Cool Japanese Robot

[miraclefan]

^
Except the natural urge to procreate isn't just going to go away.

I don't know, every year worldwide, In ''ALL'' the devoloped countrie's the birth rates are plumiting, the only people that seam to be reproducing are those who shuld not have kids, and those Religeus ''Fanatics'' who just want to take over the world thru ''sheer numbers''

MiracleFan,

You know once A.I.'s Get to ''Human'' level Inteligance & work out all the kinks, poeple will begin to create there ''perfect'' mates! Think about it, why bother dateing when you can create the perfect ''SEX'' object! It's coming people.

Is that *really* a good idea?

Just so I'M clear, I'm Agan' ROBO-SECSUAL Marrige, it ain't NATRUL!

 

[Capt. Vulcan]

One upgrade to the ASIMO is they were able to do without the huge backpack that ASIMO has.

 

[hyzmarca]

Cost efficiency, the same reason we have automated factories and coin-operated beverage dispensers. You don't need to pay a robot. So, if you get a robot that can do the job just as well as a human can, and which costs significantly less than a human's salary and benefits over the robot's lifetime, then getting the robot would be the wise thing to do.

We already have all sorts of devices that do this.

There is no further cost efficiency to be had by making them look human.

An automated bartender that looks like a cute girl instead of a machine has had only one function added to it, and that is the function of a plaything of one sort or another.

A bartender's job is more than just pouring drinks. A bartender's job is to keep the customer's drinking. That means being able to hold a decent conversation. When you're talking to someone face-to-face, it is much more comfortable if that person actually has a face.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

A bartender's job is more than just pouring drinks. A bartender's job is to keep the customer's drinking. That means being able to hold a decent conversation. When you're talking to someone face-to-face, it is much more comfortable if that person actually has a face.

We have units that do this already.

We call them "people."

I'm sorry, but explaining in a backward fashion, over and over, that there are jobs that people are better suited to than machines does not constitute a credible argument that there is any good reason for building machines that are replicas of human beings...except as toys of one kind or another.

 

[Rosalind]

Actually, Prof Asada's lab in Osaka University has a much more realistic android (yes, it is called an android instead of a robot) than the one here. they put her on show in a Japanese technology fair, and most people didn't even realise she wasn't real. and this was at least three years ago.

Prof Asada gave a talk at our lab when he came over to Australia, and the work they do there is very impressive.

As for what use these humanoid robot have? Well, for one thing, Japan has a population that's getting older much faster than the rest of the world, and they just don't have the human resources (or they soon won't be) to take care of their old people. Their study showed if the robot is realistic enough, the old people won't be able to tell the difference. Also the Japanese see robots in a very different light than western culture, in general Japanese see robots more in the light of Astroboy than Terminator.

 

[CuttingEdge100]

Rosalind,

Do you have any pictures of Professor Asada's robot/android?

BTW: Regardless of how the Japanese see robots, there still is a danger that comes with creating a machine that possesses intelligence and self-awareness.

CuttingEdge100

 

[ancient]

Research like this is very interesting and useful. I'm sure it will help in the development of lighter and more functional limb replacements for humans. Building a robot like this with fully functioning robotic limbs is a great way to get people intersted in those research areas.

If it helps develop better AIs that's a good thing too. An intelligent robot isn't any more dangerous than an intelligent human, and once again, knowing how to build something that mimics brain functions may one day help people with crippling brain or spine injuries. I hope so anyway.

Jeeze, for a Trek forum we sure have a lot of technophobes.

 

[CuttingEdge100]

Ancient,

I'm not a technophobe. In fact if you actually have ever watched Star Trek you'll know that there have been cases where technology was developed and they decided not to persue it for ethical reasons and/or safety reasons. Technology that was beneficial they developed of course.


CuttingEdge100

 

[Rosalind]

Rosalind,

Do you have any pictures of Professor Asada's robot/android?

Here's the link to their lab's page on androids:
http://www.ed.ams.eng.osaka-u.ac.jp/development/0006/

and I was wrong about researcher involved, Prof. Hiroshi Ishiguro is the main researcher on the project and he was the one who gave a talk at our lab, Prof Asada is the head of their lab.

BTW: Regardless of how the Japanese see robots, there still is a danger that comes with creating a machine that possesses intelligence and self-awareness.

sure there is, there are risks to every research we do. I believe most researchers involved take safty and reliability very seriously, because if something went wrong, if a robot caused some injury to a human being, then it will cause a huge set back to robotic research and nobody in the research community wants that.

 

[CuttingEdge100]

Rosalind,

Fascinating. The last robot looked quite human-like although I can actually tell it's fake.

While all research carries risks, and there are risks to everything done, however some research and some actions carry much more risks than others.

I am not entirely sure that most researchers have seriously weighed the ethical ramifications of what they are doing and it appears to me that they are acting quite short-sightedly.

 

[Rosalind]

seriously, I say this as someone who is in the robotics community, we are a loooooooooong way from developing intelligent robot, most people are still trying to figure out some of the very basic stuff.

As for telling that android is fake or not, well, that's because you're watching close up videos and photos, a lot of people couldn't tell she wasn't real at the expo because they weren't expecting one and they were looking directly. Prof Ishiguro talked about how "real" the android seems when he gave his talk, and one of the points was how still the android is, people move all the time, but androids don't.

 

[CuttingEdge100]

Rosalind,

May I ask what kind of work you do in the robotics community (assuming it's not classified or something)?


CuttingEdge100

 

[Rosalind]

nope, nothing classified. I do research in machine learning, I used to do visions (e.g. identifying objects in pictures) but these couple of years I've in anomaly detection.

 

[BolianAuthor]

The institute said the robot "has been developed mainly for use in the entertainment industry"

Uh oh... I'm thinking that might not be the best thing, considering it's the Japanese entertainment industry.

 

[CuttingEdge100]

Japanese Entertainment Industry? You mean they want to use this as an actor?

 

[Myasishchev]

Rosalind,

Do you have any pictures of Professor Asada's robot/android?

BTW: Regardless of how the Japanese see robots, there still is a danger that comes with creating a machine that possesses intelligence and self-awareness.

CuttingEdge100

People have children all the time.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Research like this is very interesting and useful. I'm sure it will help in the development of lighter and more functional limb replacements for humans. Building a robot like this with fully functioning robotic limbs is a great way to get people intersted in those research areas.

Damn, that's the first actual relevant suggestion for any useful application of this stuff. I'm impressed.

 

[CuttingEdge100]

Myasischev,

People have children all the time.

That's not entirely an accurate assumption. A robot would not be the same as a human being and not being a human would not feel the same empathy towards other humans that humans have towards each other, and it would not identify itself as a human.

Even if it was programmed to do so, it would eventually realize it wasn't a human and as a result would stop identifying with humans.


CuttingEdge100