Welcome to the Next Generation of Robots
From: Guardian Unlimited (UK) - 01/04/2005
By: Chris Arnot

European robotics researchers plan to create machines that replicate human
functions, including hearing, seeing, learning, answering questions, and
manipulating objects. The technology to build robots with human-like
capabilities has been advancing rapidly in isolation from each other. By
combining new voice recognition and machine-learning technology, researchers
will be able to take robotics development to a higher level, says Birmingham
University computer scientist Aaron Sloman. Speech recognition is one field
that has improved rapidly in recent years, allowing people to interact with
computer systems via telephone. Computers ability to generate inflections
while talking has improved as well, making their speech sound more natural.
Sloman and colleagues are working on a project to build Explorer, a walking
conversational robot that can guide visitors through an office. The project
is led by a robotics researcher in Stockholm and funded by the European
Union. Explorer can differentiate between permanent obstacles like walls and
temporary barriers, such as a pile of books, says Birmingham University
researcher Jeremy Wyatt. While computer speech and speech recognition
technology allows machines to converse, teaching computers the meaning of
what is being said is much more difficult. Another European Union robotics
project is Playmate, which pairs a robot head and arm, and could help elderly
people to live independently longer. Sloman says such technology could take
away jobs currently done by humans, but that it also has the power to enrich
people's lives. Sloman also says robotics research poses little threat to
humanity, because robots are unlikely to treat people as badly as people
treat each other today. 

http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,9830,1382653,00.html