Hitachi Unveils Humanoid Robot

HunahpuMonkey writes "BBC reports that Hitachi has unveiled a humanoid robot, named Emiew, to compete with Honda's Asimo and Sony's Qrio robots. The robot has a vocabulary of about 100 words and could be trained for practical office and factory use. In addition, it is the fastest robot to date, moving 3.7 miles per hour on wheel feet which resemble the bottom half of a Segway scooter."

I think the saddest part about this...

[ciroknight]

Is that the only companies willing to do any practical research in robotics is car companies because they use robotics on such a daily basis (the building of cars, of course).

Not only that, robotics is one of the most fun branches of modern computing and engineering, and yet so few engineers actually go into it. It's a shame we aren't meeting up with more robots in real life (Fast foods should be relegated to robotics by now, as the food quality tends to resemble it)...

Robot on a segway

[mzwaterski]

Its a robot on a segway...

I like the idea, but does it fall over and break when the batteries die? Are they going to add a third wheel for safety reasons. (LOL)

What's the big deal about humanoid robots?

[Noose For A Neck]

I'm not robotics expert, I'm just an engineering student, but it seems to me that humanoid robots are a sort of marketing victory more than being a genuine breakthrough.

Most industrial robots I've seen don't need a humanoid form at all, and I can imagine several cases were the humanoid form is actually an impairment to getting work done. Why not go with more structurally efficient designs, like a spider, instead of focusing on bipedal bots for uses requiring ambulation?

Ok so what are these good for.

[Dimentox]

Can it do my laundry? Can it Walk the dog? Can it cook my meals? Hrmm... Guess its not a replacement for Wife 1.0, I never shoulda upgraded in the first place.

Re:I think the saddest part about this...

[Lisandro]

Actually, i find these robot anouncements by major electronic companies pure PR moves. Yes, they look cool and can do nifty things - but they aren't much good for anything else. We're still a far cry away from humanoid robots to become common, and, more important, useful.

Specialized robots, like you mentioned, it's a whole different deal, and i agree. Automatized construction is the only industry i can think of that invest heavily in robotic research - we could use specialzed robots elsewhere.

Re:Why don't we have a robotics industry?

[ciroknight]

My thoughts exactly. Imagine how much faster things would be if I could go to a McDonalds, punch in what I wanted on the screen, swipe my card, and wait for the robots to put the food together. You could reduce the staff of such an operation from ten people to two, and the food quality would be identical. Of course, this would also be upfront cost for the companies, and would hurt the economy undoubtedly as it would require the firing of multiple thousands of people, but we'd have a progress in technology.

I guess to sum it up best, I WANT MY DAMNED FLYING CAR.

Slow Learners

[hopbine]

could be "trained" for practical office and factory use in as little as five to six years. Or is this how long it normally takes.....

Re:Cog and Kismet

[filmmaker]

Your VCR also actually works. It also has an extremely limited and unambitious feature set.

That's not to say that the Japanese robots aren't major accomplishments; they are. So is a VCR, if you think about it. Just not when you stack it up against the goal of creating true AI, which is what Cog is all about, "humanoid intelligence."

Holding office

[Onan]

I first misread the summary as, "...has a vocabulary of about 100 words and could be trained for political office use..."

(Of course, my first thought was that that's vastly overqualified for what it apparently takes to be elected President these days.)

Re:Why don't we have a robotics industry?

[UWC]

Back in the mid/late '90s, there was a Taco Bell near me that installed touch screen ordering stations. You'd get your receipt with a number on it, and a few minutes later you'd hear your number called and maybe barely glimpse a human figure darting back behind the large wall that completely obscured the kitchen area. Then you'd retrieve your order from the very small counter where your food had been placed. In retrospect it was an odd clinical dehumanization of something still carried out by humans. Unless there were robots back there, I guess, one of which was dressed in a purple shirt and a wig.

Re:What's the big deal about humanoid robots?

[e2d2]

Why not go with more structurally efficient designs, like a spider, instead of focusing on bipedal bots for uses requiring ambulation?

As long as it has a face I can punch I don't care what shape it comes in.

But in all seriousness I do agree, the quest for human shaped robots is intriguing. We are obviously not the most able bodied creatures when it comes to our "form factor", our superiority is not in our shape but in our huge monkey brain.

Maybe it's to out people at ease, but I for one do _not_ welcome our new humanoid robot overlords. It creeps me out when things that don't have a soul start talking to me. Call me crazy.

Re:What's the big deal about humanoid robots?

[hauntedspaceship]

Because our environment is designed and optimized for humans. By creating robots that resemble us (same actuators (hands), ability to understand and speak our language, see what we can see), then they already can operate in our environment.

There is also the idea of robot-human interaction: would you rather interact with Asimo or a spider?

Re:What's the big deal about humanoid robots?

[utexaspunk]

because what they want to move toward are all-purpose robots capable of serving in a variety of environments shared with humans. most of these environments are currently designed for humans. obviously the best form factor for maneuvering such an environment and manipulating objects designed for humans would be that of a human.

that, and they look way cool...

Actually...

[GuyMannDude]

To me, the saddest part about all this is that the only companies willing to do any practical research in robotics are Japanese car companies because they look farther into the future than the next quarterly earnings report. The Japanese car companies are pumping R&D dollars into developing new technologies that will help them in the long run. The American car companies are taking that money and pumping it into bonuses for CEOs so they can buy a new ivory backscracther every year.

Face it, we just don't have the drive to improve that companies in other countries do.

GMD

Re:Actually...

[vikstar]

To me, the saddest part is that they call a robot on wheels humanoid. Excuse me, but being a researcher in robots, if it doesn't have two legs, its not humanoid.

Re:Actually...

[isil]

...or perhaps it has something to do with the UAW?