The movie iRobot was long before its time during its debut of 2004, however the idea of having a personal robot to help around the house may not be far off.
Honda engineers recently created what is possibly the most advanced humanoid robot in human history after more than a decade of development and research. ASIMO (Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility) has been created to ultimately assist the elderly or disabled in performing functions that they are not able to do themselves or assist the everyday citizen with tasks that would pose as dangerous.
The arms and hands of the robot were created with large enough range of motion that it can do everything from turning on a light switch to carrying a tray of food. It also has force sensors in the wrist to gauge contact with humans and objects. The robot also is capable of generating its own walking patterns and has a range of sensors to climb stairs and avoid obstacles.
However, it is not just the physical capabilities that are impressive with ASIMO but also its intelligence. With a camera located in the front of the head ASIMO is able to recognize people, detect objects, and detect human body language. The robot also recognizes different voice patterns and responds to voice commands accordingly.
Obama likes ASIMO too:
But more importantly, how does it all work?
There are a few key important features that allows ASIMO to perform such lifelike human qualities. For walking, ASIMO has soft projections on the bottom of its feet similar to human toes for maintaining balance and absorbing impact. The robot also has speed and gyroscope sensors and various other joint sensors to remain upright and balanced when moving.
In order to detect human faces and avoid objects ASIMO has two videocameras for eyes that use stereoscopic vision alongside a predetermined vision algorithm that gives the robot a base idea of vision, but then allows it to detect changes in real time of its surroundings. To understand and hear human command, the robot has three different microphones installed in its head.
Although this robot is clearly capable on its own, it must be preprogramed using either voice commands or its controller to carry out needed tasks.
Resources:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/asimo4.htm
http://asimo.honda.com/default.aspx
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