Attack of the Humanoid Robots They walk. Some talk. And you might be able to get one soon From: Electronic Design - 06/29/2006 - page 66 By: William Wong Robotics is a lot harder than it looks. But that's what makes it so challenging. Rolling, flying, and walking robots are hard enough to build. Now try creating a robot in human form. Yet the state of the art continues to improve by leaps and bounds, including a few robots that are starting to do just that. --- Buying Robots For Your Health By keeping the problems of humanoid robots in perspective, many companies are now developing practical and economical solutions. Granted, their movement and user interaction may be less sophisticated than Honda's ASIMO or Hanson Robotics' Einstein. But many applications can benefit from a simpler mobile robot. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries plans to release Wakamaru in Japan sometime next year for the home healthcare market. The robot should be available for 1 million yen, or about $8300. Costs for this class of robots could drop further as volume increases and hardware and software improve. Wakamaru was named after a young Japanese samurai, Minamoto Yoshitsune, whose childhood name was "Ushi-wakamaru." Both Wakamarus are associated with "growth" and "development." The 63-lb, 3-ft fully autonomous robot has a round yellow head and black eyes. It has a built-in cell phone that can call for help if it detects an emergency. Its camera, microphone, and identification software can identify people through facial and voice recognition. It has 13 DoF, including two for its wheels. Rolling is still more power-efficient and stable than walking. Wakamaru is powered my MontaVista Software's Linux running on Texas Instruments TMS320C6000 and TMS320C2000 DSPs. It will be able to make phone calls, send e-mails, and remotely track individuals. Researchers hope the software will be able to detect the daily rhythm of life as the robot speaks and interacts with people. Although Wakamaru doesn't have an especially expressive face, it can turn its head and gesture with its arms to get similar results. Its cute form and color are designed to appeal to children as well as adults. It has about a 10,000-word vocabulary, and it should be able to keep track of up to eight people within a family or group. Wakamaru does use some interesting techniques. For example, it has a camera that looks straight up. It uses the ceiling image to help track its movements throughout a house. This enables the robot to locate its charger when its batteries run low after about two hours of operation. Robots are being built using the latest technology, from six-axis force sensors and gyroscopes for input to multiple core processors for faster response and more computing power. Advances in hardware have made lifesized robots possible, but the software will provide the human interaction. Read the entire article at: http://www.elecdesign.com/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=12830&pg=1 Photo: http://www.elecdesign.com/Files/29/12830/Figure_04.jpg Photo caption: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' Wakamaru isn't as nible as ASIMO or expressive as Kismet, but it may be more practical. It may even be available in Japan for $8300. Related articles: Humanoid Robots on the Rise: Get Ready to Invite One Home http://www.elecdesign.com/Articles/ArticleID/11297/11297.html Will Androids Become A Part Of Our Everyday Lives? Japanese Scientists Are Betting On It http://www.electronicdesign.com/Articles/ArticleID/12963/12963.html Links: Life with a Robot: Wakamaru http://www.mhi.co.jp/kobe/wakamaru/english/index.html Wakamaru Bot at Your Service http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,58593,00.html Wakamaru - From Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wakamaru Wakamaru - Life With A Robot (Video) http://www.robots-dreams.com/2006/01/wakamaru_life_w.html