Ro-Man 2003 Plenary Lecture: The Development of Wakamaru, a Home-Use Humanoid
Robot 


Mr. Akira Kaneuji
Managing Director, Machinery Headquarters
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.


April 7, 2003 was the birthday of "Astro (Atom) Boy". Osamu Tezuka, the
author of the comic strip by the same name, made that the day Atom was
produced. In the beginning, Atom was only a supporting actor who helped
mediate disputes between aliens and earthlings in the comic strip "Atom
Ambassador", which was launched in 1951. The year after, "Astro (Atom) Boy"
was born. It was not until 1963 that the television cartoon came out, and
that marked the beginning of Atom's wide popularity. From this early start
came the image of modern robots in Japan. 

Going back into history, already in the Edo Period more than 300 years ago,
Japan had windup dolls that carried tea and "Ningyo Joruri" drama dolls
manipulated like puppets and regarded by the Japanese as being of the same
rank as people. In other words, interacting with robots has been a very
familiar concept to the Japanese, and has led to actors such as Atom over the
generations, each of which has developed a different image of the concept of
a "robot". Whether it is Atom or Iron Man No. 28, each generation gives birth
to its own hero robot and invents a new image of the robot as a friend and a
partner. Interestingly, there have been no bad robots on Japanese TV or in
the comics over the years, so this is by now a long-standing Japanese
tradition we hope will continue into the future. 

In line with this tradition of benevolent robots, the "Wakamaru" robot has
recently been introduced. "Wakamaru" is not Superman or a super robot, as
Atom was, but rather a supportive robot with a gentle interface, interacting
with people to help with their daily activities, speaking to them, living
together with a family. 

In this talk, I will introduce you to the "Wakamaru" concept, discuss the
circumstances surrounding its development, and explain our company‘s
enterprise strategy regarding humanoid robots. I will make it clear why
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, whose traditional domains support society's
infrastructure (transportation, energy, and the environment) with products
such as ships, airplanes, space rockets, power plants, and waste management
equipment, has now branched out to the development of robots that live in the
home. The talk will develop the inspiration and the technical background of
Wakamaru, and show how it fits within Japan‘s social structure. I hope you
come to understand the dream we have for the future with our development of
Wakamaru. 


Biography:

Mr. Kaneuji graduated from Kyusyu University in 1968, with Master of
Engineering. He is currently Managing Director, General Manager of Machinery
Headquarters of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., having worked at the
company since 1968 in a number of departments, including General Manager of
Nuclear Power Plant Designnig Department and General Manager of Kobe Shipyard
& Machinery Works. In his current capacity, he oversees the "Wakamaru"
Humanoid Robot Project.


Links:
http://www.ro-man.org/
http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS4903202160.html
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0%2C1367%2C58593%2C00.html
http://www.wired.com/news/print/0%2C1294%2C58593%2C00.html
http://www.aarp.org/computers-news/Articles/a2003-04-25-ct-robot.html
http://www.bigempire.com/sake/robot.html
http://www.compukiss.com/populartopics/tech_gadgetshtm/article923.htm
http://www.robots.net/article/765.html
http://www.streettech.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=200
http://www.sdia.or.jp/mhikobe-e/products/etc/robot.html
http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technology/japan_robots_030402.html