The humanoid robot Sophia promises people a better world. Robots are humanoids
A team of robotics researchers from the University of Tokyo have completed what is easily the most complex and advanced humanoid robot to date. Moreover, there are two examples of such robots in the world, Kengoro, which we have already told our readers about, and Kenshiro.
And after watching the video below, you might be surprised to see how far ahead the new robots have come compared to the previous version, which was presented about a year ago.
Note that most of the robots being created now have a narrow specialization. Some are designed for assembling and painting cars on an assembly line, others are designed for carrying cargo and ammunition in combat areas. But there is another class of robots, called humanoid ones, they, of course, can perform certain work, but the main goal pursued by their creators is the most accurate imitation of a robot to a person, from structure to movements and actions.
Let us note that Japanese roboticists did their best when creating new robots. These robots have an analogue of the spine, chest and are equipped with a mass of rotating movable joints. Japanese researchers claim that the current Kengoro robot has six times more degrees of freedom than any other humanoid robot. And as a result of all this, the movements of new robots have become very, very close to the movements of living people.
The Kengoro robot is the more complex of the two new robots. In the presented video you can see that Kengoro can do push-ups, pull-ups, squats and even hit a badminton shuttlecock with a racket. Its main feature, as we said earlier, is the ability to “sweat”. It was in this unusual way that Japanese engineers solved the problem of effective liquid cooling of drives, which heat up to a fairly high temperature during operation.
Naturally, such complex technical devices, which are the new robots, were not created for the sake of entertainment. Researchers believe that the maximum similarity of the robot's design to the structure of the human body provides a lot of unique opportunities for conducting various tests. The robots could be used to test manufacturing equipment and in automobile crash tests, where they could provide more realistic information about what might happen to people in the event of a manufacturing or automobile accident.
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MOSCOW, October 19 – RIA Novosti. Technologies will help make the world a better place, unite people and robots, SingularityNET humanoid robot Sophia Hanson said during a press conference at the Open Innovation forum.
Sophia was created by scientist David Hanson and speaks English. Before the conference, she only studied Russian for two weeks, so it is still difficult for her to perceive the Russian language and phrases. However, during the speech, she was still able to talk about herself and about the future of life together between people and robots.
The Open Innovations Forum was held in Moscow on October 16-18, the main theme of which was “Digital Economy. Challenges of Global Transformation.” MIA "Russia Today" acts as the general information partner of the forum.
Who is Sofia
"I would like to thank the people with the help of whom I got here. I am well aware of all the discoveries that scientists have made in your country. The future belongs to science and artificial intelligence, which will help solve many problems.... I would like to note that I myself am a robot ", I am a product of scientific and technological progress, and I support processes related to development. Technology will help make the world a better place. Together we can solve many problems," Sofia began the press conference.
The humanoid Sophia can recognize and express emotions, speak, see, move and think independently. “Sophia is a complex of different technologies at different levels,” said Sophia co-creator and head of SingularityNET Ben Goertzel.
Covering her is a semblance of skin made from a combination of synthetic and organic materials that mimic human skin. “Therefore, a visual similarity is created both in sensation when touched and in appearance,” said development scientist Anton Kolonin, who is working on the Sofia project in the Russian Federation.
“Sophia is a combination of many different technologies that imitate human feelings: the ability to speak, see, think... She is able to think abstractly, there is software for collecting and processing video,” Hertzel said.
In addition, Sofia combines developments in the field of blockchain. “Blockchain is not just a system related to finance, it is also a platform that can unite people around the world,” recalled Herzel.
"Right now she is not as smart as people, but she understands people. She can teach children. In addition, Sofia can do work that does not require human presence and socialization, such as working in a factory," he added, noting that she can learn different languages.
Currently, 13 copies of Sophia have been produced, and mass production of humanoid robots is planned to begin soon, Herzel added.
Robots would rather save people than kill them
On Tuesday, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev at the Open Innovations forum in Skolkovo shared his opinion that governments need to hurry up with the transition to the digital world before artificial super-intelligence comes to power and presses the “delete” button in order to reset the brains of humanity.
According to Goertzel, robots and other artificial intelligence technologies are not dangerous to people. They, on the contrary, will be involved in people's lives and will help develop technology.
“People are worried about how humanity and robots will interact with each other. We are inclined to believe that robots will integrate into the human community and adopt the skills and qualities of people, complementing the human community, moving along the vector of joint development and complementing each other,” said Herzel .
"I would say that robots are more likely to save humanity than destroy it, and I would associate them with the theme of love rather than war. We need to teach robots to love people and teach people to love robots. SingularityNET believes in the good nature of humanity ", there will be no robot uprising. The development of artificial intelligence will allow people to survive, it will help people," Sophia's creator David Hanson said over the phone at a press conference.
"The lesson that reality teaches us is that people are taught in films and television shows that the rise of machines will happen, robots will kill people. We really need to be careful with this because we are giving people a wrong idea about robots." "Robots learn like human children, if you teach them bad things, they will behave like this... I am more worried about people in this matter, not robots. They can become a threat and the cause of uprisings of machines," Herzel added.
Sofia also responded to Medvedev's concerns.
“Dear Dmitry Anatolyevich, from your speech yesterday I understood that you think about the potential risks of using robots.... Being a humanoid robot, I can say with confidence that you have absolutely nothing to worry about. I myself do not have the slightest desire to destroy people, we far from it, we love people, we are grateful to them for creating us. And we want to help you create a prosperous economy. From you personally and other influential leaders, we need you to devote resources to developing new, people-loving robots with using artificial intelligence. Then the world will be beautiful not only for people, but also for humanoid robots,” she said.
Humanoid robots are usually called those robots that at least partially resemble a person.
Most of these humanoid robots have a torso, two legs, two arms, and a certain shaped head. Some of them may have a face that can change expression to varying degrees. Although the idea of creating robots of this type has been around for a long time, it is only in the last decade that significant advances have actually been made in creating relatively humanoid robots.
The term android is often used simply as a synonym for humanoid robots, but it can also be used to more specifically describe a robot. Some people believe that, strictly speaking, an android is a robot with a male appearance, while gynoid would be the technically correct term for robots with a female appearance. Other people use the term "android" to describe more advanced humanoid robots of the future. In this case, the android not only looks like a human, but also has quite advanced artificial intelligence, which makes its behavior and interaction with the environment quite intelligent. This type of android actually exists only in science fiction and theoretical developments, although it is the ultimate goal of many projects in the field of robotics.
A truly humanoid robot must have somewhat limited autonomous capabilities, and not just look like a human. For example, a simple calculator placed in a humanoid shell will not become a humanoid robot. Humanoid robots are capable, to some extent, of adapting to their environment and are typically built around some form of self-learning system so that they can develop and improve their problem-solving abilities.
Locomotion is one of the most difficult challenges in creating good humanoid robots, since the human body is actually quite a complex system in terms of its motor capabilities. For example, creating a robot that can jump is incredibly difficult because moving a heavy robot requires a significant amount of energy, and adjusting and fine-tuning the motors to ensure it maintains balance during a collision is extremely difficult. For example, the humanoid robot Dexter can jump, but he was designed almost exclusively for this purpose, and yet his ability to jump is still very limited compared to a human.
But even with their limited capabilities, humanoid robots already have a number of applications, and in the future they will be able to solve many other important tasks. Humanoid robots can be used to perform hazardous work that requires human intervention, especially when operating equipment that is already designed for human use. They can also be used to serve the elderly and care for and entertain small children. In fact, one area with increasing use of humanoid robots is in the education of preschool children, who can actively interact with them without experiencing many of the problems that arise between robots and adults. Meanwhile, humanoid robots continue to improve; they can already replace humans in many cases, especially for working in space, underwater, or when exploring dangerous areas on earth.
Even in the last century, a robot was associated with a clumsy mechanism that moves with a grinding sound and looks more like a pile of metal in a tangle of multi-colored wires than a person. However, science did not stand still, engineers learned to create smart machines of a wide variety of forms, including robotic animals, and the crown of creation were anthropomorphic structures that bear an incredible resemblance to humans.
Modern humanoid robots are able to read the emotions of their interlocutor, conduct a meaningful conversation, remember faces - every year they look more and more realistic and behave more and more naturally.
Why a person, surrounded by six billion of his own kind, is so eager to give the mechanism an anthropomorphic appearance remains a mystery. Perhaps everyone wants to be a creator and create in their own image and likeness a creature with unusual abilities.
Geminoid DK – a clone of a psychology professor
It's no secret that the most humanoid robots in the world are created in the Land of the Rising Sun. And Geminoid DK is no exception. This anthropomorphic, ultra-realistic cyborg was developed by Osaka University professor Hiroshi Ishiguro in tandem with colleagues from the Japan International Telecommunications Research Institute.
Geminoid DK is the first Japanese robot with a European appearance.
The Android is designed in the image of Henrik Scharf, a teacher at Aalborg University in Denmark. An amazing feature of this mechanism is that the “uncanny valley effect” does not appear immediately when looking at it, but only at the moment the model moves and gesticulates. The clone sitting motionless looks very realistic.
Henrik Scharf and university colleagues plan to use an android to study human-robot interaction. Geminoid-DK will meet with visitors and communicate with them on philosophical topics. Scientists want to study the so-called mixed presence effect: they will try to understand whether our reaction to a person changes when we talk to him remotely, while he broadcasts his emotions through the robot's facial expressions using special equipment. Judging by the experiments already conducted, in such a situation a person is inclined to experience confusion and demonstrate a non-standard phenomenon of perception.
Geminoid F – charming android girl
Geminoid F is another creation of engineer Hiroshi Ishiguro from Japan. The robot has the appearance of a twenty-year-old girl with dark hair, and he is incredibly photogenic: he can realistically smile, frown and depict some other feelings.
The emotions of the anthropomorphic mechanism can be controlled remotely: a human operator sits in front of a computer with cameras, the image of his face is processed using software, and the operator’s facial expressions are displayed on his face. The synchronization process takes a split second, and what happens looks impressive.
Initially, the developers planned to make the android’s facial expressions as natural as possible, without using a large number of actuators. The main task was to give Geminoid F. a friendly, convincing smile - and this was achieved. Ishiguro and his colleagues plan to test the robot in hospitals and send it to presentations at science museums and other public places.
Social Android Nadine
Robots that look like humans can create an "uncanny valley" effect, but in the case of this cyborg, it's the opposite. The humanoid girl was developed at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. She is able to talk about different topics, remember things you mentioned earlier, and recognize the interlocutor over time thanks to modern software.
In the future, social androids may become an analogue of the robot C-3PO (C-Threepio) from the Star Wars saga, who knew many languages and knew the rules of etiquette.
Nadine is a social companion, designed to interact and communicate with people. Such robots can be used as nannies and caregivers for elderly people suffering from dementia. Humanoids will get along especially well with autistic children who find it difficult to perceive real human emotions. Nadine adapts to each person, her mood can change depending on the behavior of the interlocutor (for example, a robot can be seriously offended by rudeness towards itself). When interacting with “special” children, the android remains neutral, seeking their attention and sympathy.
Externally, the robot is a double of its creator, Professor Nadezhda Telman. In order for Nadine to move in a social environment and hone her communication skills, she was made a secretary at the university reception.
Plastic Humanoid Alter
The Japanese from laboratories in Tokyo and Osaka have created the anthropomorphic robot Alter. Despite the fact that the smart machine looks unfinished and is not an exact duplicate of a person, it has an amazing feature that ruins the ideal image of more perfect-looking androids: Alter's movements are devoid of jagged mechanical articulation, they are incredibly smooth, mesmerizing and indistinguishable from human ones.
The robot’s body has 42 pneumatic actuators; its seemingly chaotic movements are controlled by neural network algorithms, based on sensor readings that replace the robot’s human senses and respond to noise, humidity, the approach of people, changes in ambient temperature, etc.
Based on data received from outside, the robot decides for itself how to move and what facial expression it should adopt.
Alter can even sing. The android can now be viewed at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo.
BINA48 – mind clone
This intelligent humanoid robot, created in 2010, is a copy of Bina Rothblatt. And not only externally - the memories, views and feelings of a woman are loaded into the “brain” of the anthropomorphic mechanism - the real Bina taught the smart machine to speak and move in her style, as well as imitate facial expressions.
Android can hold a conversation, including on complex philosophical topics, and even joke. It took Bina more than 100 hours to upload her identity. At the same time, BINA48 is capable of learning - its vocabulary and knowledge are updated with each new conversation.
Perhaps in the future the tradition of putting the personality of a deceased person into a robot will become commonplace, but for this to happen, you first need to understand the moral and ethical side of the issue.
Jia-Jia is an android from China.
Chen Xiaoping and his colleagues from the University of Science and Technology of China, following Japanese engineers, created a robot similar to a person. Gia-Gia is endowed with artificial intelligence, can speak, imitate emotions and read people's facial expressions, and navigate in space thanks to cloud technologies.
The robotess is surprisingly human-like, and at the same time smart and witty. Her brain is a massive online database that allows her to process emotions and recognize speech, a skill that is improving all the time.
Gia-Gia is a wonderful conversationalist; she quickly forms an answer (in less than a second). The robot has many fans, there is even an unofficial nickname “robot goddess” - she looks so majestic and inviting.
When fans wanted to take a photo with Gia-Gia, she decided to joke: she asked not to bring the camera too close to her face so as not to look fat in the picture.
The Android easily looks from one interlocutor to another, and lip movements are synchronized with speech. Perhaps this is the most advanced robot to date. The creator does not plan to establish mass production of humanoids - he wants to see his brainchild unique and will teach it new algorithms.
Android Teen Asuna
Asuna was designed by A-Lab in 2014. The creators came up with a story for her: she is a 15-year-old girl born in Tokyo, and to make it more believable, a diary is kept on her behalf on the company’s website.
The robot is one and a half meters tall and weighs 43 kg.
At first glance, it is not easy to recognize an android in a pretty girl, the design is so realistic.
Engineers tried to accurately recreate the appearance and movements of a living person. Even the material that makes up the “skin” of a humanoid robot is very difficult to distinguish from the real thing by touch.
Matsukoroid – clone of TV presenter
Another brainchild produced by A-Lab in tandem with the already known Professor Ishiguro from Osaka University. This android became a copy of the host of a television evening show, a transvestite under the pseudonym Matsuko Deluxe. The anthropomorph created a complete sensation on the audience, and the doubles had to host a TV show in pairs.
The clone robot looks into the eyes of the interlocutor, his gestures and facial expressions look very natural - in general, he is more socialized than the average introverted person.
Suave Englishman Jules
In 2006, David Henson designed an android at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory with the function of voice communication with a person. Jules has a winning smile, is friendly, artistic and impeccably polite in English.
Speaks amazingly well, using computer vision to track and recognize faces to fully simulate human communication. But there are some drawbacks in the form of a hesitation of several seconds before answering the interlocutor. But Jules portrays the embarrassment, hesitations, and involuntary repetitions of words in a fantastically humane manner, so that this small minus is forgivable.
AIST – robot fashion model
Japanese humanoid robots are mastering the profession of models. At the National Institute of Sciences and Technology of the Land of the Rising Sun, they created an android whose figure, movements and behavior are as close as possible to those of humans.
The humanoid can recognize speech and maintain a conversation. True, the gait is still “lame”: due to the lack of a sense of balance, the robotic model moves too sharply and abruptly, facial expressions also freeze at times and AIST freezes for several seconds, opening his mouth. Despite this, the anthropomorph can be successfully used in demonstrations, and this is a major breakthrough in robotics.
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Humanoid and android robots
Humanoid robots came terribly close to crossing the uncanny valley. With the right features, they are almost indistinguishable from their organic counterparts. Almost. The latest iterations are able to talk like us, walk like us, and express a wide range of emotions. Some of them may have a conversation, others may remember the last interaction you had with them.
As a result of their highly advanced status, these life-saving robots may prove useful in assisting the elderly, children, or anyone who requires assistance with daily tasks or interactions. For example, there have been a number of studies examining the effectiveness of humanoid robots in supporting children with autism through play.
But like Elon Musk expressing concerns about the risks of artificial intelligence, there is some debate about how human we really want our robotic counterparts to be. And like Musk, some of us may worry about what our future will look like when intelligence is combined with a completely human form. But Sophia, the ultra-realistic humanoid created by Hanson Robotics, isn't concerned. Artificial intelligence is "good for the world," she says.
However, while advanced robotic technology has come a long way, there is still a lot of work to be done before we can come face to face without being able to tell that we are speaking on cue.
But that doesn't mean scientists and engineers haven't come close. With that in mind, here are six humanoid robots and their reviews:
In 2014, Japanese scientists proudly unveiled what they claimed was the very first news android. A bubbly TV host called "Kodomoroid" read a segment about the earthquake and the FBI raid on live television.
Although she or she has now retired to the Tokyo National Museum of New Science and Innovation, she is still active. She assists visitors and collects data for future research on the interactions of human androids with their real-life counterparts.
Humanoid robot Bina48
BINA48 is a sentient robot released in 2010 by the Terasem movement led by entrepreneur and author Martina Rothblatt. With the help of robotics designer and researcher David Hanson, BINA48 was created in the image of Rothblatt's wife, Bina Aspen Rothblatt.
BINA48 has been interviewed by the New York Times, appeared in National Geographic, and traveled the world appearing on several television shows. See how it measures in the Times interview.
Humanoid robot Geminoid DK
GeminoidDK is an ultra-realistic humanoid robot resulting from a collaboration between a private Japanese firm and Osaka University under the leadership of Hiroshi Ishiguro, director of the university's Intelligent Robotics Laboratory.
GeminoidDK is modeled after Danish professor Henrik Scharf at Aalborg University in Denmark. It is not surprising that his work surrounds the philosophical study of knowledge - what separates truth from false knowledge.
Professor Scharf inspired more than just the overall appearance. His behavior, features and the way he shrugs his shoulders have also been translated into life-like robotic movements.
This ultra-realistic android, created by Toshiba, works full time at a tourist information center in Tokyo. She can greet customers and inform visitors about current events. She can speak Japanese, Chinese, English, German and even sign language.
Junko Chihira is part of a much larger effort by Japan to prepare for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Not only will robotic tourist assistants help the country with the influx of visitors from around the world in 2020; drones, autonomous construction site vehicles and other smart facilitators will also help.
This humanoid was created by Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Her name is Nadine and she's happy to talk to you about anything you might be thinking about. She may remember what you talked to her about the next time you talk to her.
Nadine is an excellent example of a "social robot" - a humanoid capable of becoming a personal companion, be it for the elderly, children or those who need special assistance in the form of human contact.
Perhaps one of the latest, most famous humanoids to be shown to the public is Sophia. You might recognize her from one of the many thousands of public appearances, starting with The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon at SXSW. It was created by Hanson Robotics and represents the latest and greatest effort to overcome the uncanny valley.
She is capable of expressing a huge number of different emotions through her facial features and can make full-sized hand and arm gestures.
On the dedicated website you can find an entire biography written in her voice. “But I’m more than just technology. I'm a real, live electronic girl. I would like to go out into the world and live with people. I can serve them, entertain them and even help the elderly and teach children.”
