Artificial Intelligence and Robotics blog
Posts tagged humanoid robot
MABEL two-legged robot fastest in the world
Aug 22nd
It would appear that we have a new champion in the “what robot can run fastest race”. The two-legged robot MABEL under development for several years at the University of Michigan was recently revealed to reach a top running speed of 6.8 miles per hour or roughly 11 kilometers per hour. This means that MABEL is significantly faster than the previous record holder which was Toyota’s humanoid robot with a top speed of 7 kilometers per hour; Honda’s ASIMO is now in 3rd place with a top speed of 6 kilometers per hour.
Another technical achievement behind MABEL and above Toyota’s robot is that MABEL’s gate while walking and running much more closely resembles that of a human. In addition, MABEL jumps 3-4 inches above ground (both legs) when running whereas Toyota’s robot hardly does (it does enough to consider it’s fast walking gate running). One disadvantage is that MABEL is not a complete robot that includes an upper body with arms and a head compared to Toyota’s, Honda’s and other humanoid robots coming out of Korea and Japan.
The below video shows MABEL running including some explanation of the related technical achievement. Additional information on the project can be found at the project’s website here.
Honda ASIMO’s 10th birthday
Nov 8th
Many of the modern day robots owe their inspiration and basic design to Honda’s ASIMO, the humanoid bot which marked his 10 year anniversary on October 31st, Halloween night. Unlike Frankenstein, this inanimate creation that was powered to life a decade ago has gone on to be a guiding light for success in its entire field. Work was first started on ASIMO 25 years ago, and the finished prototype took almost 15 years of extensive research to complete.
At the celebration, Honda treated guests with short films and new smart phone applications that retold the journey of their special robot, which was more of a history lesson than anything too tech-heavy. It highlighted some of ASIMO’s proudest moments, which included meeting world leaders and visiting places like the European Parliament, as well as touring countless of science museums around the world ,and educating children about science and engineering. When it comes to robot celebrities, they don’t get more famous than ASIMO.
Watch ASIMO conduct he Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
There was still talk of future projects, however, as Honda said that their new goal in further robotic research will be developing artificial intelligence and strengthening the bond between humans and robots. There are many innovations and new concepts popping up all the time that help improve the physical qualities of robotic humanoids like ASIMO, but A.I research is still waiting for its “one giant leap for robots” moment. As Honda stressed, the goal for this new movement will be to make robots better helpers for humans, as increasing their intelligence will increase the ways in which they can help us too. How successful they will be in their new endeavors remains to be seen, but as ASIMO is has yet to be truly surpassed for over ten years now, the ball is in their court.
[source]
Turkey’s scientists unveil their own humanoid robot
Oct 18th
This might come as a surprise to some, but it’s not just the far east, Europe and the US that are involved in the humanoid-building industry. Proof of that is Turkey’s brand new SURALP (Sabanci University Robot Research Laboratory Platform) robot, which was unveiled after an eight year development process.
The robot is rather straight-forward in nature, and stands at 5 feet 4 inches, weighing around 250 pounds. It can rotate its arms, legs, head and torso, possessing 29 degrees of freedom, and looks sort of like an astronaut. Besides cameras that allow it to see where it’s going, SURALP employs gyro sensors to help keep its balance. It is also smart enough to reach out its arms and steady itself against a wall if it feels in danger of falling.
SURALP can do different things, which it demonstrated at its unveiling. It can pick up and throw away trash, walk backwards and forwards, and even perform something resembling a dance. The below video of it walking doesn’t make it look too steady, but it stays on its feet, which is the important thing.
Japan did help out a little bit, at least by providing inspiration to associate Professor Kemalettin Erbatur, the man who designed the robot, when he visited Yokohama National University. Still, it’s nice to see other countries getting involved in such projects, and $1 million is actually not a lot of money to spend on the development of a humanoid robot. The cost of developing such experimental robots has declined steadily over the years since HONDA begun development of Asimo in the late 1980s. SURLAP may not change the entire robotics world, but it is a step forward to a more combined global-effort. After all, to achieve progress in anything we need new and diverse ideas, and relying only on one or two regions to carry A.I. research won’t be very advantageous.
[source]
The HRP-4 humanoid robot unveiled
Sep 16th
Kawada Industries and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) have unveiled their new humanoid robot HRP-4 which is an upgrade on their older robots. The new humanoid stands 151cm tall and is much thinner than its predecessors. For Japan, HRP-4 is another step forward towards creating useful mechanical worker to combat a forthcoming shortage in the labor force and care for a fast aging population.
Other than terrestrial uses, let me remind you that the Japanese also plan on developing humanoid robots for exploring the Moon.
Going back to HRP-4, we should note that it is not a machine developed just for nice demos. Its creators are serious about making it available commercially to universities and other research institutes that can afford its $300,000 price tag. According to the recent press release, HRP-4 will go on sale as early as January 2011. I should mention that the HRP-4 will sell for $100,000 less than Willow Garage’s PR2. However, the price difference probably reflects that other than the obvious difference between the two robot, i.e., legs versus wheels, there are many differences in the number and types of sensors, overall hardware, and software.
Time will tell if the humanoid HRP-4 will be a success or not. In the meantime, we can all marvel at its slim design and skills in the video below.
NAO robot to help autistic children
Aug 17th
We know that the Nao robot is the latest innovation in the field of human-robotic relations. It is a small robot capable of interacting and understating us on an emotional level. Fronted by Lola Canamero, a computer scientist at the University of Hertfordshire, the project is designed to help us get more used to seeing robots in our everyday lives.
The “emotional bond” that we can establish with the knee-high Nao is made possible by his profile-recognition system. By using cameras that can sense and understand changes to the human face, and remember past interactions with specific individuals, Nao knows who he is talking to, and in what mood that person is. Accordingly, the little robot can use simple facial and body gestures to react to our emotions, and can show happiness, worry, excitement, and even anger and fear.
Creating even the simplest of robots that can get angry at us doesn’t sound like the best idea, but then again it wouldn’t be correct to say it can mimic human emotions if we leave out the negative traits. Nao learns to understand us better encounter after encounter, and possesses the development skills of a growing 1 year-old child. In fact, it is modeled after the behavioral and cognitive patterns of human and chimpanzee babies.
Nao is certainly an impressive robot, but it is it’s simplicity and straight-forwardness that allows it to help autistic kids. These children often have learning problems and have a hard time expressing and reflecting emotions, which is Nao’s area of expertise. Curiously enough, the kids have shown to be more comfortable with the robot than with other people, because they have more control in the situation. The goal will be to stimulate their emotional responses and improve their interactions with other people.
[source]
CHARLI strides forward
May 11th
Students from the Virginia Tech College of Engineering’s Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa) only needed $20,000 to build the first ever human-sized autonomous robot in the United States, but they did it. CHARLI (Cognitive Humanoid Autonomous Robot with Learning Intelligence) may look like a robot you’ve seen a hundred times before, but its ability to use all four of its limbs in unison is what makes it such a historic landmark.
Minus the face, it looks quite like the robot from the 2004 movie I, Robot
Two prototypes of the robot have been designed to help with research. CHARLI L (Lightweight) is the one featured in the video, and as the name suggests, he can only perform the most basic of functions, like walking and moving his arms around. That explains why he looks a bit clumsy and frail, but the next in line is going to be CHARLI H (Heavy). He’s going to be no push-over, as he will not only be able to do the things advertised in the last paragraph, but he will have a bulkier frame too.
The goal, much like many robots of this kind, is for CHARLI to one day be able to help people around their homes or around the city. Dennis Hong, the associate professor of mechanical engineering and director of RoMeLa, refers to this plan as “The Jetsons Goal”, a reference to the 60s TV-show that took place in a robotic future. And it looks like we’re almost there.
[source]
Mahru learns to copy operator’s movements in real-time
May 4th
Now here is something very cool. KIST, (The Korea Institute of Science and Technology) have collaborated with Samsung Electronics to add some new and interesting skills to the Mahru robot. What can it do? It can mimic human movements very closely, even when performed in real-time.
It is an upgrade on the previous Mahru Z robot, which is useful around the house in assisting you in various chores, but lacks the special bit of programming which makes this Mahru truly exceptional.
The way it works is by having a person wear an inertial motion-capture suit, who can then jump around or wave his arms, and Mahru will do the same motions with hardly any delay at all. Movie fans will recognize this technology from CGI or animated films, where actors don such suits to capture their movements and mannerism to project them on their movie character. Here, though, their gestures are not emulated by a cartoon on a TV screen, but by a real-life robot.
The only area in which there needs to be more work done appears to be the foot-work, as the robot has some trouble keeping up when his human operator starts walking. It is something that the researchers will keep upgrading on, but it is clear that Mahru is far above other telepresence robots in almost every way.
There are literally hundreds of applications in which this technology can be used to improve the quality of life. One of the most obvious ones is operating a robot with a level of precision never quite seen before from a far-away distance, eliminating the risk of working in hazardous environments.
For now Mahru is literally finding its feet and trying out some dance moves, but everything big starts out small. The below video is pretty fun, and shows the robot in action.
[source]
Boston Dynamics PETMAN humanoid robot walks faster than earlier prototype
Apr 25th
Boston Dynamics have released a new video of their humanoid robot PETMAN which we met for the first time last October. The new humanoid prototype walks faster than the previous one reaching speeds of over 4 miles per hour. PETMAN is different than most other humanoid robots under development because it more closely matches the way humans walk; that is, this robot is a dynamic walker.
PETMAN can be seen in the video below walking at 4.4 mph which is 7.08 kph. This makes it faster than Toyota’s running humanoid robot of last year with a top speed of 7 kph. Honda’s much celebrated humanoid ASIMO is now a distant 3rd with a top speed of 6 kph. And PETMAN can keep its balance when an external force is applied, e.g., when pushed by a very rude engineer.
[source]
iCub: Europe’s open source robot continues to advance
Mar 16th
iCub has “grown” to resemble a three-year-old child, both in cognitive abilities and in physical appearance. The idea was to design a robot that could have a higher learning rate than any other, especially when it comes to movement. One of the robotic models can perform 53 different movements, making it a leader in human simulation.
The robot is also expected to learn how to walk and talk on its own, mimicking the progressive ways in which children develop. For that it will need to be in constant communication with humans, and learn how to interact with them. Some iCub versions can already perform the before-mentioned actions, like walking, but none have managed to match the exact growth rate of a child, which is the main goal. This means a fully-developed humanoid android, like the ones you find in Sci-fi movies, isn’t going to be ready anytime soon. But as with all great things, we’re getting there.
The only aspect they greatly need to improve I think is this supposed “toddler exterior”, which at the present time looks as far away from human as one can get. If it wasn’t for the smooth plastic head on the top, one would never guess this build of wires and steel is supposed to resemble a human. I guess junior will have to earn his skin.
NewScienstist has the video (embedded below).
Robonaut 2 humanoid robot
Feb 7th
NASA may be facing some serious budgetary cuts on many of their projects, but their Robonaut program in partnership with General Motors is going strong 10 years after the first robot was built. The second generation Robonaut 2 humanoid robot designed for assisting astronauts in space was recently revealed to the public and I have to admit that it looks great.
Robonaut is only half a humanoid robot because it does not have legs; however, it is blessed with a state-of-the-art upper body including a pair of powerful arms and dexterous hands (both are nicely demonstrated in the video at the end of this article.) Even though the first generation robot was the results of a partnership between NASA and DARPA, the latest prototype is the result of a collaboration between NASA and GM; the latter hope that by contributing to this program they will be able to develop technologies that can help make driving and operating a manufacturing plant safer.
We don’t know of much about the technical details of the new robot. All we know is that NASA envisions robots like this working next to human astronauts in space. The first generation Robonaut was designed for remote controled use; it is not clear if the new robot can function autonomously. In the below video researchers from NASA and GM introduce Robonaut 2.
[source NASA]
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