iRobot says its Warrior bot is more human than ASIMO
By Donald Melanson 
posted April 15th 2009 1:12PM
posted April 15th 2009 1:12PM
Is a humanoid robot inherently more human than your average task-specific bot? iRobot apparently doesn't think so, and it's taken square aim at one of the most popular humanoid bots around to make its point. That argument arose in a recent interview with CNET News, where iRobot CEO Colin Angle responded to a question about humanoid robots by flatly asking, "why would you want to make a humanoid robot?," adding that they might be good for movies or those looking for a robot companion, "but other than that, most tasks are best tackled by designs that are not constrained by trying to look like a person." He then goes on to note that Honda's ASIMO "requires a team of 10 or 15 people to maintain it, it can walk about, maybe, half a meter per second and in some situations climb stairs over the course of a few minutes, and if it ever falls down, it's a paperweight." On the other hand, iRobot's Warrior bot, he says, "can take a 10-foot drop onto concrete, drive 20 miles an hour, drive up stairs without stopping at full speed, carry 200 pounds of payload and has, maybe, five motors," which means it can "go nearly everywhere a human can." So, Angle says, "you look at these things and say, which one of these is a robot human? The answer is, Warrior." Is it? Or, deep down, is there a little bit of ASIMO in all of us?
Nonsense, I saw Asimo in public recently and he can jog at a respectable pace, climbs stairs no slower than a toddler, and is untethered. And he's frankly a little terrifying when he does so, I was having some Terminator flashbacks.
I wouldn't call it nonsense . . Take what you just said about Asimo and give it muscles that perform 1000x's better than a human's . . that's irobot. Basically think of i robot the movie and compare those robots to Asimo lol.
Yeah, warrior bot is more human than Asimo, IF we had tracks for legs :D Nice try, keep making vacuum cleaners (which I love, btw).
@Cheetah
Wait... are you talking about the movie? iRobot is a company. I, Robot was a movie based on a book. We are talking about iRobot, makers of the roomba vacuum robot and some successful military robots, among others - not a movie.
-Taylor
Alright alright lol. I didn't read all the way through. I thought it was being compared to the muscles being built by irobot, sorry guys. If it was then my point would have backing, unfortunately it's spineless right now lol. Man you guys couldn't wait even two minutes . . ; )
@Taylor. No, I know, and I was talking about the muscles they are making. I thought that's what it was about at first. I was rushing through. Haste makes waste.
It's some university, forgot the name and people were comparing it to the movie. The muscles are made from strands of nanoparticles.
I don't think the question is which one is "more human" it's which one is more useful. irobot ftw there.
@ steve..
they also make mobile sniper rifles, which roll into action, shoot, and leave, and id trade my roomba for that anyday!
Fallout 3's Harkness anyone?
It's kinda weird though, the iRobot Guy says humanoid robots are good for "those looking for a robot companion, but other than that..." But other than what?! Furthering research into robot caretakers for Japan's elderly is explicitly what ASIMO is *for* (Well, that and for Honda commercials). Hell, Toyota's bipedal (and wheeled, betrumpeted, etc) 'bot is even called the Partner. It's like saying "Well, TVs are great for consuming media, but other than that, not so much." Other than that, iRobot Guy, I'm pretty sure that the majority of Japanese octogenarians do not want to be waited on by an armed, robotic tank. Unlike me.
ce-Oh-no-he didn't!
No! Bad iRobot! You DO NOT make Warrior bots!
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error: system undeliverable
reason; you're an asimo
I don't think that CEO quite understood the question.
I think he's jealous.
IMHO, none of them are "human-like"...
Let them battle?
LOL, I just barely missed the teardrop on the helmet!
sweet
Soon he will get the command said lets kill all human !
More human than human, that's our motto.
...more human that human
that should have been the title
That's nuts.
Not that I'm against specialized robots but..
The purpose of perfecting human shaped robots is a simple matter of modularity it seems to me.
Though I'm sure a lot of sentiment drives it in reality.
But an android could replace me at any task throughout the day.
It's the difference between a food processor and having somebody else to chop the carrots and then wash the dishes.
- mike
.. brings up a lot of interesting ideas about god and being shaped in his image though.
Perhaps we aren't.
Perhaps we are more efficient than god at some things (specialized design).
..and incapable of other god functions.
It'll be a fun conversation the next time I happen across a plugged in Jehovah Witness.
Somehow I identify myself more with something that has four extensions and that has a similar movement capabilities, than with something on a tank tread. Somehow I also identify a round soccer ball sized object on top of the body as head; and I can't make anything human out of a creep arm sticking out of the top.
I also do slow down when I go up the stairs. And I also probably don't get up when I fall down the stairs. I can't "drive" on my feet 20mph (maybe a short burst). I don't take falls easily.
On the other hand, I do need around 15 people in my life to keep my sanity.
"more human" does not equal "more efficient & durable"... Quite opposite, and Asimo surely wins in that dept.
it's only a matter of time they make a robot for war. It's pure human nature. After 70 millenia of rapid evolution, we are still primodially bloodthirsty.
We already have war robots...
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/04/armed-robots-st.html
just want to be human after all...
At first glance I though ASIMO was perched on a toilet with his newspaper, now THAT would be awesome photo
Personally, I want to see how long it takes for someone to come up with a reverse fossilization process that will allow us to turn robots into humans. Then we can test the limits of a robots self restraint.
"How come no one told me tasty things taste so good?"
I work for a robotics company and while I understand that mindset about humanoid robots, I disagree. The reason why humanoid robots are so loathed in the industry is their apparent lack of purpose and the severe complexity in function. However, this complexity of function is what makes them a challenging engineering problem to solve. And those who pursue and conquer this problem will reap rewards later on. For example, the most complex aspect of humanoid robots is clearly locomotion involving dynamic non-linear control schemes which in turn places the onus on computation and the relevant electronics. We are reaching a point where all the components necessary for performing these complex calculations are within the reach of COTS electronics. When (not if) these are mastered, these control schemes will find a host of applications.
Finally, with the onslaught of research in biomimetics, one can make the deduction that if, indeed, wheeled and tracked locomotion were truly efficient, Nature would have evolved to that. Clearly, legged locomotion is Nature's preference for most creatures. And human's bipedal locomotion has shown to have been evolved for sprinting while grasping tools. If and when such a scenario should prop up, say, in the outer space while exploring alien planets or the construction of cyborg body suit to augment human locomotion, legged locomotion will be in high demand.
.... yawn.
Once evolution figures out how to spin muscle and bone in a circle at high rpm its on like Donkey Kong!
I think Nature didn't evolve wheels, tracks, propellers and such because, by function, the tire, track or prop are separate from the body. Even animals with exoskeletons still have hard connections to their bodies. There would have to be some kind of symbiotic relationship between two spieces and at some point, the one going round and round would just get tired, dizzy or both.
Did you miss ASIMO's response? He's already talking smack, "Warrior, come out and play-y.".
What a punk.
He's right on one count. As Sartre said, "Man is the only animal that deals in that atrocity of atrocities, War."
Which is not true by the way.
You're obviously no relation to Roland. And you're missing my point--but I expected some know-it-all nerd to bring up ants or something. Asimo and iRobot both take their names from one person's legacy: which one do you think he would have approved of?
Maybe they can pay it to think up a more creative company name.
fail
I, for one, will humbly bow before whichever humanoid robot ends up enslaving mankind.
Clearly the CEO has tunnel vision here - making this statement about androids in general instead of specifying 'android technology today' versus 'specialized robot technology today'.
Obviously smart-ish general purpose humanoid type robots aren't ready for prime time - but for a guy that heads up a robot company, he shows a mind boggling lack of imagination when stating 'Why would you want a humanoid robot?". Ummm - because our entire planets infrastructure is built for the human form factor maybe? 20 miles an hour is great and all - but what about 100 miles an hour? A sufficiently smart and dexterous humanoid robot can just get into a car and drive at 100 miles per hour. Your Warrior (or Rhoomba) is out of luck. And how does the Warrior do with a latter? Is it good with a canoe - or how about a sailboat?
A silly statement. He should have provided more context and not make such a simple generalization.
I agree that his statements are pretty shortsighted. Honda has already proven asimo's worth by making a power assist legs for the disabled and elderly based on their robotic research. As long as we humans retain our shape (genetically speaking), it makes sense to pursue human shaped robot to do human tasks.
Absolutely and that's the main and most obvious point that Irobot's CEO is missing. He needs to take his head our of his...and realize that a fully functional humanoid bot is capable of carrying out a huge amount of tasks and that is it's main beauty.
I don't want 20 robots in my house doing 20 different things. I want 1 robot doing a 100; can his warrior bot wash my dishes, maybe shoot them in the air lol :)
I don't even understand how a high level executive can make such a foolish statement displaying a complete lack of foresight. Sure Asimo is not ready for prime time but I hope this CEO is ready for a day when a humanoid robot will put his company out of business, unless of course he is only pretending to not understand and working on an android in the quiet.
"Or, deep down, is there a little bit of ASIMO in all of us?"
Hey, baby, want a little bit of ASIMO in you? ;)
Put both of them in the ring, and see who comes out.
Asimo can crap standing up.
Edge - Asimo.
somebody needs to genetically engineer an organism that eats our garbage and produces electricity