Page 129 - Modern Robotics Building Versatile Macines

ROBOT AMBASSADOR 109

next required movement and shift the center of gravity (and thus
balance) at the appropriate time. Another result of this technology
is that the robot could change its pace and gait (such as from walk-
ing to running) seamlessly.
Researchers such as Honda’s Satoshi Shigami have also pointed
out that working on a humanoid robot like Asimo can be a profound
learning experience. The challenge of creating humanlike robot behav-
ior often surprises the researcher with reminders of just how complex
and incredible humans are. Masato Hirose, on a Honda internal
video about Asimo, notes that Asimo had something that made him
smile “. . . a little bit like the feeling a parent might have.”
The latest version of Asimo is a bit taller and heavier. It now
includes posture control, a faculty that improves the robot’s ability
to bend and twist without losing balance, and can even run, albeit
at a pace of less than 1.86 miles (3 km) an hour.

and inertia acting on the robot intersect with the ground. If the robot
happens to fall, it knows how to “take” the fall in a way that minimizes
damage, sticking out its arms and relaxing its “muscles.”
For sophisticated interaction with people, QRIO is equipped with
face and voice recognition so it can remember particular individuals.
The robot also has natural language abilities and can remember infor-
mation about a person for use in future conversations with that indi-
vidual. Finally, QRIO has an emotional model. Unlike Asimov’s robots,
it can occasionally refuse a command simply because it does not wish
to comply. A work in progress, Sony’s QRIO prototypes are designated
SDR (Sony’s Dream Robot).
As reported by Yoshiko Hara in Electronic Engineering Times in 2002,
Sony executive Toshinobu Doi believes that “robots [today] are at the
equivalent of the pre-Cambrian era in biology.” In the fossil record,
there is the “Cambrian explosion”—a relatively brief interval in which
the basic plans for multicellular creatures emerged suddenly. In com-
ing decades, if there is to be an explosion in robotic forms and func-
tions, Japan remains a good candidate for the setting. Hara quotes
Osaka University professor Minoru Asada as believing that “Japan will
be the first society where robots and humans live together.” In this
sense, Japan will function as a test bed for what happens when robots
encounter humans.