Human Looking, Acting Robots Waste of Time?

Human Looking Robots

South Korea and Japan in a bid to become leaders in the robotics industry have been focusing on developing robots with human characteristics, which may be a waste of time.

Now part of the reason for doing this is marketing, which is a good move, but the robots themselves are pretty useless, other than the attempted good will part of the equation.

South Korea's first two-legged walking robot, Hubo is one of many achievements that have distinguished the South Korean robotics industry.

His name a condensed form of the term "humanoid robot," Hubo was recently adopted by the U.S. National Science Foundation as a "textbook" model of such technology.

Prof. Oh Jun-ho at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in the central city of Daejeon predicts that Hubo will eventually serve as an "Adam," or prototype for other humanoid robots whose overall appearance is based on that of the human body.

The creator of Hubo notes that a U.S. research team, joined by five universities including the University of Pennsylvania, is currently studying Hubo's interactions with made-for-human tools or environments.

"There was uneasiness among some of the U.S. scientists that the U.S. might fall behind South Korea and Japan in the field of humanoid robotics," he said.

"The United States has been concentrating mainly on artificial intelligence, while South Korea and Japan have made outstanding progresses in developing robots that move like humans."

There is a niche in the global robotics market for South Korea, as U.S. manufacturers have been relatively slow in developing non-industrial and non-surveillance robots, according to Prof. Oh, who adds that concerns over cost-effectiveness prevented his American counterparts from pursuing the technology more aggressively.

Scientists in the U.S. took a very pragmatic approach to making robots, as the more complex designs required to produce humanoid robots demanded higher costs without the promise of substantial returns, he notes.

"What I am most proud of is that Hubo was made within a very short period of time and with a limited budget," Oh said.

Beginning with test models in 2002 and just 50 million won ($39US,000) from his personal savings, Oh worked for the next three years with a 150 million won fund that was later provided by the government. Hubo came into being in 2004.

Earlier this year, the South Korean government tapped the robotics industry as one of the country's key potential growth sectors and decided to support projects such as Oh's.

Now on the verge of a major expansion, South Korea's robotics industry is aiming to take the lead in the global market just as it became a global powerhouse in the information technology sector.

According to recent industry reports, the global robotics market was valued at $17US.3 billion in 2008 and is expected to increase to $17US.6 billion in 2009 and $21US.4 billion in 2014 for an annual growth rate of 4.0 per cent.

By 2014, domestic and professional service robots are expected to hold a 70 per cent share of the market, surpassing that of industrial robots that held the largest market share in 2008 worth some $11US.5 billion.

The government announced plans in March of this year to inject 1 trillion won into the domestic robotics industry to turn it into one of the top three global robot manufacturers by 2013.

South Korea currently ranks fifth in the world, according to the International Federation of Robotics. Japan leads the sector, followed by the United States, Germany and Italy.

The government anticipates that the increased spending will boost the country's share in the global robotics industry to 13.3 per cent by the target year from 5.7 per cent in 2007.

With its emphasis on service-oriented robots, the government has divided its plan into three segments, in accordance with the level of sophistication and type of function required of particular robots.

The first category involves robots programmed for manufacturing, education and cleaning, while the second is composed of more sophisticated robots designed for entertainment, fire fighting, elderly care, transportation and other complex tasks that require a higher degree of autonomy and capacity.

The third group relates to unmanned vehicles in the air or on water, prosthetic body parts and clothing for amputees or for people who have trouble walking.

Kim Mun-sang, a scientist at the government-funded Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), plans to fully commercialize a companion robot by 2013.

Silbot, its name coined from the phrase "a robot for the silver generation," was designed to be a secretary and helper for the elderly, Kim explained.

"By 2013, we will be able to develop a robot that can serve meals or make beds," Kim said about the robot, which currently moves on three wheels instead of legs.

As the population in advanced countries ages, the demand for personal-care robots will rise, Kim said.

"U.S. and Japanese robot manufactures have already started to target the market for home health care, especially for the elderly."

"We can only imagine how these robots will bring change to our lives," he continued. "We did not know before how computers and the Internet would change our lives."

Kim, who is director of the Center for Intelligent Robotics at KIST, said that South Korea needs to fully utilize its strength as a global leader of information technology in order to survive the competition from front-runners in the industry.

"A network is an indispensable factor for a personal robot. We will be able to create a new robot service, converging robotics with information technologies," Kim said.

A day when every home has a robot will come just as the day that every home has a personal computer did, Kim predicted.

While I don't doubt the need for personal care robots, the idea of having them human-looking and acting isn't relevant, and I don't see the value in that other than possibly lifting.

Robots are going to increase in numbers and value, but those being made in the human mold are just gimmicks for the most part, although some have had some limited use in hospitals for basic services.

Human Looking Robots