That's one big problem solved.

My house has stairs, should I demolish and rebuild it just to make it easier for a robot to work in?

 

[jedidia]

No, but if you built a new house and there were capable household bots available, you could consider building the house without stairs. But that's not taking it far enough. A really effective semi-automated household would have to be built INTO the house by design, and I think that is a thing we might start to see within this century. If the economy plays along, anyways.

 

[T.Neo]

A really effective semi-automated household would have to be built INTO the house by design, and I think that is a thing we might start to see within this century.

Why built-in? I can do housework perfectly fine, and I'm not built into my house! :lol:

 

[RGClark]

You can visit Honda's main web site HERE which demonstrates Asimos abilities via a selection of videos. I was amazed. And in this video (MSN), Asimo opens a screw lid jar and pours a drink. How long will it be before it's shaken and not stirred.
Do you know any other companies that are produceing robotics with the same abilities as Honda's Asimo model. If so, post a link or video that demonstrates it.
How do you think Asimo will used in the future? Already the Japanese are interested in useing such models at for example, the Fukushima disaster site, for opening valves where it would be to dangerous for humans. I personally need one to carry my rucksack over Ben Nevis this year.
Will those doomsday predictions as shown in the film Terminator come to pass or could we have that utopian society the majority of us dream of where they serve our needs?

The BigDog robot gets a humanoid brother:

PETMAN - BigDog gets a Big Brother.
http://www.bostondynamics.com/robot_petman.html

Don't like the name though. In analogy with the BigDog, I recommend: the BigDude.


Bob

 

[PennyBlack]

The Honda robot development line apparently started out with this striking piece of technology:

Amazing! :lol:

T.Neo :tiphat:
I saw the same thing in vids years ago, robotic legs with unbilical wireing. It seemed like the lower torso of a human was going through some form of physiotherapy. I found it both an amusement and frightning but it's wierd considering I don't worry about my washing machine jumping about.

Those things will never be as cheap as humans. You can build a multimillion dollar machine that can do a few of the tasks humans can do, or you can hire an Indonesian guy for $.45 an hour.

A toy can be brought for less than $100 that can fly, that has built in flight control, by which I mean it has auto level, hover without aid. Small robots that dance and walk around can be brought now a days as novelties. The computers that put humans onto the moon, those machines are by far less powerful than the machine sitting on my desk which cost me a fraction of the price. All of which are freely available from any good store that years ago would have been classified research either by governmental departments or by the military. Such devices where also thought to be way to expensive ever to be put for commercial sale, not to mention that some of these intellegent toys are aimed at the childrens end of the market. I believe Asimo, or a model akin to it may be made commercially viable. I would think at some point, Honda would need to make it so, to possibly rake back some of the research and development costs and before another competitor releases a model to capture the market, which I think has huge potential. It's hard to determine the cost of such devices, machines, but they won't be as expensive as we think, least I don't think so.

We all suspect, even know that sooner or later we will have that world of cybernetic integration meld itself into the society in which we live. I for one will have a screwdriver at hand or be served one in a glass. Failing that, a EMP device for disaplinary measures should an Asimo fail to respond to my verbal requests. :shifty:
I know one thing... I prefer Honda's Asimo version, it's smaller and less threatning than that of the cluncky Boston Dynamics model that doesn't seem to be far behind in research. Give them less than a decade and they'll be at the same stage as Honda I think.

http://www.bostondynamics.com/robot_petman.html

I recommend: the BigDude.

Nice link RGClark. You can call it BigDude, I'll call it "Sir"