Lonely on the road? What about a robotic driving companion?
Lonely on the road? What about a robotic driving
companion?
Toyota is working on a 4-inch-tall robot that could
gesture, read your mood and talk to you while you drive
By Sharon Gaudin Computerworld
| Oct 29, 2015 2:25 PM PT
After testing human-robot cooperation in space with its
Kirobo robot, Toyota is working on a smaller version – actually a cup-holder
sized robot – that can keep people company while they drive.
Dubbed the Kirobo Mini, the nearly 4-in. tall robot is
designed to detect and respond to the driver's emotions, speech and gestures.
The robot, which could be installed in future Toyota
vehicles, would not only be aimed at keeping drivers alert and calm but could
collect information about driving habits that engineers could potentially use
to build better features for future cars.
"With people spending an average of 4.3 years of our
lives in our cars, which equates to traveling to the moon and back three times,
Toyota believes that much can be learned about our behavior and emotion while
driving," Toyota said on its website. "Imagine how driving would
change if Kirobo Mini's technology was integrated into Toyota vehicles: We
could assimilate hours of data to better the everyday lives of drivers all over
the world, informing future innovations and developing transport that's in tune
with the driver's mood, suggesting places to visit, routes to travel and music
to listen to."
Toyota demonstrated the technology at the Tokyo Motor
Show 2015 this week.
Toyota built the original Kirobo, a small, humanoid robot
that was launched to the International Space Station in the summer of 2013 to
take part in what was the first experiment on conversation between a human and
a robot in space.
That version of Kirobo, which was a 13.4-in. tall,
2.2-pound humanoid, black-and-white robot, worked with Japanese astronaut
Koichi Wakata. The robot was designed to remember Wakata's face so it could
recognize and have conversations with the astronaut and even relay information
to him from Earth.
With its conversational abilities, researchers hoped to
determine if the robot could keep Wakata company. Scientists also were hoping
that the experiment in space could speed their work on creating robotic
companions that would be small enough to fit in someone's pocket.
Researchers around the world are working on building
robots that can act as human companions and care givers.
The machines need to not only be able to communicate with
people but also be able to interpret their facial expressions, body language
and moods. The robots also need to be agile enough to safely move around a home
or office and not make people fearful of them.
In June, SoftBank Robotics Corp., based in Japan, sold
all of its 1,000 personal robots within the first minute they were put on sale.
The robot, called Pepper, sold for $1,600 and requires a $200 monthly fee. The
machines are designed to read human emotions and to display their own emotions
as well.
And guests at the Aloft hotel in Cupertino, Calif., have
been able to interact with a robotic butler that delivers snacks or toiletries
to their room.
That robot, called Butlr can call for an elevator and
navigate the hotel's lobby and hallways to get to guests' rooms.
The robotic butler is working out so well for the hotel
chain that it is adding the robot to other properties.
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