Last week’s New York Auto Show saw Honda make a robot – and not a car – the centerpiece of its press conference. Even though it had a very important new product to introduce, Honda instead chose to have ASIMO do a song and dance number, and then promptly depart in the middle, due to (an admittedly adorable) case of “stage fright”.
For years, many thought that ASIMO was a foray into the world of robotics for Honda. Japan’s demographic profile means that an unprecedented number of elderly people will populate the country by 2050, with an equal lack of young people to care for them. The need for innovations in elderly care is significant, and humanoid robots like ASIMO were envisioned as a possible solution. Aside from performing necessary tasks, the level of artificial intelligence is high enough that ASIMO can interact with a human – according to Bloomberg, things like tracking multiple conversations are already part of ASIMO’s capabilities, and engineers are teaching the robot to distinguish between someone passing by, and someone who wants to stop and chat. These technologies might have automotive applications too
“Made of magnesium alloy covered with white plastic resin, Asimo is fitted with eight microphones, 14 power sensors that read the direction and amount of force, sonic-wave sensors that detect obstacles as far as three meters (almost 10 feet) away, and two stereo cameras that can sweep 120 degrees.
That information is processed by software that lets the robot negotiate obstacles and interpret postures, gestures and faces. Honda researchers are fine-tuning Asimo’s ability to distinguish between a person walking past and one who wants to stop and chat, said Kawagishi.
That’s the sort of judgment capability that can be applied to cars: Asimo’s image-processing technology can recognize whether a pedestrian is leaning forward to cross a street. Artificial intelligence software can judge quickly enough to react, said Yoshiharu Yamamoto, the president of Honda R&D.”
Stereo cameras, like Subaru’s EyeSight, are already in certain production cars, while Honda has experimented with them on autonomous vehicle prototypes. As Bloomberg notes, adapting these capabilities to the higher speeds of automobiles will be a challenge for Honda’s engineers. More interesting is the use of ASIMO’s stability systems (such as self-centering to prevent the robot from falling) on future motorcycles. But that’s a discussion best left for those acquainted with two wheels as well as two legs…
For decades I’ve scoffed at the fear of a remilitarized, revanchist Japan. Hell, the few combat-age males they still produce are mostly hikikomori.
But watching videos of this thing…. how many could they produce?
Creepiest is that they never straighten their legs… like they’re always poised to pounce.
“Creepiest is that they never straighten their legs… like they’re always poised to pounce.”
Or, something other than “pounce” – see this Conan O’Brien clip (@ the 2:55 mark).
Uhhh… we’ve been looking at pictures of Honda’s Johnny #5 for how long now?
Another couple of years, it’s going to be man versus machine.
“It’s the end of the world as we know it…”
Robot drivers are a wasted effort. It’s the “Actroid” “Gynoids” with built in fleshlights that Japan needs to concentrate on.
American bio-engineers are ahead of them:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/woman-engineered-vagina-normal-life/story?id=23386752
I saw this story already on Engadget, but what we need isn’t another fleshlight competitor, we need FEMBOTS.
Then again, you know what you’re going to hear… Not tonight babe, my battery is low. Not tonight, I’m upgrading my firmware..
Gynoids don’t get to say no.
All you gotta do is hold their sleep & power button for 3 seconds and then have your way with em.
Honda please go back to making great, desirable, affordable, reliable cars like you used to and put you in the automotive map!
Accord Sport, Civic SI.
My work here is done.
> Aside from performing necessary tasks, the level of artificial intelligence is high enough that ASIMO can interact with a human – according to Bloomberg, things like tracking multiple conversations are already part of ASIMO’s capabilities
Instead of comedically reporting these things as human-lite or anything from sci-fi, the media should recognize they’re just computers running programs that do some very simple/specific tasks reasonably well, not unlike Excel drawing graphs.
One of Japan’s biggest mistakes in losing their momentum was putting far too much r&d resources into the private eng sector instead of actual science.
As it turns out creating a functional robot or any sufficiently complex computer requires solving far hard problems than making marginally better walkmans until they sprout arms.
Hey there have you heard about my robot friend?
He’s metal and small and doesn’t judge me at all.
He’s a cyberwired bundle of joy.
My robot friend.
He says: Feels like I’m wearing, nothin’ at all; nothin’ at all; nothin’ at all
Is that a “Stupid Sexy Flanders” reference?
Indeed it is.
The only robot that a US President has ever bowed to, or played soccer with.
I’d happilly pay a hefty sum for a video clip of a crazed individual with a press pass to run up and punch the robot in its little Honda Robotic shield-thingy face, then flee the scene…
Pictures snapping away. Reporters gasping, shocked in disbelief.
Ahhh. It would be stupendous.
ASIMO has a Samurai robot buddy, named Toshiro, standing by in case he gets attacked.
I’m not sure what’s so exciting about Asimo in 2014 (it would have been exciting in 1994) when in 2014 we have Boston Dynamic’s Atlas.
Distinguishing whether people want to stop for a chat or passer by? Oh please, a voice recognition on extra processing power would be sufficient and not that hard to do.
Japanese makes great robots (Panasonic for example) just like the German, but please, ask your engineers to do something useful and profit making instead of polishing something like this year over year.
Take it from a robot, the japanese do fine on new ones.
This is from the Darpa Robot-Human Challenge (in spirit of the former Robot-Car one):
youtube.com/watch?v=as5-sCAx2fE
This Honda Robot needs a beak grill on its head.
Or due for a mid-cycle refresh.
This is all going to be “Robot and Frank” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4y8YAMPFhk
‘Are you John Connor? , born February 28, 1985? It seems you have missed a payment on your 2021 Accord Hybrid coupe…’
What will happen – there will come some start up, like Apple, most likely from Valley with a disruptive new technology which will make all these ASIMOs obsolete. New robots will be much more simpler, much smarter and much more relevant and practical. My advice to Honda – better stick to what you can do the best – engines with a lot of precision mechanical parts. Sony also thought they own the world until iPods/iPhones/iMacs and Samsung TVs and gadgets came along. Now Sony is selling Valio and is not even in fast growing business anymore.
Some of the comments talk of the Japanese with autonomous vehicles. The US also manufactures and business are using autonomous technology.
Here’s a very interesting link to read.
I’ve mentioned how the world is changing and rapidly.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-25/computer-controlled-trucks-taking-over-in-pilbara-mining-wa/5412642?section=business