Coming Soon — Cyborg Farmers

palegray.net writes Robots.net covers an article about robotic exoskeletons for Japanese farmers. These exoskeletons would provide increased strength and support for manual labor intensive tasks. More information can also be found at robots-dreams.com. 'The robotic suit relies on ultrasonic motors along with various sensors and wireless networking gear. [...] The mass-produced version of the suit is expected to weigh in at 8 kilograms and cost about 200,000 yen.'"

Where is mine

[guruevi (827432)]

200,000 Yen =~ $1800. Where is my exoskeleton. I would imagine something like the exoskeleton suit from the Aliens series would be quite useful.

Re:

[somersault (912633)]

It would also weigh a little more than 8 kilos. I'd prefer a normal body sized exo-skeleton to a 20 foot mecha style exo-skeleton for everyday usage ;)

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[Creepy Crawler (680178)]

Now, take loose plates of armor and attach them with easy snap-on latches. You now have body armor that gives strength increase. All you need are weaponry slots for guns and such.

And in other currencies...

[Half-pint HAL (718102)]

In other major currencies 200 000 yen is approximately

950 UK Pounds
1250 Euros
44850 Rubles
72300 Rupees
13400 Yuan
20150 Mexican Pesos

HAL.

Wait a second.

[The_mad_linguist (1019680)]

I thought the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture wasn't in charge of Gundam.

WTF are "Ultrasonic Motors?"

[StCredZero (169093)]

Are they just motors we can't hear? Or was the article written by a science illiterate who includes words that he thinks sound scientific?

Re:WTF are "Ultrasonic Motors?"

[Arthur B. (806360)]

Apparently not http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrasonic_motor [wikipedia.org]

Oh my!

[sm62704 (957197)]

Pity the farmer's dogs.

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[pragma_x (644215)]

Thanks for the info, but I found that article to be impenetrable. So I went surfing for a more remedial explaination:

A decent explaination about how these things work.
http://www.tky.3web.ne.jp/~usrmotor/English/html/principlesandStructure.html [3web.ne.jp]

NASA JPL image of a robot arm assembly using a ultrasonic rotor (should help with visualizing what TFA is about)
http://www-robotics.jpl.nasa.gov/tasks/taskImage.cfm?TaskID=140&tdaID=800006&Image=319 [nasa.gov]

NASA JPL article with a good illustration of the "travelling w

Re:WTF are "Ultrasonic Motors?"

[jbeaupre (752124)]

Check out this crazy concept: Type "Ultrasonic motor" into this new fangled search site called Google. It pointed me to this free, (seriously: it's free!) encyclopedia called Wikipedia. The link talked all about ultrasonic motors http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrasonic_motor [wikipedia.org]. Seems they are commonly used in cameras. I bet other links would give even more information.

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[AikonMGB (1013995)]

Without reading the article, I would guess that what they meant was "harmonic drive [wikipedia.org]" transmissions.. that's the only relation to something that sounds like "sonic" that I can think of.

Harmonic drives can provide incredible output torque and extreme precision (i.e. no backlash).

Aikon-

And they'll be sold by Jawas...

[the_skywise (189793)]

and sometimes speak Bocce...

Nifty advances

[jbeaupre (752124)]

Not the first time Japanese agriculture spins out some interesting stuff. Check out their UAV helicopters: http://www.gizmag.com/go/2440/ [gizmag.com].

¥200,000 = $1834.55

[r_jensen11 (598210)]

Something about this sounds fishy.... I find it hard to believe that it would cost less than $2,000 to turn in to RoboCop.

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[somersault (912633)]

Fair enough, you sit there in your unbelief.. wheeeee!! *jumps onto the top of the empire state building*

Re:¥200,000 = $1834.55

[moderatorrater (1095745)]

I find it hard to believe that it would cost less than $2,000 to turn in to RoboCop

You're leaving out the cost of weapons.

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[CrashPoint (564165)]

Maybe he means the British RoboCop?

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[sm62704 (957197)]

I find it hard to believe that it would cost less than $2,000 to turn in to RoboCop.

I fond it hard to believe that an exoskeleton would cost as much as a car. The Indians are putting a CAR out for about that price.

I want one like in The Matrix. Those exoskeletons would cost a bit more than $2k I think!

Re:¥200,000 = $1834.55

[Sandbags (964742)]

Well, it's not really a robotic suit, it's a robotic "assist" suit. It doesn't do anything by itself, it's just a few servos with some quality sensors attached and calibtrated to the wearers movement. It helps prevent fatigue by helping the farmer balance, stand and squat, and remain bent over for long periods of time.

the software behind it isn't anything radical, and since then motors don't apply force, just resistance, most of the work is done with very little power. (power is needed to turn on and off the motor, but not to actually move limbs, so it;s kind of like assisted breaking, or power steering, but for the body.)

It's a lot more simple than people think to make it out. Many of the componenets are slight upgrades to common hobby gear... the sensors are where the real magic is, allowing the suit to move fluidly with the wearer and sense when to support and when to assist. Other than that, it's not more than a fancy mechanical brace. $2000 USD is completely beievable.

Also, misprint in the article states 8KG. It's 18KG (about 40 lbs).

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[veganboyjosh (896761)]

Maybe they are trying to get these to as many people as possible

Coming soon: The OEPC project...?

how long before....

[zappepcs (820751)]

these robotic suits are used to record all the data necessary to train robots to do the same work?

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[zentinal (602572)]

If we run short of migrant workers as a side effect of immigration reform, imagine flocks / herds of robotic weeders / pickers roaming the fields. Heck, you could even have pest eating robots [newscientist.com].

48 years early

[p3d0 (42270)]

The Onion got it right [theonion.com].

Get away from her...

[show me altoids (1183399)]

you Bitch!!

Wow, bad misread.

[Aladrin (926209)]

This is the worst I've misread a summary yet... And oddly, probably the most accurate misread also.

I read it: "The mass-produced version of the weapon is expected"

Scary.

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[Mantaar (1139339)]

I'll wait for them things to get produced on a larger scale. I wonder when the first incident will be reported where a drunken farmer abuses his newly-grown exo-super powers...

Would be fun to have a fight in those things, too, I think. Just one blow that's not blocked properly and you're dead meat, ready for consumption.

I hope...

[tgd (2822)]

I hope I wasn't really the ONLY one whose first thought was "well that pretty much decides the whole illegal immigrant discussion once the migrant workers get cybernetic exoskeletons"...

I, for one, welcome our cybernetic illegal immigrant overlords.

um... I mean... I, para uno, dan la bienvenida a nuestros overlords inmigrantes ilegales cibernéticos.

(thanks babelfish)

Re:I hope...

[Fx.Dr (915071)]

um... I mean... I, para uno, dan la bienvenida a nuestros overlords inmigrantes ilegales cibernéticos. (thanks babelfish)

The last time I heard someone used Babelfish, it was in reference to some manner of diplomatic incident [theinquirer.net].

Seeing as how Japanese cyborgs are involved, I feel you just opened up a whole can of worms. Good going, man. Good going.

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[thebdj (768618)]

You mean, The 6 Million Peso Man [youtube.com]?

Robot *what*?

[jesdynf (42915)]

Japanese farmers driving exoskeletons?

Don't I seem to recall something else Japanese farmers are famous for?

Oh, that's right. Ninjas.

Nothing but awesome can come from this.

8kg? Might be a misprint

[damburger (981828)]

8kg is ridulously light for an exoskeleton that can increase the strength of its wearer significantly. The power source alone would have to be much heavier (its designed to work outdoors, so no wired power). For comparison, the Apollo space suits weighed about 80kg.

Or it could be an indication this is BS...

HAL

[wizardforce (1005805)]

didn't they call it "HAL" or was that another robot assistant? What do you think you're doing Dave?

Rice-planters Better Than Rice Lifters

[writerjosh (862522)]

While this suit is totally cool, I think bigger, mass-production robots like this rice-planting robot [web-japan.org] are far more practical. The robot suit is indeed a technological breakthrough, but I think robots that can help more than one person at a time are far more valuable. Or, check out these weed-killers [primidi.com].

Robots aren't strong

[CastrTroy (595695)]

Maybe it's just me, but most robots I've seen aren't that strong. Most can be outdone pretty easily by a human the is in good shape. There are some strong robots, but they are extremely large, and not the kind that could be worked into a suit that would be worn by a human. Also, what advantage does this offer over typical farm machinery that isn't in a human exoskeleton form factor?

ER/EI

[Ralph Spoilsport (673134)]

So, how much energy does a cyber farm hand embody in its mining, construction, operation and maintenance, as opposed to a human and how many calories of food can it generate?

Given the average farm hand needs 2000 calories to maintain homeostasis and at least that much for accoutrement (clothing, etc.), the machine has to run on less than 4000 calories a day of energy, including its energy investment as an object.

I'm not saying one way or the other, but the analysis needs to be made before we can welcome

Sounds familiar

[bograt (943491)]

I watched a movie about this recently. "RoboCrop", I think it was called.

Better Check My Policy.

[hotwatermusic (911310)]

Must make sure my Old Glory Insurance is current.

much needed

[ILongForDarkness (1134931)]

I'm not an expert in the region and growing of asian produce, however, when I was in Japan visiting a friend I was amazed at how low tech the farming is there something ca 1920 US. They were planting rice by hand. We were biking through rural areas and I noticed a lot of older people that were bent over at a near 90% angle on the side walks. I asked my friend what was wrong with them, and he said they were farmers who's backs have become deformed from bending over all the time.

The reason for this stupidity according to my friend: Japan (as admittedly a lot of countries do) has protectionist policies in place forcing rice and other crops to have to be produced in Japan. The cost of japanese rice versus the average is 7 times, but they have to produce it. Apparently it is cheaper to ruin the backs of people in a first world country then to risk not having control of your food supply - because you buy it from the close third world countries - in the advent of a war. Admittedly if I was like Japan and had crazies for neighbours (North Korea/China, government not the people) whom I recently pissed off by invading I might be worried about war preparedness as well.

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[palegray.net (1195047)]

The Chinese were using rockets for celebrations long before they thought to fire them at each other in wartime.

Dunno about that

[Cro Magnon (467622)]

I thought they were celebrating BECAUSE they drove off invaders with them.

Re:BS

[asuffield (111848)]

Also, at $1800 per, your not going to see people investing in these when they can just hire some cheap child labor.

What country do you think Japan is in?

This is not China or India. They do not have "cheap child labour". This is the country with the highest per-capita wages in the world. This is where labour is at its most expensive. This is also the country where children go to school 10 hours a day, 6 or 7 days a week, from the age when they can hold a pencil until they go to university. There's no child labour at all, let alone cheap.

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[GnarlyDoug (1109205)]

And that has what bearing on the availability of child labor?

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[PPH (736903)]

Will they be equipped with tentacles? Will Japanese schoolgirls flee in terror?

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[sm62704 (957197)]

As I am a cyborg [slashdot.org] I think I can answer for you. No tentacles (although here in in Springfiels where the cartoons all live, who knows?). From my perspective the schoolgirls are safe (for now) but the middle aged women, well... since most of us cyborgs are geezers, your mom needs to, er, well, say HI to her for me would you?

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[jav1231 (539129)]

No, they're equipped with testicles and yes Japanese schoolgirls will flee!

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[sm62704 (957197)]

I'm no farmer, although I garden every once in a while. But as a cyborg [slashdot.org] I thank you for the overlordship you have bestowed on me.

Oh yeah - resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.

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[TheRaven64 (641858)]

The Agriculture Ministry is not in charge of Gundam [bbc.co.uk]

Re:Tractors

[asuffield (111848)]

In America these are called tractors.

In America they grow mostly maize and wheat, which can be easily automated by dragging heavy machinery across the top of the soil. In Japan they grow mostly fruit and vegetables, which have to be carefully picked from the plants. Tractors are just not that useful to them, which is why they don't really use them. Harvesting is mostly done by hand because the land of genius automation has not been able to find a way to automate it - until now (maybe).

Here's a hint at the problems they have to deal with: the Japanese radish (one of their staple vegetables) is a foot long and about three inches wide. It takes a lot of careful pulling to get something that size out of the ground without damaging it.

Re:Tractors

[Hatta (162192)]

Try picking strawberries with a tractor. There's a lot of hand-picked produce out there still, and that's quite literally back breaking labor. Some sort of mechanical support could make farming a whole lot more humane. Of course in our economy, we have illegal immigrants to pick our fruit and nobody cares about their knees anyway.

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[pragma_x (644215)]

Wonder when they will start making them look like Daleks.

Good point. With handicap ramps now the norm in building construction, they'll be quite practical too.

...

Wanted: apartment in multi-story building with no elevator. Close proximity to gun store preferred.