Are you ready to Roomba? If you're a fan of nondescript, purpose-built robots -- this one vacuums your floors -- you probably are. But perhaps you're intrigued, as I am, by the unusually anthropomorphic automatons coming out of Japan.
The differences raise a question: Should robots look more like people or like machines? That's what we asked participants in our Systems & Product Design Engineering and Automation & Control Engineering groups on LinkedIn.
Many of the answers revolved around the form-versus-function issue. "This question is deeper than it seems at first glance," says Rick Rice, an applications engineer in Illinois. "It really comes down to philosophy. Robots are designed to do things that humans can't do, or robots can do better. This doesn't necessarily mean they have to emulate humans. However, the people that program robots will tend to duplicate human actions because, after all, we are humans programming machines."
Click on the image below to start the Design News slideshow: Humanoid Robots Get Real:
Heather Knight, a roboticist and founder of Marilyn Monrobots, is trying to bridge the uncanny valley by adding humor to the robotic repertoire. Her robot, Data, can do imitations of Darth Vader, R2D2, and Buzz Lightyear. (Source: Freescale Semiconductor)
"Popular movies like I, Robot, portray robots as virtually human in appearance, and they even possess human characteristics like a conscience and a sense of right and wrong. The bottom line is, do we want robots to be assimilated into our culture so much that we don't recognize them at first glance?," Rice asks.
Alan Curley, an automation and control engineer in Ireland, says, "I think the consensus is that function should dictate form, which should not directly lead to a humanoid robot."
We like to comunicate with faces. Humanlike interaction works better with a face and a name to comunicate to. A screen with a face is probably suficient. Remote access should pop up a face for ID etc. Above all, make it fun/real.
If I can borrow from Isaac Asimov, a humanoid robot is basically the best idea because we will feel less threatened. The reason for this, is that they can sit behind the wheel of our car or atop our tractor and perform the same function as a human. Because we choose to let them perform this task and we can take over at any time, we are not threatened by them.
I want my robot to be functional and have everything that I need. Specifically, it needs eyes in the back of its head, 4 arms, stable platform that has soft flexible tracks that can negotiate hardwood floors, carpeted stairs, mow my grass, get my mail, vacuum, do dishes, clean the cat litter, and charge itself. It also needs to be water proof. I dont care if it is male, female, both or neither. It also needs capability of a simple personal assistant that knows the weather, todays meetings, time of todays Cub game, and where my car keys are!!!
Charles Murray - Judgung from the photo accompanying the article, the 2000 engineers were trasnfixed by Heather Knight, not her robot.
If robots looked like humans, humans would regularly punch them when they did something wrong. Context is important too. Humans would look out of place in some of the environments robots work in (can you imagine a humanoid pool cleaning robot, for example?)
Wow. Could have not said it beter myself. well done.
I think we have to be more concerned with function and not the looks.
On the other side if the function is lowe level supervision of children, ie: to be present on the floor and monitor movement of kids within a restricted space and making sure that they are not to close to the exit door or other restricted area, I guess the robot should not be too scary.
For pure industrial applications I care for the function.
"The Market" is best at driving these things. Factory automation robots look like giant arms because that was the fastest/best design at the time. I, like many engineers, feel that a robot should be best designed for what it does, not necessarily how it looks. But once you have a faceless robot serving beer in a bar and people start wigging out about how ugly it is, you will see how important that kind of design work becomes. The bar down the street features foxy robot waitresses and they are doubling our revenue, etc etc.
Google "uncanny" and check the "uncanny curve" results that pop up. The uncanny curve was created in 1970. I can tell you what Japanese robot designers were probably trying to do in 1970, and it probably wasn't making a robot that vacuums rugs. This probably explains the revulsion factor. I've seen pictures of Japanese sexbots and they are truly revolting looking. There's your Market, again.
With new designers unfettered by the cracking whip of upper management, we'll see better and better designs. And whether the 2025 uBot looks more like Heather Knight or more like her Monrobot will probably be determined by... anyone? anyone?
I am not sure I agree that having a humanoid robot drive the car or the tractor is useful. We really are not short of humans. Actually, the trend in farm machinery (tractors and combine) is that they can be set on autopilot and basically drive themselves once they are programmed. I think we will see the machines have more of an ability to do things themselves with or without a human. Another example would be aircraft with an autopilot.
I, personally, do not see much of a need for human-like robots. I guess I have read too many science fiction books on the topic (including the I, Robot series). It really reminds me of computers. For as long as we have had them people have been predicting that they will "think". Computer Scientists like to point to artifical intelligence as an end point. They point out that humans do some things better than computers (like vision processing). On the other hand, computers do many things much better than humans. These also tend to be things humans (on the whole) do not like to do. The synergy between humans and computers is very powerful. We complement each other.
Humanoid robots that could potentially be used in the future for applications such as automotive assembly are being developed by a joint GM/NASA partnership, and ABB has a concept humanoid robot called FRIDA. Interesting stuff working through the complexities of robots that could implement safety systems that would enable them to work closely with human workers.
I'm not so sure a humanoid appearance is necessary for automated services. Again, I used the analogy of the automated teller machine. This device has been magnificently successful, replacing countless human tellers. Many people prefer it to a human teller. And it has no human attributes. I think arbitrary human attributes are creepy.
I assumed we were talking about a more advanced "robot" than a gorified cash register (ATM).
Let's replace the teller in general with a robot. I would like to talk to a face when I discuss and establish my accounts and make loans. Plus I have a hearing problem and I need to speech read. Save the face!
Our LinkedIn systems and product design engineering group discusses if they are happy with their decision of remaining a technical contributor instead of becoming a manager.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 3
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
17 
