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Robotics

Toyota Demos 'Partner Robots' 224

Posted by michael from the recoilless-rifle-not-included dept.
angryflute writes "Toyota has created a walker robot that the driver sits in and controls. It's meant for handicapped people to get around with, but you can easily see the potential for this technology to become the basis for a real-world version of an AT-ST Scout Walker or mobile suit Gundam -- just add guns!" Gizmodo has some more pictures.
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Toyota Demos 'Partner Robots' More

Toyota Demos 'Partner Robots'

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  • Only in Japan (Score:5, Insightful)

    by BWJones ( 18351 ) * on Friday December 03, 2004 @06:17PM (#10992653) Homepage Journal
    Robots this cool and bizarre could only come from Japan. Normally, I am a fan of form following function, but am reminded in these robots of everything cool about design from a Japanese ethic. Their principal application of providing the handicapped with greater mobility is one that we are familiar with in our lab. One of our fellows is in a wheelchair (polio) and sometimes accessibility is still a problem for him, particularly obtaining things that are above his reach. Certainly the Segway folks have worked in this area before, but their form absolutely followed function and had very little of the design sensibility of Toyotas products. I also can find almost nothing on their site about products for the handicapped anymore. What happened? Has Segway abandoned all their accessibility products in favor of the HT?

    Also, I imagine that since the US Army has an overriding interest in enhancing personal mobility, that they too will be paying Toyota a visit.

    • Did you read the specs on the thing? Almost 500 pounds (200kg = approx 440#), and moves at about one mile per hour.

      That's great if you can't otherwise walk at all, I suppose, but I don't see soldiers getting all jazzed about strolling into combat in one, guns or not.

      • Re:Only in Japan (Score:4, Insightful)

        by krymsin01 ( 700838 ) on Friday December 03, 2004 @07:42PM (#10993384) Homepage Journal
        When automobile (think: tanks) were introduced during world war I to the battle field, they were highly impractical and were considered an imparement rather that as a tacticle avantage.
        • But tanks introduced an element that was beneficial in battle that was not yet the case prior to that point: they provided a mobile, powerful, and armored vehicle which could withstand conventional firearms and even minor explosions (grenades, etc.) without breaking. They were the 900 pound gorilla of battle - granted, one that needed a lot of bannanas and attention.

          What would one of these mobile suits provide? They're too slow to be practical, too big to be maneuverable, and too heavy to go many places.

          N
    • To answer your question about accessibility products:
      "When and where can I purchase an IBOT(TM) Mobility System?
      Although the IBOT(TM) was invented and developed at DEKA, Independence Technology, a division of Johnson & Johnson, will be marketing and selling the IBOT(TM). Please consult their website, www.indetech.com for questions regarding price and availability"

    • wait'n for the GRITS! (Score:3, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      I'm not going to be satisfied until the NatalieBot keeps me in as many lapdances and other, um, jobs, as I can pay the electric bill for. Plus, she needs to be able to convince my mom that she's only a phase I'm going through.
    • Exoskeletons a la DARPA [darpa.mil] The military has been interested in combat exoskeletons for some time. DARPA has been poking its nose around this idea for years.
    • > am reminded in these robots of everything cool
      > about design from a Japanese ethic

      Well, one of the "robots" looks like she's sitting in a huge wheeled vagina. So much for ethics of any particular sort ;-)
    • Segway sold all rights to medical use of self-balancing technology to P&G. P&G (supposedly) markets the IBOT wheelchair, but there is no mention of it on their site as well...

  • Soon to be a lot of money in this... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Skyshadow ( 508 ) * on Friday December 03, 2004 @06:17PM (#10992660) Homepage
    What the hell. [toyota.co.jp] Seriously, when is Japan going to stop bogarting the good acid?

    Aside from that, the assisted mobility thing is going to be a big, big market in the next couple of decades as the baby boomers start hitting the wall (assuming they aren't actually staring down an extra 900 years of life [slashdot.org] by then). While I seriously hope it won't look much like this given my natural fear of old people in silver spandex, I think we will see a lot of advancement in this field as the money shifts in that direction.

    It's not just limited to mobility, either -- picture a recorder that is always working and allows you to privately review what just happened in your spare moments to aid memory? Heh, maybe you could even mark off when you've told a particular story to spare your loved ones the constant retelling...

    • Blame the french [toyota.co.jp]:

      3. Producer/Show Director

      Yves Pépin Profile

      Born in France in 1943, Pépin is known for his fantastic, grand-scale productions. Head of the Paris-based production company eca2, he has successfully executed numerous multimedia and large-scale programs at various global events, expositions and theme parks.

      Pépin's representative works include the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1998 World Cup in France and the 1999-2000 Millennium Celebration spectacle at the

    • picture a recorder that is always working and allows you to privately review what just happened in your spare moments to aid memory

      Like a skrode [dd-b.net]?

    • Re:Soon to be a lot of money in this... (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Queer Boy ( 451309 ) <dragon DOT 76 AT mac DOT com> on Friday December 03, 2004 @08:25PM (#10993641)
      The Japanese cultural phenomenon of "cute" is the same cultural phenomenon of "tough" that America has. We put blood and gore and screaming and machismo into everything, and they put bright colours and funny songs and talking animals in everything.

      I find it a refreshing alternative. Frankly I find the "Grand Theft Auto" mindset dull and primitive.

      • The Japanese cultural phenomenon of "cute" is the same cultural phenomenon of "tough" that America has. We put blood and gore and screaming and machismo into everything, and they put bright colours and funny songs and talking animals in everything.

        I find it a refreshing alternative. Frankly I find the "Grand Theft Auto" mindset dull and primitive.

        Oh, that's rich. It must have been the Aztecs who came up with bushido, seppuku, and Sword of Doom. Hmm, perhaps I'll go do a "test cut" on some random peas

        • Of course you're only familiar with the subculture that's violent. You've proven my point most exquisitely. No, really, you don't keep having to tell me I'm right.
        • Actually, I think you are both right. It is just that the Japanese culture ALLOWS beauty (read "cute") and violence to coexist with little stigma for either. This appreciation for the utility of both is simply not possible in US cutlure at this time.

          Historically, the samurai were as interested in beauty as in the martial arts; while in the US beauty (and the appreciation of it) has traditionally been associated almost entirely with feminity, and violence almost entirely with masculinity - a stupid and cu
  • ...or just use it to drive in the HOV lane =)

    The cop won't even suspect it's a doll if it can move its arms around.

  • Cool, but... (Score:5, Funny)

    by darth_MALL ( 657218 ) on Friday December 03, 2004 @06:18PM (#10992664)
    DO you have to wear the quasi-futuristic suits to make it work? Handicapped people still have dignity you know.

  • Coming next, the Shover Robot (Score:5, Funny)

    by mekkab ( 133181 ) on Friday December 03, 2004 @06:19PM (#10992671) Homepage Journal
    In order to push bread down their throats. [somethingawful.com]

    Do you have stairs in your house?

  • Just add guns (Score:5, Funny)

    by zackeller ( 653801 ) on Friday December 03, 2004 @06:21PM (#10992688)
    That phrase has never caused anything bad to happen.

  • Old People/Walker Robots (Score:3, Funny)

    by tonsofpcs ( 687961 ) <slashback AT tonsofpcs DOT com> on Friday December 03, 2004 @06:22PM (#10992700) Homepage Journal
    In Japan, only old people use walker robots.
  • I hope that any large scale mechs don't give their occupant the same problem that Escaflowne did when they needed to repair it...
  • Get away from her, you bitch!
  • So, who's in favor of starting a paypal account for people to donate to so the geeks can get one, mount very large guns on it, and then mount a very small nuclear reactor? Destruction of cities is fun for the whole family!
  • I mean, really. Their engineers have this unique way of looking at problems and their solutions to those problems always leave me in awe. Not only does their population have access to the latest and greatest technology, but they are also very receptive to products that may be interpreted by the rest of the world as, "what the f***?" Keep up the great work, Japan! Only with your help will our future be realized.

    • >> Not only does their population have access to the latest and greatest technology That's because they make their tecnology for the benefit of their population. I find it ironic that while one slashdot article spoke of Japan making robots to help their elderly, another article a short while later spoke of the USA creating robots with guns to make the killing process more effecient. How do you know the US does not currently have a better class of robots than these already? Maybe there are, except ma

    • Their engineers have this unique way of looking at problems and their solutions to those problems always leave me in awe.

      ...because their assisted living walker wouldn't fit through a single door I've ever walked through?

      I do suppose busting through the door to your office (and talking a nice chunk of the wall with it) would be a good way for the handicapped to scare the living crap out of their co-workers, but that'd be about it. Come to think of it, that does leave me in awe. I want one.

  • I mean, really. Either one of those things is cooler than the Segway.

    The U.S. has no hope of ever being as cool as Japan, no matter how much they love to copy aspects of our, um, pop 'culture'...

    Insert I-unit joke here...

  • who are the adwizards who came up with this one (Score:5, Funny)

    by viva_fourier ( 232973 ) on Friday December 03, 2004 @06:27PM (#10992753) Journal
    First couple things I thought of when I saw the conceptual ad:

    1. wtf?
    2. Seriously, wtf?
    3. A new Power Rangers design?
    4. Cheap Peyote hits Tokyo?
    5. Does it come in "Confederate Flag" with a gunrack?

  • two words... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by nusratt ( 751548 ) on Friday December 03, 2004 @06:30PM (#10992775) Journal
    bigger doors.

    Didn't RTFA, just looked at the pix.
    But, if these things are to be practical for "handicapped" people, buildings will need MUCH bigger doors, wider aisles between office cubicles, wider hallways in homes, and higher ceilings in many places -- not to mention bigger cargo doors in personal vans, etc.

  • Too tall, too wide, too long (Score:5, Insightful)

    by LeiGong ( 621856 ) on Friday December 03, 2004 @06:33PM (#10992798) Homepage
    Am I the only one that notice just how tall, wide, and long these things are? They would be impractical to use for any day-to-day operation. The standing robot looks to be 8' tall and its feet looks to be 1'x2'. It would hardly be able to climb stairs with ease. Doorways, staircases, and almost all archways in Japan are smaller and more cramped than their US counter-part. I just don't see this thing fitting into a Japanese-sized apartment or office.

    The other robotic device would need to run on the street because it looks 50% larger than our current electric wheelchairs and is about as long as motorcycle. I mean sure they look cool and sound great. But when you consider its practical applications, especially in Japan, it's just rediculous.

    And WTF is up with that chick dressed up in the white latex suit?!? I mean really...WTF?!?

    • Am I the only one that notice just how tall, wide, and long these things are?

      Well...I'm guessing that the initial conversation went something like this:

      Japanese Engineer: Hey, boss - - would it be ok if I took a couple years off the Prius team and started making Mecha?
      Japanese Boss: I'm sorry...that sounds like a terrible waste of time and company resources.
      Japanese Engineer: Ah...yes. You're right. On an unrelated note, have you seen these designs for...uh...Assisted Mobility Vehicles that I've
  • . . . how many of y'all saw the headline "Partner Robot" and assumed that you were going to read about the debut of a ErotoBot?

    Stefan

  • It's the wrong trousers, Gromit! (Score:5, Funny)

    by yroJJory ( 559141 ) <meNO@SPAMjory.org> on Friday December 03, 2004 @06:33PM (#10992805) Homepage
    ...and they've gone wrong!

  • So when do the robots start fighting? Do all three models join together to form a larger robot?

  • Physics is against Robotech Creations... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Mr. Flibble ( 12943 ) on Friday December 03, 2004 @06:36PM (#10992839) Homepage
    A friend of mine, who ironically is a tanker in the military fully believes that robotech battlemechs will one day be a reality. Surprisingly, he does not realize that one of the advantages that a tank has is a low profile. Granted, it does not have legs to walk around with, so it a little less mobile. However, if you are dealing with insurgents who have RPG's, or even other tanks, having a high profile is BAD. Even if you had armor that was strong enough to withstand multiple hits, the sheer force of a hit would cause a mech to topple, or at the very least lose balance.

    While large mechs would be cool, they would be all to prone to getting blown up. Just giant walking targets. Now, smaller mechs, about the size of an Abrams would be mobile, and act as armor for troops would be more practical than building size robots - but Giant Mechs? Not likely. (All the above is assuming you over come all the other physical limits such as structural stress etc...)

    Mech wheelchairs are a good idea however.
    • The Mech vs Tank discussion is one that I've been into too many times to count. Bottom line is Mecha are cool to look at, but inherently too complex to be especially useful on the battlefield. Those knees are going to be inherently more fragile than a tank's suspension, and the point loading on the feet will be higher than with tracks.

      Now, Toyota's application of "walker" technology for aiding the handicapped is exceptionally cool. They've still got to beat the complexity issue (a more or less conventio
      • Yes, but you can't get a tank to a lot of places a walker-style mech would be able to get to easily, carrying a lot of cargo, and still be much lower profile than something airborne. It's basically the difference between a hammer and a screwdriver. Both can be used on both nails and screws, but only one of the two is ideal for each situation.
        But this is all theory until the AT-AT's climb up the mountains to get me ;)
    • Mr Flibble writes:
      A friend of mine, who ironically is a tanker in the military fully believes that robotech battlemechs will one day be a reality. Surprisingly, he does not realize that one of the advantages that a tank has is a low profile. Granted, it does not have legs to walk around with, so it a little less mobile. However, if you are dealing with insurgents who have RPG's, or even other tanks, having a high profile is BAD. Even if you had armor that was strong enough to withstand multiple hits, the s
      • That was kind of my idea at the end of my paragraph. Having a medium sized mech would be viable - either as an exoskeleton or some other variant. As other ppl have mentioned, as soon as you start to scale the vehicle above a certain size, the mass of the mech begins to put too much weight on the ground beneath it. The Abrams is a specific size because that size is the most efficient for the platform. Start scaling it up larger, and it becomes heavier, likely slower, and requires more energy. I picked the Ab
    • I could see small lightweight mech suits being very useful for:

      + Hostile NBC (Nuclear/Bio/Chem) environments, protect the infantryman inside
      + Space or underwater combat
      + Bio-amplification, allowing wearer to leap tall buildings in a single bound, with electronically enhanced vision, sound, strength and (maybe) smell. Imagine a superhero costume that gives you most of the abilities of Wolverine, the Hulk, Invisible Man and Superman. Soldiers could pack massive amounts of gear, wield and fire heavy assault
    • True, but scale it down to barely larger than human size. Powered armor, a la Starship Troopers (the book).

      TOW/Hellfire missile launcher coaxial with your arm (or over your shoulder), reloads on the backpack.

      Small, fast, harder to kill. Dies easier if you do hit it, but harder to hit.

      'Mech' size (tank size) things are only that big because they shoot larger gun rounds, and to handle the recoil, many reloads, the armor, and the engine.

      If we take a Humvee, add capacity for 50 reloads, a 125mm gun...then we n

    • Surprisingly, he does not realize that one of the advantages that a tank has is a low profile.

      The same profile is had by dogs and horses. And yet humans still survive.

      "Giant" walking robots could exist, but they would fit the same niche as WMDs, not tanks -- strategic displays of strength as psychological warfare, not open-field gun platforms.

      OTOH, railgun equipped slow-moving mechs might replace the super-artillery role once played by battleships. Having a big gun you can fire from the sea is good an
    • Go in between.

      Something capable of 2 legged upright motion.

      But also capable of dropping horizontal to the surface. (Just like a real soldier)

      Like an ant. Give it 6 limbs. Bottom two work as legs when upright, top two as arms. (Perhaps middle pair fold to sides.) Make the back most heavily armoured. Drop to ground to scurry around quickly like an ant, with a low profile. Stand up for longer range vision, more humanoid mobility, etc.

    • The giant robots of the future will probably not be bipedal... In a combat situation, they will surely be able to adopt a low profile. I can imagine a spider-like giant robot being somewhat practical.. Multiple redundant legs, and perhaps the ability to stand taller on part of them if a high profile or climbing is required.

    • It appears to me the one that got the grace and speed armor thing right was Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, when it showed the Tachkomas (sp?), little one man spider tanks with wheels on the bottoms of the legs. They can hop and dodge, lean, spin out, and hit the highways like a car if they need to.

      It's like Tony Hawk was driving the thing.

      I would however, like to add that the one thing that people are missing with the abilities of an armored "waldo" suit would be the way that a man coul
    • I imagine that, provided a sufficiently dense energy form is found to power such a device, structural body armor would quickly become common. Think along the lines of Starship Troopers (the book, not hte movie) or a Mechwarrior Elemental suit. Something that's armored, with jump jets (no more getting cornered or surrounded -just fly over the fuckers and drop a grenade) and a servo-powered exoskeleton.

      It would also make combat significantly more difficult for the insurgents. No longer can they take out men
      • 1) They don't need RPGs to kill your grandma, just a "truck of fertilizer". Bingo - yesterday's insurgents become tomorrow's terrorists.
        2) They can change tactics quickly and without multi-billion investments into ten-year R&D projects.
        3) The USA fights only with enemies whose military budget is hundreds or thousands times smaller. It is possible (though at present it looks unlikely) that in several decades it would have to face an enemy that has comparable technology and military power.
    • We don't know until we have the technology in place. Giant mechas have many advantages. For example, the high-profile can be an advantage if you have automatic AI-assisted monitoring, FoF systems in place and 360 degree coverage by automatic guns. A 15 meter high mecha would keep every enemy several square kilometers around it in check. A mecha is also better than a tank for fighting in heavily reinforced urban setting. You can't use a tank to get over a 3 meter think/high wall with some smart mines and stu
  • Apparently, they will be distributing free LSD [toyota.co.jp].
  • from aliens?

    the one which sigourney weaver uses to battle the queen?

    seems if you want to connect scifi with this robotic suit, something in construction seems most appropriate: robotic exoskeleton assisted construction workers could assemble houses like we play with legos
  • he might not have to pay up

    don't mess with a genius in a mechasuit
  • The wars of the future will not be fought on the battlefield or at sea. They will be fought in space, or possibly on top of a very tall mountain. In either case, most of the actual fighting will be done by small robots. And as you go forth today remember always your duty is clear: To build and maintain those robots. Thank you.
    -- Military school Commandant's graduation address, "The Secret War of Lisa Simpson"

  • Personal Vehicles (Score:3, Interesting)

    by dokebi ( 624663 ) on Friday December 03, 2004 @06:51PM (#10992980)
    Toyota released a similar vehicle called PM [toyota.com] at the Tokyo Auto show while back. I think Toyota is interested in these Personal Vehicles because in emerging markets like China or India, where population is very dense and poor, even small compact cars will be too large and too expensive. And considering how well the small SMART vehicles have done in Europe, I think they believe there is a market for a nimble vehicle sized between a motorcycle and a normal car. I would love to see them try!
  • As I've always said, imagine anything from the future, add "In Japan" to the end of it, and it does not sound implausible.

    For example,

    "Old people have robot walking companions... in Japan."
    "They've got television in their Brita containers... in Japan."
    "The Xbox 2 will be a terrible failure... in Japan."
    "You can rent space shuttles for families to sleep in... in Japan."
    "You can buy gas masks with X-ray vision on street corners... in Japan."

    Now, in Korea, it's only old people that have robot friends. Which
  • Can you mount rockets in the hands so you can launch them at your enemies [imdb.com]?
  • Anyone think of Arthur from "The Tick" (the cool animated series, not the lame live-action sitcom) in his moth suit when looking at the leg mech device?

    All it needs is operational moth wings.

  • From the press release: "...richly entertaining show, based on the theme "The Dream, Joy and Inspiration of Mobility in the 21st Century... performance content will feature Toyota's efforts toward achieving "optimal mobility," "harmony with society" and "meeting the needs of individuals," and the future technologies and vehicle possibilities that form part of the company's vision for the society of tomorrow."

    In other words, these are not meant to be practical. They are just toys for a stage show for
    • Yeah, that's what I thought. These things remind me of concept cars from GM - they look fabulous, but they never actually get to the showroom.
  • KSHANG! KSHANG! KSHANG!

    All right! Landmates coming soon from your friendly local Toyota dealer! Sign me up for a Guges-D, I'm sure the government will have no problems with that...

  • At last!
  • A very good friend of mine has to use a wheelchair, and one of the most annoying things he has to deal with is an inability to go up and down stairs. Who fucking cares what it looks like, who cares if it seems crazy - I'm sure as hell it's less embarassing than having to say "excuse me, can you help pull me up this flight of stairs?"

    This is HUGE for people with disabilites.

    Quote:


    This 2-legged, mountable robot was developed for three-dimensional mobility, with the ability to navigate staircases. The pass

  • Landmates, baby! All we're missing is the hot chick with gun and the massive cyborg with even bigger guns.

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