Robots | Singularity Hub

From Petman to Dexter, Bipedal Humanoid Robots Come of Age

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by Keith Kleiner on October 27th, 2009

Whoa! I am totally blown away by the just released video of Boston Dynamics’ Petman bipedal humanoid robot (check it out later in this post). Bipedal humanoid robots have been in earnest development for the last decade, and there are several pretty solid success stories out there already. But now Boston Dynamics, maker of the famous Big Dog robot, has jumped into the ring in a big way with its Petman. The field of bipedal humanoid robots is literally exploding before us.

With Petman’s ability to withstand a a decent kick or hit from the side while walking it is clear that robots are now capable of balance and control that nearly matches a human on flat terrain. In the next decade we can expect bipedal humanoid robots to conquer more than flat terrain, and also to bump up their speed to full out running. Robots that not only match, but exceed human ability to walk and run in your lifetime? Yes – that is assuming you have another 10, maybe 20 years ahead of you!

First lets just cut to the video and save the commentary for after:

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by Keith Kleiner on July 28th, 2009

Prominent New York Times reporter John Markoff just came out with a story titled “Scientists Worry Machines May Outsmart Man” that has raised some eyebrows. Several friends that aren’t even in the science/tech space have since asked me about it so I thought I would chime in. Are machines really about to outsmart us? What is the future of man and machine in the next 5, 10, and 20 years?

Man Vs Machine...Or Is It Man And Machine?

First, some background from the Markoff story. Sadly, because of the New York Times’ twisted broken old school business model, you can’t even read their story directly unless you have a subscription an account. But there is a way around it…go to Google News (news.google.com) and search for Markoff’s story and the New York Times lets you read it for free if you come from Google News. Anyway, the Markoff story cites a conference on Feb 25, 2009 that was held at the Asilomar Conference Grounds on Monterey Bay in California in which prominent AI and robotics researchers sounded the alarm about the stunning advances machines are making. The concern wasn’t so much that a super intelligence that exceeded or even matched human ability was coming – at least not right away. Rather the immediate concern was that machines are right now making significant advances in several small niches of society that will seriously disrupt human labor demand, war tactics, and civilization as a whole.

The researchers apparently want to help shape the discussion around disruptive machine advancement before crisis does it for them. In other words, be proactive about the issue – start the conversation now and prepare society for the changes that are coming as best as possible. In this regard I applaud the researchers, as this blog to some degree, and Singularity University specifically, are working toward this same goal. To Markoff’s credit he mentions Singularity University as an emerging center for this debate, but sadly no mention of Singularity Hub.

Big changes are coming. In fact that is the entire founding premise of this blog. Our focus is more broad of course, documenting not only the daily advances in AI and robotics, but also the advances in genetics, brain engineering, medicine and other fields that are all converging to create a transformative future for mankind.

Machines have already made major inroads against a huge array human abilities and tasks. Machines are largely making humans in the factory obsolete, as evidenced by the flexpicker and the kiva robots. Robots are rapidly seeping into the worldwide war apparatus from many different angles, whether it be surveillance machines, armed drones, or advanced strategic planning bots. From soccer, to surgery, to climbing, the list of robotic achievements goes on and on. So what does the future hold for man and machine then?

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by Aaron Saenz on June 22nd, 2009

Want to build a robot? Join the club. Want to improve the way we build robots? Join Willow Garage. This silicon valley based robotics company is not just designing robots, they’re working on how we design robots by building a programming language and a standard research bot. Best of all, their software is open source – able to be viewed by its users so that they can understand and upgrade it as needed. Imagine a future where each robotics developer can share hardware and software components with each other in a modular fashion. You could just build a robot like a plug and play computer. With open source techniques Willow Garage hopes to expand the boundaries of robotics, both in research laboratories and in our daily lives.

That wall outlet looks tasty...think I'll try it out.

And they’ve done a pretty amazing job so far. A few weeks ago they achieved their second major milestone: getting a robot to navigate it’s way around their labs, identifying and plugging itself into electrical outlets. Yep, plug a robot in and you’ve fed it for a day. Teach it how to plug itself in and you’ve fed it forever. The Personal Robot mark 2 (PR2) wandered around the labs, opening doors, and plugging in to 9 different outlets and identifying one that was unreachable. Check out the video after the break.

What was their first milestone? Getting the robot to move around the lab without breaking everything. Not a simple goal. As some of you already know, getting a robot to navigate a course, and to plug itself in, aren’t new accomplishments. What is remarkable is the autonomy, judgment, and persistence of the bot. The PR2 took minutes for it to plug itself in, but it got there with reliability. That’s part of the whole philosophy for Willow Garage: they’re not making perfect robots, they’re making it easier to perfect robotics.

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by Andrew Kessel on June 18th, 2009

Strokes suck. The mass destruction of a large number of the brain’s neurons robs the body of even the most basic motor functions. Though there is no simple preemptive cure for would-be stroke victims, the long-studied technology of robotics is there to lend a helping hand after the damage is done. Research into robotic stroke rehabilitation began at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology over 20 years ago and has since spun off into its own startup company called Interactive Motion Technologies. Though helpful, this is one family of robots that we all hope never to meet.

Stroke rehabilitation with robots

The Interactive Motion robots are designed to fit around a patient’s arm or leg and work with the patient to reestablish brain connections by gently nudging the appendage in the desired direction. The idea behind the therapy is that patients will not regain their motor skills without actively trying to move their non-responsive body parts. With that fact in mind, the robots were designed to adapt to the patient’s skill level, allowing it to be a useful tool in all steps of rehabilitation.

The two main systems, one for the arm and the other for the leg, act in different ways. The arm system, which was the initial research prototype, uses a video game-like interface that prompts the patient to move the arm, elbow or wrist (depending on the nature of the injury) to select the correct icon. The system gives the user a set amount of time to initiate the input. If the patient does not respond or moves in the opposite direction, the system gently nudges the arm in the correct direction. Such activity helps to reinforce the nerves that were not damaged by the stroke. The robot is even capable of resistive exercising once the patient no longer needs assistance in their motions.

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by Andrew Kessel on June 11th, 2009

San Francisco locals, this is your lucky weekend. Well, as long as you’re sufficiently interested in robotics, it is. The Robo Games have come to town and will inhabit the Fort Mason Festival Pavillion (whatever that is) for the weekend. Formerly known as the RobOlympics before the Olympic Committee got all cease-and-desist on the robo-folks, this veritable geek-fest (voted top ten geek-fest in the nation by Wired Magazine) promises 70 different events and endless hours of weekend entertainment. Read on, be tantalized, and book a last-minute trip to San Francisco.

With so many events taking place in one weekend, there really is a big draw for almost any type of robot enthusiast. For the humanoid robot lovers, there are the autonomous humanoid robot challenges, including basketball, weight lifting, a soccer tournament and a marathon. Other categories include Sumo, where two opponents try and knock each other out of a ring, self-navigating robots, art-bots and a junior league for the wee ones.

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by Keith Kleiner on June 10th, 2009

Previously we have covered the ongoing robotization (is that a word?) of the military. Robotex Inc is one of the plethora of companies out there that are working to bring intelligent weapon wielding robots to reality. From the limited information on their website we can’t say much about whether Robotex’s robots are ever going to come to much, but perhaps these guys have a future in robotic video editing.

Check out the awesome Robotex futuristic vision of military robots with guns taking matters into their own hands in the video below. Its a simulation, and there are holes all over this video in terms of how militant robots will actually look and act. Most notably military robots probably won’t be humanoid looking (wheels, treads, and other designs are easier to develop and often just as useful, if not superior to humanoid design), but the video is still an awesome ride for the imagination.

Skip the first 50 seconds of slideshow at the beginning – its crap…but after that the video is well worth watching!

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by Andrew Kessel on June 1st, 2009

Swarm robots are in vogue now. Yeah, it was cool when one robot did something neat, like Asimo or the RiSE wall crawler, but why have one big expensive robot when a million little ones will do the same job? The internet is abuzz with examples of swarm robotics, where many little robots join forces to complete a task much more in depth than one robot could manage. For these robots, the finished product truly is greater than the sum of its parts.

We Are Many, But We Act As One!

Swarm robotics is in its infancy, these days. Robots are just now being made capable of communicating with each other in real-time, meaning that a band of small robots can get together and really make a difference. No, they aren’t capable of volunteering at soup kitchens just yet, but these small robots can already do some pretty neat things.

This first video gives a good overview of what swarm robotics is now and what it is capable of in the future. Researchers are hoping that these robots will be able to navigate autonomously and even self-heal if damaged. Currently, they still working on how to get the robots to interact with each other, but the finished product that is shown seems like a useful gadget:

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by Drew Halley on May 20th, 2009

Forget the Turing test. Imagine when a machine can not only convince us of their intelligence, but attract us with it. Bladerunner gave us a great glimpse in the eighties: sexy androids manipulating humans with their power to woo. Science fiction has always tackled the sticky subject of sexuality and technology, blurring the lines between the cold mechanics of the computer and the sensual maze of human emotion.

Feeling a synthetic kind of love

One of the activities which we consider to be qualitatively human is our unique sexual experience; but as “human” becomes “post-human,” what happens to sex? We already have sexting, homegrown porno, and sex toys that would make your parents blush… but what comes next? Here, we explore a few ways in which sex has shifted with technology, and do a little speculation (fantasizing?) of our own.

Try this one on for size. In 1953, Dr. John C. Lilly was planting electrodes deep into the brains of monkeys for the National Institute of Mental Health. By running currents through their neural tissue, he was able to map out areas that produce fear, pain, anger, and pleasure. He discovered that in male monkeys, separate systems controlled erection, ejaculation, and orgasm. By hooking electrodes to the orgasm system, he could produce one after another. Then he gave the monkey a button to stimulate itself once every three minutes. The monkey slept about eight hours a day, and – you guessed it – pushed the button the other sixteen.

Of course, most of us aren’t ready to let anyone stick electrodes into our brain stem (good luck getting research ethics approval on that one). Still, as we crack the secrets of how the brain works – and we’re doing just that – who’s to say we won’t be able to create pleasure with our findings? Technology has always aimed to improve the quality of human life in one way or another; why shouldn’t that goal extend to our sex lives? I wouldn’t expect your very own orgasm button anytime soon, but the unfolding frontier of neuroscience just might have some surprises in store.

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by Aaron Saenz on May 19th, 2009

You think that these robots would start investing in a GPS system. Recently, Singularity Hub covered the Tweenbot, a simple cardboard-wrapped automaton that was guided through New York City by the hands of New Yorkers. The next step in the lost robot evolution has appeared: Autonomous City Explorer (or ACE) a robot that navigated the mean streets of Munich just like any tourist would: by asking directions from the natives. ACE identified and queried people around it to point it in the right direction, and, against my most cynical expectations, it arrived safely and sound at its destination. (Check out the video from New Scientist and the end of the post)

Autonoumous City Explorer (ACE) navigated Munich by the friendly finger-pointing of humans.

So what makes this lost robot so unique? Unlike its tween counterpart, ACE isn’t just picked up and pushed in the right direction. The bot is roughly human sized and packed with instruments to help it detect and query humans for help. First, there are cameras and image recognition software geared towards finding people and moving ACE towards them. When a human is found, an audio message is played while virtual lips move on a screen. If the human is friendly (aren’t we all?) he or she uses a touch-screen to indicate it’s willingness to give directions. The human will then point in the direction ACE should go.

And ACE follows your finger! That’s really kind of cool. By using multiple cameras and more image software, ACE is able to build a 3D model of the human and where he or she is actually pointing to. Compared to a toddler, this isn’t a remarkable skill, but following visual cues is really difficult for most robots out there. ACE also prompts its helper human to use the touch-screen to suggest a given path, but in the end, it can rely on just the pointing.

ACE’s point and go navigation avoids the hassle of interpreting humanity’s subjective audible directions. “It’s over there, behind that building, then you sort of take a right and keep going for a while.” —that’s a message fit to make a robot pull its hair out. ACE just has to query enough people (38 for its maiden voyage) and it will build up a developing map of its surroundings. Simple and effective, the ACE system allowed the robot to travel little more than 1km in 5 hours. Not a speedy journey, but very promising.

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by Aaron Saenz on May 15th, 2009

Like so many epic robot battles, this one began in Tokyo, Japan. Pairs of robots stepped into a padded ring to fight, each vying for the chance to knock over and trounce their opponent. Some punched, some pushed, some just tried to stay on their feet. In the end, only one bot remained to be crowned champion of the carnge. Is the Tokyo skyline irrevocably damaged? Did millions perish in the mechanical melee? No, not this time. All the fighting robots were under one meter in height and were made from kits produced by the Kondo company who sponsored the second year of this open competition called Kondo Battle.

Build your own Kondo robot to do battle with others!

Kondo kits are fairly simple for robot enthusiasts, though some may contain more than a hundred individual parts. For the Kondo Battle, each robot was humanoid in shape, but the wide range of available parts allowed for a good variation in size and strategy. I was impressed by the relative steady movement the gyros and stabilizers could produce, especially during fights where a bot managed to defeat an opponent without taking its own tumble. Check out an overview of the intense robot-on-robot action in this news brief from IDG news services:

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by Aaron Saenz on May 8th, 2009

KIVA's warehouse robot is set to become an industry standard. Photo: Joshua Dalsimer

Blue-collar robots don’t really get the press they deserve. These dedicated, well designed, and efficient workers provide unparalleled improvements in almost every major industry. Let’s face it, though, they are rarely photogenic. Singularity Hub has covered a lot of the amazing human-like robots out there. Today, let’s take a look at one of the most promising blue-collar bots: KIVA Systems’ distribution center robots. These warehouse workhorses provide a new way of sorting, storing, and shipping products. Quiet Logistics, a third party distribution center, just opened a KIVA exclusive warehouse in Andover, Massachusetts. With over a 1000 of these robots already in use, the promise of robotized warehouses as a standard is well on its way.

The KIVA bots are short squat orange lifters that glide under storage racks, lifting and moving them where they need to go. They’re guided by a very simple grid of stickers attached to the floor. Wifi communications between bots and redundant clusters of servers keep robots from colliding on the grid. No easy task considering that a single warehousing company could use up to 500 of the little orange lifters.

With KIVA, the racks are brought to the human workers and not the other way around. This system eliminates the need for endless walking. Instead of having many workers work on the same order, the KIVA system allows for a single touch approach. With fewer hands used on each order, productivity increases, errors decrease and the work process is streamlined. Zappos (a KIVA customer) claims order to ship times of as little as 12 minutes.

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by Keith Kleiner on May 5th, 2009

Robots can climb stairs, and they are doing it everywhere you look. “No big deal” you say, but it really is a big deal. Five to ten years ago almost nobody was doing it. Now grad students are doing it all by themselves for thesis projects.

Stair climbing may not seem like it is that hard, but it really is hard, especially if you don’t take the easy way out by using a tracked system. Stair climbing only looks easy because we are building on the knowledge that those before us have so painstakingly accumulated. This is a common theme with technological advancement: things that once seemed hard (and really were hard!) often appear easy once we figure out how to do them and they become commonplace.

One of our favorite stair climbing robots is the appropriately named stairbot. Not only is the stairbot pretty awesome, but it is accompanied by an excellent website that offers a nice look at the engineering theory behind stair climbing robots. The stairbot can drive back and forth, pivot and turn, drive over small obstacles up to 4 cm high, and yes, go up and down stairs. Lets take a look at the stairbot in action:

One of the techniques that is key to the stairbot’s success is its spindle driven ability to dynamically change its length. In order to navigate stairs both upwards and downwards, the stairbot is equiped with several sensors that allow it to sense its orientation and then make the necessary adjustments.

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From Petman to Dexter, Bipedal Humanoid Robots Come of Age

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Scientists Worry Machines May Outsmart Man

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Willow Garage: The Personal Robot Will Be Open Source

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Interactive Motion Technologies: Physical Therapy Robotics

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RoboGames Land at San Francisco This Weekend

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Awesome Robots With Guns [Video]

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Swarm Robotics: The Swarm Is Coming

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The Future of Sex: Androids, VR, and the Orgasm Button

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The Lost Robot Saga Continues: Munich

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Robot Overlords Battle For World Supremacy

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KIVA Robots Continue to Conquer Warehouses

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Robots Take To The Stairs – This Is Just The Beginning

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