Humanoid Robot Maker Hiroshi Ishiguro Asks, What Is Human?

 Humanoid Robots

Robot developer, Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro's research concentrates on the idea of making a robot that is as similar as possible to a live human being.  In a recent TEDx video, he discussed his theories on humanoid robots and some of his current projects.

Hiroshi Ishiguro is the creator of the creepily, uncanny valley-bordering Geminoid F humanoid robot (see video below).  As in the image above, he has even created an android clone of himself.

Ishiguro is director of the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory, part of the Department of Systems Innovation in the Graduate School of Engineering Science at Osaka University, Japan.

A notable development of the laboratory is the Actroid, a humanoid robot with lifelike appearance and visible behaviour such as facial movements.

In robot development, Professor Ishiguro concentrates on the idea of making a robot that is as similar as possible to a live human being. At the unveiling in July 2005 of the "female" android named Repliee Q1Expo, he was quoted as saying "I have developed many robots before, but I soon realised the importance of its appearance."

Ishiguro with the Repliee Q1Expo

According to Ishiguro, human-like appearance gives a robot a strong feeling of presence.  This work definitely pushes the limits of the uncanny valley.  The uncanny valley is a hypothesis in the field of robotics and 3D computer animation, which holds that when human replicas look and act almost, but not perfectly, like actual human beings, it causes a response of revulsion among human observers. The "valley" in question is a dip in a proposed graph of the positivity of human reaction as a function of a robot's human likeness.

Graph of the uncanny valley

Extending his capacity to revolt users, Ishiguro has also developed the Elfoid mobile phone.  The pale, foetus-like shape vibrates and changes shape to convey emotions during communication.  

Ishiguro says the human body -- capable of displaying and recognizing subtle cues and gestures -- is the most effective and natural interface for communication, so trying to use androids to capture these advantages makes sense. With the Elfoid, the researchers want to create "an innovative communication medium" capable of conveying human presence to remote locations using voice, appearance, motion, and touch (the Elfoid has a "soft, pleasant-to-the-touch exterior," they say).

And why the strange fetus-like looks? They explain that they sought a minimum design that could be recognized as male or female, old or young, and that users would use their imagination to make the robot more personal.

Elfoid robotic phone

In the TEDx video below, Ishiguro explains his projects and asks the question, "What is Human?"

SOURCE  TEDxTalks

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