 |
CB2 Child Robot Lifelike (Yet Creepy) Video
CB2 is a child-sized robot developed at the Japan Science and Technology Agency. CB2, which stands for Child-Robot with Biomimetic Body, was unveiled at Osaka University. CB2 (which appears to be pronounced "cee-bee-squared") reproduces the slightly gawky movements of a 1-2 year old toddler with eerie accuracy.
(From CB2 Child-Robot with Biomimetic Body)
CB2 is 130 centimeters long and weighs about 33 kilograms; it has 56 air cylinders that provide muscular strength in a human-like way. CB2's eyes are also cameras; its ears are microphones.
The soft silicone skin covering CB2's body enhances human interaction with the robot; the 197 tactile sensors embedded in the skin provide the robot with information it needs to interact with its surroundings.
If you tap the shoulders of the CB2 robot, it blinks in surprise, stops moving and turns its head to gaze upon the person who touched it.
(CB2 basic information video - in Japanese)
CB2 is a prototype research robot; the intent is to provide roboticists with additional experience so they can create even more lifelike machines. According to the team's project leader, this "soft" robot technology will be used in robots that can better assist us in our daily lives. The next step is to develop a version of CB2 with the vocabulary and cognitive skills of a three year-old.
I'm not sure why the movements of this robot strike me as being particularly eerie; I think there might be some kind of dissonance between the knowledge that this is a machine versus the feelings that are caused by its toddler-like movements. I've seen the Actroid DER2 robot in a "live" setting, and its movements seem strikingly human, rather than creepy. Take a look at the Korean android robot EveR-1 for another comparison.
See a somewhat longer CB2 child-robot video. Via CB2 baby humanoid robot and Soft Touch Child Robot.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 6/4/2007)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 1 )
Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")
China Deploys Robot Traffic Police
'The robot came up smooth and fast as a rocket...' - Harry Harrison, 1958.
Unusual Twist On Woman Dates Robot
'My hearing, vision and awareness went along with that excellent imitation of a young Adonis...' - Manly Wade Wellman, 1938.
Blood Battery Robotic Fish
'With one fluid motion, it surged forward, plunged, and was gone.'- Michael Swanwick, 2002.
Bee+ Robobee Now With Four Wings
'It was a tiny thing, scarcely more than an inch and a half in length...' - Raymond Z. Gallun, 1936.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Current News
China Deploys Robot Traffic Police
'The robot came up smooth and fast as a rocket...'
Better Than Dune Chromoplastic? This Guy Might Have Done It
'But when Old Father Sun departs, the chromoplastic reverts to transparency in the dark.'
Gather, An AI Warehouse Inventory Drone Startup
'It extended three of its tiny arms sideways to lock onto the registration pins...'
China's Artificial Intelligence-Enhanced Education
'The grey gas not only cut off his vision, but also his other senses...'
Orbital Manufacturer 'Made in Space' Gets $73 Million NASA Contract
'Mass-produced in the orbiting factories...'
Soli Gesture Tech Will Be In Google Pixel 4
'I enjoy watching this way, but - He waved his hand and the circuit switched abruptly.'
Uber Eats Pairs Cars With Drones
Fresh grub? Let's hope they aren't delivering grubs.
Space-Based Solar Power Roundup
SF writers popularized and elaborated on this idea a generation before the first patents were filed.
Lost Language Meanings Found By Machine Learning
'The autopilot would need data before it could begin a translation...'
'Aerogel' Sheets For Martian Gardens
'Sealed to the ground along all the sides, Honey, he growled...'
France's 'Red Team' Of Science Fiction Authors
'They're the only experts we have.'
Dim The Sun With Stratospheric Controlled Perturbation Experiment
'Those twin volcanoes; d'ye see them, Mr. Renner?'
Mashambas Skyscraper Farm Design Wins
'...a towering eighty-story structure like the office In-and Out baskets stacked up to the sky.'
Self-Driving Tractors From China Plan Ahead
'Machines that seemingly with full consciousness walked out into the fields to do their daily work.'
Jet-Powered Hoverboard Works!
L'audace, l'audace, toujours l'audace!
Nobe 3-Wheel Electric Vehicle Parking Like I, Robot
Spidercar, Spidercar, does whatever a spidercar does.
