The world largest robotics exhibition was held in the Tokyo Big Sight complex from 30 November through 3 December 2005. The event, held every other year since 1973, showcased robots from 152 companies and 40 organizations, featuring more than 800 booths, which displayed everything from manufacturing robots to humanoids.
One recent trend at the show is the increase in robots designed for purposes other than manufacturing, including those built to perform medical, welfare, cleaning, and security jobs. That's the reason why the biggest part of the exhibition was dedicated to robots specializing in service functions. Overall, the exhibition was a fantastic success. I'll intro duce you to two of the hits of the show, which in my opinion are two of the most important robots ever presented. What were my criteria for selecting these picks? As a roboticist, it's not easy to impress me with just a couple of entertaining tricks. I had two main criteria: What is really new in the world of robotics; and what is really functional, ready-to-use, and not just a toy?
Here's my top pick: The Actroid, from KOKORO Co and Advanced Media, of Tokyo (see photo 1).
Photo1. ACTROID Humanoi d Robot
The Actroid was the robot that left visitors breathless. With its lifelike human looks, the Actroid is a female-type office robot that has been designed as an droid "bearing a striking resemblance to a woman" with a command of four languages. (Its technical rationale is to promote the joint venture's ongoing work to fulfill the objectives of the "System Development Toward Practical Use" guidelines of the NEDO 2004 Next-Generation Robot Commercialization Project.)
The Actroid speaks Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and English. It can interactively carry on conversations with visitors on various subjects, including information about the exhibition in the relevant language in a synthetic but realistic voice. It's amazing appearance is so perfectly analogous to humans that, I believe, most people would not notice the difference between this robot and a human from a distance of 20 to 30 meters. It is capable of controlling its motions expressively within the context of a conversation just like a human being--facial expressions, lip movements, and behavior. The face of the Actroid has 42 degrees of free dom (see Photo 2). The robot is static, however; it can not move.
Photo 2. Face of ACTROID Robot
My second pick: The PARO, from the Intelligent Systems Research Institute of Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in collaboration with Microjennics Co. PARO is an eighth-generation mimetic mental-committed robot in the form of a baby harp seal (see photo 3). Immediately, upon seeing this robot, you feel emotionally connected to it. When you touch it, you get the feeling you are playing with a real baby seal.
Photo 3. PARO Therapeutic Robot
PARO is modeled after the little harp seals found on Madeleine Island in the northeastern part of Canada. It is covered with soft artificial fur to make people feel comfortable, as if they were touching a real animal. A baby harp seal spends most of the day sleeping. However, PARO has a diurnal rhythm of morning, daytime, and night. For example, PARO is active during the daytime, but gets sleepy at night. PARO has five kinds of sensors: tactile, light, audition, temperature, and posture. So it can perceive people and its environment.
PARO is an autonomous robot. It can express feelings such as surprise and happiness voluntarily by blinking its eyes and moving its head and legs. This behavior can be perceived as if PARO has feelings. Every PARO has a different appereance thanks to their hand-built craftsmanship. They also have in divi dual "personalities," which they develop through a process of interactive behavioral learning with their owners. (PARO's artificial fur is hygienic, with an antibacterial, soil-resistant finish, and hair-loss prevention, so that it can be cared for a long time. PARO also features an electromagnetic shield, so that it can be used by those with a pacemaker.)
PARO's main application is in so-called animal therapy, where it can serve in three different capacities: the psychological (relaxation, stress relief), the physiological (improvement of vital signs), and the sociological (improvement of communication capabilities). The robot was tested in nursing homes and hospitals for handicapped children in Japan, Sweden, the U.S., Italy, and France. After a few months of use, tests showed that interaction with a PARO robot can bring about the same effects as interaction with a real animal.
What I have noticed in interacting with a PARO robot are excellent motor and sensor capabilities. It has a tremendous impact on children, as you might imagine (see photo 4). In this alone, I think the joy I've seen in the faces of children playing with a PARO is justification for high marks for its developers' 13-years of research.
Photo 4. Child in a play with PARO Robot
These two outstanding proof-of-concept robots were just a small part of the 2005 IREX exhibition, hosted by the Japanese Robot Association, which also is the organizer of the International Symposium on Robotics, held concurrently. The two conferences jointly are referred to locally as "Tokyo Robot Week."
Highlights from IREX 2005
Aleksandar Lazinica
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