Monty is Anybots remote-controlled robot.
(Credit: Anybots)In other robot news this week, a dream robot has surfaced.
Don't give me a robotic dishwasher. Give me a robot that loads and unloads the dishwasher.
Unfortunately, this is actually a remote-controlled robot, not an autonomous one. It's made by Anybots, a robotics company in California that has entered "Monty" into an art exhibition.
The Float Center and Gallery in San Francisco, Calif., has openings until December 1 for submissions for its Robots as Art exhibition and show.
On Thursday afternoon I was back at the Computer History Museum. The Honda Research Institute was hosting its tenth Technical Horizon Symposium and announcing this year's Honda Initiation Grant awards.
Honda's Asimo robot
(Credit: Peter Glaskowsky)The grants are part of the Institute's efforts to stimulate collaborate research between Honda and the academic community. Since 1997, Honda says it has awarded 75 grants totalling "several million dollars" to universities in the US. This year, Honda received 300 proposals; it chose seven. This year's awards (listed here along with those of past years) cover research in safety, efficiency, emissions control, and user interfaces.
Also on hand for the event, which attracted an audience of some 300 people, was Asimo, Honda's famous robot. This Asimo is actually the second-generation model, and there were also three generations of prototypes. Over the years, Honda's been able to reduce the size of the necessary motors, power supplies, and control systems; the current Asimo is a cute little thing, just 4'3" (130cm) tall. Although it conveys the impression of solidity and weight, it's actually just 119 pounds (54kg). At this size, Asimo is big enough to interact with humans without posing much of a threat in case it bumps into someone or--as it can do if the power fails suddenly--falls down.
Honda put Asimo through its paces for us-- walking around the stage, balancing on one leg, kicking a soccer ball, traversing a set of stairs, and even running. The latter skill involves a peculiar loping gait; it's almost impossible to tell that Asimo is actually running, but Honda assures us that both feet leave the floor for about 80 milliseconds, during which time the robot moves about 2 inches forward. I was surprised to learn that Asimo is controlled by just four microprocessors, only two of which manage balance and locomotion.
In the audience were several members of the local Homebrew Robotics Club and the founders of Anybots, which I wrote about back in September. Asimo is far beyond the accomplishments of Anybots and other developers of autonomous robots... but then, it should be; Honda has poured untold amounts into its development. I'd guess the total amount must be in excess of $40 million, but Honda isn't saying.
Anyway, it was interesting to get a close look at Asimo. It's an impressive accomplishment, but it has a long way to go before it's ready for commercial sale. I suspect Honda's investment to date is just a drop in the bucket compared to the work that still remains. I can't begin to guess whether Honda will ever recoup its investments, but I'm glad it's doing the work.
You've probably seen or heard of the industrial robots that build cars, and the various humanoid robots like Honda's Asimo. Most of these are made in Japan. But let's face it, there's only so much these can do. An industrial robot is bolted down, and only knows one or two simple tasks. Asimo is small and weak, and famously collapsed once while trying to climb stairs.
Monty, a wheeled robot from Anybots.
(Credit: Anybots, Inc.)As we know from sci-fi movies, real robots are the size of a man and can do things--dangerous things. Real robots are suitable for building robot armies. For that, we have to look to America. Companies in the United States have given us vacuum-cleaner robots, bomb-disposal robots and even robot military aircraft. Where better to look for humanoid killer robots?
And I found some on Wednesday night at the headquarters of Anybots, a six-year-old angel-funded Silicon Valley start-up company of just four employees.
Of course, Anybots doesn't talk about robot armies. Its robots can't kill anyone, not even by falling on them--they're not heavy enough for that. In fact, the company's favorite publicity photo shows one of its robots loading a dishwasher. But I can tell they're really thinking about robot armies. I've seen this before...in bad sci-fi movies, anyway, but now I think someone's trying it in real life.
The mad scientists of Anybots, I believe, are just lulling us into a false sense of complacency with these pleasant domestic demonstrations.
We learned on Wednesday that Anybots is planning to make its fortune from these peaceful applications. In fact, the Anybots employees we met seemed to be good people, sincerely devoted to this idea that robots can free mankind of dishwasher-loading and similar drudgery. If any of them was an evil genius, he (or she) escaped my detection. Well, maybe I'm just paranoid. As you may have heard, that's a useful survival trait here in Silicon Valley...
Anybots was hosting a special monthly meeting of the Homebrew Robotics Club, which I've mentioned here previously. We got a presentation by Anybots founder and CEO Trevor Blackwell, who summarized the company's vision quite efficiently: "Make robots that do what people can do."
Initially, Anybots is developing teleoperated robots--that is, robots operated by a person some distance away. Autonomous robots, which operate independently, are further in the future. The major challenges of humanoid robot design are the same for both cases: balancing, moving, recognizing objects, aiming rifles and conquering the world. (That's just me talking; Blackwell said nothing about military combat. Clever man.)
We also got to see a couple of Anybots' robots. Monty is the one pictured here and on the main page of the Anybots Web site. It has a two-wheeled balancing base; the balancing function is autonomous, so the operator doesn't have to worry about it. Unlike Honda's squat Asimo, Monty is 5'7" tall, so it has the height and reach of a (small) man. On the other hand, Asimo is self-powered, whereas Monty must be connected to an external source of compressed air and electrical power.
According to Blackwell, Monty can basically go anywhere a wheelchair can go. It's powered by a combination of electric and pneumatic actuators, which has proven to be a challenging design decision. As Blackwell said, few other companies use pneumatics for robots, and Anybots is learning why...
The other robot is Dexter, which is a few inches taller and walks on its own two legs; it's also permanently tethered to its air and power supplies. It even wears human shoes, and walks using an algorithm that models the way humans walk. (However, the poor thing has no arms, and when we saw him, he didn't even have his head on!) Dexter is still learning to walk, but Anybots expects it will eventually be able to run, cross rough terrain, and generally transport itself anywhere a human could go.
Anybots is a sponsor of the RoboDevelopment Conference and Exposition, coming to the San Jose McEnery Convention Center October 25-26, so you can go there to learn more about Anybots' work and other robot-related technology.
It might be a good idea to go check out the show just so you can figure out which side you want to be on in the inevitable war between man and robot...
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