The Robots of the Aichi World Expo I

Over the weekend I was browsing at a bookstore in the world’s tallest building and picked up a fantastic Japanese magazine called Robocon, devoted entirely to fans of robots. Mixing news about cutting edge robotics research with coverage of amateur robotic fighting competition and actual technical articles for DIY robot builders this magazine is an absolute must-have for any Japanese reading robot fan (such as yours truly).

The feature article in this issue is naturally a guide to the robots of the 2005 World Expo currently in progress in Aichi prefecture, Japan. The article consists of a map to all the robot attractions at the expo, as well as several great articles introducing the various robots being presented there. I’m going to try and translate some of the more interesting parts over the next few days, but in the meantime here’s a brief look at one of the cutting-edge anthropomorphic droids.

National Geographic has this brief article.

Repliee Q1 (at left in both pictures) appeared yesterday at the 2005 World Expo in Japan, where she gestured, blinked, spoke, and even appeared to breathe. Shown with co-creator Hiroshi Ishiguru of Osaka University, the android is partially covered in skinlike silicone. Q1 is powered by a nearby air compressor, and has 31 points of articulation in its upper body.

Internal sensors allow the android to react “naturally.” It can block an attempted slap, for example. But it’s the little, “unconscious” movements that give the robot its eerie verisimilitude: the slight flutter of the eyelids, the subtle rising and falling of the chest, the constant, nearly imperceptible shifting so familiar to humans.

Surrounded by machines that draw portraits, swat fast-moving balls, and snake through debris, Q1 is only one of the showstoppers at the expo’s Prototype Robot Exposition, which aims to showcase Japan’s growing role in the robotics industry.

But given Q1’s reported glitch-related “spasms” at the expo, it may be a while before androids are escorting tour groups or looking after children—which may be just as well. “When a robot looks too much like the real thing, it’s creepy,” Hiroshi told the Associated Press.

For more information, photos, and best of all video, see the official project website at Osaka University’s Intelligent Robotics Laboratory.

The Japanese language website of NEDO (New Energy and industrial technology Development Organization) has some additional information worth mentioning.

The name “Repliee” is supposed to suggest the French word replique (replica).

The Repliee Q1’s skin is made of silicon and colored in imitation of human skin. The android uses air servo actuators to subtly inflate and deflate the chest in imitation of real human breathing. The Repliee has been designed to respond to its environment in the unconscious ways that a human does. For that purpose it has extremely sensitive touch sensors throughout its body, and different kinds of touched trigger different responses. It also has microphones to pick up and respond to human voice.

Size: 680mm wide, 1,500mm tall, 1,100mm deep
Weight: 40kg
Power: air servos (external air compressor)
Movement: Upper body moves via actuators with 42 degrees of freedom
Operation: controlled via serial link to external computer
Usage environment: indoors
Controller size: 1000mm wide x 680mm tall x 850mm deep
Compressor size: 900mm wide x 1360mm tall x 900mm deep

Update- My friend Matt has posted a very, very recompressed version of a video of the robot responding to touch on his website. On an unrelated note, his newest comic/rant about booth babes at E3 is a good complement to my photo report from Computex. The big difference is that Computex booth babes were made to memorize scripts and give presentations about the products. At least that’s what I think they were doing, since it was all in Chinese.