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Voice-Controlled Robosapien

Posted by CmdrTaco on Sun Apr 03, 2005 10:38 AM
from the because-you-can dept.
Robotics
robotsrule writes "Robosapien Dance Machine, a free, open source program hosted on SourceForge, now uses the CMU Sphinx 3.5 speech recognition engine. The Sphinx 3.5 engine is also a free, open source program on SourceForge. You can now control your Robosapien robot using just your voice as well as build fun complex scripts to make your Robosapien robot dance, do comedy skits, and other performances. Currently the software uses the USB UIRT infrared transceiver to talk to the robot. Support for other infrared devices is being added this month. There is a short unrehearsed movie of the robot responding to voice commands that you can watch."
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  • Wow! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 03 2005, @10:44AM (#12126516)
    An alpha software written in Delphi using a pre-alpha library, that's /. quality!

  • ROBOSAPIEN! Beer me! (Score:4, Funny)

    by YrWrstNtmr (564987) on Sunday April 03 2005, @10:47AM (#12126535)
    Cut a port on the side of the fridge[1], operated by a pushbutton. Robo pushes the button, a beer slides out, he obiediently brings it to me.

    Bliss.

    [1] Port is only needed because RoboS is too short and weak to actually open a standard fridge door.

    • Greate idea! But same old problem. Bot need special freeze to work!

      Something simular was creates by I think the guy who created PONG. It was an expensive setup with robot and fridge. But the fridge for it was too limited in size!

      The portable Pez bear despenser makes more sense.

    • Try Dancing with This (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Alien54 (180860) on Sunday April 03 2005, @11:48AM (#12126871) Journal
      Neogentronyx is currently in the process of constructing a Bipedal Exo-Skeletal Robotic Vehicle [neogentronyx.com], known as a Mech and designated NMX04-1A. Their goal is not simply to build the NMX04-1A. The purpose of the NMX04-1A is proof of concept and to make the first bold step towards full production of Mecha vehicles.

      One priority is the goal of constructing Mecha in a way that will be affordable to civilians and not just commercial entities. There are plenty of pretty pictures and info here [neogentronyx.com]. See also these larger more recent pics [coasttocoastam.com]

      I can just imagine a mosh pit filled with these things.

    • Cut a port on the side of the fridge[1], operated by a pushbutton. Robo pushes the button, a beer slides out, he obiediently brings it to me.

      Cool idea, but
      1. Robosapien is slow. By the time he got back your beer would be warm.
      2. Ever see how Robosapien walks? The beer would explode as soon as you tried to open it.

      Maybe you could arm Robosapien with a cattle prod, and tell it "Robosapien! Tell my wife to get me a beer!"

      • Maybe have RoboS haul a trailer.

        In any case, "ROBOSAPIEN! Go dick with the cat!" would be fun. Of course, we'd have to build in some image recognition, else he messes with the dog instead. In which case he'd be an ex-robosapien.

  • Robosapien... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Kimos (859729) <kimos,slashdot&gmail,com> on Sunday April 03 2005, @10:48AM (#12126544) Homepage
    Kill!

  • I for one... (Score:4, Funny)

    by Tanmi-Daiow (802793) on Sunday April 03 2005, @10:49AM (#12126545) Journal
    ...welcome our new voice-controlled robot overlords.
  • ...can the Robosapien run Linux?

    (Cue random follow-up poster linking to robosapienlinux.com)

  • Definitely offtopic- don't even bother (Score:1, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Why is it that no one comes to /. on Sundays? Are that many /.ers religious? I would usually go, but my dad left without me.
  • This looks very cool. It's one example of the great things coming from FOSS. I anxious for when robots that can do useful tasks will become available. I'd be willing to pay top dollar for a robot I could program.
    • Hmmm, try this - GO BUILD ONE AND PROGRAM IT YOURSELF. You might even learn something along the way. The Robosapien was designed by one guy in his spare time.
    • Firstly, I don't think that it being FOSS has much to do with the creativity of this project. This could be done in an entirely proprietary coding language based on the ancient communication skills of yaks high in the Himalayas and it would come to serve the same purpose. But hey, you used the term and it got you a mod point. Kudos.

      Secondly, as far as I can tell this is not actually controlling the Robosapien with your voice, in the same way that I'm not actually communicating with the internet in binary
    • www.vexrobotics.com only a teaser site right now but the product launches soon. it will be fully programmable too. nifty stuff.
  • Is there an open source design available for the USB UIRT?

    ~kyoorius
  • The Robosapien Dance Machine is a free open source software program that unleashes your Robosapien's funky inner soul!

    Robots used to be referred to as "clunky", or "junky", but now..... funky!!

  • More like a voice controlled remote control (Score:5, Informative)

    by russx2 (572301) on Sunday April 03 2005, @11:31AM (#12126790)
    Don't get me wrong, this is cool and all, but this isn't really a voice controlled Robosapien.

    All the hardcore voice-recognition stuff happens on the PC which then just sends the movement commands via infrared to the Robosapien - just like the included infrared remote control.

    Good idea though - just not exactly portable.
  • The Japanese MUST be all over this.

  • Futurama (Score:3, Funny)

    by lsmeg (529105) on Sunday April 03 2005, @11:49AM (#12126878)
    Just be sure not to get too attached to your robosapien, or people will start thinking you're a robosexual.

  • You knew this was comming. (Score:4, Funny)

    by Hodr (219920) on Sunday April 03 2005, @11:52AM (#12126892) Homepage
    Please put down your weapon. You have 20 seconds to comply.

  • Next steps - robotic evolution (Score:4, Interesting)

    by zappepcs (820751) on Sunday April 03 2005, @11:54AM (#12126903) Journal
    Interestingly, the Robosapien and variants of software to control it are a few of the intermediate steps necessary for humans in general to accept robots as and for what they are.

    Currently, cute toys, or dangerous machines (like auto manufacturing) is about the limits of what is acceptable. Most people, even on /. don't really know what autonomous robotics is about. This is just how it is.

    There have been studies that show that if a robot has a very realistic human face and features, it is viewed initially as disgusting or evil. There is an aclimatization time before humans get used to a machine that has such features. There is even a name for this reaction??

    We, in general, are not yet ready to pay for something that might be described as a man-sized robosapien. Currently, the price of such would be in the 100s of thousands of dollars, if it were possible. Batteries just don't last long enough for that.

    It is silly things like voice control of a toy that will help pay for and develop technologies that will lead to the grail of man sized Robosapiens, in-car AI, home care robots, hospital asset and stores management, and many other things that are just out of range right now.

    We are not far from being able to replace the grocery stock boy (you can bet Walmart will be on the bleeding edge of that one) and several other things that are just begging for robotic labor. (sweeping parking lots, lawn care, etc.) There are a lot of efforts being made for farm machinery because it lowers the cost of production in areas where there aren't people waiting for the jobs.

    Anyway, its good to see efforts being made outside of educational and governmental institutions, especially open source efforts.

  • One Step Closer (Score:4, Informative)

    by DumbSwede (521261) <slashdotbin@hotmail.com> on Sunday April 03 2005, @12:00PM (#12126936) Homepage Journal
    Personal computers have gone through several generations since introduced in the late 70's. While many people bought Apple ][s and Commodores 64s, it wasn't until the graphics got much better and the internet that they become a true must have item for everyone, not just writers and information workers.

    I doubt that voice controlled Robosapians will make robots must have household items, but it gets us to maybe generation-3 home robots with only a couple of more generations before they explode in usefulness and ubiquity.

    In about 1980 Heath-Kit tried to make a generation 1 home robot take off in popularity - the HERO 1 - it didn't succeed. A shaky low mobility box manually programmed with a small keypad was no ones' idea of a personal 3PO or R2-D2, though Heath certainly was hoping to cash in on both the early computer craze and Star Wars popularization of robots.

    Personal robots largely disappeared from public view until Honda of all people pioneered and popularized a walking robot - the P2 (of course P2 was far too expensive to be a personal robot). I was only aware of the P2 and P3 before Asimo, but this link [honda.com] shows a long research line stretching back to 1986 with the E0 through E6 predecessors to the P series. Still when one saw the P2 walking in 1993, one got the feeling we were on the edge of big things to come. Sadly things have not progressed quite as quickly as one might have expected. Like AI, making practical personal robots is proving to be quite challenging. Hopefully voice control in such an inexpensive walking robot takes us a little further along the curve.

  • 2001 (Score:3, Funny)

    by Rixel (131146) on Sunday April 03 2005, @12:05PM (#12126952)
    Service me!

    "I'm sorry Dave, I can't let you do that."

  • Naming convention (Score:3, Funny)

    by AndroidCat (229562) on Sunday April 03 2005, @12:18PM (#12127012) Homepage
    Shouldn't it be called Dance Dance Robosapien?
  • ...now I *WANT* another toy. I'll get it and lock myself in my room and hack and play and my wife will complain and the kids wil be ignored(well, util it's their turn to play with the robot and my cleverly constructed scripts :-) and the grass will get tall and the garage won't be cleaned and the dog won't get walked and...

  • Robosapien = Nothing Special (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Lord_Dweomer (648696) on Sunday April 03 2005, @02:39PM (#12127829) Homepage
    I'm sorry, but why is everybody so impressed with the robosapien? They've had voice controlled toy robots for years.

    And before anybody says its not a toy because of how complex its walking system is....well, give it normal sized feet so that its not impossible for it to fall over and then I'll consider it little more than an expensive toy with a good PR team behind it.

  • Forgive me if you like toy robots :) That's between you, your therapist, and your AIBO.

    I'd like voice recognition in my computer (which, Yes, is next to my bed, and my bed is where I'm typing from at the moment) to do things like ...

    - Set an alarm clock ("Alarm Clock, wakeup call seven thirty.")

    - Listen to audio programs without turning on the monitor (when you want to sleep, and can't, I don't like turning on my monitor again just long enough to pick a new program to lull me to sleep; would be better to say "Audio player, MP3, ocean sounds.")

    - connect to VoIP services ("Vonage Call Claire.")

    So I'm glad to see it in robots, if that's what gets people interested enough to make progress -- it's like a casino; those shrimp are my bonus because of what other people like to do :)

    timothy
    • This:
      my computer (which, Yes, is next to my bed, and my bed is where I'm typing from at the moment)

      and this:
      turning on my monitor again just long enough to pick a new program to lull me to sleep

      Is why you have to do this:
      - connect to VoIP services ("Vonage Call Claire.")

      ...instead of having Claire wake up next to you.

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