[Engineering Feature]
To Be Almost Human Or Not To Be, That Is The Question
Researchers are developing robots that will assist the elderly and disabled, but the vote is split on how human-like they should become.
Soon, robots will be able to help the elderly and disabled answer the door, prepare a meal, take their medicine, and even get from a bed to a wheelchair (Fig. 1). As the number of retirees in the U.S., Japan, and other parts of the world continues to rise at an alarming rate, the need for robotic assistants becomes more prevalent.
A number of factors play into this need. More and more people are waiting until later in life to have children, making it difficult for adult children to care for elderly parents. And with the rising cost of healthcare, it's becoming increasingly costly for patients and their families to afford home health aides, personal nurses, and the like. So if robots can become affordable (and insurance companies would be willing to contribute to the cost), the non-human caregivers could revolutionize the way healthcare is provided.
The changing face of healthcare is prompting companies like Honda to kick their research into high gear. Yet researchers disagree about how these robots should appear and operate.
TWO RESEARCHERS, TWO OPINIONS Hiroshi Ishiguro, a professor in Osaka University's Department of Adaptive Machine Systems, believes robots should look, act, and even feel like humans. (See figure). Yet Stephen Keeney, the project leader for Honda America's North American Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility (ASIMO), says they will have to look more artificial and like something out of a sci-fi movie before humans will accept them.
"The Japanese want humanoid robots, especially the elderly," says Ishiguro. "Japanese culture is very robot-centric, as they are used as toys from early childhood, and children in Japan love to play with real androids. There are even special places for androids in Japan, and they are constantly shown in cartoons and movies. Therefore, Japanese people are much more accepting of androids."
There's a different perspective in the West, where Keeney says robots aren't meant to replace human workers. "Rather," he says, "they are meant to be a machine to help make our lives better. We should always be cognizant that ASIMO is a machine and should be approachable and not be scary to children. It is a comfortable middle ground between machine and humanoid androids that others are working on."
ASIMO ON THE GO Five unique processing systems control the ASIMO, and in terms of compute power, each system would rival today's top-end personal computers. Honda's engineers also had to devise complex algorithms for predictive step taking, including walking, running, running in circles, and climbing steps. This was particularly challenging because no study has ever really revealed the logic behind how humans walk, shift their weight, and avoid objects.
ASIMO is the culmination of 20 years of research and development. It uses sensors and algorithms to process moving objects and access distance and direction. For example, ASIMO stops when someone walks in front of it. Much like bats as they navigate and find prey, it also uses supersonic waves to sense movement and map its environment.
Other sensors enable ASIMO to better interact with humans. It can recognize postures and gestures, distinguish voices and sounds, identify the source of sounds, and distinguish between up to 10 different human faces. It can even address people by name.
Working in conjunction with an infrared laser beam, two visual cameras in the eyes and two infrared cameras help ASIMO find objects on the floor up to six feet away. The infrared cameras use landmarks placed on the floor so ASIMO can reposition and recalibrate itself within its environment. The markers consist of two triangles with different markings, so ASIMO can differentiate between them. It then uses itself and the two markers to triangulate its position.
Network integration lets ASIMO access the Internet and provide news, weather, and other info. It can integrate with a user's network system to access information about people at an event, show a picture of the visitor's face, and then guide visitors to their destination.
A series of actuators in the robot's joints provides 34 degrees of freedom, including three for head rotation and up/down movement, seven for each arm, two for each hand (not including joints for five bending fingers), six in each leg, and one for the torso.
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