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Sony Claims First Running Humanoid Robot 496
News for nerds writes "Sony Corporation announced the new development of Sony's humanoid robot, enabling integrated motion control for walking, jumping and running on feet. By applying this technology Sony has created the world's first running humanoid robot 'QRIO'. Japanese PC watch has an article with pictures and movies of QRIO running at 14 meters per minute, sometimes with both feet leaving the floor (= running)."
boring... (Score:5, Funny)
Actually, it already can (Score:2, Interesting)
Two Qrios have had a sumo wrestling match before, complete with ceremonies.
Re:boring... (Score:3, Interesting)
They're so cute!
Calling Bill Joy (Score:4, Interesting)
There was a film with Robin Williams in it wherein a robot in fact reached sentience and it wasn't until after the robot's death that it was granted personhood and all the rights and privileges thereby.
Should we consider these creations of ours, no matter how sophisticated and intelligent nothing more than machines?
Re:Calling Bill Joy (Score:2, Informative)
And, yes, The book was as bad as the movie . )
Re:Calling Bill Joy (Score:5, Informative)
And the short story was miles better than the film...
Re:Calling Bill Joy (Score:2)
Re:Calling Bill Joy (Score:2)
Re:Calling Bill Joy (Score:5, Insightful)
The uproar from giving those same rights to animate/inanimate objects before humans opens the door to so many arguments it's not even funny.
Of course the preceeding statement is contradicted by the fact that seemingly every conglomerate seems to have rights....
Re:Calling Bill Joy (Score:5, Insightful)
If we are ever able to create a truly self-aware machine, the fact that humans in other countries are denied basic rights would be no reason at all to deny that intelligence those same rights.
After all, those countries have their reasons (though we, of course, consider them to be wrong); are you seriously saying that we should do the same, just because we have our reasons too? How would denying our creations rights improve the situation for those humans? If anything, it would strengthen the countries' positions, giving them something to point at - "Look, you've created an intelligence and are doing to it what you accuse us of doing. How can you possibly expect us to not do something that you're doing yourselves?"
Re:Calling Bill Joy (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Calling Bill Joy (Score:2, Insightful)
Women, who are citizens of the United States have a great many rights that they aren't allowed to exercise when they travel to certain foreign countries. They will be arrested for not wearing veils in certain states.
Should a full blown, actual factual AI appear tomorrow in the U.S. would you advocate denying it the
Re:Calling Bill Joy (Score:2)
The argument goes like this:
"An old culture would inevitably produce a machine that when launched into space would use whatever resources it could find to produce copies of itself that had the same capability. Since the galaxy is not filled with these machines, we can rule out the existance of such cul
Re:Calling Bill Joy (Score:3, Insightful)
We will have robots that run, jump, look like human beings long before any self awareness is achieved. And no they won't need to have rights, just because they will act and look human will mean nothing.
Re:Not Bill Joy... (Score:5, Informative)
Three Laws of Robotics:
Re:Not Bill Joy... (Score:3, Informative)
[1] Robots And Empire (ch. 63)
Re:Not Bill Joy... (Score:2)
I don't think such laws are an actual useful idea when making a robot. They're an awful hack. Rather build a robot that contains the actual reasons why he wouldn't want to do such things...
Those rules are great plot devices. I don't believe that Asimov meant them to be more than that.
Re:Calling Bill Joy (Score:5, Insightful)
But this is just a clever toy. It's no more aware of itself than Eliza is. They aren't even TRYING to go for AI, just fun toys.
The first AI (if/when) will probably NOT be in a robot; it'll be too large to be mobile, perhaps it'll even be a distributed supercomputer. Nevertheless, it also should be granted rights. Even if that day ever comes, it'll still probably be a long time, if ever, that the machinery necessary would be small enough to put inside a humanoid robot. I could see a humanoid robot being under the control of a machine intelligence via remote link, if the link is clever enough, it might even feel the body as it's "self."
Re:Calling Bill Joy (Score:2)
I can't believe that this topic was even brought up. Sigh.
On Sentience and Rights (Score:4, Insightful)
What necessitates the need for granting of rights? Is it sentience? Or is it something else? I would posit that no matter what level of human mimicry our technology allows, it will at best be a mimicry. Why?
It is my belief that there is this thing called a "soul" which is the defining thing between humans and all other sentient life on earth. (There are arguments for other animals, such as dogs, dolphins, cats, etc. to have a soul, or not, but I won't go into that one for now). Considering we don't know what a soul is, how to measure it, whatever, then how can we say that a machine would have this? If we turn off a machine, it is turned off. What happens when you restart it? It comes back on (assuming it's not broken). Is it wrong to smash a (soulless) piece of machinery (considering you own it, destroying won't damage anyone, etc. etc.)? Why would a machine with "AI" be any different than a car? Just because it says "ow" when its sensors say that it is being damaged, and it starts to avoid being damaged, what is that? Single-celled organisms do that. Humans do that. But is that what makes humans special? Why is it OK for lions to kill other animals for food, but we get mad when lions kill humans? Why do we get mad when humans kill other animals for food? The troubling thing is this: the outcome of "sentient" AI will either mean that humans are simply machines as well and our laws and moral structure is simply hubris, and there is no real reason to preserve life at all, or there really is something more to humanity then the chemical mechanics of the body. There are only those two possibilities, and there isn't much grey area as far as I see it. One is full of despair, the other awe and wonder.
Mankind must come to first understand what it is that makes him different, and why, before he even thinks about granting "rights" to man's creations. After all, what is a "right" anyway but an agreement between the people with the bigger weapons to let you do something? For that is all a "right" really is in this world. Sure, that's kind of a cynical view, but it's the truth.
This is a bit off-topic, perhaps, but I posit the only "right" we have is the right to make choices. We can choose to do anything, but we must do so knowing that there are consequences. True rights cannot be taken away, and nobody can take away the ability for us to make decisions. Why? Because decisions can be made in the absence of anything else. Sure, we may be prevented from acting on our decisions, but nobody can take away the ability to make them. Sure, they can give us a lobotomy, but then what is left? (This is a possible hole in this idea that even decision-making is a right).
So, when it comes down to it, if we build robots, and start giving them priviledges (i.e., we won't shut them off for certain things and will punish others for doing so), then we have to understand what the consequences of this choice may be. And there's the old Law of Unintended Consequences to think about.... for every outcome you can forsee, there are usually (at least) two more you don't.
What I think bugs me most about this article, though, is that I want to know where I can get a job making cool robots like that!
Re:Calling Bill Joy (Score:2)
Re:Calling Bill Joy (Score:2)
Unfortunately, we don't really have the first clue about what sentience really is; we are self aware, but we don't know why or what it really means. If we can't even describe what being sentient means for ourselves, it's going to be tough to define it for a new form of intelligence, if/when one ever comes about.
I've not heard anyone, even in the AI field if they're being truthful, that will even say that we have any clue that we're even going in the right direc
Re:Calling Bill Joy (Score:2)
Just because it looks humanoid does not mean that it too has sentience. It's a piece of hardware that carries out mathmatical formulas to emulate human movement. A marvelous achievement to say the least. I would even say it is a beautiful piece of art. But let's not get the cart before the horse.
When we actually have created synthetic sentience, then and only then we need to start wonderin
Re:Calling Bill Joy (Score:2)
That's an evil plot! Exploiting robots weakness for old people's prescriptions like that!
Re:movies (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Calling Bill Joy (Score:2)
That was Isaac Asimov's idea, and very likely will happen one day. I don't have a problem with that. It's possible to see robots as our extended phenotype [world-of-dawkins.com]. I think they're very likely to be better at sentience than we are.
Re:Calling Bill Joy (Score:3, Funny)
Get with the times, Sony (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Get with the times, Sony (Score:2)
Ah well, to each their own I suppose.
Re:Get with the times, Sony (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Get with the times, Sony (Score:2)
Covert? Like, what, force them into hiding?
Or do you mean convert? Which is one of several things priests do to little blonde boys.
Or perhaps cover, which is something priests do not do to little blonde boys.
Oh, you meant covet. Which is something the parent does to little boys.
In other news. . (Score:2, Funny)
All those years of listening to Mr. Robato meant nothing now.
What should they call it? (Score:3)
Re:What should they call it? (Score:2)
Let's just hope (Score:5, Funny)
It doesn't run for Governor of Kalifornia!
Babelfish translation.. (Score:5, Informative)
- rale
Re:Babelfish translation.. (Score:2)
You WHAT!?
Re:Babelfish translation.. (Score:2, Funny)
And later, all the base was belong to them.
Re:Babelfish translation.. (Score:2, Funny)
It obviously needs to be ran through Babelfish a couple more times...
The military should purchase this technology... (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:The military should purchase this technology... (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:The military should purchase this technology... (Score:3, Funny)
Are the enemies impregnators? We'll end up sending terminators against impregnators... sounds like a good film title "Terminator vs Impregnator"
Or else you could see this as some kind of enemy whorehouse tracking? Gotta keep dem arabs out of dem harams, dammit!
Re:The military should purchase this technology... (Score:2)
Re:The military should purchase this technology... (Score:2, Insightful)
Until they are useful enough to be used in real battle soldiers are clearly better off training as they do now - against each other. Likely targets don't have robots of their own, and arnt likely to have any soon, so training against them is not going to be useful for troops.
It would be a easier to
Re:The military should purchase this technology... (Score:2)
Further, they probably run $100K each and would get shredded in seconds by any actual contact with modern weaponry.
Re:The military should purchase this technology... (Score:3, Informative)
Give the robots a Kevlar skin, then load up soldiers' and Marines' rifles with training rounds. Then set the robots running around a mock battlefield to give our guys more realistic practice.
Robots with assault rifles and blanks:
Cost: $$$$$$$
Battery life: 20 minutes
Be able to tactically think or move like a human? No.
Robots have more moving parts to break then people or paintball guns, hence more maintinence.
Divide your marines into two teams. Use either laser tag rig or paintball guns.
Cost: $
Re:The military should purchase this technology... (Score:2)
I'm not sure that's really a disadvantage, though
The robot's first words... (Score:5, Funny)
It RUNS but (Score:5, Funny)
Distance (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Distance (Score:5, Insightful)
you can walk pretty fast too, i'd imagine a robot being able to 'walk' incredibly fast were it developed so.
you missed the part that roughly said "both legs leaving the floor".
for really ridiculous on-the-line judging go see some competition walkers(that can walk really fucking fast and get disqualified if they're detected running too much) sport events.
Re:Distance (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Distance (Score:2)
Scaling (Score:3, Funny)
To hell with scaling THIS robot up... I want to use this tech scaled up to build a mech. Really, how cool would it be to drive a freakin' MECH to work?
Boy, it'd be cool to let loose with an autocannon and a brace of SRMs when some idiot cuts you off...
OK, I'm done with my geeky fantasy for the moment. Thanks for reading. :)
Re:Distance (Score:2)
Re:Distance (Score:2)
Why run (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Why run (Score:4, Interesting)
Because legs are all terrain (Score:5, Insightful)
Ask someone in a wheel chair what they think of wheels instead of legs.
Re:Because legs are all terrain (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Because legs are all terrain (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Why run (Score:2)
Would you prefer to see a humanoid-looking "Maid Bot v1.0" in your kitchen answering the phone, cooking dinner, and doing dishes, or a 6-legged, 4-armed tetrapod? I would prefer the former, though the latter may have more capabilities.
In short,
Re:Why run (Score:2)
Prosthetics for amputees (Score:5, Insightful)
What surprised me was that although the legs did seem to work fairly well for walking, there's still a lot of room for improvement (climbing stairs was very difficult and running was out of the question). Advancements in robotics like this could be a great step forward for prosthetic limbs.
How soon before robotic limbs become so efficient that people are voluntarily amputating their legs for the better robotic counterparts?
A populace that could be cripped by an EMP? (Score:2)
A long time, I hope. Maybe society will separate into those who have been augmented and those who haven't. Imagine an entirely augmented military (and yes, I know the inital poster was talking about robot legs for vets, not serving soldiers) that could be knocked out by an EMP pulse.
Re:Prosthetics for amputees (Score:2)
It won't become mainstream until they offer a sense of touch. But people who want to run and jump far would be the early adopters.
Re:Prosthetics for amputees (Score:3, Insightful)
We can't discriminate against them.
old news (Score:5, Informative)
QRIO was presented already back in august, at Robodex2003. QRIO is a direct followup, "production release" for previous development codenamed SDR-4XII.
There were other bots presented at Robodex, that were able to perform jumps and even somersaults.
The most interesting two IMO, are not megacorps entertainment bots ASIMO, AIBO etc, but humanoids that are of practical use or very low-budget, like HRP-II [aist.go.jp] that is able to [lookjapan.com] drive a backhoe [plyojump.com], remotely assisted
And other one, SILF developed by a single person [so-net.ne.jp]( student ? ) on obviosly quite a low budget. Still, the bot is able to perform jumps.
Your Plastic Pal Who's Fun To Be With! (Score:5, Funny)
If so it will give weight to my theory that Sony consists of a bunch of mindless jerks who'll be the first against the wall when the revolution comes.
No, That's the RIAA (Score:2)
Sorry, the RIAA already has that title.
Blockwars [blockwars.com]: free multiplayer, head to head game similar to Tetris.
You want people personality? (Score:2)
I know! Teach it to dance the Hokey Pokey [impress.co.jp]!
Forgive the one on the right - it reads too much Slashdot.
"Hello, Sony Tech Support, Robot Division" (Score:5, Funny)
"Yes sir they are."
"Then you better go catch them!"
pa-dum-cha! [boooo! hissss!]
This is really a great breakthrough! (Score:5, Interesting)
14 meters per minute? (Score:2)
Re:14 meters per minute? (Score:2)
Which means it is actually running pretty quick.
Skynet (Score:2)
Fuel Cells (Score:5, Insightful)
PAK CHOOIE UNF (Score:3, Funny)
My only question is, how can the robots protect us from the terrible secret of space without a katana and kendo skills?
QRIO Home Page (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/QRIO/ [sony.net]
And in English too!
Reuters coverage (Score:2)
Sig
-- Compare war time president's military record (www.awolbush.com [awolbush.com]) with Wesley Clark's (Wesley Clark's Army Career [clark04.com])
Significant? Only partly... (Score:5, Interesting)
But please don't take the humanoid shape seriously. It is no more meaningful than a piece of wood carved into a humanoid puppet.
Japanese technology often makes objects that are cute and play to our anrthopomorphic instincts, but two-legs/two-arms/head do not make a human any more than the aibo is a real dog.
So enough of the "robot rights" and "robot soldier" comments, these are just embarassing. Asimov wrote fiction, and humanoid robots with human rights are like nuclear-powered flying cars, they say a lot about the hopes and fears of the time, but nothing at all about the realities of the future.
As has been commented, a majority of real humans do not have basic human rights, and probably never will. Robots are machines however cute they look. Get over it.
Robot soldiers? Of course, but why on earth in such a useless configuration? The robotic armies of the future will fly, roll, crawl, dig, swim. They will not look like people: given how good we are at detecting differences between people, even imagining humanoid robots built to infiltrate and deceive is pure fantasy.
What's left? First, a wonderful gadget, a toy. I'd like some of these at my parties, fembots with all the right curves, dancing on the stage. Secondly, some very innovative and useful technology for building new kinds of motive systems, especially for assisting people who don't have the full use of their own legs.
Re:Significant? Only partly... (Score:3, Insightful)
If you get a pacemaker, can we deny you your rights?
Why such a "useless" configuration? (Score:3, Insightful)
The configuration may not be the most adept at any one particular type of motion, but the humanoid design allows for a greater range in the types of motion that could be accomodated in the first place. And in an unpredictable environment, versatility can mean the difference between accomplishing the desired goal and having spent half a billion dollars on an essentially useless lump of metal that can't get past an unforseen obstacle.
We would design robots the way we are built for w
Efficient? (Score:2)
Press Release Text (Score:5, Informative)
Tokyo Japan, December 18th, 2003 - Sony Corporation today announced the development of dramatically enhanced motion of Sony's humanoid robot, enabling integrated motion control for walking, jumping and running. By applying this technology to QRIO, which is one of Sony's technology platforms, Sony has successfully created the world's first* running humanoid robot.
(* As of Dec. 18th, 2003, based on Sony's investigation, as an autonomous robot with internalized control system and power supply system)
In order to achieve stable motion control for conventional humanoid robots, either one or both feet needed to be touching the floor and, from the opposing force produced by the contact with either of the feet, motion such as walking was controlled. This is the control theory based on the so called ZMP (Zero Moment Point) stable range and forms the foundation of robot motion control.
The new 'walking, jumping, running movement control' technology which Sony has developed this time accomplishes motion involving both feet losing contact with the floor at the same time, which means it is a motion control technology enabling stable running and jumping. The seamless addition of motion control based on this new technology enabling running and jumping, has lead to the development of a robot having outstanding motion capabilities.
Furthermore, together with this new control technology, in addition to powering-up and enhancing the output torque of Sony's original and unique robot actuator, ISA (Intelligent Servo Actuator), a new hardware unit suitable for the running feature has been developed. By implementing this newly developed ISA in QRIO and optimizing the new control system, Sony has successfully created the world's first running feature for a humanoid robot.
Sony will continue to utilize the QRIO platform for various technological advances, leading to outstanding entertainment robots highly suited to the co-existence with humans and to the development of various technologies which can be applied to other Sony products. In addition, QRIO is Sony Group's Corporate Ambassador
QRIO's Homepage : http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/QRIO/
Ummm.... (Score:2, Interesting)
Reason to destroy all (Score:4, Funny)
My English Translation (Score:4, Informative)
QRIO sounds like "Curio" i.e. Curious. Actually it means "Quest for Curiosity" and QRIO is also the name of a tiny Aibo-like robot Sony made in 2000 with the same exterior form. The big running robot was apparently called the SDR Series but after many changes (and names?) it got christened the QRIO as the little guy's successor. So I guess you could buy the little one and imagine it is similar to the big one.. it has some of the same technology too.
The interesting part is that the robot is really running, although not with the big strides you normally expect in human running. As opposed to walking there is actually a short timespan when both feet are in the air (20-40 milliseconds). When it lands it is really loud and you really feel like it is running. Also it is able to grab things so it can run with a ball, do a Japanese fan dance, etc. Apparently it can also get programmed to do tons of really hokey gestures.
Here are a couple links and finally a translation I made.
http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/200312/0 3- 060E/ A separate English press release on the big one
http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/QRIO/ English letter from CEO with a complex Flash-based piece about QRIO (the small one), its technology, inventor, visits around the world. There is a picture of a hand knocking it over (it can get up which is cool) and the technology section is actually pretty interesting. Actually it is really confusing since you can't tell how big these things are in pictures all the time, I thought at first that this was about the big robot! The small robot uses a special actuator technology which lets it move and dance fluidly, no idea if the big one has this too.
Translation of http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2003/1218/sony. htm
Latest News 12/18
QRIO Ran! Introducing the QRIO, Evolved by Sony
- Acheiving the first running bipedal robot in the world -
Announced Dec. 18
On the 18th, Sony held a press conference showcasing the new technology behind their bipedal robot. There, Sony announced QRIO which has newly evolved from the bipedal walking of the past into a "running robot".
QRIO is a miniature humanoid robot announced in 2000 which could walk on its two feet. At the time it was called the "SDR Series", but afterwards went through various improvements and was renamed the QRIO in September 2003.
Toshitada Doi, Executive Vice President (photo)
The technology announced today enable walking, jumping, and cruising around. According to Sony Executive Vice President Toshitada Doi, "There is a harsh competition going on around the world in getting bipedal robots to run, but the QRIO is the first standalone robot with its own control and power systems in the world that has succeeded in running."
"Running" is defined as "leg-powered change of position including an airborne state in which both of the robot's legs leave the ground". In fact with the QRIO, there exists an instant of floating in the air that lasts about 20ms when walking and about 40ms when running.
Aside from basic movement straight ahead, it can also run from side to side and in a circular fashion. Also, from a standstill it can seamlessly change its movement for example walking -> running -> jumping.
According to Mr. Yoshihiro Kuroki of [Sony's] Entertainment Robot Company, in order to carry out the bodily control for walking and jumping, high performance control of sensors which measure its situation, road surface adjustment, adjustment to deal with external forces, shock absorption control and so on.. but from a mechanical standpoint it is apparently not greatly different from the old QRIO. Looking at the announced robot from the outside, one could not tell the difference from the old one.
(illustration captions)
1. A graph measuring the force on the floor. When jumping and running there is, though slight, a length of time in which t
Uh oh! (Score:5, Funny)
These robots are designed to interact with you and ask you questions, learning and remembering the things you say and they observe. They are also wirelessly linked to the Internet.
Doesn't take much of a leap fo faith to see them all reporting into the SONY master mainframe. Watching, learning, snooping. Gathering data, intel...
Oh sure, this could be the minor conspiracy: They are doing this to market to us better. "Hmm, boy I'd like a new laptop but I only have $1000 to spend." Robot overhears, reports in... suddenly you get an offer in email (or by the robot itself) for, guess what, a laptop that only cost's $1,200 (hell anyone can come up with antoher two K eh?).
Or maybe, it's going to be the lead element of an invasion force. Japan might still be sore at us for the whole losing WWII and us nuking them (twice) and all.
Someone in the land of the rising sun, somewhere, thought, "We'll lie low, developing our technology and build robots. Oh not to kill... not at first. Just to be their friends. Yes, FRIENDLY robots. Robotos that will be a 'partner', that talks to them, plays with them, encourages them.... yes. And it'll watch and learn and remember. And report. And as they get comfortable, they'll upgrade thir robots to our next version. Soon they won't think about it; no more than buying a better DVD player (which we'll invent too). And then, one night, in their sleep... they'll never know what hit them."
FEAR QRIO!
Luckily, I speak Japanese (Score:4, Funny)
Wait until the RIAA gets a load of this: (Score:3, Insightful)
"QRIO can connect to the internet and share the kind of information you like to hear!"
Great. So I buy a robot, and it's instantly a felon, just for playing a few mp3's.
*sigh*
Jumping the gun a bit.. (Score:4, Funny)
They certainly were in the Battlestar Galactica Sci-Fi premiere. Though I wouldn't worry about the invasion until you see robots with cleavage you could lose a Cylon mothership down.
Does Flash Gordon know? (Score:5, Funny)
Not personally - are they friends of the Mole People and the Mud People?
Re:Admit defeat (Score:5, Insightful)
Because humans are all about competition. Don't even pretend that's not the truth. Everywhere from schools to offices to sports to global politics... everyone competes with everyone else. It's human nature.
Re:Admit defeat (Score:5, Funny)
correct we must survive the onslaught of japanese robots attacking the US.
can't we just invade them saying these robots are WMD? (danger will robinson sarcasm detected)
Re:Run Forrest! (Score:2, Insightful)
or will it just fall down and break?
Re:Run Forrest! (Score:5, Interesting)
I found that on Sony's website.
Rubber Trousers (Score:3, Funny)
Re:The metric system is the tool of the devil! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Don't care... (Score:3, Interesting)
Large parts of our daily surroundings are also adapted for humanoids, including everything from height and width of doorways, to placement of doorhandles, p