The World of Androids

1
The World of Androids

• Presented by
• Shipra Gupta
• CSC 650

2
Overview

• Brief introduction of robots their history
• Advent of androids
• Issues and challenges
• Dealing with challenges
• Approach of their working
• Detailed examples
• Some in-process android projects
• Popular androids and main industries using them
• Advantages of androids
• Future and fears of androids

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What is a Robot?

• Common Definition A programmable machine that
  imitates the
• actions or appearance of an intelligent creature
  usually a human.
• Should be able to do two things
• Get information from its surroundings
• Do something physical
• Modern industrial robots have been around for
  less than 50 years.
• First programmable Robot was developed in 1954
  by George Devol
• - Coined the name of the first Robot
  Company, Unimation.
• Since then they are
• - Painting cars at Ford plants
• - Assembling Milano cookies for Pepperidge
  Farms
• - Driving trains in Paris
• - Defusing bombs in Northern Ireland

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The RUR Robot

• Robot comes from the Czech word robota

• Described fabricated workers in a fictional
  1920s play called Rossums Universal Robots

• During early studies of literature and fiction,
  Asimov stated 3 laws
• A robot may not injure a human being, or,
  through inaction, allow a
• human being to come to harm
• A robot must obey the orders given it by human
  beings except where
• such orders would conflict with the First Law
• A robot must protect its own existence as long
  as such protection does
• not conflict with the First or Second Law
• (A zeroth law was added later as an extension of
  Law 1)

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The World of Androids

• Basis of Androids
• High demand to do tedious and dangerous tasks
• Advent of faster and cheaper processors
• Make robots move and "think" to look more like
  humans
• Psycological factors
• These facts have gave birth to ANDROIDS.
• Definition An android is an anthropomorphic
  robot
• - Looks like a human
• - Known as "humanoids"

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The World of Androids - contd.
First Android WABOT-1 by Waseda University (1973)

• Had a limb control system, a vision system, and
  a conversation system.
• Could communicate in Japanese.
• Measured distances and directions
• Walked with his lower limbs
• Gripped and transported objects

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Development Issues

• Design challenges
• The need to coordinate sensors and artificial
  muscle
• Intelligent programming
• Efficient use of power

Operational Challenges

• Need to create complex robot step-by-step
• - Develop separate technologies and integrate
  them together
• Not foolproof to operate
• Difficult to program a robot to walk
• To rely upon built-in operating systems to run
• To be designed for a novice user
• Lack of sufficient funds

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Dealing with the Challenges

• Severe shortcomings of contemporary approach
  leads to
• Inventions of newer concepts of development
• Used to fight the establishment
• Solve many serious problems
• Gains followers
• General ideas followed to deal with the
  challenges are
• More software innovations required
• Move to cell manufacturing systems
• Develop new programming language
• Design new operating system if required

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Approach towards their Working

• Use of rule-based logic in robotic "brains (eg.
  Aibo, the pet dog)
• - Program vast amounts of information
• Neural networks is another approach to
  artificial intelligence (eg. Kismet)
• - Work more like human brain
• - Can handle ambiguity better than rule-based
  systems.
• - Feature of "learning" - a helpful tool to
  add more human-like behaviors.
• Stimulus-response mechanism (also known as
  subsumption architecture, eg. Cog)
• - No memory or logical decision making
• - Hard-wired responses to stimulation

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Example of an Android Design

• Taking the example of KISMET, an android with
  facial expressions
• and emotions built at MIT, by Dr Cynthia
  Brenzeal.
• Had head with jaws
• Eyes had color CCD camera
• Small motors to move facial features
• A network of 3 integrated circuits
• - Control
• - Perception
• - Attention
• Required special software. 3 drives are
• - Social drive
• - Stimulation drive
• - Fatigue drive

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Kismets Expressions
Calm Interest Angry
Happy Sad Surprise
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Another example of an Android being built by a
company

• Asimo is built by Honda (2 years old).
• Stands for Advanced Step in Innovative
• Mobility
• Small and light weight
• Walks naturally
• Arms move dynamically
• Fingers are delicate
• Walk up down the stairs
• Flexible body parts
• Make registered gestures
• High-tech control processor
• - Developed on its own
• - 3 times better than current PCs
• processors

Asimo and friend
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Another example of an Android being built by a
company contd.

• Latest version of Asimo can
• Turn its head to follow moves
• Recognizes preprogrammed faces
• Respond with vocal welcome
• Respond to couple of gestures

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Some In-Process Android Projects
Robonaut - NASAs space android (2.5 years old)
Johnie- Institute for Applied Coco, a baby
gorilla project Mechanics at the Technical at
MIT University of Munich (TUM)
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Popular Androids their Developers

• Cog, built at MIT, can learn to recognize and
  grasp objects
• Working as tour guides
• Toy companies have started selling pet animals
  like robots
• Dante, a spider-like robot serves geologists

Industries using Androids

• Defense
• Underwater and Geological Explorations
• Space Projects of NASA
• Nuclear and Chemical Laboratories
• Hospitals
• Tourism and Entertainment
• Toys

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Advantages of Androids

• In general
• Perform automated tasks to save on labor
• One of the factors contributing to higher levels
  of productivity
• Personalization and Ease of Use
• Not only an appliance/machine
• Better acceptance by humans
• Provides personal touch
• Can be used for domestic mundane tasks
• Self explanatory repair mechanism

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Future of Androids Fears

• Can build itself - cost effectiveness
• Can rapidly become super intelligent
• Can become a rival to automobile industry
• Estimation
• - 10 US homes will have android within 12
  years
• - 50 will within 20 years
• Will androids be dangerous as portrayed in
  Hollywood Movies?
• Though nothing can be sure unless we work with
  them. But positive
• assumptions state that
• - Androids will have built in (software)
  protection (Asimov's first law)
• - Androids don't need money or food or
  possessions or clothes which can
• drive them to hurt
• - They are designed to serve humans not hurt
  them

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References

• www.androidworld.com
• www.thetech.org
• www.ai.mit.edu/projects/humanoid-robotics-group/
  kismet/kismet.html
• Journals on Artificial Intelligence Androids
  in Reinert Library Database