Human-Size Household Robot Developed on MontaVista Linux [LWN.net]

Human-Size Household Robot Developed on MontaVista Linux

Posted Apr 22, 2003 17:28 UTC (Tue) by arcticwolf (guest, #8341) [Link]

You know you're living in a strange world...

... when robots that "provide companionship" are commercially available.

Nice to see it runs on linux, though - I guess that shows how mature linux has become.

Human-Size Household Robot Developed on MontaVista Linux

Posted Apr 22, 2003 17:39 UTC (Tue) by Ross (subscriber, #4065) [Link]

Nothing new, except that it's in a consumer-targetted product:

http://www.dh.aist.go.jp/research/humanoid/H6_H7.html

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2095408,00.html

http://www.symbio.jst.go.jp/PINO/index.html

http://www.kawada.co.jp/ams/isamu/index_e.html

I think those all run Linux (or RT-Linux), but since some of the info
is not complete and in Japanese I really can't be sure :)

Who Are They Kidding?

Posted Apr 22, 2003 22:58 UTC (Tue) by ncm (subscriber, #165) [Link]

I have seen these announcements from Japanese companies year after year. They still make no sense. Is there something in Japanese culture that makes people-shaped plastic-covered equipment of dubious function plausible as a substitute for real people? Do they think of one another as more-or-less robotic already, so that it's not a big step from their family members to a bumbling plastic thing?

My last working hypothesis was that the engineering groups who work on these things are really meant to provide sinecures for people who must be employed but would otherwise get in the way of real work. Then I met a Russian who was being recruited to work on Toyota's project. You don't recruit foreigners to sinecures -- do you? (Maybe you do if the sinecures are the management jobs!)

If you have a factual clue as to what these things are really about, please weigh in. I can speculate all by myself, but facts are dear. There's plenty to be explained, of course: why announcing these things impresses anybody; why companies choose this to impress people; how they delude themselves into thinking the projects (as such) matter; what good (if any) people have been able to extract from the resources wasted on them.

Who Are They Kidding?

Posted Apr 23, 2003 1:07 UTC (Wed) by Webexcess (subscriber, #197) [Link]

Personally, I look forward to a future with helpful robots that can protect and care for people. These companies are investing in research that is unlikely to pay off for 10-20 years at least. When is the last time you saw a US company exercising a vision to improve life for all people?

Companies over here are more concerned with inventing the latest Reality TV show or overpriced coffee flavor and increasing the next quarter's bottom line.

Re: Who Are They Kidding?

Posted Apr 23, 2003 2:35 UTC (Wed) by Ross (subscriber, #4065) [Link]

I can't fully explain their fixation on robots, but I know that Honda said something about using it as advertising to show off the abilities of the company. Getting the robot to walk and climb stairs cetainly is impressive, though as you point out, I'm not sure if it's useful.

It also has a lot of research potential. Some of the balance, miniaturization, battery conservation, control, and AI advances can undoubtably be used in other products. Maybe it's actually more productive than pure research because of the added PR benefits :)

And Honda really does intend to sell these things as servants and companions in Japan and elsewhere. I don't think they have any delusions of them being as popular in the US as in Japan. The Japanese like tech gadgets more than just about any other group of people.

Human-Size Household Robot Developed on MontaVista Linux

Posted Apr 23, 2003 19:04 UTC (Wed) by dsime (guest, #5764) [Link]

The Japanese seem to love their robots.
The robot dogs are VERY good sellers, I can imagine that people robots will seel even better.

At 14K US this thing is VERY CHEAP, and as they mature ... ...
I bet the collector's market will be snapping these things up right and left.

I wonder if Moore's Law relates to humanoid robots?

Human-Size Household Robot Developed on MontaVista Linux

Posted Apr 25, 2003 3:13 UTC (Fri) by Baylink (subscriber, #755) [Link]

Yeah... but *I* want a different sort of robot. And he's actually practical to build these days...