A Robot Carries Humans, Another One Plays Flute

Roland Piquepaille writes "The New Scientist says that a robot able to carry humans was demonstrated in Tokyo. The robot, developed at Waseda University in Tokyo and the Japanese robotics company tmsuk, 'uses 12 actuators to move forwards, backwards and sideways while carrying an adult weighing up to 60 kilograms (130 pounds).' It will be used 'in the fields of welfare, as an alternative to wheelchairs, which can go up and down stairs.' The Takanishi Laboratory carries other projects, including a flutist robot. More details and references are contained in this overview, which also includes a picture of the flutist robot in concert."

I am the pusher robot

[Anonymous Coward]

I push people down the stairs.

I am the shover robot - I shove people down the stairs

Re:I am the pusher robot

[Bagels]

No, it's "I am the shover robot - I shove bread down their throats."

We are here to protect you.

Re:I am the pusher robot

[jovlinger]

the pusher robot shoves
the shover robot pushes

Do you have stairs in your house?

Flutist robot

[essreenim]

The flute robot for me is far more impressive. It uses more intricate actuators, like fingers. It obviously has to to this quickly and precisely to play the flute properly - cool

Re:I am the pusher robot

[Saeger]

Lamest. Meme. Ever.

(Glad it's dead.)

--

Re:I am the pusher robot

[Guppy06]

"I push people down the stairs."

Do you then blame it on the dog?

I'm beginning to like this kid...

Re:I am the pusher robot

[TyrranzzX]

No, pushing the humans down the stares is the way to save them from the teereble secret of time and space.

No, Shoving the humans is the answer

No, pushing them is

No, shoving

...

Either way, we're fucked.

Feather humans

[plip]

Great, at 130 pounds the American population is out of luck.

Re:Feather humans

[Anonymous Coward]

I, for one, welcome our giant-yet-weak mech overlords.

Works for Me!

[Bill, Shooter of Bul]

I'm a slim 120 Lbs. Looks like I'm getting out alive!

130 lbs?

[Valiss]

while carrying an adult weighing up to 60 kilograms (130 pounds)

Only 130lbs?! Looks like I'll be carrying the robot on my way out of the burning building.

Actually, there is one American this will work for

[unassimilatible]

Actually, he's only 120, and I think he [sbsheriff.org] likes robots too.

Re:130 lbs?

[Shark]

Our [etsmtl.ca] hydromas model has been able to do that for a while now, though it doesn't have a seat so it wouldn't be too comfortable.

Re:130 lbs?

[8tim8]

The idea is to buy two and have them carry you in a kind of sling between them, a la ancient Egyptian royalty. Perhaps another could be modified to gently wave a plam frond at you.

Sw33t...

[OtakuHawk]

If it can teach Physics, then my Physics teacher has now been outsourced..

No knees

[penguinoid]

Sorry, mr robot, without knees having legs is probably worse than wheels.

Re:No knees

[penguinoid]

I see. That's not as bad as I thought, then, but is still wose than knees. Knees would allow it to climb steps

Great!

[Pingular]

a robot able to carry humans was demonstrated in Tokyo
I know of another robot that can carry humans AND at up to speeds of 300mph. It's called a car.

Re:Great!

[Pingular]

Really? And is your "robot" able to not crash into firm immovable objects without you turning the steering wheel and pushing the pedals?
Yes [unizh.ch].

Re:Great!

[CausticWindow]

Yeah.. and the remote controlled things they play with in robot wars are also robots!

Dude, lay of the brown blotters.

wow.

[RevRa]

Pretty neat. I wonder how long before they combine this with a realdoll? Think of the possibilities! :-)

Do you have stairs in your house?

[Fancia]

We must protect you from the terrible secret of space.

Get in and out of bed

[hermango]

What is needed is a robot that will help disabled people get in and out of bed. My aunt has a disabled child who is wheelchair bound and needs help getting in and out of bed. So when they get an all-purpose walking/moving/assisting robot that will do those tasks, then they'll have something with a BIG market!

Well, here's an idea

[mcc]

Why don't we just make the bed itself a robot? [animeworld.com]

Oh wait that's already been tried.

Re:Get in and out of bed

[nfk]

Forget disabled people! I'd love to have a device to get out of bed myself.

Guess they let the intern write this one.

[Kaboom13]

Is it just me, or does this article sound like it was written by a five year old?

Re:I want one that can carry me and play my flute

[MisanthropicProggram]

Yuk! Not those. On the other hand, if they can make it look like Brook Burke .. ooooohhhhh

60 kilograms?

[skaffen42]

So it's not going to be much use over here in McUSA then... :)

Re:60 kilograms?

[gardyloo]

That's because we can't convert from kg to lb!

Re:60 kilograms?

[penguinoid]

Ahem. Convert from lb to kg

Is it expensive ?

[jdifool]

Coz I'd like to rent both of them for my grandma's funerals...

jdif

What?

[zephc]

A robot that can carry me? And here I am, using my OWN legs like a chump.

Bit late isnt it?

[herulach]

Surely this [bbc.co.uk] Covers the climbing up stairs thing, not to mention the reaching high places, as well as not looking quite so conspicuous as being carried round by a dirty great robot when youre out shopping.

welfare?

[Anonymous Coward]

"will be used 'in the fields of welfare, as an alternative to wheelchairs"

How can a cool expensive robot like that be used for welfare? Are they giving them away to crippled children in vietnam, who has had their legs blown off by a mine? While that certainly would be nice, I can think of better use of the money for the same purpose: buying 100 times more wheelchairs to the children.

Re:welfare?

[bug-eyed monster]

I'm guessing by "welfare" they really mean "healthcare." Looks like that quote comes from this page [waseda.ac.jp]. That organization is Japanese and it's possible they don't quite understand the meaning of some English words. To some people for whom English is a foreign language, "welfare" sounds like "well fare" or the pursuit of making sick people well, so they assume "welfare" is the same as "healthcare." Basically, it's the internet being the meeting place of people from many cultures. Give them the benefit of doubt.

Re:welfare?

[BJH]

The Japanese word they'd be using is 'fukushi', which is generally translated as 'welfare'.

Wheelchairs that can climb stairs already invented

[diamond0]

Wheelchairs can climb stairs [dekaresearch.com]

same technology, inventor, and company as the Segway.

Oh Oh, You Know Where This is Going?

[Greyfox]

Pretty soon they'll be wanting voting rights and they'll be forming unions. Then Ford will have to outsource their car manufacturing overseas where the robots work for less and aren't held to the same stringent emissions standards we have here. It's just a downward spiral from here, folks...

max weight 130 lbs?

[diamond0]

Don't most adult humans weigh more than 130 pounds?

Re:max weight 130 lbs?

[penguinoid]

Disabled people tend to weigh less. Unless they excercise, of course :-)

Re:max weight 130 lbs?

[foniksonik]

Not in Japan!

High center of gravity

[PhotoGuy]

Wow, it looks like the human carrying robot has an awfully high center of gravity to me. I'd feel uncomfortable sitting up there even when it's at rest.

I understand that for climbing stairs and such, some extension would be required, but surely using a different kind of base (multi-sectioned telescoping sections?) would make it a little lower in general?

Re:High center of gravity

[Have Blue]

It also looks like it's much taller than a wheelchair. A person unable to walk or stand would probably also be unable to get on or off of the robot without human assistance.

Re:High center of gravity

[penguinoid]

Something like a spider would work

Flute-playing robot? Very old-hat!

[hexatron]

Unbelievably old-hat. A flute-playing automaton was constructed before 1750. Search for Vaucanson (the inventor) and flute (the instrument)--it's no secret, though the current developers fail to mention this prior art.

Re:Flute-playing robot? Very old-hat!

[_Sexy_Pants_]

Old hat? Look, the bowler never goes out of style. In fact, I'm proud to see that robots are starting to sport them too

Shielding electronics

[imnoteddy]

I hope they are careful about shielding their electonics. I knew a guy who was a high level quadriplegic who steered his electic wheel chair with his chin. One day he was in a subway station and as a train came up the strong electromagnetic fields caused his chair to go geserk. He was *very* frightened. Someone grabbed his chair and turned it off.

Re:Shielding electronics

[Lord_Dweomer]

While I feel very sorry for your friend who had the misfortune to be in this situation, and while I hope you don't perceive this post as a troll, I do have to admit this is one of the funniest things I've pictured in my mind in the past month.

Just some guy in a subway waiting for a train in an electric wheelchair, and then suddenly having the wheelchair go nuts and start spinning and moving all over the place makes me fall to the ground laughing every time I think it over in my head.

The time is nigh...

[damiena]

They came, they carried, they conquered.

alternate pic

[binarybum]

A better image is available here [amazon.com].

heh

[ShadowRage]

I'm 140 lbs...

damnit.

now I cant have a robot I can ride to do all the dirty work.

Vaucanson (As seen in Mason & Dixon)

[agrippa_cash]

This is certainly interesting, but people have been building single task robots for over 200 years. [database.com]We really should have mechas by now.

Read that as ...

[RebelWithoutAClue]

... in fields of warfare, instead of wheelchairs.

...mumble....coffee...mumble...late night....

130 pounds?

[iantri]

I know the Japanese are fairly small (in general), but only up to 130 pounds??

Yikes!

A very important step forward

[cdn-programmer]

The comments I read were really lame. This is an important step forward folks.

A practical walking machine should probably have 6 legs and be able to trott like a horse. Imagine how useful such a machine would be for mineral exploration. When such a machine can scale a scree slope then this means that mankind will not have to hike in 20 miles in order to check out a claim.

A machine that can walk over windfalls would be more fun than a bike.

I think the OpenSource community can program one. But I've not heard of any takers. If we could even simulate a walking machine we'd be well on the way because actually building the actuators is not going to be very difficult... what is difficult is writing the code to control them.

Uhm, compatable hardware?

[zCyl]

I think the OpenSource community can program one. But I've not heard of any takers. If we could even simulate a walking machine we'd be well on the way because actually building the actuators is not going to be very difficult... what is difficult is writing the code to control them.

Find us a hundred copies of the same robot at an affordable price. Until then the open source development model isn't really going to work like it does with computers.

these "robots" had already existed

[sewagemaster]

"forwards, backwards and sideways while carrying an adult weighing up to 60 kilograms (130 pounds)"

includes a picture of the flutist robot in concert

i thought they already had one, called the realdoll [realdoll.com]? :D

The fluitist is a fake...

[KiDas]

I think they have everyone fooled. Note the speakers and subwoofer [waseda.ac.jp] at the bottom of the pic. ;) Why whould a flute playing robot need speakers?

Seriously though, this is very impressive. From the lung to the lips and mouth like piece that makes the air come out is if from a normal mouth, it's amazing. I'd like to hear how it sounds and I'd be interested in the software that was made to convert the midi notes into breath strength/time and the finger movements.

Re:The fluitist is a fake...

[Technician]

I think they have everyone fooled. Note the speakers and subwoofer at the bottom of the pic. ;) Why whould a flute playing robot need speakers?

Wrong,

Go back and finish the article. It's part of the lung breath control. Since when does a subwoofer reproduce flute tones? If there were midrange and tweeters, then I might suspect foul play. In paticular, look at figure 7 labled vibrating mechanism. It's for expression and vibrato.

Vaucanson book and Pathetic

[hexatron]

There is a good pretty-new book about old automata--Gaby Woods "Edison's Eve" (at Amazon). It mentions the Japanese flute-player--apparently the Japanese researcher simply didn't believe Vaucanson was possible
How could they not have researched previous art before starting the flute-player in 1990? Duplicating a 252-year-old invention is pathetic. And it seems, except for replacing adjustible cams with computer control and adding motors, that is all the Japanese did.

Adult?

[Espectr0]

carrying an adult weighing up to 60 kilograms (130 pounds).

What "adult" weighs 60 kilos? Guess the "wear-pocket-protector-to-protect-their-pocket-pro tector) type

I can't believe no one has noticed this yet....

[ziggy_zero]

it's FLOUTIST!

Re:I can't believe no one has noticed this yet....

[dtiberius]

Actually, it's "flautist."

If you're going to be pedantic, at least be right.

Robot that acts as a wheelchair?

[rolocroz]

Dean Kamen, the guy who invented the Segway, also created the IBOT [independencenow.com], a wheelchair that can climb stairs and rise up to put disabled people at eye level of standing people. It's a pretty amazing invention. Did I mention that it can hold up to 250 pounds?

If They Ever Allied with...

[Monkey Liar]

the Daleks from Doctor who, not even stairs will save us from extermination!

Disappointed!

[payndz]

Although the pic shows it's a walking wheelchair, I was hoping for an Asimo-type bot that would save the pretty Japanese girl from a burning building, give a thumbs-up to the cameras and then down a bottle of Olde Fortran before activating its death ray eyes and going on a killing spree. Oh my, yes...

Military applications anyone?

[DominicDuval]

Scale this thing 10 times larger, attach a couple of guns, put a soldier in it and you're ready to shoot a lot of sentinels :)

Average Japanese Mass( in kg)

[oddmake]

just for your reference.

Japanese Resource for average mass [rehab.go.jp]

English translation [worldlingo.com]

# all numbers are killo

Generally,60kg(130lbs)lift strength is not enough for Japanese men.(Good for Japanese women)]

A flute playing robot you say?

[disntrstd]

I've been waiting for one of these all my life. It seems like women have finally become obsolete. I just wonder if any of the lab technicians have discovered any of the "alternate" uses for this fantastic robot.

roujin z

[dtiberius]

hmmm.

Roujin Z [animeworld.com] anyone? Better think twice before giving this to the senile elderly.

Re:roujin z

[dnahelix]

I recently saw this movie and really enjoyed it.
The anime was a little weak, but kind of an interesting style, and the English VO was kind of blah
I think it would have been better if Katsuhiro Otomo had also directed it.
... aka Rojin Z [imdb.com] (/. is weak, won't let me put the ^ over the o)

Missing the point

[stjobe]

I think you're missing the point with the carrying robot -- it is biped.
Yes, take a look at that photo again, and count the legs. One, two.

"I believe this biped robot, which I prefer to call a two-legged walking chair rather than a wheelchair, will eventually enable people to go up and down the stairs," said Atsuo Takanishi, from Waseda University.

Sure, it can only carry 60 kg.
Sure, it can only lift it's legs a few millimetres at the moment.
But damn! It's biped and it's capable of carrying a (shiftin

This was foretold in Lessor Revelations

[ElHorrendo]

As most of you know the flute playing robot was foretold in Lesser Revelations 1:824

[am] he that liveth and come unto you breathing the steely pipe, I am dead but behold I stand beside you evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and the mournful wail

This means we have but one year before the arrival of bagpipe player L-Revelations 1:873:

[am] he that liveth and come unto you breathing the bag of stick, I am dead but lead the march upon you evermore, Amen; by two we herald the armies of the undea