The third age of computing - The Computing Universe: A Journey through a Revolution - page 321

Fig. 16.2. Robots handling the delicate
operation of glass panel unloading.

the introduction of the early industrial robots, the number and type of robots
have increased dramatically. We will look at four examples: humanoid robots,
robotic laboratories, driverless vehicles, and drones.
Japanese companies have pioneered the development of animal-like and
humanoid robots. In the 1990s, after a suggestion by a Canadian researcher, Alan
Mackworth, Japanese researchers in artificial intelligence (AI) started an annual
soccer competition for robots called the Robot World Cup, or RoboCup ( Fig. 16.3 ).
The aim of the RoboCup was to promote robotics and AI research. Playing soccer
requires the robots not only to move and act independently but also to collab-
orate and follow a team strategy to beat the opposing team. As the robots play,
they have to process many different types of sensor input and make real-time
decisions based on this input. In 1999, Sony Corporation produced the AIBO -
Artificial Intelligence roBOt - a four-legged, doglike robot designed to serve as a
household pet. Teams of AIBOs have regularly competed in the RoboCup.
In 2000, the Honda Motor Company produced a humanoid robot called
ASIMO (Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility), an acronym chosen to give hom-
age to Isaac Asimov ( Fig. 16.4 ). The robot is about four feet high and can detect
movements of objects and recognize distance and direction using two camera
“eyes.” ASIMO can also understand some voice commands and gestures, such
as when a person offers to shake hands. In 2006, at the International Consumer
Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, ASIMO demonstrated its ability to walk,
run, and kick a football. Such experiments are not just research stunts. Because
Japan has an aging population, robots of all sorts may serve as one possible way
of assisting the elderly.
The National Aeronautics and Space Association (NASA) uses robotic geolo-
gists for its exploration of the surface of Mars. The Mars Exploration Rovers -
Spirit and Opportunity - landed on Mars in 2004 and examined rocks and soils
to find out the role that water has played in the history of Mars. These robots
could drive up to forty meters a day and carried a range of scientific instru-
ments, including a panoramic camera, various types of spectrometers, mag-
nets, a microscope, and an abrasion tool for scratching rock surfaces. Curiosity,
a much more ambitious mobile robotic laboratory, successfully landed on Mars
in August 2012 (see Fig. 16.5 ). The Curiosity rover is about three meters long and
five times as heavy as the previous rovers. Unlike the earlier vehicles, Curiosity
can gather samples of rocks and soil and distribute them to onboard analytical
instruments. Its mission is to investigate whether conditions on Mars have ever
supported microbial life.

Fig. 16.3. Sony's doglike AIBO robots
playing soccer at the 2005 RoboCup
competition.

Fig. 16.4. Honda's ASIMO robot has
appeared at conferences and toured the
world since 2000.