Saturday, April 02, 2005
And Roby Makes Three - - - beep!
"And baby makes three" is a refrain from an old song about love and marriage; but the Japanese are finding a way to compensate for their very low birth rate and rapidly aging population. They are developing the 'age of the robot' as a cyber solution for companionship to the very young and old as well as for a lack of low-end workers.
While utility robots may look boxy and clunky, some more companionable models are Humanoids With Attitude , as exhibited recently when Ms Saya, a well-dressed perky receptionist at a Japanese University, failed to welcome a visitor: " a professor stormed up to Saya and dished out a harsh reprimand.
"You're so stupid!" said the professor, Hiroshi Kobayashi, towering over her desk. "Eh?" she responded, her face wrinkling into a scowl. "I tell you, I am not stupid!"
Truth is, Saya isn't even human. But in a country where robots are changing the way people live, work, play and even love, that doesn't stop Saya the cyber-receptionist from defending herself from men who are out of line. With voice recognition technology allowing 700 verbal responses and an almost infinite number of facial expressions from joy to despair, surprise to rage, Saya may not be biological -- but she is nobody's fool.
"I almost feel like she's a real person," said Kobayashi, an associate professor at the Tokyo University of Science and Saya's inventor. .....
"We have reached the point in Japan of a major breakthrough in the use of robot technology and our society is changing as a result," said Kazuya Abe, a top official at NEDO, the national institute in charge of coordinating science research and development. "People are and will be living alongside robots, which are seen here as more than just machines. This is all about AI" -- artificial intelligence, Abe said -- "about the creation of something that is not human, but can be a complement or companion to humans in society. That future is happening here now.""
NEDO has an impressively futuristic display of its Next-Generation Robots at the International Expo 2005, Aichi Japan, where a visitor discovers that the robots are : " rapping, protecting your kids, securing your home, and providing you with insight into long-extinct species. More than 100 different robots are on display at the Expo, and the NEDO pavilion is home to many of them. The robots I encountered there range from souped-up wheelchairs and cute, cuddly child-care robots to the Actroid reception robot, which speaks four languages and has an eerily humanlike appearance. ... Strolling around Expo 2005 made it seem that robots could quickly and easily become a natural part of life. Everyone who saw them was fascinated and happily excited, and it's hard to argue with the convenience of self-driving vehicles, cleanup gadgets, and children's entertainment that doesn't come in the form of a TV. I know robots won't enter our homes overnight, but ... Robot companions are an inevitable part of the future."
An example of that future can be seen in the case of Paro, a robotic baby harp seal, developed with government funding as an experiment in providing therapy for the rapidly increasing population of elderly who suffer from loneliness and depression. It seems to be having positive results; at least in the view of one nursing home resident: "Kasuya, 89, who cradled a seal robot while singing it a lullaby on a recent afternoon.
"I have no grandchildren and my family does not come to see me very often," said Kasuya, clutching fast to the baby seal robot wiggling in her arms. "So I have her," she said, pointing to the seal. "She is so cute, and is always happy to see me.""
Well, my third grandchild arrived safely last month and another son tells us to expect a fourth by the end of the year. So, I'm not rushing out to buy one of these ; but it's nice to have a back-up plan.
While utility robots may look boxy and clunky, some more companionable models are Humanoids With Attitude , as exhibited recently when Ms Saya, a well-dressed perky receptionist at a Japanese University, failed to welcome a visitor: " a professor stormed up to Saya and dished out a harsh reprimand.
"You're so stupid!" said the professor, Hiroshi Kobayashi, towering over her desk. "Eh?" she responded, her face wrinkling into a scowl. "I tell you, I am not stupid!"
Truth is, Saya isn't even human. But in a country where robots are changing the way people live, work, play and even love, that doesn't stop Saya the cyber-receptionist from defending herself from men who are out of line. With voice recognition technology allowing 700 verbal responses and an almost infinite number of facial expressions from joy to despair, surprise to rage, Saya may not be biological -- but she is nobody's fool.
"I almost feel like she's a real person," said Kobayashi, an associate professor at the Tokyo University of Science and Saya's inventor. .....
"We have reached the point in Japan of a major breakthrough in the use of robot technology and our society is changing as a result," said Kazuya Abe, a top official at NEDO, the national institute in charge of coordinating science research and development. "People are and will be living alongside robots, which are seen here as more than just machines. This is all about AI" -- artificial intelligence, Abe said -- "about the creation of something that is not human, but can be a complement or companion to humans in society. That future is happening here now.""
NEDO has an impressively futuristic display of its Next-Generation Robots at the International Expo 2005, Aichi Japan, where a visitor discovers that the robots are : " rapping, protecting your kids, securing your home, and providing you with insight into long-extinct species. More than 100 different robots are on display at the Expo, and the NEDO pavilion is home to many of them. The robots I encountered there range from souped-up wheelchairs and cute, cuddly child-care robots to the Actroid reception robot, which speaks four languages and has an eerily humanlike appearance. ... Strolling around Expo 2005 made it seem that robots could quickly and easily become a natural part of life. Everyone who saw them was fascinated and happily excited, and it's hard to argue with the convenience of self-driving vehicles, cleanup gadgets, and children's entertainment that doesn't come in the form of a TV. I know robots won't enter our homes overnight, but ... Robot companions are an inevitable part of the future."
An example of that future can be seen in the case of Paro, a robotic baby harp seal, developed with government funding as an experiment in providing therapy for the rapidly increasing population of elderly who suffer from loneliness and depression. It seems to be having positive results; at least in the view of one nursing home resident: "Kasuya, 89, who cradled a seal robot while singing it a lullaby on a recent afternoon.
"I have no grandchildren and my family does not come to see me very often," said Kasuya, clutching fast to the baby seal robot wiggling in her arms. "So I have her," she said, pointing to the seal. "She is so cute, and is always happy to see me.""
Well, my third grandchild arrived safely last month and another son tells us to expect a fourth by the end of the year. So, I'm not rushing out to buy one of these ; but it's nice to have a back-up plan.
