Japan and Robots

[Tetsuwan Penguin]

Have you ever wondered why the Japanese seem so fond of Robots? Japan has an inverse problem with population from China, their birthrate has declined and they now face an aging population. One idea being pursured is 'service robots' to help with home care of the aging as they are facing a shortage of health care workers for the purpose. A few years ago there was a proposal for a government sponsered project to create a robot with the intelligence of a young child (I think the age was between 5 and 9 years old). The project was named "project Atom" after Tezuka's Manga character.

I've seen some interesting uses for robots recently. One new idea is what is called a 'telepresence' robot. This is a robot that can be operated remotely over the internet. It has two way video and audio and is intended to allow a person to attend classes or a meeting by remote control. Some versions of this allow the robot to manipulate objects under the control of the person at the other end of the link. Usually, there are TV screens and cameras at both ends of the link so that the people in the room with the robot can see the person at the remote end (and visa versa). These robots are nothing more than mobile video phones on steroids.


I can imagine a telepresense robot that has stereo vision (dual cameras) mounted in a robot head as eyes, along with stereo microphones in the robot's ears. This would be a one way video link and a two way audio link, the robot is now an 'Avatar' for the remote operator who would be wearing a virtual reality type headset and gloves so he could operate the robots hands and turn it's head by moving his. There could even be tactile feed back between the operator's gloves and the robot's hands to make for more realistic manipulation of remote objects.

How would you like to be controlling your own telepresense robot over the internet? (Especially one that looked just like our favorite robot hero?)

[jeffbert]

I recall seeing a listing on CD JAPAN for a film about a boy who attended school via a telepresence robot, but that was years ago. I think NASA intends to replace EVAs with robots, because the time needed to acclimate the body to the lower air pressure in the space suit can be critical. When something requires immediate attention, & nobody is ready to go, somebody will get the bends. Remote controlled 'robots' or telepresence 'robots' will eliminate the problem.