.FLYINGHEAD GUEST EDITORIAL
.TITLE It’s 2004. Where are all the robots?
.AUTHOR James Booth
.SUMMARY Considering the technological level of these robots twenty years ago, and Moore’s Law governing computer technology advancement, shouldn’t we have artificially intelligent synthetic humanoids by now? It’s 2004, people. Where are all the robots?
.FEATURE
A while back, Computing Unplugged put out an open call for articles about robots. Well everybody, it’s 2004 and I want to know: where are all the robots?
Where are the Robbie the Robots from Forbidden Planet? Where are the Danger, Will Robinson robots from Lost in Space? Where are the Rosie the Robots from the Jetsons? Dare I even ask, where are the R. Daneel Olivaw robots from Asimov’s Robot series? The science fiction most of us grew up with promised us a veritable army of stainless steel, electronic, mechanized servants by now. Where are they? I’m tired of waiting. I’m still pretty young as far the span of a human life goes, but before I die, I’d like to have my own, genuine, real live (as it were) robot.
.H1 Robots of yesterday
Let’s take a ride back to the 1980s. Are you aware that there were personal robots on the consumer market in the 80s? There were several different models and makers, but the two I remember most vividly are the B.O.B (which supposedly meant "Brains on Board") by Androbot and the H.E.R.O. line by Heath. These were not a remote-controlled chassis in the image of an automaton. They were legitimate, thinking, semi-learning, mobile computers.
B.O.B.’s design was unique in that it only had two wheels and canted at about a thirty-degree angle that kept the unit stable even when not moving. B.O.B. had infrared and ultrasonic sensors that allowed him to see and hear. He could interact with his environment and communicate with his users.
The H.E.R.O. is the one I remember most because I wanted one. It was about three feet tall and looked like a space heater with a keypad on top and an articulated arm. H.E.R.O. had several different personalities that could be programmed and even had a speech synthesizer. These robots could be programmed with simple games like Simon, could maneuver their way around their environment on their own, and learn their environment. They could act as motion sensor alarms, alarm clocks, and even transport and manipulate light objects when equipped with the arm.
Now granted, these robots were really nothing more than glorified toys, but for the time, these robots were amazingly advanced. Especially if you consider that the Visor I’m writing this on has more memory and a faster processor than any of those old robots did — or any PCs on the market at that time, for that matter. Considering the technological level of these robots twenty years ago, and Moore’s Law governing computer technology advancement, shouldn’t we have artificially intelligent synthetic humanoids by now?
It’s 2004, people. Where are all the robots?
.BREAK_EMAIL For information about present day and future robots, read the rest of the article by clicking here.
.H1 Robots of the present
So where are the robots of today? There aren’t any, with the exception of Honda’s Asimo, whom I will discuss later. I really don’t want to insult any of you Robot Wars or Battle Bots fans, but those are not robots. They’re remote controlled machines of destruction. Don’t get me wrong, remote controlled destruction is cool, but it’s still not a robot. These machines don’t think, at all as far as I know, and only move by remote control. A human controls all of their actions.
What other kinds of robots are there? Well, I’ve seen some small, rather rudimentary robots that are capable of following a line on the floor, or mapping their environment by running into the perimeter and remembering where it is, or ones that can react to light or sound. I’ve seen some that can flop around with an insect-like movement. Most of these can be purchased in the science or educational section of toy stores. But where is the robot that combines all of these things into one chassis. What happened to the natural progression of B.O.B. and H.E.R.O.?
I have seen one that appeared to be an early cousin of R2-D2 from Star Wars. I’d really like to see that one continue to be developed, but of course I can’t locate the Web site where I saw it.
Then there’s Lego Mindstorm. Well, that’s just flat out a toy — although a very cool toy. No real thinking or computing going on there. Mindstorm robots are a good introduction for kids. And, of course, there’s also the Sony Aibo, a robot dog, and the Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner. None of these are really robots in the sense that they’re really autonomic. The Roomba can’t even go on and off carpets with any predictable success.
There is the Palm Pilot Robot Kit that was reviewed in the December 2000 issue of PalmPower Magazine, the former incarnation of Computing Unplugged (see http://www.palmpower.com/issues/issue200012/robot001.html). Now, this is actually a step in the right direction. It is a rather inexpensive introduction to true robotics. The Palm Pilot Robot kit allows you to build a robot, controlled by a Palm Pilot that you program. It’s capable of interacting with its environment and simple problem solving. The possibilities are really only limited by your imagination, and ability to program of course.
How about NASA? Well, the best they were able to turn out was that solar powered skateboard they sent to Mars. Of course, getting to Mars itself was a pretty amazing accomplishment, but it’s still pretty much a skateboard.
Then there is Asimo, made by Honda (see http://asimo.honda.com/#). Asimo is what a robot should be: humanoid in appearance, able to manipulate objects with five-digit hands, the ability to see, hear, and speak. Asimo even has the ability to visually recognize different humans by their face. Most amazing of all though is Asimo’s ability to walk on two legs, like a human, even up and down stairs. This is a revolutionary breakthrough in robotics. Of course, Asimo not only is not for sale to the public, but would be out of the price range of all but the Bill Gates’ of the world even if they were available.
.H1 Robots of the future
So what direction will robots take in the future? Well, if the last twenty years is any indication, they won’t be going too far. Asimo is definitely the direction they should be going though. The "toy" robots are a decent enough time diversion, but not really where home robots should be. They’re actually a step back compared to H.E.R.O. and B.O.B. as they seem to specialize in only one feature, whereas the robots of the 80s combined the features of all the toy robots in one unit. Perhaps it’s up to us, the home consumer to push the field to the next step with our Palm Pilot Robot Kits.
So is R. Daneel or Mr. Data in our future? I certainly hope so, but not any time soon. And since I don’t have Asimo to do it for me, I’m going to have to get up and get that soda myself.
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
For more information about Lego’s Mindstorm robots, visit http://mindstorms.lego.com.
For more information about the Sony Aibo, visit http://www.aibo.com
For more information about the Roomba, visit http://www.roombavac.com
To read the PalmPower article on the Palm Pilot Robot Kit, visit http://www.palmpower.com/issues/issue200012/robot001.html.
To say hello to Asimo, visit http://asimo.honda.com.
.END_SIDEBAR
.BIO James Booth is a self-taught PC and Palm device user that dabbles in graphics and photography. He can be reached at lizardworks@mchsi.com.
