If you were chuckling away all this while, self-assured in the knowledge that the robots cannot do everything you do, and have at some point in time said, “They cannot EMOTE”, it is time to eat your words.
Because the Japanese have done it again. This time they have unveiled Kobian, a robot can express feelings, seven different ones, in fact. The team at Waseda
University have created the emotional, humanoid robot which uses motors in its face to move its lips, eyelids and eyebrows into various positions. Ah! That
was all it took. So Kobian flings its hands over its head and opens its mouth and eyes wide to express delight. When Kobian is sad, he hunches over, hangs its head and holds a hand up to its face. And so on and so forth.
So there: the virtual, mechanical, artificial agent has come a long way. From the early Leonardo’s robot (that could sit up, wave its hands) to Hishashige Tanaka’s
robot that could serve tea, to the service robots and the industrial robots, now we have the typical Asimov-ish era. Before we get carried away by the faces and the emotions, let us spare a moment for the hard-working robots, who have so far just been at it diligently.
The surgeon
Okay there were signs alright. On June 23, Thelma Exinia from Harlingen became the first person in history to have a kidney removed by a robot. This
robot is actually the modern version of the Leonardo Da Vinci robot. Special powers: 360-degree rotation with the Endo Wrists and greater magnification abilities.
The lawn-mower
From there we move to the Precise Path Robotics, an Indianapolis-based firm that is testing its new line of RG3s — silent, battery-powered robo-mowers that trim grass.
Special powers: Fast, and environment-friendliness
The screening machines
Scientists at the University of Sheffield are working on the robotic ferret that is designed for cargo screening at seaports and airports. The footlong ferret would be placed inside a steel freight container, attaching itself magnetically to the top. It would then do what it is supposed to — feret out the contraband substances.
Special powers: Laser scanners and fibre optic technology.
The fire-fighters
Karelian robots, built by the Russians, have been used for multiple functions. Karelia is the birth-place of all fire-fighting robotics.
Special powers: Water-jets with remote control to reach hard-to-reach places
The space-explorer
We get to hear that the Japanese Kaguya probe, a robot craft orbiting the moon, completed its mission on June 10. The primary task of the Kaguya was to further our scientific knowledge of the Moon’s origin and evolution.
Special powers : HD Video Cameras which record a video that is so clear that it almost looks like a computer simulation.
The teacher
She was the first one to do it. Use emotions that is. A professor at the Tokyo University of Science developed Saya so that she could do what human teachers before her have been doing for ages. She calls out names and yells out orders like “Be quiet”.
Special powers : Here we have to hand it over to the humans as even the developers of Saya admit that it would only be ‘delusional’ to think that robo teachers can replace humans.