To Be Almost Human or Not to Be, That Is the Question
From: Electronic Design - 02/15/2007 - Vol. 55, No. 4, P. 37
By: Daniel Harris

Researchers developing robots as caregivers and assistants to the handicapped
and the elderly are on the horns of a dilemma: Whether to strive for a more
humanoid appearance and function or embrace a more artificial,
science-fiction model. Advocating the first case are scientists such as
professor Hiroshi Ishiguro of Osaka University's Department of Adaptive
Machine Systems, while project leader of Honda America's North American
Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility (ASIMO) Stephen Keeney and other
researchers support the second option. ASIMO uses a variety of sensors and
algorithms to access distance and direction, process moving objects, and
interact with people, but Keeney says the robot's human features - legs
instead of treads or wheels, hands to manipulate objects, etc. - are
incorporated so it can fulfill its function as a caregiver. "We should always
be cognizant that ASIMO is a machine and should be approachable and not be
scary to children," notes Keeney. "It is a comfortable middle ground between
machine and humanoid androids that others are working on." Ishiguro's goal is
to create androids that are indistinguishable from humans at first sight with
such technologies as tactile sensors, actuators, and human-looking artificial
skin. Of particular interest to the scientist is the use of androids to
provide entertainment, fulfill communication needs, and serve as companions,
and one of the bigger obstacles researchers face is the Uncanny Valley, which
is people's tendency to reject machines that look, move, and act human beyond
a certain point of acceptability. Human-like movement is key to the success
of androids, according to Ishiguro, and other necessary breakthroughs include
the ability to comprehend answers, deduce information based on conversations,
and distinguish individuals within a crowd. 

Read the entire article at:
http://www.elecdesign.com/Articles/ArticleID/14763/14763.html

Links:
Intelligent Robotics Laboratory
http://www.ed.ams.eng.osaka-u.ac.jp/

Hiroshi Ishiguro
http://www.ed.ams.eng.osaka-u.ac.jp/%7Eishiguro

March of the consumer robots
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6250621.stm

Leaving Las Vegas
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/11/scitech/pcanswer/main2350278.shtml

Uncanny Valley
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_Valley