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Special Feature*
Having Fun with Robots at Expo 2005
A number of Japanese companies are in a heated competition to come up with the best humanoid robot. The dream is to have robots that can do chores for us, and one of the keys to achieving this is developing communication technology so that robots can distinguish between one person and another, and can understand what we say and give the right response. At Expo 2005 in Aichi, Japan, many robots will be doing their stuff, and although they are not yet ready to join the workforce, you can check them out and see just how close to the ideal they come.
Written by Takahashi Koki, Photos by Sakai Nobuhiko, Additional photo credits: Toyota Motor Corporation
Right: This walking type of "partner robot" is about the same size as a 10-year-old child (height, 120 cm; weight, 35 kg).
Left: The rolling type of robot weighs the same as the walking type, but is shorter (100 cm). It can turn around in a small space and rush about busily.
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Come and hear the robotic orchestra
Partner Robots
The car and truck maker Toyota is developing three types of "partner robots" to make life more comfortable for humans. The walking type has two legs, like us. The rolling type has two wheels and can turn around in a small space and zoom about. And the mountable type, which has legs but no torso, can carry you about. Toyota says that one day these robots will be able to assist people in everyday chores, care for the sick and elderly, and work in factories.
All three types have highly precise sensors to control their tilt and keep them stable, and wire-driven actuators to transmit energy. They are based on technology Toyota developed for motion control systems used in automobiles.
The most fascinating features of the walking and rolling robots are their nimble "hands," and their "lips," which move with the same finesse as human lips. These hands and lips will show what they can do when a robotic orchestra plays trumpets and other instruments on stage at the Toyota Group pavilion at Expo 2005.
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The three steel towers (top) are each 18 m high. The huge lantern sways invitingly, and when you approach it a karakuri mechanical doll (below) comes out to greet you. The unusual expression and antics of the karako figure are
most impressive.
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A "robot" based on Japan's ancient mechanical dolls
Karako Shinan-sha
The top of the Aichi Pavilion Nagakute will have three huge steel towers and an immense lantern in the middle. Out will come a karako shinan-sha, a cart pulled by a young girl dressed in old-fashioned Chinese clothes (karako means "Chinese child"). The character is typical of the mechanical karakuri ningyo dolls that have been made for more than 300 years in Aichi Prefecture, where Expo 2005 will be held. Karakuri ningyo used to attract many fun-loving crowds, and are still featured in plays and festivals. And because they operated on their own, mechanically, they are now considered to be the first Japanese robots.
The girl pulls a shinan-sha cart carrying a figurine on a platform that swivels so that it always points south (shi = point; nan = south; sha = cart). This mechanism, said to have been introduced from China more than 1,300 years ago, became an inspiration for later automatic devices. The cart and figures were made for the Expo by the karakuri ningyo master craftsman, Tamaya Shobei the 9th. Visitors will never get tired watching the strange movements of the little guy who always points south, and the somersaults and other unexpected antics of the karako robot.
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