The new NAO Next Gen robot looks better, moves, sees and listens better. But it's still too damn expensive!

The next generation of our favorite two-foot, programmable, French robot, NAO, has just been released by Aldebaran Robotics. NAO Next Gen is not only smarter and more physically stable, but increased versatility means the 2,000 or so NAO programmers around the world will have more flexibility in pushing the boundaries of what NAO can do.

Probably the most significant addition to Next Gen is its new on-board computer. Based on Intel’s 1.6GHz AtomTM, the new processor will allow NAO Next Gen to multi-task like never before. It also got a pair of high-definition cameras to replace the old ones. The cameras are connected to a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) – a programmable microchip – which allows for the visual feeds to be received simultaneously. NAO can process visual information faster with the chip and recognize faces and objects better even under low light conditions. Object tracking is better now too, involving the entire body rather than just the head and allowing for greater tracking range.

NAO Next Gen’s hearing capabilities are also improved. It now uses Nuance speech recognition. We’re still a ways away from robots understanding entire sentences, but with a “word spotting” feature NAO can pick out key words and make an educated guess as to what’s being asked of it. The four microphones allow for improved sound location, and when it follows the sound it walks with a much smoother gait.

As you’ll see in the video, NAO Next Gen just got better at protecting all that sophisticated hardware. When it’s knocked over – it will have to work with clumsy humans someday – an internal sensor triggers a fall manager program. It swiftly raises its arms – which, by the way are thinner and longer – to break its fall.

Aldebaran’s improved Choreographe software allows developers to program NAO’s movements in simple and intuitive ways. It’s an impressive robot, and we can expect more great things to come. As Aldebaran founder Bruno Masonnier said in a press release, “On top of this new hardware version, we shall be delivering new software functionalities like smart torque control, a system to prevent limb/body collisions, an improved walking algorithm, and more.”

In the press release Aldebaran refers to itself as “the world leader in humanoid robotics.” While there’s no arguing they are a world leader, I think Honda’s Asimo might have something to say about whether the world’s best humanoid robot is in Japan or France. Just like NAO, Asimo recently got slimmer and smarter. Regardless, it’s going to be exciting to see what the NAO Developer community produces in the coming year as Next Gen is shipped out to labs all over the world. And if you’re like me, you’re eagerly waiting the day when average Joes like us can get our hands on a NAO. They haven’t given a price for the Next Gen yet, but NAOs in the past typically run developers about $15K. And then there’s the part about having to be a researcher. So I guess we’ll have to give it some more time. But can you imagine what NAO’s going to look like, going to be capable of in a few years? How about ten years? When it’s finally ready for you and I to take home, it will surely be an amazing addition to the household.

[image credits: Aldebaran Robotics]
[video credit: Aldebaran Robotics via YouTube]
images: NAO Next Gen
video: NAO Next Gen

Vitamin D Video is out in Beta. The User interface is simple and easy to use, but designing filters is something of an art.

To give you some background, Vitamin D Video uses Hierarchical Temporal Memory architecture first developed by Numenta to help recognize objects of importance even if they are moving, clipped, or otherwise complicated. The beta works with IP cameras or webcams, with user defined filters that you design through a simple interface. People are highlighted in yellow boxes, objects in green, and recording can be triggered as doors open, things move into a space, etc. If successful, VDV could improve the use of security cameras world over, as a computer could be used to actively monitor and sift through video in place of costly (and easily bored) humans. Vitamin D hopes that it will become the cheap, easy, but also sophisticated alternative to the more costly video recognition software already on the market.

While there are enough kinks to demonstrate that it is obviously still in beta, overall Vitamin D Video runs well. I had the software downloaded, calibrated, and running in less than 10 minutes start to finish. Using just my webcam, I was able to test VDV’s object and person recognition scanning and its email and sound notification. Basically, I ran the camera for 3 hours and told VDV to record anytime I walked in the room, or when an object touched my ceiling. These filters were fairly easy to build on my own, though I did have to consult the Vitamin D reference guide here and there.

The crazy thing was, while VDV is built as a means to reduce the amount of video you have to sift through, my filters didn’t work in that manner. Oh, there was some reduction, I went from three hours of footage to a highlight reel that was about one hour long, but’s still too much to watch quickly. Passing through the selected clips at 3x speed helped, but not much. The problem was that my filters were too broad and triggered too easily. That isn’t VDV’s fault, but it does point out an issue with this program. While it is definitely easy to get started, it will take a good period of trial and error before a user feels confident that they are only going to record what they want.

As for the details of my personal experience…well let me preface this by saying that I was giddy getting to play with a new toy. I experimented with different lighting levels, object transparency, and speed of travel. VDV can track a black plastic hair comb as it hits a white ceiling. It isn’t fooled if you walk in backwards or with your shirt pulled over your head. It can even notice if a clear piece of plastic is slowly brought into frame (though it may have triggered off the attached piece of string). Oh, and I can verify that a grown human running at full speed and leaping through the air will be detected. And slightly injured.

There were some limits. The software had trouble triggering when an object was in front of an overexposed white background in strong light. VDV couldn’t always identify objects as objects and people as people (my hair, judging by the green box, is only sometimes human). It often assumed that a hand holding an object was part of the object. All of these limitations may have easy software fixes (I’m still reading through the guide and testing the program to see) but they have even easier user fixes: don’t point your camera at a light source, and take extra care when designing your filters. Ultimately, unless you’re looking for a polar bear in a blizzard I think Vitamin D Video can probably work just fine for any personal or small business applications you can dream up.

Also, why these aren’t limitations exactly, I was instantly annoyed by the audio and email notifications. Again, my triggers were too sensitive, but hearing “person detected…recording video” every five seconds drove me homicidal very quickly. You can use custom .wav files for audio notifications. Hearing Christopher Walken say hello when you walk into a room is fun, but still annoying after 20 triggers. The email system was the same…but with email. I’m sure you can imagine.

Still, I’m happy to report that everything in the beta seems to work, if a bit slowly. VDV takes a long time to load as it organizes your clips for you. I once thought my computer had frozen, but with Vista, that’s pretty much par for the course. VDV also wants to use 25 gigabytes to store data, but I think that’s to be expected considering its function. If you’d like to play with the new software, try signing up for the beta and let me know what you think. For now, I’m going back to testing. I wonder if VDV will recognize a mannequin as a human being.

[photo and video credit: Vitamin D Video]