It is not recognized so widely, but the first robots were invented long before the word itself appeared. Jacques de Vaucanson is believed to be the closest to embody the idea in the mid-18th century. He produced a variety of incredible devices, inter alia, cyber-duck and a real robot playing the flute. However, it is not very clear why would anybody need them. Anyway, all these mechanisms remained only in the books as the French Revolution let them fall off the edge of the Earth.
The robotics made a huge step forward. Well, we won’t tell you about the origins of the “robot” word, or the first acknowledged robot designer, or where androids came from. Let’s move directly to the most advanced humanoid machines.
We should also mention that they are already capable of written and oral speech recognition, safe and also polite hand shaking, face and figure recognition, commenting the environment, being ware of falling pianos, detecting themselves on location, feeling pain and even dancing.
Steady on its legs
There is a robot called BioBiped1. It is a genuinely wonderful jumper. It jumps on one foot, on both, on tiptoes, on heels; it can easily jump on the stage. However, it doesn’t have anything but the legs. Still, we all know that you can’t run far without your head. So there are only the jumps to make at the moment.
Friends will be friends
Petman, the friend of BioBiped1, was lucky enough to get at least body and arms. Although it lacks hands, in comparison with the previous one it still feels much more solid. It was created by American military men for their own American military purposes. For example, they are going to test chemical protection costumes with its assistance but mostly of course make them undergo the trial, that’s why Petman has breathing and hidrosis systems. This phenomenon is able to run smothly (up to 7km/h), squat, kneel down, and what is the most important for any kind of a military man, squash.
Everything you wanted to learn about Honda, but was ashamed of asking
Japanese Honda has being trying to design the most advanced state-of-the-art extremely modern android for over 30 years. We are not intended to add fuel to the fire and keep you ignorant, so, just to make it clear, the company succeeded. The ASIMO robot broke into nowadays with a cavalryman’s walk. It recognizes people, shakes hands, is perfectly ready to keep up a small talk, pours tea in a dancing way and plays with pets.
57 degrees of freedom almost turn it a human and as for wave, infra-red and laser sensors, they make it even a tiny little bit better. It can tremendously run at a speed of 9km/h, elegantly walk up and down the stairs, exquisitely orientate on terrain up to 3 m wide, doesn’t bump into glass doors, gives seats to elderly ladies in public transport.
The robot is able to switch the switch, is a born liver-pooler as it naturally pools the livers, gorgeously copes with household devices, indicates tiniest rustles, tells the speech from loud music and have already mastered the sign language. ASIMO is an irreplaceable house helper and an idoneous companion. It weighs as a nymph (48 kilos) works on Li-ion batteries with a 3 hour charge. By the way, to the housewives’ concern, you can rent this techno-miracle at solely $ 14k per month.
Something else
There also are girls-robots, chiefly Asian. The most renowned of them is Aiko born in 2007. She is smart, beautiful, speaks two languages, tackles math tasks, and the upgraded version is now capable of walking. Quite interesting, this robot can feel pain. Its designer believes the technology to be helpful in prosthetics.
The Australians made lingodroids, the robots able to make up their own language and thus finding themselves on the spot. The Germans invented Rollin’ Justin which detects objects in the space, calculates the trajectory and catches in the air. It also can make coffee and even bring it to your bed. The reason is the robot has delicate sensors on its fingers.
Move like Jagger
The latest 10 breakthrough technologies MIT report mentions the Baxter robot by Rethink Robotics. We can’t say for sure, but according to an unknown source, the robot appeared there either because of the Aegis of Massachusetts Institute or being capable of learning new moves. Apparently, the hot ones. Still it has knowledge of physics and geometry.
It is aimed at manufacturing use. It takes 30 mins and a human who knows how to teach the robot a new move. Look in its LCD face emotions if you wonder how the machine got the lesson.
Besides, it can recognize faces and figures, thus it can safely work by the humans and control its rate, when its flash-and-bony colleague appears in its working space. By the way, you only need $22,000 to make the robot yours. It is way cheaper than many analogues and even some nice cars.
Summing up
Robotization increases its rates wandering around the planet. Earlier the key problems were accumulators and weak technology solutions in some areas, but by the moment they have sank into oblivion.
Some corporations and individuals start investing into robotics. For example, Mail.Ru CEO Dmitry Grishin has created a Grishin Robotics venture foundation. The organization aims at investments into robotics and applied areas like RobotAppStore.
International market of personal robotics is growing fast. The experts anticipate its volume in 2015 to make $18 billion.