Feature: Materials World

Personification: The Materials Science and Engineering of = Humanoid=20 Robots

Maureen = Byko=20

Figure 1. ASIMO=92S climbing=20 techniques are a first for humanoid robots. Photo courtesy of Honda Motor=20 Company.

INTRODUCTION

Contrary to the musings of pulp science fiction writers, robots pose = little=20 threat of taking over the world anytime soon. They can barely walk, are=20 incapable of independent thought, and run out of energy = quickly.

In=20 laboratories around the world, though, researchers are working at = solving those=20 problems and others, opening the door for development of a robot that = can mimic=20 humans. Progress is evident in several arenas. For instance, within the = last=20 year robots have begun to populate nursing homes, where doctors use them = as a=20 =93remote presence=94 to monitor patients. In the last two years, a = major=20 international robot competition added a humanoid category, with the = ultimate=20 goal of a robot-human competition. One company has developed a humanoid = that it=20 suggests could provide friendly conversation based on its owner=92s = interests.=20 Maybe world domination is not in the future of humanoid robots. But = making the=20 world a more interesting place just might be.

SAY HELLO TO ASIMO

It rang the opening bell on the New York Stock Exchange. It greeted = visitors=20 to Honda Motor = Company=92s=20 headquarters in Japan. It shook hands with the prime minister of = Thailand. This=20 well-traveled mass of magnesium is a humanoid robot known as ASIMO, an = acronym for=20 Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility (Figure=20 1). As hinted by its name, the robot=92s claim to fame is its = ability to walk=20 and climb stairs. ASIMO, billed by Honda as the world=92s most advanced humanoid robot, = is the=20 result of 17 years and untold millions of dollars in = R&D.

With a body=20 of lightweight magnesium coated with a plastic resin, ASIMO was an = exercise in=20 mobility research, said Jeffrey Smith, leader of the ASIMO project = in North=20 America. The intent, Smith said, was to design a robot that was mobile, = able to=20 maneuver in household environments, friendly to look at=97cute, = even=97and tall=20 enough to look into the face of a seated human to receive voice and = visual=20 messages, such as =93open the door=94 or =93turn off the light.=94 =93On = the most basic=20 level, Honda built = ASIMO to help = people,=94=20 Smith said.

The work began in 1986, with a two-legged robot that = walked=20 very slowly and fell frequently. Subsequent iterations were based on = exhaustive=20 research into the mechanics of walking of humans and animals. The = mobility of=20 the current design benefits from what is called =93prediction motion = control,=94=20 which allows the robot to predict its next move and shift its center of = gravity=20 accordingly. Earlier versions walked and turned according to = combinations of=20 stored walking patterns rather than making real-time adjustments. In = addition,=20 ASIMO has = 26 degrees=20 of freedom, including movable knees, hips, and feet, all of which help = the robot=20 maintain control while walking.

One day, the company envisions = the robot=20 helping the elderly or sick, but the cost will have to come down = significantly=20 first. Not counting the R&D investment, ASIMO cost = about $1=20 million to build, Smith said, and inexpensive mass production is still = far=20 enough in the future that no one from Honda will speculate publicly when that might occur. = Power is=20 another obstacle to practical use. The robot is powered by a 40 V nickel = metal=20 hydride battery, and can operate approximately 30 minutes before the = battery=20 must be recharged. Although lithium-ion batteries might offer improved=20 performance, =93the future of ASIMO is in fuel cell power,=94 Smith said. = =93That=92s a long way=20 off.=94

The robot, while equipped with voice and face recognition = technology, is controlled by wireless computers and was not designed to = be an=20 artificial intelligence showcase, Smith said. =93Its real intelligence = is in the=20 advanced technology with which it is equipped,=94 he said. Still, when = the robot,=20 currently on tour in the United States, enters an auditorium and walks = smoothly=20 to the edge of the stage, surveys the crowd, and waves both hands with a = cheerful =93Hello everyone,=94 there is an appearance of personality. = That friendly,=20 human-like appearance, Honda=20 officials believe, will make the robot more acceptable for service to=20 humans.

ARTIFICIAL MUSCLES MAKE THEIR MOVE

Even the most human of machines still move in a mechanical way, = accompanied=20 by the noise of a motor. The answer to quiet, human-like movement could = lie in=20 electroactive polymers used as artificial muscles. Electroactive = polymers (EAPs)=20 are plastics that move in response to electricity. They are the reason = robotic=20 fish swam in a fluid, natural way when they were displayed by EAMEX, = of Japan, at=20 the International Society for Optical Engineering 2003 EAP Actuators = &=20 Devices (EAPAD) Conference. And they are the reason the world may be = treated to=20 an arm-wrestling match that pits a robotic arm against a human in=20 2005.

Ron Pelrine, program director of the advanced transducer = program at=20 SRI International, a leader in EAP development, described EAP as a = rubbery=20 polymer made in sheets. Electrodes, which must be able to stretch with = the=20 material, are placed on each side of the sheet. A voltage is applied = across the=20 electrodes, causing the electrostatic forces from the plus charges and = minus=20 charges to squeeze the polymer, causing it to stretch out, creating = forces that=20 Pelrine called =93pretty substantial.=94 With these materials beginning = to move out=20 of the realm of experimental and showing promise for practical = applications,=20 interest is high from many areas, including robotics, Pelrine said. =93 = There=92s a=20 lot of interest these days in more life-like robots, and not necessarily = just=20 from an aesthetic point of view, although the entertainment industry is=20 certainly a big one for robotics, but also in terms of the ability to = move over=20 obstacles, the ability to move quickly.=94

This kind of progress = is exactly=20 what Yoseph Bar-Cohen was hoping for when he proposed the arm-wrestling = contest=20 in 1999. Bar-Cohen, a physicist and senior research scientist at NASA=92s Jet Propulsion = Laboratory in=20 Pasadena, California, and organizer of the first EAPAD conference in = 1999,=20 decided that competition is often a successful means of stimulating = R&D (see=20 sidebar on humanoid competition). So he posed the challenge that = requires the=20 robotic arm to be EAP-actuated. The response came much quicker than=20 expected.

=93I thought 20, 30 years from now someone would do = it,=94=20 Bar-Cohen said. =93It would probably be when I was retired and I would = watch from=20 the side to see how things develop. I didn=92t realize that five years = later=20 someone would come and say =91I can do it.=92=94

That = =93someone=94 is SRI. The=20 only obstacle to SRI=92s participation is funding, said Philip von = Guggenberg,=20 director of business development.

=93Technically, we can meet the = challenge,=94 he said. And by 2005, not the 20 years or more Bar-Cohen=20 expected.

Because the company is a non-profit organization, it = cannot=20 cover the cost of participating the contest on its own. Von Guggenberg = is hoping=20 the contest will award a monetary prize that will compensate for the = cost of=20 participating. Bar-Cohen is now considering how to find sponsorship of = such a=20 prize.

THE DOCTOR IS "IN"

Figure 2. A doctor consults with = her patient=20 using a =93Companion=94 robot. Photo courtesy of InTouch=20 Health.

It=92s low-tech, with no legs that climb or artificial muscles for = smooth=20 performance, but one robot is proving successful as a substitute for = humans. InTouch = Health, based in=20 California, developed robots that can be controlled from remote = locations=20 through a broadband and wireless network. Instead of a head, the = robot=92s body is=20 topped with a video screen onto which the controller=92s face is = projected (Figure=20 2). The robots are controlled mainly by doctors who can see their = patients=20 even when they are not in the same building. Using joysticks, the doctor = can=20 move the robot around the patient. Using the zoom lens, the doctor can = visually=20 examine the patient. Using auditory transmissions, the doctor can have a = natural=20 conversation with the patient. The patient, looking at the computer = monitor, can=20 see the doctor speaking.

=93What we=92re all about is allowing = someone with=20 some medical expertise, who can be located anywhere in the world, to = extend=20 their presence to any other location where their knowledge base is = valuable,=94=20 said Tim Wright, vice president of marketing for InTouch. InTouch was = established=20 in 2002 to develop a robot to fill the labor gap in the health-care = industry.=20 Statistics prove a current shortage of health-care workers will only = grow=20 greater with the aging of the baby-boom generation (birth dates = 1943=961960 in the=20 United States). According to a May report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the = demand for=20 direct-care workers will grow to 5.7=966.6 million workers in 2050, an = increase of=20 200 percent and 242 percent, respectively, over the current 3.8=964.6 = million=20 demand. As of October, the InTouch robotic doctors were in use in four = United=20 States nursing homes and two hospitals. The design may not have ASIMO=92s = advanced=20 technology, but neither does it have that robot=92s price tag. The = medical robots,=20 called =93Companion=94 devices, lease for $3,000 a month.

The = robots, made of=20 aluminum, are slightly short by human standards, at 1.6 meters tall, and = a=20 little overweight, at 98 kg. They have no arms or feet, but move on = three=20 urethane balls that allow them to roll easily in all directions. The = robots have=20 sensors that alert them to the presence of people and objects in their = vicinity.=20 Wright said the company=92s technology teams are working on arms now, so = the robot=20 could be capable of such tasks as pushing wheelchairs or opening = elevator=20 doors.

Research is continuing, Wright said, not only into arm=20 development, but also into humanizing the shape. The robot is now little = more=20 than a vertical, rectangular box floating on a wide base. The next = versions will=20 likely have more of a waist and shoulders, a change based on customer = comments=20 that they would be more comfortable with a human-like machine. = =93We=92re looking=20 for a look that is professional and also friendly,=94Wright said.=20

THEY GO IN PEACE



Figure 3. NASA=92s Robonaut could keep human astronauts = out of=20 harm=92s way. Photo courtesy of NASA.	Figure 4. Robonaut working with = astronaut=20 Nancy Currie to build an aluminum truss. Photo courtesy of NASA.

NASA, too, is = exploring the=20 benefits of supplementing its workforce with robots. The Robonaut, a = humanoid=20 robot operated with a telepresence control system, is considered a = workable=20 candidate for space station repairs (Figure=20 3). The robot is being developed by the Robot Systems Technology = Branch at=20 the Johnson Space = Center in=20 cooperation with the Defense=20 Advanced Research Projects Agency. It consists of a head, a torso, = two arms,=20 and two five-fingered hands designed with human-like dexterity. = Robonauts, NASA reports, could = work alongside=20 humans or in environments considered too risky for people.

To = ensure that=20 the robot can withstand the stresses of space, its endoskeleton is made = up of=20 gold-anodized aluminum alloy parts. The forearms and palms are cast, due = to=20 their complexity, and then machined to specified tolerances. The torso = of the=20 robot contains the system=92s central processing unit, a large = electronic junction=20 board, distributed power converters, and numerous wires and connectors. = Those=20 are protected by the endoskeleton=92s rigid carbon fiber breastplate and = backpack.=20 Two types of helmets are being tested: one of a resin that is hardened = in a=20 sterolithography process (as shown in Figure=20 3) and the other made of sintered glass fibers.

The Robonaut = design=20 was tested this summer in working with human teams to assemble an = aluminum truss=20 structure (Figure 4). Astronaut Nancy Currie, who participated = in the=20 test, sees potential benefits to working with Robonauts on the = International=20 Space Station. =93On the station, you could send a Robonaut or two out = early to=20 set up the work site, or leave them out late to clean up,=94 she said. = Normally=20 two astronauts would be doing those tasks. The Robonauts are expected to = be=20 ready for work on the space station in three or four years, according to = test=20 conductor Robert Ambrose.=20

AN AGREEABLE COMPANION

Robots have been working for humans for years, in one form or = another. One=20 day, their purpose might simply be to play with humans, or at least = entertain=20 them.

In =93Robbie,=94 a 1940 short story by science-fiction = writer Isaac=20 Asimov, a young girl named Gloria has a robot, Robbie, programmed to be = her=20 caretaker. Gloria=92s love for that machine concerns her parents. Their = daughter=20 does not understand that this machine is just a mechanized playmate, and = that=20 blending of machine and human emotion is unhealthy, her parents = believe.

3D"Figure

Figure 5. QRIO robots by Sony were unveiled in October. Photo courtesy = of Sony=20 Corporation.

The story was set in 1998. In October 2003, Sony Corporation unveiled QRIO = (Figure=20 5), a potential playmate for modern-day Glorias. This humanoid = creation is=20 described on the Sony = web site=20 (sony.net/SonyInfo/QRIO/story/ index_nf.html) as = =93the product=20 of cutting edge artificial intelligence and dynamics technology.=94 = Satoshi=20 Amagai, president of the Sony Entertainment Robot Company, even = suggested in an=20 interview that the mission of QRIO = is =93to=20 bring people emotional value.=94 =93We want to create something that=92s = fun to be=20 with, can be of help at times, even something that one can talk to when = one is=20 lonely,=94 Amagai said.

Like ASIMO, the robot is highly mobile. Made of = magnesium, it is=20 shorter than ASIMO=20 (half a meter), weighs less (7 kg), and has 36 degrees of freedom. QRIO = is capable=20 of fluid movement due to Honda=92s Intelligent Servo Actuator, an integrated = actuating=20 system that controls the robot=92s joints and limbs, allowing instant = reactions to=20 outside influences such as uneven walking surfaces or a push on the = robot=92s=20 body. It is equipped with two cameras in its head and can recognize = faces.=20 Likewise, the robot has seven built-in microphones for voice = recognition.=20 Autonomous behavior control architecture allows QRIO = to react=20 to its environment as it moves, and Sony claims, to display emotion = based on=20 external influences.

At MIT, a professor has made it her mission to instill = the=20 illusion of emotion in robots. Cynthia Breazeal, with a doctorate degree = in=20 electrical engineering, is director of MIT=92s = Media Lab=20 Robotic Life Group. As her doctoral thesis, she developed a robotic = head she=20 called Kismet (recently retired to the MIT robot=20 museum) that was capable of expressing a wide range of emotions such = as=20 surprise, fear, and pleasure. As shown on the cover of this issue, the = robot had=20 lips, eyes, eyebrows, ears, and a neck, all of which were programmed to = move in=20 certain ways to express emotion during human interaction. In addition, = Kismet could speak, but only gibberish, with = appropriate=20 inflections.=93We can actually have the robot sound angry when it=92s = angry, sound=20 sad when it=92s sad, and so forth,=94 Breazeal said.

Breazeal has = lately=20 turned her attention to high-level toy making. She is working with the = Hollywood=20 special effects company Stan=20 Winston Studio on a furry creature called Leonardo. Leonardo, like = Kismet, is able to express emotion, but it also has = arms, a=20 torso, legs, and skin. The face is designed with 32 degrees of freedom = to allow=20 for minute, lifelike changes of expression. The skin is designed with = embedded=20 sensors that allow it to respond to touch. Pet its ear and the ear = twitches.=20 Grab its hand and it pulls back.

The sensitive skin, the = emotional eyes,=20 the artificial concern all might one day mimic humans too well. = Bar-Cohen, who=20 in May co-authored a book with Breazeal called Biologically Inspired=20 Intelligent Robots, said one area of concern is how people would = react to a=20 lifelike robot.

=93When you look at some of the movies and what = the robots=20 would do . . . we are very uncomfortable because they could beat us,=94 = Bar-Cohen=20 said. =93Computers are already beating us in capability now; imagine if = they all=20 look like us.=94=20

FAVORITE FICTIONAL ROBOTS OF THE ROBOTMAN



Figure 6. Robotman = Fred Barton=20 and three of his re-creations: from left, B-9 from Lost in = Space,=20 Gort from The Day the Earth Stood Still, and Robby, from=20 Forbidden Planet. Photo courtesy of Fred Barton=20 Productions.	*Figure 7. Another humanoid = favorite, C-3PO=20 from Star Wars. =A9Lucasfilm & TM. All rights=20 reserved.*

Fred Barton, also known as the Robotman, makes his living making robots (Figure=20 6). He built his first robot in high school=97a full-sized replica = of Robby,=20 the robot from the classic 1956 science fiction movie Forbidden = Planet.=20 He went to college and attempted more conventional careers, but always = dabbled=20 in robots. Now, they are his livelihood, as he builds replicas of = popular robots=20 that sell for anywhere from $5,000 to $40,000. Who better, then, to help = JOM = compile a list=20 of noteworthy robots of the large and small screen?

*The author of this = article is=20 managing editor of JOM.*=20	Exploring = traditional,=20 innovative, and revolutionary issues in the minerals, metals, and=20 materials fields.
OUR LATEST ISSUE	*READ = JOM=20 ON-LINE*

	TMS=20 ONLINE \| TMS=20 PUBLICATIONS \| SITE=20 MAP An Article from the = November=20 2003 JOM: A Hypertext-Enhanced Article