Humanoid Robots, Amazing Human Invention
Many sci-fi movies have been produced featuring humanoid robots which are used in everyday life where they can do the jobs that the people wouldn’t want to do.
It has been well documented that there will be increase in the number of robots over the next decade. According to the Boston Consulting Group, by 2025, robots will perform 25% of all labor tasks. This is due to improvements in performance and reduction in costs. The United States, along with Canada, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom, will be leading the way in robot adoption. The four industries leading the charge are computer and electronic products; electrical equipment and appliances; transportation equipment; and machinery. They will account for 75% of all robotic installations by 2025.
What are Humanoid Robots?
Humanoid robots are robots that are very similar in appearance to humans. Such robots can interact with human tools and environments, for example physically lifting things or walking in the workplace, and are now used as research tools in several scientific areas.
In general, humanoid robots have a torso, a head, two arms, and two legs; though some forms of humanoid robots may model only part of the body, for example, from the waist up.
They have sophisticated sensors and algorithms that enable the robot to not only have similar appearance with human body, but also possess abilities such as seeing, hearing, learning from the environment, as well as other human mental abilities.
History of Humanoid Robots
The Japanese made the first humanoid robot in the 1970s that could speak Japanese and imitate certain facial expressions of humans. In the 1980s, the first two-legged robots were introduced, and in the late 1990s, Honda Motor Company made a revolutionary breakthrough in building humanoid robots by introducing its walking robots, which led to the rapid growth of research on robots across the world during the last ten years.
Characteristics of Humanoid Robots
One of the important features of a humanoid robot is walking on two legs. It is very difficult to balance a robot on two legs, which makes it very difficult to control the robot which walks on two legs in comparison with those which move on two wheels. On the other hand, walking on two legs gives the robot a lot of capabilities, such as climbing stairs and moving in human environment. A humanoid robot also has other characteristics, including smartness, ability to identify objects and things, ability to recognize and change human faces, ability to speak, ability to hear, and moving on uneven surfaces.
The primary purpose of creating any human-looking robot is to facilitate the everyday life of humans.
In this article we are going to introduce some amazing humanoid robots that represent human development in the field of robotics in today’s world.
HRP-4C
The HRP-4C, nicknamed Miim, is a feminine-looking humanoid robot created by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), a Japanese research facility in. It was shown at the CEATEC JAPAN 2009 Festival in June 2009. Miim walks like a human with 30 body motors in it. Eight motors are embedded in its face to express facial expressions. In addition, Miim can respond to speech using speech recognition software, sing and recognize ambient sounds.
Sophia
Sophia is a social humanoid robot developed by Hong Kong based company Hanson Robotics. Sophia was activated on February 14, 2016, and made her first public appearance at South by Southwest Festival in mid-March 2016 in Austin, Texas, United States. She is able to display more than 60 facial expressions.
Sophi was granted Saudi Arabian citizenship, becoming the first robot ever to have a nationality. In November 2017, Sophia was named the United Nations Development Programme’s first ever Innovation Champion, and is the first non-human to be given any United Nation title
Sophia can follow faces, sustain eye contact, and recognize individuals. She is able to process speech and have conversations using a natural language subsystem.
Yangyang
Yangyang, the fourth robot produced by Shanghai Shenqing Industry, is a humanoid robot with a variety of realistic expressions. She is modelled on one of the researchers who helped develop the technology. Yangyang can blink, smile, shake hands and even hug her human doppelganger. The robots are controlled remotely and are made of a special type of silica gel that feels like human skin.
Fred
Fred is a hyper-realistic Engineering Arts robot, modeled to be an exact replica of a real 55-year-old male. Fred was brought to life by the robotics company Engineered Arts as a hyper-realistic humanoid robot. The alarmingly life-like bot is made with silicone skin, real hair and a complex metal skeleton that allows the robot to make realistic movements.
Mark 1
A life-size robot named “Mark 1”, built by product and graphic designer Ricky Ma, 42. Ma, a robot enthusiast, spent a year-and-a half and more than HK$400,000 ($51,000) to create the humanoid robot, which is modeled after a Hollywood star, to fulfill his childhood dream. The eyes of the robot include face and color tracking functions
Jia Jia
Jia Jia was created by Chinese robotics researchers, and can move her arms, make different facial expressions, and respond to human conversation. Product of three years’ work by a team at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, Jia Jia looks fairly realistic, with a flexible plastic face, long flowing brown hair, and an eye-catching gold dress.
Geminoid HI-4
Nadine
Tag:computer, human, humanoid robots, robot, technology
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