Posted on 08/20/2003 4:09:33 PM PDT by Russian Sage
30-year robot project pitched
Researchers see tech windfalls in costly humanoid quest
Japanese researchers in robot technology are advocating a grand project, under which the government would spend 50 billion yen a year over three decades to develop a humanoid robot with the mental, physical and emotional capacity of a 5-year-old human.
The researchers believe the Atom Project, inspired by the popular robot animation series "Tetsuwan Atom" by the late cartoonist Osamu Tezuka, would help promote scientific and technological advances in Japan, just like the U.S. Apollo Project, which not only succeeded in landing men on the moon but contributed to a broad range of technological breakthroughs.
Researchers proposing the Atom Project include Mitsuo Kawato, chief of the Computational Neuroscience Laboratories at the Kyoto-based Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International.
The researchers are aware that such generous spending on robot technology is unlikely in the near future, given the government's severe fiscal situation. However, they argue that a project of this magnitude would inject much-needed vigor into a nation depressed from years of economic slump.
Unlike cartoonist Tezuka's "Atom" character, known as "Astro Boy" overseas, based on an image of a 9-year-old boy, the Atom Project aims to create a humanoid robot with the physical, intellectual and emotional capacity of a 5-year-old that would be able to think and move on its own, the researchers say.
As exemplified by the Asimo robot developed by Honda Motor Co., Japan's technology in this field has reached a level where its robots can be programmed to approximate the way humans walk. However, their physical ability is still no match for a 5-year-old human.
An expert in brain science, Kawato developed the DB, a humanoid robot that can imitate human action, based on his knowledge that the cerebellum plays a key role in learning and memory. However, the robot has managed to learn only 24 kinds of human action over three years.
"Most of today's robots operate with a program written by humans. In order to develop a robot that can think and move like a 5-year-old, we have to first understand the mechanism of how human brains work," Kawato said, admitting the difficulty of his project. "That will be equal to understanding human beings."
But the researchers believe such daunting challenges, once overcome in the development process, would bring huge benefits in terms of technology and knowledge.
The U.S. government injected more than $20 billion in the Apollo Project -- the equivalent to 7.2 trillion yen if calculated under the 360 yen per dollar exchange rate at that time.
People remember Apollo mostly for the 1969 landing on the moon, but the project resulted in technological advancements in a broad range of areas, from computer technology to development of cordless and energy-saving electric appliances, to the fluorination technology used in frying pans.
"We do not know what will come out of (the Atom Project), but the important point is that we have a target for which we can devote our energy," Kawato said. "We need a project that may not bring immediate economic effects but will lead to future technological development."
Takayuki Furuta, chief of the Future Robotics Technology Center at the Chiba Institute of Technology, who took part in the development of morph 3, a 38-cm-tall humanoid robot, also said he hopes the Atom Project helps create a future industry involving both the academic and business sectors.
LOL!
I know they are expensive but I bet you did not spend 50 billion yen per year in the process!
develop a humanoid robot with the mental, physical and emotional capacity of a 5-year-old human
Ha! I've seen that - twice - well, actually once and one on-going.
Good luck! HeHeHe.
LVM
Weirdos...
Too late...
Then let's put them to work doing chores, laundry and mowing the lawns.
Asimo is cool. A Honda.
How can you mean what you wrote. There is no way to evaluate what has been learned so far.
cool!
Great, just great. What is this good for?
It has the mental capacity of a 5-year-old human. Not to knock humanity but most 5-year-old humans aren't all that mentally capable. They learn. A Robot probably can't.
It has the physical capability of a 5-year-old human. Wonderful! It has HUMAN powers! And the powers of a short, weak human at that! Where can I buy one?
It has the emotional capacity of a 5-year-old human. Surely a desireable feature. (Salesman) "Watch it throw a real tantrum now!"
The money would be better spent on developing a computer that cannot crash.
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