KAIST :: AMI :: Digital Chosunilbo (English Edition) : Daily News in English About Korea
KAIST Develops Humanoid Robot

As a new generation of robots is being born for use at home and office, Korea is banking on the robot revolution and in its latest attempt to make a name for itself in the fast-growing market a local research team has succeeded in developing a robot that can think. The humanoid robot, AMI short for Artificial-Intelligence Multimedia Innovation can sweep the floor, pick up a ball and perform simple tasks. It is the first locally-developed interactive robot that can think, move and respond to orders.

The two-year old brainchild of a research team led by Professor Yang Hyun-Seung of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology is designed for household use. The robot is capable of moving through furnished rooms, tackling the stairs and avoiding obstacles using its sensor system. AMI also has a voice recognition feature and is able to talk and respond to human voices.

A liquid crystal display screen embedded on its chest displays internal operation levels and can even project facial expressions to show human emotions. AMI’s makers say consumers won’t see the robot out on the market anytime soon as the KAIST team will continue working to upgrade AMI’s functions.

GENERAL :: Wired :: Robot Sites a Web of Deception
By Robin Clewley
2:00 a.m. May. 1, 2001 PDT
Since its earliest days the Web has been a feeding ground for the bizarre and the fetishistic — with communities devoted to extraterrestrials, Charles Manson and bestiality. Seasoned Web surfers aren’t surprised by much they encounter.

But stumbling upon a series of recent websites devoted to robotic emancipation can make anyone do a double take. And to make it even more out there, these websites record events that take place in the year 2142.

Nearly 40 websites are devoted to a robotic revolution or the related murder of a man named Evan Chan. But the sites aren’t linked to a cult or militia group.

They’re part of one of the most complex viral movie marketing campaigns ever created.

“If you read all the Web pages (more than 700 so far), it’s so much more intelligent, in terms of written style, and the research is far more intensive, than anything I’ve ever seen,” said Harry Knowles, head of Ain’t it Cool News, the movie-insider website. “Everything has been calculated so well to throw people like me off.”
[…]

SEGA :: Sega unveils humanoid robots
Sega unveils humanoid robots
Poo-chi finds a family

Sega Corp promotion girls Sanae Hagiwara (L) and Misaki Sato show off walking, talking, and emotionally charged humanoid robots at an unveiling in Tokyo Feb. 28, 2001. The C-BOT series of robots are equipped with emotion circuits, and are capable of expressing joy, love, sadness, anger, and fun.
[…]

U.S. News: The promises and perils of humanlike machines (4/23/01) The Age of Robots

We’re close to making humanlike machines. It’s time to reckon with the promises and perils

By Thomas Hayden

The millennium was still a half century off in the future when Isaac Asimov penned his sci-fi classic, I, Robot. So it must have seemed plausible to imagine a world populated by big, strong, intelligent humanoid robots. The mechanical replicas he conjured may have had shiny metal bodies and glowing red eyes, but they otherwise resembled people, thought like people, and–most important of all–devoted themselves to taking care of the human race.

Contrary to Asimov’s genre-defining tale, humankind is still operating pretty much on its own. Indeed, of all the great science-fiction predictions to go bust at the end of the millennium–no time machines, no intergalactic space travel–surely the most galling is the absence of a single decent robotic maid. Or butler, take your pick. Oh sure, the new Robomower will trim your lawn while you recline in the hammock, and the Dyson DC06 robotic vacuum cleaner will soon be available to suck the lint from your carpets. But if you want something from the fridge, you’re still going to have to fetch it yourself.

[…]

SONY :: AIBO :: Obedience school, digital style
By Richard Shim, ZDNN

April 13, 2001 4:21 AM PT

For Sony Aibo owners, obedience school has taken on a whole new meaning.

The owners of the Aibo ERS-210–Sony’s second-generation robot dog–can now program their pooches via the $500 Aibo Master Studio software suite.

The software, released Thursday, is installed on a PC, which allows Aibo owners to create programs that include commands for the dog to follow. The programs are then downloaded onto Sony’s proprietary flash memory card, called the Memory Stick, and inserted into an Aibo.

Owners can program an Aibo to strike poses and perform routines that include waving, dancing and push-ups.

[…]

RoboScience :: Robodog – Specification Domestic Quadruped Robot RS-01

Main Specifications:

Movable parts: 16 degrees of freedom (d.o.f)

Legs: 3 d.o.f each x 4

Head: 3 d.o.f

Tail: 1 d.o.f

CPU: 32 bit, 266Mhz

Storage: 64 Mb RAM – 6 GB HDD

Comms: Wireless LAN

Robot OS: Windows®

Host PC OS: Windows®

Motion control: 2 x RS MCU

Sensors: Colour CCD camera

Miniature audio microphone

Accelerometer

Rangefinder

Navigation systems

Temperature sensor

Audio Output: 2 way mono speaker system

Battery: 26V

Run Time: >90 mins in autonomous mode

Charge Time: Approx. 70 Mins

Dimensions:
(Standing) Height: 685 mm (»27 inches)

Length: 820 mm (»32 inches)

Width: 400 mm (»16 inches)

Construction: Composite monocoque construction

Main Materials: Carbon-Fibre, Kevlar and Magnesium

Mass: Approx 12Kg (26 Lbs)

Colour: Metallic Gold or Natural Carbon Fibre Black

Max Payload Lift: 25KG (55Lbs)

NEC :: PAPERO :: The Times Robot to counsel families

FROM ROBERT WHYMANT IN TOKYO

A TALKING robot clever enough to heal family rifts may sound like science fiction. But the makers of PaPeRo — Partner-type Personal Robot — claim that it can smooth things out when families are no longer on speaking terms.

NEC, the electronics firm, showed the machine’s peacemaking potential yesterday. With its cute, round head and big eyes, PaPeRo stands a mere 15in and weighs 11lb. Yet stuffed into the automaton are two digital cameras, four microphones, five sensors and a motor that lets it move. It can utter 3,000 phrases, recognise 650 expressions and responds depending on the speaker. That would enable it, for example, to act as a go-between for a sulking child and its parents.

There are no plans to market the robot and no price set. Ten families are testing it so improvements can be made.

Robodog :: ABCNEWS.com : New Robot Dog Called ‘PC on Legs’

Designer Nick Wirth shakes the paw of his creation, the RS01 RoboDog during its launch in London March 21. (Russell Boyce/Reuters) ‘PC on Legs’

Robot Dog Can ‘Hear,’ ‘See’ and Read E-Mail

By Jennifer P. Sterling

March 21 — British designers today unveiled a robot dog that could probably take a bite out of Aibo, a popular Japanese model.
[…]

NEC :: Papero :: The Times Robot to counsel families

FROM ROBERT WHYMANT IN TOKYO

A TALKING robot clever enough to heal family rifts may sound like science fiction. But the makers of PaPeRo — Partner-type Personal Robot — claim that it can smooth things out when families are no longer on speaking terms.

NEC, the electronics firm, showed the machine’s peacemaking potential yesterday. With its cute, round head and big eyes, PaPeRo stands a mere 15in and weighs 11lb. Yet stuffed into the automaton are two digital cameras, four microphones, five sensors and a motor that lets it move. It can utter 3,000 phrases, recognise 650 expressions and responds depending on the speaker. That would enable it, for example, to act as a go-between for a sulking child and its parents.

There are no plans to market the robot and no price set. Ten families are testing it so improvements can be made.