"Honda unveils 'smarter' Asimo humanoid robot"

Story from today's Japan Today:

Honda’s human-shaped robot can now run faster, balance itself on uneven surfaces, hop on one foot and pour a drink. Some of its technology may even be used to help out with clean-up operations at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant.

Honda’s demonstration of the revamped Asimo on Tuesday at its Tokyo suburban research facility was not only to prove that the bubble-headed childlike machine was more limber and a bit smarter.

...

Asimo was also able to distinguish the voices of three people spoken at once, using face recognition and analyzing sound, to figure out that one woman wanted hot coffee, another orange juice, and still another milk tea.

The new Asimo got improved hands as well, allowing individual movement of each finger, so it could do sign language.

“My name is Asimo,” it said, making the signs of its words with stubby fingers.

It also opened a thermos bottle and gracefully poured juice into a paper cup.

Read the whole story: http://www.japantoday.com/category/technology/view/honda-unveils-smarter-asimo-humanoid-robot

New Japanese Technology in the News...

Tokyo tech fair opens with clapping robot

Story and photo above from Japan Today, 10/21/11.

From robotic hand-clapping arms to a device that could show tsunami alerts in the sky, Japanese technology researchers showcased their latest inventions in Tokyo Thursday.

Two pairs of artificial arms welcomed visitors as the Digital Content Expo opened for a three-day run, producing a realistic clapping sound due to the soft palms of the hands.

The arms, named Ondz, are made of white skin-like urethan “flesh” and aluminum “bone.” They create what the developer calls the “organic” sound of human hand clapping by the patting of soft palms.

“I want the the audience to enjoy the creepy and surreal feelings this product gives as entertainment,” said Masato Takahashi, researcher at the graduate school of media design at Keio University, who molded the design on his own body.

Ondz could be used in musical performances, to enhance the sound of real clapping. Or viewers watching a programme online could click a button to make hands at the broadcast site clap, Takahashi told AFP.

He also said he would like to produce a “spanking machine” to hit comedians, as well as stomping feet to complement the hand-clapping arms.

Read the whole story:
http://www.japantoday.com/category/lifestyle/view/tokyo-tech-fair-opens-with-clapping-robot


'Subtitle glasses' to debut at Tokyo film festival

Story from The Daily Yomiuri Online, 10/22/11.

Olympus Corp. and a nonprofit organization have jointly developed special eyeglasses that project subtitles on the lenses so the hearing impaired can enjoy Japanese movies.

A type of head-mounted display (HMD), the glasses will be unveiled at the Tokyo International Film Festival that runs through Oct. 30.

The device was developed by the Tokyo-based precision equipment maker and the non-profit Media Access Support Center (MASC), based in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture.

MASC has been working to provide better access to information for people with hearing difficulties by promoting captions for films and DVDs, and is providing captions from its Web site through the iPhone to the device.

According to MASC, subtitles for the hearing impaired need to include not only dialogue but also information on who is going to speak before actors deliver their lines. It also needs to explain to viewers about footsteps, honking horns and other sound effects.

As it costs at least 1 million yen per film to print these subtitles, few films provide them. Only 51 of 408 new releases in 2010 had the special subtitles.

Theaters showing these films are also limited, especially in rural areas. Since the subtitles may annoy non-impaired viewers, the films are generally shown only for about two days even in metropolitan areas.

Mitsuhiko Ogawa, 49, vice director of Tokyoto Chuto Shiccho Nanchosha Kyokai, an association for people with hearing disabilities, said films give people with hearing problems an important opportunity to relate to other people and society. "It would be great if we were able to go see a movie with anybody, anytime, anywhere," Ogawa said.

Even if the HMD comes into wide use, however, scripts for subtitles still have to be made for each film. MASC director Koji Kawano, 48, said making HMD subtitles costs less than one-fifth of usual subtitles as the HMD subtitles do not have to be printed on film. "The problem is who bears the cost," he said.

Kawano stressed films with HMD subtitles will also be good for seniors with hearing difficulties. He said demand could be increased by expanding the HMD's functions to allow the use of foreign-language subtitles.

Read the whole story:
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T111021004892.htm

Kyoto Asian Studies Group February Meeting: Karakuri Ningyo Robots

Photo borrowed from karakuri.info.

Here's an announcement about the Kyoto Asian Studies Group February meeting (via H-Japan):

This February, the Kyoto Asian Studies Group lecture will be by Murakami Kazuo who will present Edo Period Karakuri Culture and Japanese Robots. This talk will be followed by a demonstration of karakuri (automata) by Minasaki Sougo. This will be a very rare opportunity to view such objects up close.

Murakami Kazuo is a freelance journalist who specializes in the history of technology in Japan and he is the author of many works on karakuri. Minasaki Sougo, with whom he has worked closely for years, is a specialist in the mechanical devices of the Edo period, and a restorer. He is also one of the few remaining craftsmen who make automata, mainly dolls, today. The lecture will be in English and the demonstration
in Japanese.

This event will take place on:

Monday 1st February

18:30 to 20:30

Doshisha Imadegawa Campus

For more information, contact: Elizabeth Tinsley, Otani University (liztinsley@hotmail.com)

Sponsored by the Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies.

Sounds like a very interesting presentation. While we see robots more and more in Japan, it is interesting to note that this isn't a new phenomena. While karakuri were meant to surprise people, Japan now strives to make robots as familiar and user friendly as possible. With Japan's declining birthrate more workers will be needed, especially to replace and/or take care of the increasing elderly population. And since Japan doesn't seem to be so keen on allowing women to work and allowing foreigners to immigrate and work, the best possible solution is... robots.

For more information about karakuri ningyo, check out this web page:
http://www.karakuri.info/

"Human-looking robot smiles in Japan classroom"

More on robots taking over Japan... Story (and photo) from Japan Today, 4/7/09:

Japan’s robot teacher calls roll, smiles and scolds, drawing laughter from students with her eerily lifelike face. But the developer says it’s not about to replace human instructors.

Unlike more mechanical-looking robots like Honda Motor Co’s Asimo, the robot teacher, called Saya, can express six basic emotions—surprise, fear, disgust, anger, happiness, sadness—because its rubber skin is being pulled from the back with motors and wiring around the eyes and the mouth.

In a demonstration, the robot’s mouth popped open, its eyes widened and eyebrows arched to appear surprised. Saya pulled back on its lips to make a smile, and said simple pre-programmed phrases such as “Thank you,” while its lips moved, to express pleasure.

“Robots that look human tend to be a big hit with young children and the elderly,” Hiroshi Kobayashi, Tokyo University of Science professor and Saya’s developer, said. “Children even start crying when they are scolded.”

First developed as a receptionist robot in 2004, Saya was tested in a real Tokyo classroom earlier this year with a handful of fifth and sixth graders, although it still can’t do much more than call roll and shout orders like “Be quiet.”

The children had great fun, Kobayashi recalled, tickled when it called out their names. Still, it’s just remote-controlled by a human watching the interaction through cameras, he said.

Japan and other nations are hopeful robotics will provide a solution for their growing labor shortage problem as populations age. But scientists express concern about using a machine to take care of children and the elderly.

Ronald C Arkin, professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, said more research in human-robot interaction is needed before overly relying on robots.

“Simply turning our grandparents over to teams of robots abrogates our society’s responsibility to each other, and encourages a loss of touch with reality for this already mentally and physically challenged population,” he said.

Noel Sharkey, robotics expert and professor at the University of Sheffield, believes robots can serve as an educational aid in inspiring interest in science, but they can’t replace humans.

“It would be delusional to think that such robots could replace a human teacher,” he said. “Leading scientists, engineers and mathematicians, almost without exception, talk about that one teacher who inspired them. A robot cannot be that kind of inspirational role model.”

Kobayashi says Saya is just meant to help people and warns against getting hopes up too high for its possibilities.

“The robot has no intelligence. It has no ability to learn. It has no identity,” he said. “It is just a tool.”

But would he create a robot in human form, say, a fantasy friend with movie-star looks?

“Sure,” he says, “If you’re willing to pay.”

That made-to-order robot will cost about 5 million yen, he said.

Keitai Robots?

An update from an earlier post on robots in Japan... As if Japanese cell phones didn't have enough functions already... Check this out at Japan Today (the above image is borrowed from the same website).

Link to Japan Today: Picture of the Day
http://www.japantoday.com/jp/picture/3342

Read more at Weird Asia News
http://www.weirdasianews.com/2008/03/02/robotic-cell-phone-friends/

Robots are taking over Japan...

With a declining birthrate and aging society, who will do all the work? Many have said Japan will have to allow more women to work, or allow more immigration. For various reasons, these options are not so popular with the powers that be. So what to do? Make robots. This is not a joke. See the following story on MSNBC (the above photo is borrowed from this source as well):

Japan looks to a robot future
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23438322/wid/11915829?GT1=40000

Be sure to check out the slide show as well - lots more interesting images...