On the subject of Robot Toys, if you had asked me as a teenager fixated with all things Star Wars, “What will robots look like in the future?” I would have readily quipped “That’s easy, they’ll look like R2D2 and C3PO!” In hindsight, it may have been more prescient to have added, “Oh, and they’ll also look like Chewbacca, Ewoks and the many other creatures inhabiting the Star Wars Universe”. Fast forward to the present day and not only are we being invaded by a veritable horde of plastic covered and metallic Robot Toys, but also by their “furry” and synthetic skinned counterparts.
It’s not just Robot Toys like Paro, the Therapeutic Robot Seal or Pleo, the Robot Dinosaur – recently saved from extinction by Jetta Company Limited – that are getting the “skin treatment”. The cosmetics of Robot enhancement can be traced all the way back to the world’s distinguished Robotics Labs. Researchers at MIT Personal Robots Group have given considerable thought to the appearance and tactile qualities of their “socially intelligent robots”. Emotion, expression and touch form the basic components of their approach towards the goal of user-friendly, interactive companions that enhance human social networks.
What becomes immediately apparent is the proliferation of fur amongst these human-centric robotic projects. Tofu, Leonardo and Huggable are all covered in the stuff and this raises interesting questions about social and therapeutic robotics in general. Do we, as humans, express greater receptivity towards “cuddly” Robot Toys that resemble naturally existing animals or at least, have features that remind us of them? Is there a component in society that rejects “cuddly” in favour of the more technologically progressive “coverings” of cold, hard plastic and rubber? Will it be possible, through advances in Biorobotics, to merge technology and biology, so that “real” biological fur and skin can replace their artificial counterparts?
There are inherent problems in the use of fur concerning the multi-sensorial interaction between humans and robots where a sensor-rich artificial skin would fare better. A possible solution to the “gap” that obstructs direct contact between hands and sensors could lie in the use of ultrasound or electric fields. Researchers at Intel have made considerable progress along these lines towards a “Personal Robotics Ecosystem” that senses, feels and delicately interacts with it’s environment. The ability to sense and perceive “touch” before it happens is the focus of their “Electric Field Pretouch” technology which harbours great promise for smooth, human-robot interaction.
Product designers have also, for some time now, been making use of materials to add extra functionality and ergonomic qualities to a broad spectrum of commercial products. You may have noticed the addition of rubberized grips to ball point pens and toothbrushes or the application of ribbed textures to previously smooth plastic surfaces. Robotic grippers are undergoing similar treatment and coupled with sensors are able to more easily manipulate delicate objects.
If people insist on having Furry Robots in the future, then a compromise may be reached by equipping these robots with rubberized hands and feet, that, as their abilities improve, would enable more sophisticated interaction. Imagine children playing a game with their Robot Teddy Bear that can grip toys or other objects and interact on a high level that goes beyond imaginative gameplay. Huggable is certainly making progress in this direction, with its 1500 skin sensors, face and object tracking capabilities and Web Interface allowing global remote control. Resembling the bear in the AI: Artificial Intelligence movie, Huggable just needs to be able to walk to complete the loop in Robotic Companion excellence.
Far more than being mere Robot Toys, MIT’s Huggable and friends are at the cutting edge of Human-Robot Interaction and intelligently exploit our innate response towards cute, loveable and yes, furry creatures.
Tags: Biorobotics, Electric Field Pretouch, Huggable, human robot interaction, Leonardo, MIT Personal Robots Group, Paro, Personal Robotics Ecosystem, Pleo, Robot Toys, Tofu
