Honda’s humanoid robot ASIMO came to Ohio State yesterday showcasing the product of dreaming, hard work and science.
ASIMO, short for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility, is Honda’s latest humanoid robot. ASIMO evolved from a 19-year lineage and entertained a crowd of collegiate, middle and high school students.
“ASIMO was awesome,” said Libby Brannon, a sophomore in materials science and engineering. “I want to change my major to mechanical engineering now so that I can work on robotics. It was simply amazing.”
ASIMO, which has a childlike design, stands four feet tall and weighs 115 pounds. The robot’s movements are modeled after human motion and are controlled by 26 motors that allow it to walk forward, backward and side to side, on curved paths and up stairs.
One of the over 30 ASIMOs in existence is an experimental version that has 34 motors and the ability to run about 2 miles per hour.
The multimillion dollar humanoid has been designed for more than just putting on demonstrations of Honda engineering. It is a member of the Robot Hall Of Fame and has met multiple foreign leaders.
Apart from ASIMO’s worldwide touring schedule, its makers have plans to make it a helpful sidekick.
“Honda developed ASIMO for one reason – to help people,” said Jeffrey Smith, ASIMO North American project leader. “The future, or the horizon, is much closer than you thank. Some day the baby boom, Gen X and Gen Y generations will need that help and there won’t be enough people to go around. Something like ASIMO will help fill that gap in need.”
In robots such as ASIMO, a set of computer instructions enable the machine to make primary decisions on its own. ASIMO has also “learned” how to smoothly navigate the easiest path between two points. Though it has independent motion, the instructions are inputted from a wireless laptop computer. This is one of the areas Honda is focusing on, Smith said.
“Will ASIMO someday have more advanced forms of (artificial intelligence)? Certainly,” he said.
Incremental technological advancements like ASIMO’s blur the distinction between artificial intelligence and computer coding, said Balakrishnan Chandrasekaran, Ohio State professor emeritus of the department of computer science and engineering and senior research scientist in artificial intelligence.
“It’s like saying ‘Is the brain the seat of human thought or just a bunch of connected neurons?,'” he said.
Increasing robotic artificial intelligence allows more uses for robots in society and industry. There are also more entertainment-oriented robots, such as the canine-like Sony robot AIBO.
This robotic dog has caused some to worry about artificial intelligence in robotics.
Computer hackers changed AIBO’s computer code and gave it unfriendly characteristics. Some people fear that manipulation like this could lead to life threatening events as seen in science fiction media, as in the recent film “I, Robot.”
Others scoff at this unlikely portrayal artificial intelligence.
The encryption used to prevent hacking in ASIMO is thought to be the best in the world. As hackers advance so will engineers, said Stephen Keeney, ASIMO project leader for North American Honda.
Researchers are also confident in the uses of artificial intelligence in society today.
“Assuming we are able to create entities that seem to us to be humanlike in more than a superficial fashion, we will need to worry about responsibilities to them. We are far from having to consider such issues yet, given the state of artificial intelligence technology,” Chandrasekaran said.
The level of artificial intelligence in robots like ASIMO might not need to match or surpass human intelligence to be potentially problematic in society.
“With respect to the current state of technology, there are issues that some people worry about,” Chandraskearan said. “One is the potential for massive unemployment with highly successful automation, which improvements in artificial intelligence technology will certainly make possible.”
Robotics in the workforce is not new and has already displaced workers. Officials at the AFL-CIO could not be reached for comment.
The continuing implementation is likely. It is currently an $8 billion-a-year industry and analysts estimate that by 2040 most households will own or consider buying a personal robot, according to a Honda brochure.
ASIMO will be performing again at 2:30 p.m. today and at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. tomorrow. All shows are free and open to the public at the Drake Performance and Event Center.
